Produced by Simon Gardner, Sankar Viswanathan, Adrian
Mastronardi, The Philatelic Digital Library Project at
http://www.tpdlp.net, and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
GAMBIA
BY
FRED J. MELVILLE,
PRESIDENT OF THE JUNIOR
PHILATELIC SOCIETY.
MDCCCCIX--PUBLISHED--BY--THE
MELVILLE--STAMP--BOOKS,
47,--STRAND,--LONDON,--W.C.
* * * * *
[page 7]
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
In collecting the stamps of Gambia one cannot too strongly emphasise
the necessity for guarding the stamps of the "Cameo" series against
deterioration by the pressure of the leaves in an ordinary unprotected
album. In their pristine state with clear and bold embossing these
stamps are of exceptional grace and beauty. Sunk mounts or other
similar contrivances, and a liberal use of tissue paper, should be
utilised by the collector who desires to retain his specimens in their
original state. A neat strip of card affixed to each side of the page
in an ordinary album will have the effect of keeping the pages above
from flattening out the embossing, but tissue paper should be used as
an additional safeguard.
We have to express thanks to Mr. Douglas Ellis, Vice-President of the
Junior Philatelic Society, for his notes on the postmarks--of which
he has made a special study--and also for the loan of his entire
collection of the stamps of Gambia for reference and illustration;
to Mr. H. H. Harland for a similar courtesy in the loan of his
collection; to Mr. W. H. Peckitt for the loan of stamps for
illustration; to Mr. D. B. Armstrong for interesting notes on
the postal affairs of the Colony; and to Mr. S. R. Turner for his
diagrams.
To the first two gentlemen we are also indebted for their kindness in
undertaking the revision of the proofs of this handbook.
[page 8]
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE, 7
CHAPTER I.
THE COLONY AND ITS POSTS, 11
CHAPTER II.
CAMEO ISSUE OF 1869, 16
CHAPTER III.
ISSUE OF 1874, 20
CHAPTER IV.
ISSUE OF 1880, 25
CHAPTER V.
ISSUE OF 1886-87, 37
CHAPTER VI.
QUEEN'S HEAD SERIES, 1898, 45
CHAPTER VII.
KING'S HEAD SERIES, 1902-1906, 50
CHAPTER VIII.
PROVISIONAL ISSUE, 1906, 53
CHAPTER IX.
BIBLIOGRAPHY, 56
CHAPTER X.
CHECK LIST, 58
APPENDIX.
NOTES ON THE POSTMARKS, by Douglas Ellis, 66
[page 11]
GAMBIA.
CHAPTER I.
The Colony and Its Posts.
The British West African possession known as the Colony and
Protectorate of the Gambia occupies a narrow strip of territory
(averaging 12 miles in width) on both sides of the Gambia river.
The territory comprises the settlement of St. Mary, where the
capital--Bathurst--is situated, British Cambo, Albreda, M'Carthy's
Island and the Ceded Mile, a protectorate over a narrow band of land
extending from Cape St. Mary for over 250 miles along both banks of
the river.
The Gambia river was discovered by a Portuguese navigator in 1447;
under a charter of Queen Elizabeth a company was formed to trade with
the Gambia in 1588. In the reign of James II. a fort was erected by
British traders at the mouth of the river (1686), and for many years
their only traffic was in slaves. The territory became recognised as a
British possession under the Treaty of Versailles, and on the enforced
liquidation of the chartered company it [page 12] was incorporated
with the Crown as one of the West African settlements. Until 1843,
when it was granted separate government, it was administered by the
Governor of Sierra Leone. In 1868 it was again annexed to Sierra
Leone, and not until twenty years later was it created a separate
Crown Colony with a Governor and responsible government of its own. At
present the staple trade of the Colony is ground nuts, but efforts are
being made to induce the natives to take up other products.
Postally there is little to record prior to 1866, which is the date
ascribed by Mr. F. Bisset Archer, Treasurer and Postmaster-General,
to an alteration in the scale of postage, the half ounce weight for
letters being introduced. The rate to Great Britain was, we believe,
from that date 6d. per half ounce.
Mr. Archer also gives this year (1866) as the date when the first
postage stamps of the Colony were issued. This date was for a time
accepted in the stamp catalogues, but it is now generally believed to
be an error, the earliest records in the stamp journals of the period
shewing the date to be 1869.
The postal notices we have been able to trace are of but little
interest, the following being all that bear on matters of interest to
collectors:--
POST OFFICE NOTICE.
_Reduction of Postage, &c._
On and from the 1st April, 1892, the Postage to all parts of the World
on Letters, Newspapers, Books, etc., will be as follows:--
For Letters, 2 1/2d. per 1/2 oz.
For Postcards, 1d. each.
For Reply Postcards, 2d. each.
[page 13]
For Newspapers, books, printed papers, commercial papers,
patterns and samples, 1/2d. per 2 oz., with the Postal
Union proviso of a minimum payment of 2 1/2d. for a packet of
commercial papers, and of 1d. for a packet of patterns or
samples.
Fee for registration of any of the above named articles, 2d.
Fee for the acknowledgment of the delivery of a registered
article, 2 1/2d.
By His Excellency's Command,
(Signed) J. H. FINDEN,
_Postmaster._
Post Office, Bathurst, Gambia,
_3rd March, 1892._
POST OFFICE.
Ordinance No. 6 of 1897.
_March 11th, 1897._
1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Post Office Ordinance, 1897,
Inland Postal Regulations.
13. From and after the commencement of this Ordinance, postal packets
may be sent by post between such places in the Colony of the Gambia
and the Protected Territories adjacent thereto as may be from time to
time notified by the Administrator.
14. The Administrator-in-Council may from time to time make in
relation to the inland post hereby established such regulations as he
may think fit--
For prescribing and regulating the places, times, and modes of
posting and delivery.
For fixing the rates of postage to be payable on inland
letters and postal packets.
For prescribing payment of postage and regulating the mode
thereof.
For regulating the affixing of postage stamps.
For prescribing and regulating the payment again of postage in
case of redirection.
For regulating the dimensions and maximum weight of packet.
[page 14]
For prohibiting or restricting the printing or writing of
marks or communications or words.
For prohibiting enclosures.
For restricting the sending or conveyance of inland letters.
and such other regulations as the Administrator shall from time to
time consider desirable for the more efficient working of such Inland
Post.
And may affix a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, to be recovered
summarily before the Chief Magistrate, or two Justices of the Peace,
or, in default of payment, imprisonment not exceeding two weeks for a
contravention of any such regulation.
15. Any revenue derived from the Inland Post herein established shall
be paid into the Colonial Treasury at such times and in such a manner
as the Administrator shall direct, and shall be applied to the general
purposes of the Colony.
Insurance of and Compensation for loss and damage to Parcels.
11. Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, if any article of
pecuniary value enclosed in, or forming part of, a parcel be lost
or damaged whilst in the course of transmission through the post, it
shall be lawful for the Administrator to cause to be paid out of the
public revenues of the Colony to any person or persons who may, in
the opinion of the Postmaster, establish a reasonable claim to
compensation (having regard to the nature of the article, the care
with which it was packed, and other circumstances), the following
rates of compensation--
(a) In respect of an uninsured parcel, such sum, not exceeding
twenty shillings, as he may think just.
(b) In respect of an insured parcel the following scale shall
apply--
To secure compensation up to L12 there shall be payable a fee of 5d
" " " L24 " " " 7 1/2d
" " " L36 " " " 10d
" " " L48 " " " 1/0 1/2d
" " " L50 " " " 1/3
We gather from the official handbook edited by Mr. Archer that a
Government steamer maintains weekly [page 15] communication between
the Capital, Bathurst, and M'Carthy's Island both for passengers and
mails. There is no house-to-house delivery of mails at either place.
Gambia joined the Universal Postal Union on January 1st, 1879; the
Imperial Penny Postage rate was adopted from December 25th, 1898; and
the unit of weight for colonial and foreign letter postage was raised
from half an ounce to one ounce on October 1st, 1907. The Cash on
Delivery system was introduced on October 15th, 1908.
The following table gives an outline of the postal business, the large
fluctuations in the revenue being chiefly due to the fluctuations in
the demand for postage stamps from dealers and collectors:--
Year Revenue Expenditure Letters Parcels
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1895 L686
1896 1,506
1897 1,845
1898 2,140
1899 589
1900 459 66,612 782
1901 769 77,937 1151
1902 1,452 77,918 1340
1903 553 94,365 1532
1904 597 94,358 1677
1905 2,731 L808 0 0 91,768 1554
1906 1,317 712 15 10 98,379 1994
[page 16]