A local post is a mail service that operates only within a limited geographical area, typically a city or a single transportation route. Historically, some local posts have been operated by governments, while others, known as private local posts have been for-profit companies. Today, many stamp collectors operate hobbyists' local posts, issuing their own postal stamps known as "locals" or "cinderellas" for other collectors but rarely carrying any mail.
An 1865 local stamp of the Danube and Black Sea Railway Kustendje Harbour Company Limited
Local stamps of the 1865 Liannos et Cie post in Constantinople
Private local postage stamp of Hamburg, issued 1863
Local postage stamp of Helsinki, issued 1955
In philately, a cinderella stamp is a label that resembles a postage stamp, but which is not issued for postal purposes by a government administration. There is a wide variety of cinderella stamps, such as those printed for promotional use by businesses, churches, political or non-profit groups. The term excludes imprinted stamps on postal stationery.
American Easter seals from the 1930s
The 1864 Shakespeare Penny Memorial poster stamp
A U.S. local stamp for Price's City Express, from about 1858. Local stamps are considered cinderella stamps.
Allied propaganda stamps for the World War II Spitfire Fund and its accompanying booklet