California State Telegraph Company 25 Cents Stamp

United States · 1870 · 25 cents

The stamp features a central vignette of a telegraph pole with wires, symbolizing rapid communication, with the company name 'CALIFORNIA STATE TELEGRAPH COMPANY' at the top and '25 CENTS' at the bottom.

This stamp represents the early era of private telegraph companies in the United States, used for pre-payment of telegraphic messages before the widespread adoption of government postal services for such communications.