Postage stamps and postal history of Mauritius
Pre-adhesive stamps
Mauritius’s first overseas mail service functioned when the island was under French rule. Mail was delivered internally and by ship to and from France and India. No stamps were ever issued by the French in Mauritius and no commercial postal activity took place in Mauritius. Great Britain took over the island by force of arms on December 3, 1810, and continued with the British version of the same overseas mail service. The internal service dwindled and terminated but was revived in 1834. A few pre-stamp markings, applied by rubber stamp, existed during the French administration, and more are known from the subsequent British period. [4]
The Victorian period
In 1847, Mauritius followed Great Britain in issuing stamps carrying the image of the current regent of Great Britain,
The "Post Office" stamps
On September 21, 1847, Mauritius issued two stamps, an orange-red one penny (1d) and a deep blue two pence (2d).[5] The words "Post Office" appear in the left panel, but were changed to "Post Paid" in the following issue, and are the source of the stamps' common name. The "Post Office" stamps are among the rarest stamps in the world, and are of legendary status in the world of philately.
Five hundred of each were printed from a single plate bearing both values, many of which were used on invitations sent out by the Mauritian Governor's wife for a ball which she was holding that weekend.[6]
The stamps were engraved by
The words "Post Office" in the left panel were replaced in the following issue by "Post Paid." A legend arose later that the words "Post Office" had been an error.
The "Post Paid" stamps and subsequent "primitives"
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"Post Paid" 1848.
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Lapirot issue 1859.
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Sherwin issue 1859.
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Dardenne litho 1859.
Following the “Post Office” stamps, Mauritius released several stamps also bearing Queen Victoria's profile, locally designed, and primitive in appearance.
In 1848, Mauritius issued the first denomination (two pence) of the "Post Paid" issue, one and two pence stamps closely similar to the "Post Office" issue also engraved by Barnard. The one penny orange was issued in 1854.[11]
In 1859, Mauritius released a third design, a two pence stamp very crudely engraved by Jules Lapirot, and known as the "Lapirot" issue.[12] The stamp was described as "the greatest libel upon Her late Majesty Queen Victoria that has been ever been perpetrated" and it was nicknamed in France as the tête de singe (monkey head) issue.[13]
In 1859, the original "Post Paid" one penny and two pence printing plates were re-engraved by Robert Sherwin, but only the two pence stamps were issued.[14] The final local product was a one penny red and two pence blue lithographed by L. A. Dardenne in 1859.[15]
The “Post Paid” through the Sherwin issues were printed in sheets of 12 and stamp collectors have “plated” or reconstructed full sheets from individual or pairs of stamps, relying on small variations in the individual plates.[16] The sheet size of the Dardenne issue is unknown.[17]
To the end of the Victorian period
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Britannia 1859.
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Victoria 1891.
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2 cents over 38 cents on 9d in 1891.
From 1859 to 1862, Mauritius issued several stamps in the key type "Britannia" design engraved by Perkins, Bacon & Co. and printed in London,[18] and previously used in Trinidad (1851) and Barbados (1852).[19] These stamps were issued during the period when Mauritius was also issuing locally produced stamps. From 1859 to 1902, Mauritius issued stamps typical of those of colonies of the British Empire, including a number of stamps depicting Queen Victoria in profile and stamps with Mauritius' coat of arms.
The Twentieth Century
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1932 stamp of George V.
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1938 George VI stamp.
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1950 stamp showing Rempart Mountain and George VI.
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The same stamp, reissued 1954, for Queen Elizabeth II.
The twentieth century issues of Mauritius, like those in other British colonies, generally depicted the current monarch,
Independence (March 12, 1968)
Mauritius achieved independence on March 12, 1968. Its stamps thereafter depicted colorful images relevant to the island, such as wildlife and plants, local scenes and important persons. The early stamps of Mauritius have been reproduced several times on commemorative issues.[20]
Postal stationery
The first items of
See also
External links
References and sources
- References
- ^ Huron, Alain (2005). "Les "Post Office" de l'île Maurice: Entre légende et réalité [The "Post Office" of Mauritius: Inside the legend and the reality]". In Magne, Jean-Pierre (ed.). Opus V (in French). Paris: Académie Européenne de Philatélie. pp. 12–19.
- ^ Roger Calves, quoted in David Feldman SA, Mauritius: Classic Postage Stamps and Postal History Switzerland (1993) p. 92.
- ^ Peter Ibbotson, Gibbons Stamp Monthly, June 1994, p. 30
- ^ Kanai, Classic Mauritius: The Locally Printed Postage Stamps, 1847-59, London (1981), pp. 4-10.
- ^ Scott Cat. nos. 1-2; Stanley Gibbons Cat. 3-25 (various states of wear).
- ^ Kanai, Classic Mauritius, pp. 15-18.
- ^ Kanai, Classic Mauritius, pp. 20-21.
- ^ Scott Cat. nos. 3-4.
- ^ Kanai, Classic Mauritius, p. 20.
- ^ Kanai, Classic Mauritius, p. 19.
- ^ Scott Cat. nos. 3-6; Stanley Gibbons Cat. 3-25 (various states of wear); Kanai, Classic Mauritius, pp. 31-80.
- ^ Kanai, Classic Mauritius, pp. 81-103; Scott Cat. No. 14; Stanley Gibbons Cat. 26-29 (various states of wear).
- ^ Melville, Fred J, Postage Stamps in the Making, p69, Stanley Gibbons, 1916.
- ^ Kanai, Classic Mauritius, pp. 104-114; Feldman, Mauritius: Classic Postage Stamps and Postal History (illustrated auction catalog), Switzerland (1993) p. 116; Scott Cat. no.14; Stanley Gibbons Cat. 30.
- ^ Kanai, Classic Mauritius, pp. 116-129; Scott Cat. nos. 16-17; Stanley Gibbons Cat. 31-34 (various shades).
- ^ Kanai, Classic Mauritius.
- ^ Kanai, Classic Mauritius, p. 116.
- ^ Kanai, Classic Mauritius, p. 32; Scott Cat. Nos. 9-12, 18-23.
- ^ Scott Cat. "Trinidad" and "Barbados."
- ^ a b Scott Cat.
- ^ a b Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog
- ^ Sehler, Norbert, Neuer Ganzsachen-Katalog Afrika 2007
- Sources
- ISBN 0852592515—an illustrated work on the author's famous Mauritius collection, including photos of reconstructed plates, postmarks and postal history.
- David Feldman SA, Mauritius: Classic Postage Stamps and Postal History, Switzerland (1993), illustrated auction catalog including the Kanai collection (see above), with Supplement providing detailed information on plating positions of the "Post Paid" and the "Lapirot" issues in their different states.