Straits Settlements - Bud's Big Blue

1882-92 Straits Settlements in Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Observations

(From Jim: Bud is well, but has a lot of non philatelic obligations and responsibilities at the moment. With his permission, I will upload  country pages in his complete '69 Big Blue that so far has not been shown. He might add his observations later. Enjoy!)

Jim's Observations

Straits Settlements (on or near the Malacca Strait, hence the name) was a group of British territories established in 1826 by the British East India Company.

Stamps of India were used in the Straits Settlements from 1854-1867 with octagonal postmark B/172 (Singapore), B/147 (Penang), and B109 (Malacca).

Initially, Penang was the administrative center, but quickly (1832) Singapore, with its advantageous location, became the leading settlement.

In 1867, Straits Settlements became a crown colony, and De la Rue produced new Victoria stamp designs. 

Labuan joined the Straits Settlements in 1907

The 2014 Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 catalogue has, for Straits Settlements 1867-1948, 310 major number descriptions. Of those, 93 are CV <$1-$1+, or 30%. As a former British Colony composed of Singapore and parts of Malaysia, there is demand and interest, and consequently cost for these stamps.

Big Blue '69 has just two pages and 92 spaces for the stamps of Straits Settlements  (Malacca, Penang, and Singapore). The '69 editors separated out "Malaya" and gave them their own section.

The 40s BB editions, as noted, had the Federated Malay States, Johore, Kedah, Kelantan,  Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor, Sungei Ujong, and Trengganu still included under the "Straits Settlements" section.

Subtracting the 46 stamps for the 1942-48 period (which BB doesn't cover) leaves 264 major numbers in the catalogue. Overall, then, coverage in BB is 35%.

To BB's credit (and the fact I altered the 1882-91 issue stamps to 1867-91 dates, there are no expensive stamps ($10 threshold).

There is the usual wmk 2 vs wmk 3; wmk 3 vs wmk 4 choices for stamp spaces to be made.

The '69 editors dropped the postage due category (eight spaces), which was in the 40s edition.

For more on the stamps themselves, as well as the checklist, click on the link below.

Straits Settlements Blog Post & BB Checklist

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Supplements

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