British Guiana “Cottonreels
In 1850 the authorities in British Guiana decided that payment of postage should be shown by affixing stamps to inland correspondence. These stamps were very crude and the dies for impressing them onto paper were made of curved printers’ rules with typeset letters and figures within the circle. The stamps are known as “Cottonreels” because their design was likened to labels fixed to the ends of wooden cottonreels. It is not known whether the Bermuda inland stamps of two years earlier were the inspiration for the British Guiana stamps, but despite the different method of producing the stamp dies, the actual design is quite similar.
Initially three values, 4, 8 and 12 cents, were issued to be used for inland mail over different distances. Post Office clerks initialled each stamp sold.
However, a local postal service in the capital, Georgetown, was introduced in 1851, for which the charge was to be 2 cents. This charge was to be evidenced by a stamp of that value; failure to use the stamp would mean the letter concerned would not be delivered, and if collected from the Post Office would be charged 8 cents.
Using the existing design, the stamps were printed on rose coloured paper. (The other values had other coloured papers.)
The local Georgetown service was underused and did not last long. No examples of the 2 cents stamp are believed to have survived which had been used for the local delivery service; of the 10 copies which do survive, six are in pairs on 3 covers and used for inland service and the 4 surviving singles are believed to have come from a single letter charged at 8 cents.
The cover in the Royal Philatelic Collection and shown here was posted in Demerara and sent to a nearby village, at the lowest, 4 cents, inland rate.
英属圭亚那“棉花卷筒邮票”
1850年，英属圭亚那当局决定为收取内地邮件的邮资而发行邮票。邮票的制作相当粗糙，印模是以活字版排成圆形、面值数字在中间，然后用简陋的印刷方法印在纸上。这种邮票被称作为“棉花卷筒邮票”，这是因为邮票的图样与安放在木质棉花卷筒上的标签相似。不知英属圭亚那的邮票是否参照了两年前百慕大当地邮票的格式，尽管所用印模不同，但实际上其图样非常相似。
最初，发行了4分、8分和12分三种面值，分别用于内地不同距离的邮件上。 邮局职员在每枚邮票签上缩写姓名后出售。
另外，为了首府乔治敦的本地邮资，1851年出现了面值为2分的邮票。此邮资由单枚2分邮票得到证明。不使用邮票意味着信件不会被投递，而从邮局领取邮件需要支付8分的费用。
邮票按设计图样印在玫瑰色的纸上(其他面值的邮票印在其它颜色的纸上) 。
2分邮票在乔治敦本地邮务中使用不多，时间也不长。 相信没有作为本地邮资只贴2分单枚票的实寄品留存于世。留存下来的10枚2分邮票中，有3个双连（6枚）分别贴在3件本埠信函上，另外4个单枚相信出自于同一个贴单位邮资为8分的信封上。
这里展示的信封属于英国王室邮集，是从Demerara寄到附近一个村庄，贴4分邮资，这是最低的内地资费。
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