St. Pierre & Miquelon - Bud's Big Blue

1891-92 St. Pierre & Miquelon 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

St. Pierre and Miquelon, two small islands (93 square miles) in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean sixteen miles (25 km) from the southern coast of Newfoundland, Canada, were declared a French possession in 1536 By Jacques Cartier for the King of France.

It is the last of the colonial empire New France remaining under French authority, and today is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France.

Big Blue '69, on six pages, has 162 spaces for the stamps of St. Pierre and Miquelon. Coverage is 62%.

Observations...
There are 19 stamps over CV $10+,  but only one (1932 Scott J31 3fr dark brown & black ($45) ) is in the "Most Expensive Stamp ( >$35) category. Thirteen of the CV $10+ stamps are for the early French colony overprinted and surcharged stamps.

For more, click on the link below...

St. Pierre & Miquelon Blog Post & BB Checklist

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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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