Illustration of a historical stamp for learning, shown at screen size. Not valid for postage.
How to read it
REPUB. FRANC. at the top: France.
- 1REPUB. FRANC.
- Inscription
- REPUB. FRANC. · 20 C · POSTES
- Meaning
- REPUB. FRANC. is short for République française, the French Republic.
- Issued by
- French Republic
- Today
- France Flag of France
- Year
- 1849. On sale from 1 January 1849.
- Made by
- Jacques-Jean Barre (design and engraving, died 1855)
One fact
France’s first stamp: the goddess Ceres, designed and engraved by Jacques-Jean Barre, chief engraver of the Paris Mint.
Source and public-domain rule
Creators died more than 70 years ago. Designer and engraver died 1855. Copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years, counted from 1 January of the year after death. Every named designer and engraver of the stamp died before 1 January 1956; any contributor who was never named counts as anonymous, whose term is 70 years from publication, and the stamp was published before 1956. Legal sources: Directive 2006/116/EC, Art. 1(1) life + 70 years; Art. 1(3) anonymous works 70 years from publication; Art. 7(1) comparison of terms for works from outside the EU; Art. 8 terms run from 1 January, Switzerland, Norway.
Scan: France timbre Cérès 20c noir 1849.jpg on Wikimedia Commons (revision 1259757786), licence templates {{PD-old-100}}. Downloaded 2026-10-19, sha256 6075e47aebf0…; cropped and cleaned for this site. Facts checked 2026-10-19 against source 1 and source 2. Research record, not legal advice; a human rights review is pending. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
