When Egypt became a Republic in 1952, understandably its government wanted to regain control of the Suez Canal and secure the associated financial benefits. In 1956, Egyptian President Nasser revoked concessions granted to the predominantly French and British controlled Suez Canal Company – an act that led to conflict and the subsequent nationalisation of the Canal that was the subject of an earlier blog. The Suez Canal Company’s headquarters from which the canal was managed prior to 1956 was a building at Port Said alongside the canal itself. That building with its iconic features is shown in ..read more

The featured postage stamp is one of a set of four issued in 1951 to commemorate the restoration of the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands – an event that had taken place as a result of the re-introduction of democracy in 1950. The British Virgin Islands are a British Overseas Territory (self-governing with the UK retaining responsibility for defence and foreign relations) in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. Together with the US Virgin Islands, they form part of the Virgin Islands archipelago located in the Leeward Islands. The islands were named by Christopher Columbus ..read more

Who was the inventor of the adhesive postage stamp? For many, the name that first jumps to mind is Rowland Hill who is widely credited with being the originator of the reformed postal service that led to the first adhesive stamp being introduced to Great Britain in 1840 – the Penny Black. Some might even mention the Scottish inventor, James Chalmers, who is outlined formal proposals for adhesive postage stamps and a cancelling method in 1838. The featured image introduces another name to the frame; that of Lovrenc Košir. In 1835, five years before the first stamps were ..read more

In an earlier blog, we introduced the French issues of the Egyptian Ports of Alexandria and Port Said. The blog explored the postal issues of the British and French Post Offices and in particular, considered the French key plate designs of ‘Blanc’, Mouchon’ and ‘Merson’. The French continued to use French currency on these stamps until 1921 when the Egyptian currency in milliemes was overprinted. The overprints for Port Said were applied over two lines comprising figures and words – some applied in Paris and others at Port Said itself. An interesting point of note for the philatelist is that i ..read more

The featured stamp was issued by the Netherlands Antilles in 1987 and clearly features portraits of three gentlemen, perhaps most recognisable being that of Simón Bolívar whose image appears on the stamps of many South American countries. The stamp is one of four in an issue commemorating the 175th anniversary of Simón Bolívar’s exile and the 50th anniversary of the Bolivarian Society. However, what may not be immediately evident in the significance of the other gentlemen or indeed, the link between Bolívar and the Netherlands Antilles. 1987 60c, Octogon, Curaçao Simón Bolívar is credited with ..read more

Protecting trade across the Mediterranean has been a common interest of imperial states for thousands of years. The Mediterranean has supported direct trade routes between Europe, Middle East and Africa as well as opening routes to Asia and the Far East. This continuing well into the 20th century and can be evidenced through the establishment of remote Post Offices by imperial powers such as Britain, France, Germany and Italy. Postal stamps issued by these countries are often identified by key type designs and overprints. Following repeated uprisings against the Ottomans in Crete (the fifth la ..read more

The featured stamp commemorates the 50th anniversary of the cession of Heligoland to Germany. The significance of this anniversary is indicated by the date of issue 1940 and the inscription ‘Deutsches Reich’ – an issue of the German national state during World War II. The stamp is an historical example of postage stamp propaganda and celebrates the strategic significance of these small and otherwise relatively insignificant islands. Heligoland is a small archipelago comprising two islands in the south-eastern corner of the North Sea lying almost 70km off the coast of Germany. The derivation of ..read more

The Panama Canal Zone, also known simply as the Canal Zone, was a Central American territory bordering the Panama Canal. The zone was leased to the United States of America in 1903 by a treaty with Panama, which had gained independence from Colombia just five days earlier. Initially, the Panamanian government took control of the area’s postal services and the first distinctive stamps were insured in June 1904. Plans for the construction of a canal joining the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, as well as dividing North America from South America, had been considered some time earlier. Survey wo ..read more

Puerto Rico is today recognised officially as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and an unincorporated territory of the United States of America. As such, it adopts the US federal stamps for postal services. However, between 1873 and 1900, Puerto Rico issued distinctive stamps unique to the island. Puerto Rico is the most easterly of the islands in the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean. The island was discovered by Columbus in 1493 but was not settled and explored until 1508 when Ponce de Leon was appointed Governor by the Spanish. He gave the island its name, meaning ‘Rich Port’ and ..read more

The featured stamp is one of a set of three to be issued by the Netherlands on 23 March 1907. These three stamps of identical design were the first dutch stamps to include the portrait of an individual other than a King (King Wilhelm III, 1849-1890) or Queen (Queen Wilhelmina, 1890-1948). The portrait on this issue is of the Dutch naval hero, Admiral Michiel Adriaenzoon De Ruyter and were released to commemorate his birth tercentenary. Michiel De Ruyter was born on 24 March 1607 in Vlissingen, in what was then known as the Spanish Netherlands, a collection of states in the low countr ..read more