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first issues > countries > french madagascar, diégo-suarez, nossi bé and ste. marie de madagascar, malagasy republic

French Madagascar

including Diégo-Suarez, Nossi Bé and Ste. Marie de Madagascar

leading to the Malagasy Republic

1896

- Protectorates -
Malagasy Republic
see also Madagascar, British Consular Mail

French Colony 25, a-c

MadLots
  SG1, 3-4, 6-16 FICC#319 xxx

perf 14x13½, no wmk, typo
Printed at the Govt. Printing Works, Paris.

Description Col Date Scott SG Mi Y&T  
1 centime black / azure R   28 1      
2c brown / buff Bl   29 2      
2c brown / buff Bk   29a 2a      
4c purple-brown / grey Bl   30 3      
5c green / pale green R   31 4      
5c deep green / green R   - 5      
5c yellow green R 1901 32 17      
10c black / lilac Bl   33 6      
10c red Bl 1900 34 18      
15c blue (quadrille paper) R   35 7      
15c grey R 1900 36 19      
20c red / green Bl   37 8      
25c black / rose R   38 9      
25c blue R 1900 39 20      
30 cinnamon / drab Bl   40 10      
35 black / yellow R 1906 41 21      
40c red / yellow Bl   42 11      
50c carmine / rose Bl   43 12      
50c brown /azure R 1906 44 12      
75c violet / orange R   45 13      
1 franc olive-green / toned R   46 14      
1f olive-green / toned Bl 1899 46a 15      
5f mauve / pale lilac Bl 1899 47 16      

Colour of the inscription. R = red; Bl = blue; Bk = black.
Year issued, where other than 1896.

Madagascar was discovered by the Portuguese in 1500, but eventually developed by the French who established a protectorate over Diégo-Suarez in 1840. The first issue as a French colony in 1896 is detailed above, but before then there was a French Post Office issue in 1889 and specific issues for Diégo-Suarez (1890), Nossi Bé (1889) and Ste. Marie de Madagascar(1894).

MadOff1
DiSu1
NosBe1
SteNar1
French Post Office
Diégo-Suarez §
Nossi Bé ¤
Ste. Marie de Madagascar
1889 Sc1 SG1 FICC#259 1890 Sc4 SG4 FICC#262 1898 Sc1 SG8 FICC#260 1894 Sc1 SG1 FICC#304

DiSu6
Diégo-Suarez
1890 Sc6 SG6

§ For Diégo-Suarez, Scott [1] and Gibbons [2] agree on five overprints of French Colonies stamps in the first issue. Scott only dates them as 1890, but Gibbons dates them individually and makes Sc4, SG4 the earliest as 25th January. Sc1, SG1 shown above is dated 15th July, and the example shown has the violet handstamp inverted. Gibbons notes that the "surcharge varies in position, but is always more or less diagonal".
¤ The catalogues disagree over the sequencing of the blue-handstamped Nossi Bé issues. Sc1 is shown.

Diégo-Suarez followed the mundane French Colonies handstamps with a set of four remarkably idiosyncratic designs ilthographed locally, the first of which is shown.

Scott [3] states, "Madagascar became a French protectorate in 1885 and a French colony in 1896 following several years of dispute among France, Great Britain, and the native government. The colony administered the former protectorates of Anjouan, Grand Comoro, Mayotte, Diego-Suarez, Nossi-Be and Sainte- Marie de Madagascar. The Malagasy Republic succeeded the colony in1958 and became the Democratic Republic of Malagasy in 1975. The official name was again changed in 1993 to Republic of Madagascar."


Malagasy Republic

10th December 1958

Africa 10, 10a

Mal300
Mal29
Mal353
MalOrch
Malagasy Republic
Republika Malagasy
Democratic Republic of Malagasy
Republic of Madagascar
1958 Sc300 SG1 1961 Sc321 SG29 FICC#665 Θ 1976 Sc549 SG353 Δ 1993 Sc1167 SG?

Scott [3] states, "The Malagasy Republic succeeded the colony of Madagascar in 1958 and became the Democratic Republic of Malagasy in 1975. The official name was again changed in 1993 to Republic of Madagascar."

Scott numbers Malagasy sequentially, while Gibbons [4] starts again at #1.

MalInd
Independence
1960 Sc-B18 SG28

Θ The FICC catalogue recognises a 1961 issue when the spelling changes to Republika Malagasy. A case can also be made for the previous issue, a single semi-postal, overprinted for independence, shown right.
Δ This is the first stamp inscribed "Democratic Republic of Malagasy", however, Gibbons starts the section earlier at SG338, Sc543. Scott does not identify any particular stamp as beginning that era.
Again, Scott does not mark the beginning of the era, but this might be the first stamp with a change of name, as the lowest value in a set depicting orchids, but the denomination does not match the Scott listing. 1993 issues are not listed in Gibbons Simplified, 2004 [5] , although some are noted as "in excess of postal needs".

Sources: ScC [1] ScS [3], SGP6 [2], SGP13 [4], SGS [5].

Image from Siegel , Klasebour, colnect, David Olson, Delcampe, ebay.

FI ref: 259, 260, 262 304, 319, 665 Page credit: NB

Page created 21 Sep 2016 Page updated 16-Jun-2017