Anglo/French occupation stamps of 1915
Bud's Big BlueBud's Observations
The Bosnia
comment, posted a few weeks ago, mentions the consequences of the two bullets
that killed Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, which led to World War One and a
philatelic avalanche.
Cameroon stamps provide an excellent case in point. BB’s
selection runs from the Kaiser’s yacht through French occupation overprints on
Middle Congo stamps to Cameroon proper stamps, but skips British overprints on
German Kamerun stamps (see supplement) and the Anglo/French occupation stamps
of 1915 (see above). The overprints of 1922 and inscribed stamps of 1925 are direct
results of a League of Nations mandate.
Sorting out
Cameroon’s philatelic labyrinth, as well as similar convolutions found in other
former German colonies, requires serious expertise.
Fortunately, a professor at
the University of Leiden, Ton Dietz, is undertaking part of this task. To view
his work, search the internet for: Dietz "A postal history of the First World War in Africa and its aftermath". He offers, in PDF format, several very helpful working papers on
individual countries.
Equally helpful is Gerben van Gelder’s concise overview
of political entities operating in Cameroon: http://www.stampworldhistory.com/country-profiles-2/africa/cameroon/.
It occurs to
me that, on colonial stamps, the Kaiser's Yacht, Hohenzollern, is the German
equivalent of British sailing ships and the French Navigation allegory. No boats, no colonization.
(I guess that’s obvious. Don’t need stamps to remind us.)
Cameroon
cancels are particularly desirable; see Dietz’s work for excellent examples. I
have only a few (supplement page 1, ‘Viktoria Kamerungebiet’ cancels). Viktoria
is now the city of Limbe.
Following
1925, the Cameroon inscribed stamps typify French artistry -- cattle fording
the Sananga, rubber harvest, Mbam water falls, rope suspension bridge. And, as
might be expected of the French, an “African beauty.”
Census: 117 in
BB spaces, eight tipped in, 25 on supplement pages.
Jim's Observations
Interesting philatelic history with German, British, and French (mainly) stamps issued. Very attractive French Mandate stamps. Of the 117 stamp spaces in Big Blue, 70 are quite inexpensive(<$1). If you like the country, there are an additional 45 stamps for a reasonable cost that could be picked up.
Cameroun Blog Post and Checklist
Page 1 (Click and enlarge for examination.)
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Page 2
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Page 3
3a
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Page 4
4a
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Page 5
5a
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Supplement
Page 1
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