François de Tassis, Grand Postmaster
François de Tassis (1450-1517)
When at the beginning of the 16th century, François de Tassis, first postmaster of the Netherlands, was responsible for organizing the various postal connections between the Court of the Netherlands and those of Germany, France and Spain, he equipped his postilions with a special cornet. The use of this allowed postilions to signal the approach of mail coaches which at the time benefited from priority of passage and thus invite road users to clear it. The cornet was also used to request entry and exit from fortified towns.
This cone has become the emblem of the Belgian Postal Administration. It is reproduced on mailboxes and postal cars; agents wearing uniforms, particularly postmen, wear it as a badge on the lapel of their jacket and on their kepi.
Postillion plaques, generally made of copper, previously constituted the official external sign of the function. They were worn either on the chest or on the left arm. Those represented on the postage stamp date respectively from the First Empire, the Dutch era and the Belgian regime.
When at the beginning of the 16th century, François de Tassis, first postmaster of the Netherlands, was responsible for organizing the various postal connections between the Court of the Netherlands and those of Germany, France and Spain, he equipped his postilions with a special cornet. The use of this allowed postilions to signal the approach of mail coaches which at the time benefited from priority of passage and thus invite road users to clear it. The cornet was also used to request entry and exit from fortified towns.
This cone has become the emblem of the Belgian Postal Administration. It is reproduced on mailboxes and postal cars; agents wearing uniforms, particularly postmen, wear it as a badge on the lapel of their jacket and on their kepi.
Postillion plaques, generally made of copper, previously constituted the official external sign of the function. They were worn either on the chest or on the left arm. Those represented on the postage stamp date respectively from the First Empire, the Dutch era and the Belgian regime.