Madagascar BCM First Issues

Madagascar

British Consular Mail

1st March 1884


Design 1, Letter	Design 1, Postal Packet	Design 2, seal 1	Design 2, seal 2
1884 Sc5 SG1	1884 Sc4 SG8a	1886 Sc26 SG14	1886 Sc46 SG22

There are two basic designs of stamp with variations of colour, detail and handstamped seal.

On Design 1, the basic distinction is the inscription "LETTER" or "POSTAL PACKET"

On Design 2, both Gibbons [1] and Scott [2] identify three Types based on the printing of the word "POSTAGE" and the amount:

	POSTAGE	Amount
Type I	29.5mm long and followed by a full stop (period)	Full stop
Type II	29.5mm long without a full stop	No full stop
Type III	24.5mm long without a full stop	Full stop

There are two versions of the handstamp seals,
1. "BRITISH VICE-CONSULATE ANTANANARIVO", and
2. "BRITISH CONSULAR MAIL ANTANANARIVO".
The Design 1 stamps use the first seal, while Design 2 stamps can have either. The handstamps can be in black, violet or red or can be missing, although Scott notes, "some students … doubt that the 1886 seal omitted varieties were regularly issued".

The Feldman article referenced below [3], notes that there are, "two distinct types of rouletting found on the second issue" and that this is not mentioned in the catalogues, it continues, "[a]fter all, if the stamps of Finland or Thurn & Taxis or Wurttemberg are distinguished by type and/or frequency of the roulettes, why shouldn't the stamps of Madagascar be treated likewise?"

The Gibbons ordering of these issues is necessarily complex but more sensible than Scott's and so the listing below is based on Gibbons. Perhaps surprisingly, the two catalogues match very closely on the details of the stamps, but (less surprisingly) vary greatly on the sequencing.

Description		Scott	SG
1884 Design 1, "LETTER"
6 pence (½ ounce) magenta		5	1
6d (½ oz) violet handstamp		13	1a
1 shilling (1 oz) magenta		6	2
1/6 (1½oz)		7	3
2/- (2 oz) magenta		8	4
1884 Design 1, "POSTAL PACKET"
1d (1 oz) magenta		1	5
1d (1 oz) without handstamp		1b	5a
2d (2 oz) magenta		2	6
3d (3 oz) magenta		3	7
4d (1oz amended in ms to "4oz") magenta		4a	8
4d without manuscript amendment		4	8a
4d violet handstamp		12	8ab
4d without handstamp		4b	8ac
1886 oddments
1d on 1/- manuscript on SG2		9	9
4½d on 1/- manuscript on SG2		10	10
6 pence (½ ounce) rose red, SG1 colour change		11	11
4d (1oz) magenta as SG8, black handstamp		14	12
4d (1oz) magenta as SG8, violet handstamp		15	12a
there is no SG13
1886 Design 2, Type I, Seal 1 in b(lack) or v(iolet)
1d rose	b	26	14
1½d rose	b	27	15
2d rose	b	28	16
3d rose	b	29	17
4½d rose	b	30	18
8d rose	b	31	19
9d rose	b	32	20
1d rose	v	16	14a
1½d rose	v	17	15a
2d rose	v	18	16a
3d rose	v	19	17a
4½d rose	v	21	18a
8d rose	v	23	19a
9d rose	v	24	20a
1886 Design 2, Type I, Seal 2 in black, red or violet
1d rose	b	45	21
1½d rose	b	46	22
2d rose	b	47	23
3d rose	b	48	24
4½d rose	b	50	25
8d rose	b	52	26
9d rose	b	53	27
3d rose	r	57	24a
4½d rose	r	58	25a
8d rose	v	40a	26a
9d rose, without handstamp	-	53a	27a
9d rose	v	41	27b
1886 Design 2, Type II, Seal 1 in violet
1d rose	v	16a	28
1½d rose	v	17a	29
3d rose	v	19a	30
4½d rose	v	21a	31
6d rose	v	22	32
1886 Design 2, Type II, Seal 2 in black or violet (or none)
1d rose	b	45a	33
1½d rose	b	46a	34
2d rose	b	47a	35
3d rose	b	48a	36
4½d rose	b	50a	37
6d rose	b	51	38
1d rose, without handstamp	-	45b	33a
1½d rose, without handstamp	-	46b	34a
3d rose, without handstamp	-	48b	36a
4½d rose, without handstamp	-	50b	37a
6d rose, without handstamp	-	51a	38a
1d rose	v	33	33b
1½d rose	v	34	34b
2d rose	v	35	35b
3d rose	v	36	36b
4½d rose	v	38	37b
6d rose	v	39	38b
1886 Design 2, Type III, Seal 1 in violet or black
4d rose	v	20	39
8d rose	v	23a	40
1/- rose	v	24A	40a
1/6 rose	v	24B	41
2/- rose	v	25	42
2/- rose	b	32A	42
1886 Design 2, Type III, Seal 2 in black or violet (or none)
4d rose	b	49	43
8d rose	b	52a	44
1/- rose	b	54	45
1/6 rose	b	55	46
2/- rose	b	56	47
4d rose, without handstamp	-	49a	43a
8d rose, without handstamp	-	52b	44a
1/- rose, without handstamp	-	54a	45a
1/6 rose, without handstamp	-	55a	46a
2/- rose, without handstamp	-	56a	47a
4d rose	v	37	43b
8d rose	v	40	44b
1/- rose	v	42	45b
1/6 rose	v	43	46b
2/- rose	v	44	47b

Paraphrasing Scott, the British Consulate in Madagascar issued stamps for a short period until claims to this territory in favor of France in return for French recognition of British claims in Zanzibar.

The stamps were only gummed in one corner and so while all the issue list for hundreds or thousands of pounds, an example with a torn corner can sometimes be found relatively cheaply. Feldman notes that the stamps "were affixed to the envelopes only until they reached Tamatave, where the British consular agent removed them prior to turning the mail over to the French for onward transmission".

Finally, it should be noted that these stamps are amongst the largest of the #1s.

The Feldman site has a long article on the subject with many illustrations, arising from a 2010 auction.