The first post office was established in Thorshavn in 1870.  Subsidiary post offices were opened in Trangisvaag and Klaksvig in 1887 and 1888 respectively.  Local, or minor subsidiary post offices were established from 1903.  In 1880 the Thorshavn post office processed 2111 letters, by the turn of the century, the Faroes post offices were handling 35,000 pieces of mail per year. 

During the period covered by these web pages, as a part of Denmark, the Faroes used Danish stamps and relied on the mainland for their supply as well as for other related materials, such as cancellation devices.  At certain periods, the supplies from Denmark were disrupted and temporary emergency  measures adopted to maintain postal services.  Major factors in the development of the Faroes postal service were, first, the remoteness of the Islands; second, the topography; third, the population growth; and finally, dependence upon Denmark. 

These web pages present selected items of the Faroes postal history illustrating its reliance upon the mainland through: (a) use of Danish stamps and other materials, and (b) provisional issues when the former were not available.  The development of the intra-Faroes postal service is illustrated by reference to the cancellation devices, many examples of which can only be found on loose stamps or on piece, used in the various post offices.