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]
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]
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]
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.
A number of Sudanese stamps have been overprinted SCHOOL for use at the post office training school. [8]
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]
A number of stamps were produced around 1898 for use on military telegraphs. The stamps are in two halves. [11]
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] On Facebook the group “Sudan Stamp Collecting” shares information on stamps of Sudan. [15]
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Philately is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection, appreciation and research activities on stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps. For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare or reside only in museums.
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or ticket after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purposes such as accounting but they are also employed in public mail. Well-recognized varieties include commemorative overprints which are produced for their public appeal and command significant interest in the field of philately.
A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, lettercard, aerogram or wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage or related service has been prepaid. It does not, however, include any postcard without a pre-printed stamp, and it is different from freepost for preprinted cards issued by businesses.
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This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of British East Africa.
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The French post offices in Egypt were a system of post offices maintained by France in Egypt during the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century. They were primarily intended to facilitate commercial and trading interests that needed to communicate between France and points east.
The British post offices in Morocco, also known as the "Morocco Agencies", were a system of post offices operated by Gibraltar and later the United Kingdom in Morocco.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cuba.
Linn's World Stamp Almanac defines a provisional stamp as "a postage stamp issued for temporary use to meet postal demands until new or regular stocks of stamps can be obtained."
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The postage stamps and postal history of Palestine emerges from its geographic location as a crossroads amidst the empires of the ancient Near East, the Levant and the Middle East. Postal services in the region were first established in the Bronze Age, during the rule of Sargon of Akkad, and successive empires have established and operated a number of different postal systems over the millennia.
The postal history of Turkey and its predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire, dates to the 18th century when foreign countries maintained courier services through their consular offices in the Empire. Although delayed in the development of its own postal service, in 1863 the Ottoman Empire became the second independent country in Asia to issue adhesive postage stamps, and in 1875, it became a founding member of the General Postal Union, soon to become the Universal Postal Union. The Ottoman Empire became the Republic of Turkey in 1923, and in the following years, its postal service became more modernized and efficient and its postage stamps expertly designed and manufactured.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cyprus. The country's postal history is intricately linked to the island's political past.
A specimen stamp is a postage stamp or postal stationery indicium sent to postmasters and postal administrations so that they are able to identify valid stamps and to avoid forgeries. The usual method of invalidating the stamps is either overprinting in ink or perforating the word Specimen across the stamp and where English is not the common language, the words Muestra (Spanish), Monster (Dutch), Muster (German) or Образец have been used instead.
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The Gibraltar Study Circle is a global non-profit society based in the United Kingdom, founded by Walter (Wally) Jackson in 1975. Its aim is to expand the knowledge of the philately of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The study circle looks at the philately of Gibraltar in all its forms for the benefit of collectors (philatelists) from all walks of life. This includes studying the postal history, postage stamps, revenue stamps, postal stationery and associated overprints from Gibraltar and any of these used in Morocco. Any new information is shared with the membership via its quarterly journal, "The Rock", which has been published since 1975, showing articles of interest not only to philatelists but also historians, artists and sociologists.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of British Bechuanaland.
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Egypt.
The Republic of South Sudan became independent on 9 July 2011 from Sudan and issued its first stamps on 13 July 2011. Only almost three months later, on 4 October 2011, did South Sudan become a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). Before independence, South Sudan used stamps issued by Sudan. The Directorate of Postal Services of the Ministry of Telecommunication and Postal Services is responsible for postal affairs in South Sudan.
