Portuguese Caravel definitive stamps
Record status
Individual type · research required
Period
1920s - 1930s
Issuing entity
Portuguese RepublicThe Portuguese Caravel definitive stamps are a definitive postage stamp series defined by their central depiction of a caravel ship. Originating in records spanning the 1920s and 1930s, the common Caravel type is documented as first appearing in Portugal in 1943 as a core element of the nation's regular postal definitive program.
The series was produced as a single design family spanning both metropolitan Portugal and its overseas postal territories. While the standard metropolitan stamps served domestic postal needs, the same basic Caravel motif was deployed across the Portuguese colonies with changed inscriptions denoting the respective issuing territories.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 2
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
Following the introduction of the republican Ceres definitive type in 1912, the common Caravel design emerged as a standard Portuguese definitive type that first appeared in 1943. It formed part of an evolving sequence of mid-century Portuguese definitive and pictorial issues, preceding the introduction of the Medieval Knight series in 1953 and Portugal's first railway stamp in 1956. The Caravel issue maintained an administrative continuity between the metropole and the colonies, sharing a single design family across different jurisdictions through modified inscriptions.
Identification
- Recognition pointers (from background sources)
- Look for the central pictorial depiction of a caravel ship. Examine inscriptions to distinguish metropolitan issues from colonial versions issued with territory-specific names. Recognise its place in the definitive sequence alongside the earlier 1912 Ceres type and the subsequent 1953 Medieval Knight issue.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Colonial inscription and perforation listings require transcription from a printed reference.