Rare Stamps - Ceres France's First Stamp

20 centimes black, one of the first two issued stamps of the series.

The Ceres series was the first postage stamp series of France, issued in 1849 as a representation of the French Republic.

The series bore the effigy of Ceres, goddess of growing plants in Roman mythology. Jacques-Jean Barre did the initial drawing and gravure. Anatole Hulot was in charge of the printing of the Ceres series done in Paris in the 19th century.

The drawing was used again by necessity when the Second Empire fell in 1870, with printing in Paris besieged by German armies and in Bordeaux where the French government fled. Two new Ceres series were issued in the 1930s and 1940s.

As first series of France, these stamps appeared regularly on commemorative stamps for philatelic anniversaries and exhibitions, and on the logo of many philatelic organizations and firms.

Rare Stamps - Ceres France's First Stamp