Postage stamps and postal history of Sudan

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
File:Sudan Camel.jpg
The "Desert Postman" stamp as a 1927 colour trial.
File:Sudan stamp jubilee 1948 2p.jpg
A corner block of four of the 1948 stamps to celebrate the Sudan Stamp Jubilee.
File:1951 stamps of Sudan.jpg
1951 definitive stamps of Sudan.
File:Sudan 1p military telegraph stamp c. 1898.jpg
A military telegraph stamp of Sudan from c. 1898.

The first post offices to be opened in Sudan were in 1867 at Suakin and Wadi Halfa; in 1873 at Dongola, Berber and Khartoum; and in 1877 at Sennar, Karkouk, Fazoglu, Elkedaref, El Obeid, Al-Fasher and Fashoda (now Kodok).[1]

The Mahdist revolt, which began in 1881, resulted in all Egyptian post offices being closed by 1884. It culminated in the fall of Khartoum and the death of the British governor General Gordon (Gordon of Khartoum) in 1885. The Egyptians and British withdrew their forces from Sudan and the country was left with no postal service until the reconquest of Sudan began in 1896. When the campaign started in March 1896, postal service was made available to the troops but no stamps were used.[2]

First stamps used

Until the issue of Sudan stamps in 1897 the available stamps were Egyptian stamps. The amount of mail was small and only a few stamps were used. Between March and July 1885 2½d and 5d British postage stamps were used in Suakin. Indian stamps are also known to have been used in the same area, postmarked Sawakin or Souakin, between 1884 and 1899.[3]

The provisional stamps of 1897

On 1 March 1897, contemporary Egyptian postage stamps, overprinted SOUDAN in French and Arabic, were made available in the post offices. The values which appeared were 1, 2, 3 and 5 milliemes and 1, 2, 5 and 10 piastres. The overprinting was done at the Imprimerie Nationale, Boulaq, Cario, Egypt.[4]

The Camel issue

On 1 March 1898 the so-called “Camel” or “Desert Postman” stamps, printed by Thos De La Rue & Co were issued. The design of the stamps is based on an original sketch by Colonel E S Stanton C M G who produced it at the request of Sir Herbert Kitchener.[5] This design continued to be used by Sudan for its definitive stamps until 1948.

Post Office training

File:Sudan post office training stamps.jpg
Post office training stamps of Sudan. Overprinted and punched to prevent genuine use.

A number of Sudanese stamps have been overprinted SCHOOL for use at the post office training school.[6]

Postal stationery

The first items of postal stationery to be issued for the Sudan were postcards, post paid envelopes and letter sheets in 1887 and newspaper wrappers in 1898. These were produced by overprinting Egyptian postal stationery. Registration envelopes were first issued in 1908 and aerogrammes were first issued in 1951.[7][8]

Telegraph stamps

A number of stamps were produced in around 1898 for use on military telegraphs. The stamps are in two halves.[9]

See also

References and sources

References
  1. ↑ Gisburn, Harold G. D. & Thompson, G. Seymour, Stamps and Posts of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Stanley Gibbons, 1947, p. 18
  2. ↑ Sudan's First Stamps
  3. ↑ Stamps and Posts of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p.19-20
  4. ↑ Stamps and Posts of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p.37
  5. ↑ Stamps and Posts of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p.43
  6. ↑ Sudan murraypayne.com, 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013. Archived here.
  7. ↑ Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog
  8. ↑ Sehler, Norbert, Neuer Ganzsachen-Katalog Afrika 2007
  9. ↑ Stamps and Posts of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p.96-98
Sources
  • Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue, Part 1, British Commonwealth
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Postage_stamps_and_postal_history_of_Sudan&oldid=2442393"