Stamps and Information Technology

History is best understood on a continuum. WW II was not an isolated occurrence in world history but was the latest conflagration of centuries of territorial and tribal expansion across Europe. Beginning with the Gothic tribes pressing against the Roman Empire in the Second Century through German unification and the Franco Prussian War and WW I , Europe has always been in conflict. Though the proximate cause of each war is different the overall theme has an historical continuity that allows us not to just understand facts and dates and events, but to understand people.Thus it is with stamps. Stamps have been around for 160 years. Their importance as a technology is not so great now, but in the mid part of the Nineteenth Century proof of the prepayment of postage allowed postal rates to plummet and communication to flourish. This in turn allowed more efficient commerce and improved living standards. Postage stamps were part of a humanity’s technological advances that facilitated communication. This began well before 1840 and has continued today with the Internet and email. As our collectible we are fixated on stamps. But they are just part of the great success that mankind has had in making life better and easier for us all.