New philatelic issues (stamps and postal cards) were formally publicized in a variety of ways by the Ryukyu Postal Administration/Philatelic Agency. Here are the general types:

• Mimeographed letter type announcements. For an example, click here.

• Postal cards with announcements typed or mimeographed on the message side of the card (RPSS VOC - Official Business Air Post Postal Cards). These started in January, 1952 announcing Scott 16/UX5/UY7 and ran though December, 1953 announcing Scott 22-6. An image of the first such announcement is click here. For another example, click here. These items are offered on this web site here. These announcements are characterized by the fact that they did not bear full rate franking. They don't carry a designation of "official business."

• Aerogrammes with announcements mimeographed in the message portion. These started with UC1a in April, 1953 (announcing Scott 27-8) and continued on into 1963. These items are offered on this web site here. An example is here. A listing of the announcements I have personally confirmed is here. These aerogrammes and many more are listed in FTDD 18:2 (see below).

• Printed brochure/folder announcements for individual items. There are printed on a single sheet of paper which is folded to make 4 pages. They measure 4  x 5 1/2 inch (as folded) and smaller. These folders, generally color printed, were mailed under separate cover. They present a picture of the stamp and generally an English and Japanese description of the stamp. The first such brochure announced the issuance of Scott 105 on December 10, 1962. The folders have been recorded for all stamps from Scott 105 and C29-30 except for 107, 190 and 224-228. In total, these announcements provided new information on 120 new issue stamps. For examples, click here and here.

• Printed single sheet slips. These single sheet slips provided information on new issues stamps or sets. The earliest recorded is for Scott 43. They were used on an intermittant basis through the last issue (228). These announcements have a picture of the stamps and Japanese (front) and English (back) descriptions of the issue. The size is approximately 3 x 5 3/4 in. The vast marjority are printed front and back. To see examples of the two types of slip announcements, click here.

• Printed folders titled "Guides." These four page folders provided limited consolidated listing of postal issues. I am aware of two such "Guides" (1965 & 1966). I know the 1966 "Guide" was published in Japanese and English. I have only seen an English 1965 "Guide." For an example, click here.

• Printed pamphlets/booklets often titled "Lists". These multi-page publications/booklets were catalogues as they provided a comprehensive listing of postal issues from the first to the most recent. The first booklet published was titled "Postage Stamps of the Ryukyu Islands, 1948-61 and is in large format (15 x 21 cm). I am also aware of "Lists" published in 1961 (English), 1963 (English), 1965 (English and Japanese), 1966 (English and Japanese), 1967 (English) and 1970 (English and Japanese). For an example, click here. The 1961 list was a larger size (ca 8 x 10 in) publication while the subsequent lists were smaller horizontal format publications. I believe that from 1963 on the lists were published in English and Japanese but the previous listing mentions only those I have confirmed.

 
Listings/Articles on this material can be found:

• Detailed catalogue of aerogramme announcemnts. Specialized Catalogue of the Postal Issues of the Ryukyu (Liu Ch'iu) Islands (Issued Under United States Administrations), PART II, Postal Stationery of the Central Governments ---Fascicle 4--- Letters Sheets, Air Post Letter Sheets (Aerogrammes), Small Flap Envelopes, Window Envelopes, Cash Registration Envelopes, Official Business Air Post Letter Sheets, and Official Business Telegraphic Cash Registration Envelopes, 1948 -1972, THIRD EDITION by Melvin H. Schoberlin, Arthur L-F. Askins, and Jon B. Kawaguchi, With information provided by Ron Brawner, Russ Carter, and Robert Kamiyama, The Ryukyu Philatelic Specialist Society, LTD. Alameda, CA, 2015, soft covers, 4to, 420 pp. The aerogramme announcements are catalogues from pages to 293 to 377. They are designated UOC1-UOC26. Many have more than one stencil.

• Overview of the announcements (Letters, Postal Cards, Aerogrammes, Brochures, Slips). From the Dragon's Den, Official Publication of the Ryukyu Philatelic Specialists Society, LTD, RPSS, Volume 15, No. 3-4, Whole No. 50, July-October 1983. Article titled "Ryukyu Announcement and Publicity Material. Parts 1-3" by Russ W. Carter at pages 64-84. A comprehensive overview with an accompanying table recording the use of the various formats by Scott catalogue numbers.

• Postal card announcements. Specialized Catalogue of the Postal Issues of the Ryukyu (Liu Ch'iu) Islands (Issued Under the United States Administrations), Part II, Postal Stationery of the Central Governments (1948-1972), Berkeley, CA, 2nd Edition, The Ryukyu Philatelic Specialist Society, LTD (RPSS), 1979, pages 135-148.

• Aerogramme announcements. From the Dragon's Den, Official Publication of the Ryukyu Philatelic Specialists Society, LTD, RPSS, Volume 18, No. 2, Whole No. 60, April 1986. Article titled "Ryukyu Announcement and Publicity Material. Part 5. Aerogramme Announcements" by Russ W. Carter at pages 39-57. Detailed study of the announcemnts with pictures of the agency address stamps, the actual announcement. Announcements are assigned numbers AA1-AA26 and some have sub-listhings.

• Pamphlet "Lists - Booklets". From the Dragon's Den, Official Publication of the Ryukyu Philatelic Specialists Society, LTD, RPSS, Volume 16, No. 1, Whole No. 51, January 1984. Article titled "Ryukyu Announcement and Publicity Material. Part 4: Official Booklets" by Russ W. Carter at pages 15-20.

To return to Ryukyu Islands web page, click here.

Aerogrammes with announcements mimeographed in the message portion. These started with UC1a in April, 1953 (announcing Scott 27-8) and continued on into 1963. For an example, click here. These items are offered on this web site here.

The list below is by no means a comprehensive listing. It represents the dates of cancel of items I have personally confirmed/verified. Many more than shown below are believed to exist.

Scott #         Aerogramme      Cancel
Announced       (Scott #)       Date(s)
27-8            UC1a            1953.4.16 & 17
29              UC1             1953.9.1
32-3            UC1             1955.5.5
34              UC2             1955.10.11 *
34              UC2             1955.10.29 (seldom seen, different from above)
35              UC2             1955.1.12 or 14
36-8            UC2             1956.3.20
36-8            UC2             1956.3.23 (corrects above notice)
36-8            UC2             1956.3.27 (announcement dated 56.3.24)
40, UX10        UC2             1956.11.3
C9-13           UC2             1957.6.22
41              UC2             1957.8.20
42, UX11        UC2             1957.10.10
54              UC2             1958.7.11
55, UX13        UC3             1958.10.18
56              UC3             1959.2.12 (inside dated Apr 10, 1959)
57, 58-62       UC3+46          1959.6.11 - To see, click here
65-8            UC4             1960.6.24
C19-23          UC4             1960.8.1
UX17            UC4             1960.9.11
88              UC4             1961.2.2
51a-2a          UC4             1961.4.4
UX18            UC4             1961.6.7
86-7 & C24-8    UC4            c1961.6.16  (not confirmed but mentioned in below announcement)
86-7            UC4             1961.7.19  (changes date of issue to Aug 21, 1961)
91 & Unissued   UC4             1961.8.22  (Unissued Hirara & Shimoji merger)
Unissued        UC4             1961.11.1  (Notice "Delay" in issuance of above)


*34 was also announced via a mimeo notice from the Philatelic Agency under
cover dated ca 55.10.5.

 
To return to Ryukyu Islands web page, click here.