Postage stamps and postal history of Madagascar

An 1891 stamp of Madagascar.

A stamp of the earlier British post in Madagascar supported by the British Vice Consul.

Stamps from the 1895 British inland postal service.

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Madagascar, briefly also known as Malagasy.

Madagascar is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth-largest island in the world.

First stamps

The first stamps used in Madagascar were general issues for the French Colonies.^[1]

The 1891 issue was printed on sheetlets of 10 stamps. The hand preparation of the die meant that each of the 10 positions had its own identifying traits. The differences usually pertain to the number of dots (points) in the two rows above and below the value. A quick count of the dots in the two pair of rows will usually discern the type, as well as indicate forgeries.

British posts

British interests in Madagascar organised two different posts on the island.

A runner service between Tananarive and the French Post Office at Tamatave was organised by British residents before 1884. It was made official by the British Vice Consul in 1884. It used locally produced stamps between 1884 and 1897 after which stamps were discontinued but the service continued with handstruck marks.^[1]

During the French war of occupation the British ran an inland postal service using special stamps between January and September 1895.^[1] This was not an official service of the British Post Office.

Independence

The Malagasy Republic was proclaimed on 14 October 1958, as an autonomous state within the French Community. The first stamps of the republic were issued in December 1958.^[1]

References

1 2 3 4 Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. The Stamp Atlas. London: Macdonald, 1986, pp.328-330. ISBN 0-356-10862-7

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stamps of Madagascar.

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Postage stamps and postal history of Africa

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