Issue date: 08 Sep, 2015
PERSONALITIES
Fermín Caballero, one of the most prominent political and intellectual personalities of the reign of Isabel II, is being included in the series Personalities due to his link to the origin of stamps in Spain. In 1843, when he was Minister of Governance, he passed the first order to study the establishment of prepaid postage in this country: “recently adopted in some countries in Europe…”
The stamp shows half of the man's face, in which his intense gaze stands. In the background are images of Madrid and the first stamp from 1850 with the word “Certified”. Foil was used in the printing process to give it a metallic aspect.
Fermín Caballero (Barajas de Melo, Cuenca, 1800 – Madrid, 1876), from a well-to-do family, began his studies in his native town. He seemed to be destined for the Church, where several of his family members were active, and consequently entered the seminary of Cuenca to study philosophy and later the University of Zaragoza to continue with theology. The revolution of 1820 changed his direction and he began to become involved in politics, switching from ecclesiastical studies to law, which he studied at the University of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid).
With liberal ideas, he joined the Progressive Party and in 1834 was elected by Madrid and Cuenca to occupy a seat as a lawyer; he chose to occupy the seat in Cuenca. In this tumultuous period of constant political change, Fermín Caballero was the mayor of Madrid and Minister of Governance under Joaquín María López. After the fall of this government, he left politics and focused on intellectual work, publishing several works.
In his younger years he was a writer for the newspaper “Boletín de comercio”, which was later called the “Eco del comercio”, which played an important role in the development of liberalism.
He showed an interest in geography and agriculture throughout his life. He was a member of the Territorial Division Committee and worked to build the foundations of a statistical and population census system. Among his published works, of note are “Nomenclatura geográfica de España (Geographical nomenclature of Spain)” (1834), “Manual geográfico-administrativo (Geographical-Administrative Manual)” (1844) and “Fomento de la población rural (Promotion of the rural population)” (1863).
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
Rate B - €1.65. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to Europe (including Greenland), up to 20 g.
Rate C - €1.75. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the rest of the world (except USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand), up to 20 g.
Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.