On November 15, 1845, the Postal Department, headed by General of Infantry V. F. Adlerberg (1791–1884), issued Circular Order No. 11825 introducing embossed-stamp envelopes for the St. Petersburg city post; sales of the city-post embossed-stamp envelopes were carried out at the two city-post offices that existed by that time. The rate for sending correspondence in embossed-stamp envelopes was set at 6 kopecks (5 kopecks for the letter and 1 kopeck for the envelope). At the same time, correspondence sent in an ordinary envelope was paid in cash according to the existing rate of 10 kopecks per lot. Acceptance of letters for the city post was also carried out in small shops and in stores on the city’s main streets.
From 1846, the activity of the city post was extended to nearby summer cottage areas during the “dacha season” from May 1 to October 1, while the usual rate for ordinary non-local private correspondence was maintained for the rest of the time. City-post letters were not allowed to be dropped into boxes for non-local correspondence; city letters that ended up in such boxes (green in color) remained unsent. The St. Petersburg city-post embossed-stamp envelopes were later also accepted by the city posts of Moscow and Kazan, where in 1869 they were replaced by embossed-stamp envelopes of a nationwide city-post design, as well as in Warsaw, where in December 1858 they were replaced by a temporary provisional issue of the Main Postal Treasury of the Kingdom of Poland.
The envelopes were made of grayish-white or yellowish thick paper without a watermark; the flap had no gum. The envelopes were folded by hand, so the actual dimensions may differ by 1–3 mm. The stamp imprint was applied using a hand press. The stamp, consisting of the state coat of arms with postal horns at the bottom, 28.5 mm in diameter, in blue-black or blue, was applied to the folded envelope, which led to various variants of its placement relative to the flap. Envelopes are known that, in addition to the colored imprint, also have colorless impressions of the stamp, slightly shifted relative to the main one. In total, three issues of St. Petersburg city-post embossed-stamp envelopes were produced.
St. Petersburg envelopes had a blue stamp; for Moscow, the stamps were printed in red ink. Today, “embossed-stamp envelopes” are quite rare. Especially rare are the Moscow city-post envelopes issued in 1846 in a print run of 6,000 copies. They were stamped on a hand press with a stamp 29.5 mm in diameter. In the center is the emblem of the postal administration. The circular inscription reads: “Moscow City Post. For the letter 5 k. s. (silver); for the envelope 1 k. s. (silver).”
The first example of an envelope with a red stamp was found abroad only in 1877. Collectors long refused to believe in the authenticity of the find. Even the foremost experts in Russian philately for a long time did not recognize the “red embossed-stamp envelope” and considered it a forgery. It took considerable time and effort by Russian philatelists not only to prove the authenticity of the unusual discovery, but also to establish the reasons for its rarity. It turned out that the authorities rather quickly withdrew the envelope from circulation. At the end of 1846, the entire stock held at the Moscow Post Office was destroyed. In its place, St. Petersburg embossed-stamp envelopes were introduced, which remained in circulation until 1851, when Moscow envelopes of the second printing began to be used. The second issue of envelopes for the Moscow city post was produced in 1851–1856.
Embossed-stamp envelopes greatly облегчали the work of the city post. Cash settlements with shopkeepers disappeared. Keeping postal registers became simpler, accounting was reduced to a minimum, and efficiency increased.
The public and business circles properly appreciated the new way of sending correspondence. The popularity of “embossed-stamp envelopes” was so great that in 1848 envelopes for non-local correspondence were issued. The Postal Department introduced them in accordance with the postal tariffs of 1843. One envelope with a black stamp was for letters weighing 1 lot (10 kopecks silver plus 1 kopeck for the envelope). The second, with a blue stamp, was for letters of 2 lots (20 kopecks silver for delivery plus 1 kopeck for the envelope). And the third, with a red stamp, was for letters weighing 3 lots (30 kopecks for delivery plus 1 kopeck for the envelope).
The rapid spread of envelopes led to improvements in ways of dispatching correspondence. Now there was no need to go to the post office with each letter or to turn to a shopkeeper. In 1848, first in St. Petersburg and then in Moscow, mailboxes appeared. Unlike city-post boxes, they were installed directly on the streets.
The issuance of embossed-stamp envelopes for the nationwide post began in December 1848. On envelopes of the first period of issue (1848–1863), a round stamp 28 mm in diameter was placed on the top flap. The envelopes were produced at the printing house of the Postal Department. Paper of various grades was used to make the envelopes, both white and in various shades (grayish, yellowish, grayish, etc.). In this case, the paper pulp could contain fairly large particles of varying thickness, shape, and size.