PRIVATE POSTAL OVERPRINTS

Following the appearance of firms names in overprinted form on Draft stamps of 1856, the Oxford Union Society sought the permission of The Post Office to overprint their supplies of postage stamps. Permission was duly granted in 1859, the one and only time the Post Office gave permission for a private overprint on the face of postage stamps. This also makes this the first official form of security endorsment.

Several firms were to copy the idea of overprinting, although their attempts were unofficial. However with the development of underprints and later the "Perfin" such overprints fell into disuse.

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