ZANZIBAR STAMPS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19501, 9 June 1925, Page 11

ZANZIBAR STAMPS.

MANY CURIOUS 1 RARITIES. A postage stamp famine has not been experienced in Britain, although we came perilously near it in the early days of the present reign (declares Fred J. Melville in the Daily Telegraph). At that time the huge reserve stocks—usually a six months’ supply—nearly gave out while new contractors wore coping with the requirements of the authorities tor the first King George stamps. Stamp famines abroad have been frequent, and have led to the issue of some extraordinary makesi.ifts in the way of provisional stamps to lido over temporary shortages. The subject ia brought into prominence by the receipt of a little brochure by that eminent student Baron Axel.de Rculerakiold on the stamps ol the French Post Office at Zanzibar, and presenting in particular a detailed study or the comolicatcd surcharges of 1897. The Fiench Past Office was opened in Zanzibar in 1889, and remained until closed under the terms of the Anglo-French agreement of 31st July, 1901. It used the ordinary French stamps without surcharge up to 1891, but owing to the difference is currency they were surcharged from 1891 onwards in “annas.” These were no sooner issued than local speculators and agents absorbed the entire editions of the low values, and provisional I, 1, 24, 5, and If anna stamps were created locally to supply the shortage. In 1896'the name “Zanzibar” was added to the overprints and it was this series which was current at the time of the stamp famine in 1597. 'On 18th July of that year only about, 200 (nines worth of stamps were on hand in the post office, and these were of the values J, 1, 1-1, 3, and 4 annas, while stamps of 2J apd 5 annas wore urgently needed to prepay the single and double letter rate to Europe. There were three outgoing mails before the steamer expected on 28th July could arrive with fresh supplies In these circumstances the local postmaster produced one of the most curious emergency issues we know. The French stamps are produced in sheets with a considerable amount of margin. The. issue sheets of 150 are divided into small panes of 25, and there are spaces between the panes of a stamp’s width or depth, and there is a similar margin all found the sheet. These margins for the most part are obliterated with coloured bars to prevent the paper being used for counterfeits of the ordinary French stamps. To convert the supply of stamps ot the values on hand into stamps of the required denominations nearly the whole lot was surcharged, and with them the margins were utilised for temporary stamps. Hence we get those curious rarities inscribed “Poste France, Zanzibar,” with value in annas and centimes on the parti-coloured pieces of stamp-edging. Their extreme rarity may ho demonstrated in the following approximate figures of the numbers printed:

They arc not priced in the Gibbons catalogue, and probably very few examples exist in Britain. The -French catalogue (Yvcrt-Tollicr-Champion) quotes the marginal stamps at from 600 franca to 1500 francs each. Baron de Rcuterskiold’a minute study of the variations of the local settings ia an important contribution to the records of the experts, for type-sot stamps of this exotic kind are alluring to Hie Continental counterfeiters.

Marginal, Stamps. Stamps. Total, 2?, on i anna .. 800 200 1000 21 on 1 anna .. 150 60 210 2J on li anna .. 201 70 270 5 on 3 annas 300 80 .380 5 on 4 annas 150 60 210 2070