Postage stamps and postal history of Sudan

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1962 stamps of Sudan Sudao cotton picking 1962.JPG
1962 stamps of Sudan

This is a survey of the postage stamps and early postal history of Sudan . Sudan was governed by the United Kingdom and Egypt from 1898. Independence was proclaimed on 1 January, 1956, and independent Sudan became a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) on 27 July 1956. [1]

Contents

Early postal services

The first post offices to be opened in Turkish-Egyptian Sudan were in 1867 at Suakin and Wadi Halfa; in 1873 at Dongola, Berber and Khartoum; and in 1877 at Sennar, Karkouk, Fazoglu, El-Gadarif, El-Obeid, Al-Fasher and Fashoda (now Kodok). [2]

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 Charles George 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. [3]

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. [4]

The 1897 series 1897sudan5milliemes.jpg
The 1897 series
The 1898 "Desert Postman" issue with different watermarks shown Sudan-camel1898watermarks.jpg
The 1898 "Desert Postman" issue with different watermarks shown

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. [5] [6]

The Camel issue

On 1 March 1898 the so-called “Camel” or “Desert Postman” stamps, printed by Thomas 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. [7] This design continued to be used in Sudan for its definitive stamps until 1948.

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

Post Office training

A number of Sudanese stamps have been overprinted SCHOOL for use at the post office training school. [8]

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. [9] [10]

Telegraph stamps

A military telegraph stamp of Sudan from c. 1898 Sudan 1p military telegraph stamp c. 1898.jpg
A military telegraph stamp of Sudan from c. 1898

A number of stamps were produced around 1898 for use on military telegraphs. The stamps are in two halves. [11]

Collecting Sudanese stamps

In 1977 the Sudan Study Group (SSG) was founded by a group of dedicated collectors to study the stamps and postal history of Sudan, [12] nowadays including as well the Republic of South Sudan which became independent from Sudan on 9 July 2011. [13] The SSG has a website with information about their activities and publications. [14]

See also

References and sources

References
  1. UPU member countries Sudan https://www.upu.int/en/Universal-Postal-Union/About-UPU/Member-Countries?csid=-1&cid=284
  2. Gisburn, Harold G. D. & Thompson, G. Seymour, Stamps and Posts of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan , Stanley Gibbons, 1947, p. 18
  3. "Sudan's First Stamps". www.stampnotes.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  4. Stamps and Posts of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p.19-20
  5. Stamps and Posts of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p.37
  6. Stamp world history. "Sudan". stampworldhistory.com. Archived from the original on 2018-03-03. Retrieved 2018-08-12.
  7. Stamps and Posts of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p.43
  8. Sudan Archived 2013-07-21 at the Wayback Machine murraypayne.com, 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013. Archived here.
  9. Higgins & Gage World Postal Stationery Catalog
  10. Sehler, Norbert, Neuer Ganzsachen-Katalog Afrika 2007
  11. Stamps and Posts of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, p.96-98
  12. History of the Sudan Study Group https://sudanstamps.uk/about-the-ssg/history/
  13. see the 2021 publication A Philatelic Study of the Republic of South Sudan on their website https://sudanstamps.uk/2021/12/22/philatelic-study-of-south-sudan/
  14. "Sudan Study Group – Sudanese Stamps in all their glory" . Retrieved 2022-03-27.
Sources

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