Background to Traccion a Sangre

The title of this brief introduction should be "Uruguay Revenues: A Challenge", for it is indeed a big challenge to try to list all the issued stamps for revenue and fiscal purposes. Not only due to the fact that collecting revenues in general was never attractive to the stamp collector but that for 60 years there were no catalogs made of revenues for most countries and dealers quit handling the material since there was no basis to buy and sell. In the last fifteen years a large number of catalogs have been written on the revenues
From countries around the world. I myself wrote a catalog in 1994 The Revenues of El Salvador. Later on in 2000 I published a catalog on the Revenues of Iraq and each year thereafter a new edition to include all the latest information. In 2002, while involved on researching Panama revenues, I published "The Telegraph Stamps of Panama." In the past couple of years I recognized the need to record the Uruguay revenues issued since 1915. Forbin's Timbre Fiscaux was the last catalog to list Uruguayan revenues. That is a long time for so much material. There is so much to find so few sources from which to locate the material. The chase, the find and to share the information makes Uruguay revenues so exciting.

Everything that the philatelist does the revenue collector can do, collect, exhibit, write, and best of all discover unlisted revenues. How often does one find a postage stamp not listed in a modern catalog?

Maybe you have some information about Uruguay revenues to share with us?.

Traccion a Sangre

What an interesting term, Traccion a Sangre, "pulled by blood." It evokes the image of tens of thousands of slaves pulling on ropes to raise huge stones for the construction of the pyramids.

Fig. 1

"Traccion a Sangre" as used in Uruguay , in the more modern sense, connotes animal power, more specifically animal drawn carts, carriages, or trolleys. A hand painted essay (fig 1) also indicates a seperate fee for the license plate, "Chapa" In the Department of Montevideo (one of 18 Departments in Uruguay ), the earliest "Traccion Sangre" stamps found are dated 1936 (Fig 2). At that time, the annual vehicle registration fee was 50 pesos and a stamp of that value was affixed to a license booklet. Beginning in 1937, payments could also be made on a semi-annual basis. The first evidence of quarterly payments is dated 1943. In 1956, the word "Acoplado" (towed) was substituted on one series of stamps.

Fig. 2 - Earliest recorded "Traccion a Sangre" stamps

Recently, several licenses surfaced from the Department of Tacuarembo, Uruguay . The covers of the vehicle license booklets read "Traccion a Sangre—Bicicleta y Similares." The title suggests that "Pulled by Blood" now included not only animal-drawn vehicles but human-powered vehicles such as bicycles. The stamps are cancelled from 1956 through 1967 (fig 3 and 4). Each of the license booklet includes regulations concerning the use of animal-drawn carts and bicycles. For example, vehicles operated during the hours of darkness were required to have three red lights attached, two in the front and one in the rear. Restrictions as to cart size, load, and limits on numbers of passengers carried are also covered in the booklets.

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

While developing a for 70 different values and types for the Department of Tacuarembo my curiosity was aroused by the presence of other different revenue stamps affixed and contained within the booklet titled "Asignaciones Familiares" Fig 5. My contact in Uruguay explained that this was a reduced rate (discount) for families with members under the age of 18. Hopefully for people.

Fig. 5

My most recent discovery was a bicycle license from the Department of Paysandu with stamps dated 1956-60. Having located items from only 3 of the 18 Departments, the question arises whether all the Departments used this form of vehicle taxation. If so, there are more of these revenue stamps to be found. Have you found any?

Last but not least and another item to tease, it is an administrative fee from Paysandu (Fig. 6). Where is it from? I have enlarged it considerably in order that the details may be seen. This type of design was used in the 1940s and 50s albeit various colors and values.

Oh yes, it is from one of the 18 Districts of Uruguay.

i

Fig. 6

Joe ROSS