Postal History: The Language of Stamps

The Language of Stamps
http://www.philatelicdatabase.com/nostalgia/the-language-of-stamps/

After reading the article above from www.philatelicdatabase.com I did a quick search through my postcard files and found quite a few of these cards from many different countries. Does anyone know much about this type of postcards? Are all the different versions of these postcards consistent in their meanings for different stamp placement? Was the "language of stamps" universal?

If you have never heard of this type of postcard or heard of "The Language of Stamps" the original article gives a very nice introduction to the subject:

"Many letters posted in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century had stamps affixed to envelopes and picture postcards in all sorts of odd positions and angles. This was due to the development in England of a ‘language of stamps,’ which soon spread around the world. The position of the stamp on the envelope was supposed to relay a message to the receiver."

I never knew that the placement of the stamp on a postcard could have so much meaning. One hundred years ago people were sending secret messages that were be invisible to anyone without the correct key.

I have always wondered why some people had the stamp floating around all over the postcard. I always thought they were just sloppy mailers.



Does anyone have any cards that have obviously used this "language of stamps" in their stamp placement? If so please add an attachment to your comments below.

I was thinking of designing a card about the language of stamps. Looking just at these cards, there are obviously a lot of inconsistencies. There doesn't seem to be a universal language of stamps.

I have seen cards with the stamp tilted to the right. On the French card, there are no stamps in that position. Since this is an unnatural position for righthanders, I think it is intentional.

A couple of things seem strange on the last card above. The stamp in the normal position means "I love you." Also the subtle differences between different amounts of tilt would be impractical to apply or interpret.