Reunion

1891 Scott 19 4c claret/lavender 

Stamps of French Colonies Overprinted

Quick History
Reunion (more properly Réunion) is presently an overseas department of France, but has been in the French realm since 1642. The island, located 120 miles east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, was an important stopover on the East Indies trade route, but less so after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.

Location of Reunion in the Indian Ocean

The capital is St. Denis, and the population was 173,000 in 1897.

Interestingly, there were no indigenous people on the island during historical times, so the population was a melting pot of immigrant African, European, Malagasy, Indian, and Chinese groups.

Map of Reunion

In 1852, the first Reunion stamp issue was typographed, and had a 15c black/blue and a 30c black/blue denomination. They are in the $20,000+ CV range, although the reprints are considerably less.

Overprinted or surcharged stamps of the French Colonies were issued in 1885, 1891, and 1893.

The familiar "Navigation and Commerce" colony stamps were issued between 1892-1905.

Let's take a closer look....

1900 Scott 42 15c gray "Navigation and Commerce"

Into the Deep Blue
The 2011 Scott Classic Specialized 1840-1940 catalogue has, for Reunion 1852-1940, 217 major descriptive numbers. Of those, 110 are CV <$1-$1+, or 51%. The earlier values ( 1852-1901- 51 major numbers) are fairly expensive, but the later values are quite affordable.

A closer look at the stamps and issues
100 Centimes = 1 Franc

1891 Scott 20 5c green/greenish "Commerce"

Stamps of French Colonies, Overprinted

A twelve stamp issue was released in 1891, overprinting the stamps of the French Colonies. Of interest, the "Reunion" overprint can be found misspelled different ways. Scott lists 83 minor numbers for these spelling variations.

1891 2c on 20c red/green "Commerce", Overprinted

 Additional 2c Surcharge Type d (Scott 131) and Type e (Scott 132)

Also a four stamp "2c" surcharged issue was released in 1891. The "2c" surcharge is found as type c,d,e, and f. Illustrated here are two types.

1892 Scott 47 40c red/straw "Navigation and Commerce"

The familiar, for French colonies, "Navigation and Commerce" stamps were issued between 1892-1905. Nineteen stamps were released, and nine stamps are CV $1+-$3+.

1892 Scott 47 40c "Navigation and Commerce"

Postmark emphasized with segmented Image

Have you, at times, wished to enhance the postmark on a stamp, perhaps for clarification? I took the preceding Scott 47 40c, and submitted it to retroreveal.org, a website from the University of Utah that helps recover "hidden content" from manuscripts and  documents - and in this case, a stamp,- by segmenting the RGB image.

1907 Scott 65 10c carmine & green 

"Map of Reunion"

Between 1907-1930, a thirty-nine stamp bi-colored issue with three designs was produced.

Note the somewhat indistinct postmark?

1907 Scott 65

Postmark image enhanced

Clearly, the retroveal.org site gives a segmented image that makes it easier to see the postmark. Nice.

1907 Scott 91 1fr olive green & blue

"View of St. Pierre"

CV for the 1907-30 issue is <$1-$1+ for 31 stamps.

1912 Scott 105 10c on 50c brown/azure

Carmine Surcharge

Eight stamps from the 1892-1900 issue were surcharged in black or carmine, and issued in 1912. Many French colonies also have this surcharged issue. Recall that a wider spacing between the figures of the surcharge are catalogued as minor numbers, and have a higher CV.

1933 Scott 110 50c on 65c violet & light blue

Stamps and types of 1907-30 were surcharged in black or red between 1922-30. Of the nine stamps, eight are CV <$1-$2+. Of interest, the 1933 Scott 109A 50c on 45c violet & red orange has a CV of $270+!

1927 Scott 118 1.50fr on 1fr indigo & ultramarine/bluish

Between 1924-27, six stamps were surcharged with new value and bars in black or red. Four stamps are CV <$1-$3.

1933 Scott 141 50c red 

"Waterfowl Lake & Anchain Park"

Another long issue ( 41 stamps!) was released between 1933-40 with three designs.

The CV is <$1-$1+ for 31 stamps.

1933 Scott 153 1.25fr orange brown

"Leon Dierx Museum, St. Denis"

Leon Dierx (1838-1912) was a Reunion painter and poet. The Museum, housed in a 1845 bishop's palace, also has paintings from Picasso, Renoir, Gauguin, and Matisse.

1916 Scott B3 10c + 5c carmine & green

Scott 65 Surcharged in Red

Three surcharged stamps between 1915-16 were issued as semipostals for the benefit of the Red Cross.

1938 Scott C2 3.65fr slate blue & carmine

"Airplane & Landscape"

In 1938, a four engraved stamp issue with the illustrated design was produced. CV is a very modest <$1-$1+.

1892 Scott J5 30c black (bluish-white paper)

Type-set, Imperforate, Without Gum

A rather primitive type-set five stamp issue for postage due was released between 1889-92. Yellowish paper for the 5c,10c,20c, and 30c was used in 1889. Bluish white paper for the 5c,10c.15c, and 30c was used in 1892. There are ten varieties of each value, but Scott gives no further information.

1907 Scott J6 5c carmine/yellow 

An eight stamp set was released in 1907. CV is <$1-$2+.

1933 Scott J23 1fr light violet "Arms of Reunion"

Finally, a ten stamp engraved set for postage due was issued in 1933. CV is <$1-$1.

Deep Blue

1892-1905 Navigation and Commerce Issue in Deep Blue

Deep Blue (Steiner) has 17 pages for Reunion, and includes a space for all the major Scott numbers.

The 1891 "Reunion" overprinted issue has many misspellings of "Reunion" that are noted as minor numbers (83 of them!) in the Scott catalogue. The Steiner does not provide spaces for these minor numbers, so one would need (a) quadrilled pages(s) for these - though, admittedly, this is more specialist territory.

1907-30 Scott 88 75c red & carmine rose 

"Coat of Arms and View of St. Denis"

Big Blue

Big Blue '69, on five pages, has 135 spaces for Reunion, or 62% of total coverage. I can't fault BB's coverage much, and there are only four stamps with CV $10+-$20.

Of the two long run issues ( 1907-30: 39 stamps; 1933-40: 41 stamps), BB has 30 and 37 spaces respectively. Nitpick: Six stamps CV <$1-$1+ of the two long issues were left out of BB.

Checklist

1891

17,18,19,20,21,

1891-93

31,29,

1892

34,35,36,37,39,41,44,(43),

1900

38,40,42,

1901

56,57,58,59,

1907-17

60,61,62,63,

65,68,71,(74),

1912

99,100,104,

1922

64,66,

1922

73,75,84,

1917

107,

Next Page

1922

108,111,

1924

116,

1925

112,113,114,

1925-26

67,69,76,79,

81,85,86,92,

1926-27

117,115,118,119,

1928

70,77,82,87,

89,93,94,

Next Page

1930

90,95,

1933

109,110,

1933

126,127,129,130*,131,132,133*,

134,135,137,139,141,

144,146,148,150,

153,156,158,160,

1938

136,142,147,151,

Next Page

1937-38

159,167,170,168,169,

1937

171,172,

1939

174,175,

1939-40

128,138,140,143,

145,149,152,154,

155,157,161,162,

Next Page

Air Post

1938

C2,C3,C4,C5,

Postage Due

1907

J6,J7,J8,J9,J10,J11,J12,J13,

1933

J16,J17,J18,J19,J20,J21,J22,

Semi-Postal

1915

B1 or B2,

1916

B3,

1938

B4,

Comments

A) Expensive stamps ($10 threshold):

1891 Scott 29 2c on 20c red/green ($10+)

1901 Scott 58 15c on 75c violet/orange ($20)

1901 Scott 59 15c on 1fr bronze green/straw ($10+)

1938 Scott B4 1.75fr + 50c bright ultramarine ($10+)

B) *130 in BB is "red", while the Scott has "red orange"

C) *133 in BB is "dark blue", while Scott has "indigo".

D) (    ) around a number indicates a blank space choice.

1933 Scott 132 15c black

"Cascade of Salazie"

Out of the Blue

Of interest, Overseas Departments of France consist of Guadeloupe (1946), French Guiana (1946), Martinique (1946), Reunion (1946), and Mayotte (2011). Saint Pierre and Miquelon, OTOH, is an "Overseas Collectivity". I'm a little unclear about the difference. 

Note: Maps appear to be in the public domain. Thanks to retroveal.org website (University of Utah) for the two segmented images of my stamps.

Have a comment?