Ste. Marie de Madagascar - Bud's Big Blue

Ste. Marie de Madagascar - 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

Sainte Marie de Madagascar (Sainte Marie Island, St. Mary's Island, Nosy Boraha (Malagasy)) is in the Indian Ocean just 5 miles (8 km) off the northeast coast of Madagascar.

It became a separate French colony in 1853-1876, and then again in1894. But a stamp issue  for the colony only began in 1894. ( It was reported that there were less than 50 literate people on the island in 1890.)

In 1896, Ste. Marie de Madagascar was attached to the colony of Madagascar, and the island's own stamp issue ceased.

Big Blue '69, on one line of one page (shared with St. Lucia), has six spaces for the stamps of Ste. Marie de Madagascar. Coverage is 46%.

The stamps for the colony are entirely from the 1894 "Navigation and Commerce" issue, the common design of the era for French colonies.

For more, consult the blog post below.

Ste. Marie de Madagascar Blog Post and BB Checklist

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St. Lucia - Bud's Big Blue

Big Blue's St. Lucia 1883-1910

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

Named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse by the French who settled there first in 1660, the 240 square mile island is one of the Windward Islands, and is northeast of Saint Vincent.

In 1814, the British assumed control for good from the French (after much back and forth). In 1836, slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire, but left a legacy of African descent majority on the island. The original Carib Amerindian natives now comprise less than 1% of the population.

Big Blue '69, on two pages (minus one line for Ste. Marie de Madagascar), has 56 spaces. Coverage is 45%. 

Observations

* BB avoids the more expensive issues by beginning coverage in 1883.

* There are only two stamps with CV $10+ needed to fill the spaces.

* As is usual for BB, the Edward VII and George VI keyplate issues are offered just one space, if there are two watermark choices.

* The "1938" issue was re-issued in different perfs ( and occasionally different color shades- see SG) between 1943-48. The minor numbers listed in Scott for the 1938-48 issue are the stamps issued in 1938. (Your choice if you want to be obsessive about this.)

Check out much more with the blog post below...

St. Lucia Blog Post and BB Checklist

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St. Kitts-Nevis - Bud's Big Blue

Big Blue's St. Kitts-Nevis 

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!)

Note: St. Christopher - Bud's Big Blue entry is here.

Jim's Observations

St. Kitts (St. Christopher) was settled by the English sea captain, Sir Thomas Warner in 1623 and 1624 ( two voyages), and he established the colony of Saint Christopher with seventeen people. (His initial colony on the Guiana coast was a failure.) The colony established a port settlement ( now called  Old Road Town).

St. Kitts was known initially as San Cristobal by the 17th century, as it is thought that is the name that Columbus gave the island in 1493. (There is now debate about that.) San Cristobal is the patron saint of Christopher Columbus, and also the patron saint of traveling. When the island was settled by English colonists in 1623, naturally the island was called Saint Christopher (and Saint Christophe for the French colony established in 1625).

When St. Kits-Nevis were brought together as an administrative (Presidency) - and philatelic entity- in 1903, as they were only two miles apart, that had to be a logical and happy union, right? 

Wrong. ;-)

They each had their own history with their own specific identities, and they had to be, more or less, forcibly united.

To learn more, check out the blog post link below.

Big Blue '69, on two pages, has 43 spaces for the stamps of St. Kitts-Nevis. Coverage is 52%.

St. Kitts-Nevis Blog Post and BB Checklist

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St Helena - Bud's Big Blue

Map of Saint Helena (https://operationworld.org/locations/saint-helena/)

Bud's Big Blue

Bud's Observations

The small dot at the tip of the arrow represents Saint Helena island – volcanic but unlikely to erupt, remote but not out of the way for early South Atlantic seafarers, small in population (4439 in 2021) but with a huge output of stamps.

Map by Benjamin Wright, 1598 (https://sainthelenaisland.info/maps.htm)

Initially uninhabited, Saint Helena was discovered by the Portuguese in 1502. For four centuries thereafter it provided respite for travelers rounding the Cape of Good Hope – thanks, in part, to the goats introduced by early mariners to provide fresh meat. The roaming goats thrived but they wiped out the endemic flora. The English settled the island in 1659, and they continued operating a port of call there despite some brief Dutch interventions. In the 19^th century the island’s remoteness made it an ideal site to deposit exiles – the British dispatched Napolean Bonapart there (1815) as well as the Zulu King Dinuzulu (1890), and many male Boer prisoners during the Anglo-Boer War. Saint Helena became the world’s first overseas prisoner of war camp (1900-02). After the Suez Canal opened (1869) Saint Helena ceased to be a busy port of call.

King Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo (1868-1914)

While Saint Helena’s stamps became increasingly popular with collectors after the pictorial issues of 1902 hit the philatelic market, such was not the case with earlier issues. Residents needed only a few stamps and overseas sales languished. Charged with disposing of obsolete Saint Helena stamps, Postmaster Thomas B. Bruce sold those portraying Queen Vitoria (£8,000-worth) to stamp dealers in mint condition or as CTOs (1904). He received 2.5 percent of the proceeds. For the CTOs he chose a curious mesh obliteration, struck with water-soluble purple ink.

Scott #s 43, 45-46

 While many collectors prefer regular post office cancellations, St. Helena’s early CTOs are not without charm. And they are likely, because of the mesh, to be authentic rather than forgeries, which abound.

Scott #41, Maltese Cross authentic cancel

The current enthusiasm about St. Helena stamps among collectors can be traced in large part to Thomas Bruce – postmaster (1898 - 1928), brass band leader, church organ rebuilder, youthful trans-Atlantic stowaway, painter, stevedore, graverobber, stamp designer, etc. etc. 

Scott #s 79-81, Badge of the Colony, design attributed to Thomas R. Bruce.

#81 is the torn flag variety.

#81 is the torn flag variety

 A rollicking biographical sketch of “Tom’s” life written by Ian Bruce, a descendant, can be found at: https://sainthelenaisland.info/ianbrucefamilyhistory.pdf.

Scott #s 101-104.  Philatelic masterpieces attributed to Thomas R. Bruce.

By all measures, Saint Helena’s most famous resident was Napoleon. He died there May 5, 1821, after six years of post-Waterloo exile. There, the British surmised, he could not stir up further trouble. Island life was bleak and tormented for him. He attempted, in a way, to learn English. In quaint “Frenglish” he wrote:

Since sixt week j learn the Englich and j do not any progress. Six week do fourty and two day. If might have learn fivity word four day I could know it two thusands and two hundred.  It is in the dictionary more of fourty thousand; even he could must twinty bout much of tems for know it our hundred and twenty week, which do more two yars. After this you shall agrée that to study one tongue is a great labour who it must do into the young aged.

Following Thomas Bruce’s lead into the 21^st century, Saint Helena’s artistic stamps continue to attract collectors and prop up the island’s small economy; as is also the case with Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha, two sister islands in the South Atlantic. Only recently, though, has Napoleon’s image been featured in Saint Helena’s philatelic output. Rather than his brilliance as a military strategist and contributions to French history and culture, the Saint Helena portrayals feature his exile, bleak life on the island, and death at Longwood House.

2021, Bicentenary of Napoleon’s death

Census: 44 inn BB spaces, 30 on supplement pages.

Scott #82. Another popular variety, broken mainmast

Scott #82. Another popular variety, broken mainmast

Jim's Observations

The 2020 Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 catalogue has, for St. Helena 1856-1949, 143 major number descriptions. Of those, 31 are CV <$1-$1+, or 22%. St. Helena, being a popular island British colony, is expensive for the earlier issues, and moderately expensive for the later issues.

St Helena Blog and BB Checklist

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1899-1912 Tasmanian Pictorials Part B

1899 Tasmania 2 1/2p dark blue 

"Tasman's Arch"

Engraved, Perf 14, Wmk 78 "Multiple TAS"

Into the Deep Blue

This post will mainly look at the varieties of the1899-1912 Tasmanian Pictorials Two Pence violet.....

1899 Tasmania Scott 88 (SG231) 2p violet "View of Hobart"

Engraved, Perf 14, Wmk 78 "Multiple TAS"

In 1899, De La Rue of London produced the engraved Two Pence, showing a view of Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. The population of Hobart in 1900 was approximately 50,000.

CV is $25 (unused).

As mentioned in the previous post, the plates were then shipped to Melbourne, where later issues (either lithographic or electrotype) were printed.

1902 Tasmania Scott 97 (SG239) 2p violet

Lithographic, Perf 12 1/2, Wmk 70 "V over Crown"

The lithographic printing (from transfers of the De La Rue plates) of the Two Pence was released in January, 1902. Perf was commonly 12 1/2 or 11 (there are rarer perf combinations). The lithographic 2p stamp was on Wmk "V over Crown" paper. The watermark is sideways.

How can one tell a stamp is a lithographic printing besides checking the perf (remember the engraved stamps were Perf 14), and the watermark?

Close-Up: 1902 Tasmania Scott 97 (SG239) 2p violet

Lithographic, Perf 12 1/2, Wmk 70 "V over Crown"

See the building with three rows of windows next to the water on the extreme left of the pictorial Hobart scene? The three rows indicate this is a lithographic print, as the electrotype version has only two rows of windows, as we will see in a bit. 

And the engraved version, although also having three rows, is a different Perf (14) and a different Wmk (78). 

CV is $14 (unused).

There was another lithographic Two pence stamp produced in 1905, but on "Crown over A" watermarked paper. CV is ~$16 unused. I don't have a copy, but it can be Perf 12 1/2 or 11 commonly (rarer Perf combinations exist), It is listed as SG 245 in Stanley Gibbons, but Scott does not have a separate catalog number for it. !!!

1907 Tasmania Scott 104 (SG251b) 2p violet

Perf 11, Electrotype, Wmk 13 "Crown over A"

Beginning in 1905 and later, the watermarked paper for the Pictorial issues was switched to "Crown over A" paper. There were still lithographic printings being produced  (See paragraph above), but also electrotype (typographic) printings were initiated.

The above electrotype Two Pence was issued in 1907. CV is $18 (unused).

Common Perfs are 12 1/2 and 11, with combinations Perfs also known.

How can one tell a Two Pence Electrotype printing?

Close-Up: 1907 Tasmania Scott 104 (SG251b) 2p violet

Perf 11, Electrotype, Wmk 13 "Crown over A"

Note only two rows of windows (not three) next to the water on the extreme left of the pictorial Hobart scene? This is characteristic for the electrotype printings.

1912 Tasmania Scott 117 (SG260) 1p on 2p bright violet

Surcharged in Red

On Redrawn 1911 Scott 114 (SG259)2p bright violet

Perf 12 1/2, Stereotyped (Typographic), Wmk 13 "Crown over A"

In 1911, a new stereotyped (electrotype) plate was made that created a larger stamp: 33+mm across compared to 32 mm. There care also slight changes in the clouds and other parts of the design. Most of these 1911 stamps (CV $15 unused) were red overprinted "One Penny" in 1912 - and that is the stamp I have here. CV is $2+.

Scott 117 Close-Up

Note the building only has two rows of windows for this Stereotype (Electrotype) stamp. 

1899 Tasmania 2 1/2p dark blue 

"Tasman's Arch"

Engraved, Perf 14, Wmk 78 "Multiple TAS"

Only the engraved De La Rue of London printing was produced, and therefore quite easy to identify. ;-)

Tasman's Arch is a tall natural stone bridge along the sea cliffs of southeast Tasmania.

CV is $25 (unused)

Out of the Blue

The Two Pence violet offers lovely complications. !! :-)

To be continued....

Comments appreciated!