Issued: Introduced on May 1st, 1901. Earliest documented use is the same date, example shown below. There were no inverts.

Plate Size: Sheets of 200 subjects (2 panes of 100).

A full pane of 100

Printer: The Bureau of Printing and Engraving

Watermark: Double lined USPS watermark.

Quantity Issued: 5,000,000, it paid the registration rate at the time.

There is little variety and history to the 8¢ issue, foreign destination fee for first class mail. As with all stamps of this issue be on the look out for the expo cancel, a sample of which can be seen below.

All the stamps from this series (#294 to #299) had the IR overprint or the Specimen overprint. All are scarce and have a value of around $500 each. Examples are shown below.

IR Overprint (overprinted due to shortage of revenue stamps in Chicago)

The Specimen overprints in the three known varieties

Photo of the St Paul of the American Line Steamship Co.
(subject of the stamps design)

The St Paul (pictured in the stamp) was, on August 8th, 1896, the fastest vessel to cross the Atlantic, completing the journey in 6 days, 0 hours and thirty minutes. She was an immigration work horse (see record of sailings) and many of our European ancestors travelled on this ship to settle in our country. Two years later, in 1898, the St Paul and her sister ship the St Louis, were commissioned by the US Navy as auxilary Cruisers for use during the Spanish-American War, her name being changed to the ' New York'.

The ship was not only the fastest, it was one of the most Luxurious, built and subsidised by the US Government to compete against the dominance that the Curnard Line had at the time. It was a great source of pride at the turn of the Century that the top two cross-atlantic records were held by the St Paul and her sister ship. It might be noted that the ships were built by Harland and Wolf in Belfast, Northern Island, in the same location as the Titanic.

To give you an idea of the luxury of the St Paul here are some photos from a promotional booklet.

The Library of the St. Paul

The Salon of the St. Paul

A cabin of the St. Paul (the beds were attached to the floor)

The deck promenade of the St. Paul

The First Class Dining Saloon of the St Paul

The Second Class Dining 'Saloon' of the St Paul

The Ultramar overprint

The Portuguese Ministry for the Colonies was originally supplied with 25 Specimen stamps. They overprinted the specimens with the "Ultramar" overprint, meaning "overseas", the stamps were distributed to the various colonies.

#299-E3
Pencil Drawing Essay
Tracing paper on thin card

#299-E4
Ink Drawing
On card

#299-E5
Photo reproduction of pencil Drawing
On photo sensitive paper

#299-P1
Die Proof
Die sunk on card

#299-P1 (var)
Samll Die Proof

299 P1
Large Die Proof on India