BULLETIN 137  -  part I

December 2005

The African Postal Union (U.P.A.)

By - Walter Deijnckens

     Preface

 In the interests of a unified and common approach to ‘post related matters’ the African Postal Union was formed. The following short paper relates to charges first introduced under its administration ^[1] and is illustrated by some examples from my collection. The ‘Decree’ summary tables do not cover all aspects, and refer only to letter/postal stationery correspondence, in the first years of their introduction.

 On 1^st of January 1936 the following countries joined together to create the African Postal Union: Angola, Basutoland, Belgian Congo with Ruanda-Urundi, Kenya, Mozambique, Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Uganda, Tanganyika, South Africa, Southern Rhodesia and South-West Africa. French Equatorial Africa and Cameroon joined the Union six years later, in 1942.

As a member of the U.P.A., postal letter rates for the Belgian Congo only came into operation on 1^st September 1940 by ‘Decree N° 121 ter/P.T’ issued 20^th June 1940. However these first postal rates were short lived and only valid for three months

Destination                Weight upto 20g                Additional 20g

 Inland                             1.25 Fr                                          0.75 Fr

        Within 2 km             0.50 Fr per 50g or part                

        Between natives      0.50 Fr per 50g or part                

Belgium                     1.25 Fr                                          0.75 Fr

U.P.A.                            1.75 Fr                                          0.90 Fr

International                   2.75 Fr                                          1.50 Fr

As a member of the U.P.A., postal letter rates for the Belgian Congo only came into operation on 1^st September 1940 by ‘Decree N° 121 ter/P.T’ issued 20^th June 1940. However these first postal rates were short lived and only valid for three months

Mail from this period is relatively scarce and in particular that between African signatories of U.P.A.  

By ‘Decree N° 420 sexies/P.T.’ of 31^st October 1940 the following rates became effective on 1^st December 1940:

Destination                Weight upto 20g              Rates according to weight  

Inland                           2.50 Fr upto 10g                   0.75 Fr each additional 10g

     Within 2 km            0.50 Fr per 50g or part         

     Between natives     0.50 Fr per 20g or part         

Belgium                        2.50 Fr upto 10g                   0.75 Fr each additional 10g

U.P.A.                         2.50 Fr upto 20g                   1.25 Fr each additional 20g

International                2.75 Fr                                   1.50 Fr each additional 20g

February 1941 - Surface mail to neighbouring country, U.P.A. member.

 Cover from Usumbura to Dar-es- Salaam , Tanzania

Censored: in the Congo and on arrival in Dar-es- Salaam , Tanganyika .

 The rate for correspondence to Tanganyika , a member of the U.P.A., and weighing upto 20g was 2.50Fr.

September 1941 - Surface mail to neighbouring country, non-U.P.A. member.

 Cover from Leopoldville-Kalina to Brazzaville/Bangui.

Censored: in the Congo and in Brazzaville by both the civilian and military authorities.

 At this time French Equatorial Africa had not yet joined the U.P.A. and the letter was charged as ‘International mail’ at 2.75 Fr.

July 1945 - Airmail to neighbouring country, U.P.A. member.

 Cover from Usumbura to Pointe Noire, in French Equatorial Africa .

Censored: in Leopoldville . ^[2]

 The postal charge of 8.50 Fr represents: U.P.A. postal rate of 2.50 Fr plus 6 Fr for airmail upto 15g.

By ‘Decree N° 487/P.T.’ of 14^th November 1941 an increased postal rate for postal stationery cards to ‘other/International’ countries came into force on 1^st of January 1942. These amended rates remained in place until August 1945.

Destination                         Single stationery      + ‘Réponse

                                                card                           payée’

Inland                               

     Within 2 km                                  0.50 Fr                       1 Fr         

     Between natives                           1 Fr                            2 Fr

U.P.A.                                               1 Fr                            2 Fr

International/all other countries         2 Fr                            4 Fr

April 1943 - Surface mail to ‘International/all other countries’. ^[3]

 Stationery card from Coquilhatville to England .

Censored: on arrival in the U.K.

 During the early part of World War II a new increased rate of 2 Fr for the single postal stationery card to ‘other/international countries’ was introduced

April 1945 - Surface mail to neighbouring country, U.P.A. member.

 Stationery card from Usumbura to Pointe Noire.

Censored: in the Congo and by ‘Contrôle Postale Commission B’ of Pointe Noire.

 Mail to original ‘Inland’ and ‘U.P.A. country’ rates remained in place for the full period of World War II to August 1945 at 1 Fr

References:

1. C.Stockmans-R.Gallant,

Arrêtes et Ordonnances Concernant les Tarifs Postaux au Congo Belge et au Ruanda-Urundi. 1/1/1886- 30/6-1960 (1997)

Besluiten en ordonnanties betreffende posttarieven in Belgisch Congo en Ruanda-Urundi. 1/1/1886 – 30/6-1960. (1997).

2. A. Jeukens, La Censure au Congo Belge (Civile& Militaire) Guerre 1939 – 1945. (1993)

3. S.S.Smith collection

Katanga ‘Catalogue Officiel de Timbres-Poste’

                        - numeric references      By – John Van Casteren

 Our member John Van Casteren has sent copies of some covers from his Katanga collection, as well as the mandate ‘N° 669/208 of 15^th November 1960’ authorised by M. Tshombe, President of Katanga.

Arrête du Chef de l’Etat n° 669/208

This mandate was the authorisation of the KATANGA overprint on five series of Belgian Congo stamps. It is interesting to note that the ‘issue’ sequence in the mandate differs from that given in the catalogue¹. However, Article 2 of mandate 669/208 does not refer to actual issue dates and it is understandable that the catalogue classification is, as is!

Stamp issue                           Catalogue Officiel #            Mandate Sequence

Madonna and Child                         1, 2, 3.                                      3, 4, 5.

Technical Co-operation                    4, 5.                                          1, 2.

Protected Animals                          6 to 17                                      11 to 22

Masks                                          18 to 22                                    6 to 10

Flowers                                        23 to 39                                    23 to 39

Figure 1.

Figure 1 illustrates a cover from Elisabethville (23rd of August 1960) to Lubudi, bearing Belgian Congo stamps without any overprint.  Katanga declared its ‘ Independence ’ on 11th July 1960 but not until the 12th September 1960 were overprinted stamps of the Belgian Congo used². The inland rate at this time was 3 Fr. and the cover is an early example of mail from the new state.

Figure 2

The second cover, figure 2, is also to Lubudi, originating from Antwerp 15^th November1960. It appears that it probably weighed about 15 grams – falling into the 3-franc category for letters upto 20 grams, airfreight 3.50 Fr for the first 10 grams and 2.50 Fr for additional 5 grams. Until 30th December 1960 there were no dedicated ‘postage due’ stamps for use in Katanga – they therefore used ‘Definitives’ overprinted with T. Postage due for this cover is indicated as ‘’0.18 fr or’ converting as 3 francs

Figure 3

Figure 3: Registered cover (10^th November 1960) from Lubudi to Brussels with a 50-franc stamp overprinted KATANGA . The ‘Recommandé’ label for Kolwezi has been crossed out and overprinted with a straight line Lubudi. The 50 Fr stamp exceeded that necessary and as a result the manuscript annotation ‘affranchi par l’expéditeur’ was made.

Postage should have been charged as 3 Fr basic letter rate for the first 20 grams (1.50 fr for any additional 20 grams) plus 6 Fr in respect of registration.

Figure 4

Figure 4 is a registered cover from Jadotville (1^st March 1961) to Brussels . The interesting feature is that the right hand 8fr stamp has the inverted KATANGA overprint.

Further Comments             - Stuart Smith  

As already mentioned, Katanga declared its independence on 11^th July and not until 12^th September were the Katanga overprints introduced. Until that date and indeed for a considerable time after, mail originating from the Katanga province continued to use and therefore acknowledge the legitimacy of stamps of the new ‘Independent State’ which includes those of the former Belgian Congo, overprinted ‘CONGO’.

Figure 5

Figure 5 is an interesting item in that the letter, addressed to Halifax ( England ), was written in Kamina during the week that Katanga declared Independence . It refers to the difficulties in communication and the assistance provided by a ‘good friend at the Military Base’ – who also arranged for the letter to be flown out. It was obviously included in their mailbag to Brussels where it received the transit stamp before forwarding to the U.K. The letter arrived in Halifax 18^th July.

Figure 6

Figure 6 illustrates a cover posted from my cousin, a missionary in Kabongo. The letter was posted 22^nd October 1960 at the Kabongo post office, the day before he and his wife had to evacuate their home. I quote from diary notes ^[3] made at that time – ‘The rebels entered on 20^th October and there was a big battle around our Mission Station on 23^rd. Our place was looted and our house burnt down. From 23^rd to 26^th (October) much of Kabongo, was similarly treated including the Post Office (which was a building on its own next to the Administration Offices with all the letter boxes on the front veranda).

1. ‘Catalogue Officiel de Timbres-Poste’, Belgique, Congo Belge.

2. Emile Hoorens, ‘Histoire Postale de l’ Etat du Katanga 1960-1963’

3. Harold Womersley. Diary, 1960.

The Postal History of Katanga is an enormously interesting and colourful subject. My own collection is best described as very modest. Other members are invited to add to the topic and further contributions would be very much appreciated.  Editor

s/s BRUXELLESVILLE (1)  

‘Straight Line’ mark

A new discovery by  – Rudi Vertommen       

s/s Bruxellesville

(The substance of this article was published previously under the title ‘Onbekend stempel van de Bruxellesville 1’ in 'T DIJKENAARTJE, September 2005’. Permission to re-publish is acknowledged)

Brief history

The s/s Bruxellesville (1) was build for the ‘Société Maritime du Congo’ by Raylton Dixon & Co of Middlesborough. She came into service on 6^th May 1898 but this was of short duration as she was sold in December 1900 to the German ‘Woermann Line’ and renamed Alexandra Woermann. As such she sailed on the Hamburg-West Africa route and is depicted below under that name

s/s Alexandra Woermann

After World War I, she was handed over to the British as war compensation, and was then put into service by the ‘White Star Line’.In 1920 the ship was sold to the ‘Elleman Wilson Line’ and renamed Calypso. As the ‘Calypso’ she served as a cruise ship between Denmark and Norway .Finally in 1936 the ship was decommissioned and broken up in Ghent .

s/s Calypso

The ‘Vapeur Bruxellesville’ was not a Paquebot in the true sense of the word, though like a large number of ships plying the West African coast, it would drop off and pick up mail as a matter of course. Most cruise liners and many commercial carriers  would have their own ship’s stamp and apply them to correspondence posted on board

The new discovery

Until now, no marks or cancellations have been recorded from this ship – perhaps the short period in service with ‘Société Maritime du Congo’ is a reason for it. It was therefore a very fortunate and happy find to be able to purchase this item of postal stationery (Stibbe #15).

The card needs very little explanation other than it was addressed to Gerabronn in Germany . It was posted from Boma 15 December 1899, bears the Anvers 5 Jan.1900 transit mark and arrival cancellation of Gerabronn 6 Jan.1900. On the reverse we can read the contents with the date Boma 12/12/99 and the all important mark ‘Vapeur BRUXELLESVILLE’ in violet. (length 50 mm height 3 mm).The cancellations verify that it was carried on the ‘Bruxellesville’, the ports and sailing times fitting in exactly with documented information .

References.

1. Charles Stockmans, http://users.skynet.be/chst/

2. G. Devos & G. Elewaut, CMB 100 un siècle d’engagement maritime (1995)

3. I. Boyd, http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/2CoBelge.html#anchor1391489

4. G. Gudenkauf, Mailboat Services from Europe to the Belgian Congo , (1982)

s/s Kinshasa  

  By – Walter Deijnckens

47 x 5 mm

The ship was built at the Harkess shipyard in Middlesborough for the British African Steam Navigation Company and commissioned in 1909 as the Uromi. It was not until 1920 that she was purchased by the Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo and renamed the s/s Kinshasa . As a  ‘Coaster’ or ‘Tramp steamer’ she formed part of their fleet of merchant ships and served on the Antwerp to Matadi route until 1925 when she again changed hands.

Most, if not all, merchant vessels would have a ships stamp for ‘administrative’ use. Here is a typical example, though its application as a stamp canceller was unofficial and ‘out of order’. Without doubt this mark was applied by favour.

 However, whilst ‘philatelic’ - the cover did apparently acquire a degree of authenticity by obtaining the Pointe Noire receiving office stamp, 12 October 1923. This appears on both the face and reverse of the envelope.

The official rate for a letter weighing upto 20g was 0.50 Fr – so it was marginally overdone, but the 15 centimes Recuperation overprinted Mols, does add a bit more flavour!

1^st officer a/b SS Kinshasa

The second illustration is a view card addressed to Tienen in Belgium . It was written by one of the crews officers - indicated by the manuscript ‘1^st officer a/b SS Kinshasa’.  

The 9 Angolan stamps totalling 0.56 escudo was the correct rate and the presence of the Netherlands 20 cent postage due stamp was not necessary.

A visitor to Banana  - The Austro-Hungarian -

S.M.S. ZENTA

By – Stuart Smith

The S. M. Schip Zenta was launched in May 1899 as a small cruiser for the Austro-Hungarian navy. She was originally conceived as for foreign cruise deployment, primarily to show the flag abroad - despite the Austro-Hungarian Empire having no colonial ambitions.

Whilst built as a steamer she also carried auxiliary sailing rigs to extend her range and fulfil her foreign cruising functions more effectively.

In October 1902 she made a tour via the African coastal ports to Cape Town and it was on this journey that this picture postcard was sent.

The card was addressed by a crew member, entitled to ‘free postage’ as indicated by the manuscript ‘Feldpost’. The postage stamp would have been purchased and paid for by the ships office – and, probably with other items, posted whilst in port at Banana - January 1903. (Precise day date not clear)

S   M   SCHIFF      ZENTA    (72x4mm)              

Foreign Censor Marks – continued  

Kenya , Uganda , Tanganyika and Nigeria

 By – Walter Deijnckens

KENYA

Covers examined: 4

Mail originating from: Aba , Stanleyville

Addressed to: Nairobi

Censored:

a) letter A in a two ring circle (23mm dia.) – applied in Sudan

b) Crown/PASSED/N6

Labels:

a) OPENED BY CENSOR –

 handstamp numbers: 400, N148

b) CENSURE CONGO BELGE

c) OPENED BY EXAMINER N/

Label and text sizes vary, as do ‘numbered’ hand stamps. On such a small sample, no attempt has been made to classify them.

Note - Censor marks with the letter N followed by a number were used in both Kenya and Uganda .

UGANDA

Covers examined: 5 + (1 reported)

Mail originating from: Botembo (1), Leopoldville (1), Goma (3)

Addressed to: Manchester (1), Kampala (4)

Censor marks: Refer - Figures 1, 2 and 3

Labels:

a) ‘OPENED BY EXAMINER / N’ - Figure 4

b) ‘CENSURE CONGO BELGE’ + handstamp ‘14’ ( Leopoldville ) June 1943

Other covers examined - 6: refer Bulletin #136, ‘ Ruanda Urundi’

Figure 1 (24 August 1940)

Figure 2 (April 1941)                                           Figure 3                                      Figure 4

TANGANYIKA

                      Figure 5b                                                      Figure 5a ( Albertville → Dar-es-Salaam)

Covers examined: 6

Refer also Bulletin #136, Ruanda Urundi

Mail originating from:  Fizi (1), Costermansville (1), Albertville (4)

Addressed to: Bruxelles (1), U.K. (2), Dar-es-Salaam (2), Nairobi (1)

        Transit marks:                                                                            Route:

Censored:           Refer Figures 5 and 6

a) ‘CENSURE CONGO BELGE’ ( Albertville )

b) Oval mark – probably ‘OUVERT / PAR / AUTORITÉS MILITAIRE’ (Brazzaville) Route: Albertville → Dar-es-Salaam

b) ‘PASSED BY CENSOR NO. 6’, and ‘9’ (Dar-es-Salaam)

Labels:                Refer Figures 5, 6 and 7

a) Blue label ‘OPENED BY CENSOR P.C. 8’ (Dar-es-Salaam)

b) Blue label ‘OPENED BY CENSOR’ (Dar-es-Salaam)

c) ‘Afrique Equatorial Française Contrôle Postal’ (Albertville →

Dar-es-Salaam)

d) ‘Censure / Congo Belge’ (Albertville)

                 Figure 6b                                             Figure 6a   (Fizi → Bruxelles)                                                        Figure 7

NIGERIA

Figure 8

Covers examined: 19  

Mail originating from: Basoko (1), Boma (1), Elisabethville (3), Idiofa (1), Jadotville (1), Leopoldville (9), Matadi (1), Stanleyville (2).  

Addressed to: Brazil (1), Gambia (4), Lagos (3), Liberia (1), U.K. (7), U.S.A. (3).  

  Transit marks                                                                   Route

Examination of the 19 covers originating from the Belgian Congo along with other items reported, has confirmed the existence of the following Nigerian censor marks and labels. These have been classified as ‘Types’ in accordance with those published previously by the West African Study Circle, 1999 ^[2].

Hand-stamp Censor marks

    Type 1A                                                Figure 9    Leopoldville → Conakry 1941                                        Type 1C

Type 1 – applied in Lagos on both ‘opened’ and ‘unopened’ mail.   In both red and blue ink.

Sub divided for minor variations.

Type 1A - Recorded use on routes:  (Figures 7 and 8)

Type 1C - Recorded use on route:

type 2                    type 2A

Types 2, 3 and 4E –used mainly on unopened mail

 Type 2 - Recorded use on routes:

 Type 2A – Recorded use on route:

 type 3                    type 3A

Type 3 - no examples found in this study.

type 4 A/B      type 4C      Type 4E

        Type 5                Type 6 ( unframed )

Types 5 and 6 replaced ‘Type 1’.

        - Type 5 normally used on opened mail.

        - Type 6 normally used on unopened mail.

PP prefix code letters, allocated to Nigeria .

Type 5 – Recorded use on routes:

Type 6

Note: The apparently disfigured number II is the result of incomplete erasure of the letters PP

Type 6 – Recorded use on routes:

Type 7 (Refer Figure 10)

Type 7 was introduced towards the end of the war and was used on opened mail. The several numbers recorded as noted below.

Type 7 – Recorded use on routes:

Figure 10 - Leopoldville → Zurich August 1944

Censor Labels

Only two types have been noted in this study but others are known to exist.

Label – Type 3                                          Label – Type 4

Label - Type 3.          See Figure 8

Label – Type 4.   (On white or bluish paper)

 (1) In preparing the article the author acknowledges the help and assistance provided by Alan Morvay, Jean Oth, Stuart Smith and Michael St.J.Wright.

(2) J.Martin and F.Walton. West African Censorship. 2^nd Edition, (West Africa Study Circle, 1999)

Additional Franking

- to facilitate the forwarding of mail

By – Philippe Lindekens

This article reports on an interesting aspect of Belgian Congo Philately; in fact the covers to be discussed are not easy to find because they could accidentally pass totally unrecognised if one wasn’t both attentive and aware of them.

 In general, business men, traders, those working in the public sector, military officers and personnel visiting or appointed to positions in the Belgian Congo for a fixed period were frequently unsure where there appointment might locate them in this gigantic country. There was no easy communication system and phones as we know them today just didn’t exist. The sender of an internal letter to the interior or from Belgium to the Congo had therefore not only to address the letter by name to the town or city, but also by position in the organisation, company, society or military unit; in the full knowledge that the addressee may not be found at the original address.

 In the case of a letter from Belgium to the Congo , the manuscript note “’faire suivre’  (to be forwarded) was therefore perfectly reasonable (Figure 1) because many Belgians and foreigners arriving in Boma didn’t necessarily know to which town they would be going. However, in this situation there was no problem with postage rates; the Belgian sender simply franked the letter with the appropriate rate to the Congo , which covered all places where the addressee might be. It was then left to the ‘post office’ to find him!

 Next we have to consider the case of letters posted from ‘up country in the interior’ and addressed to districts nearer the ports, from where the addressee had already gone home – perhaps to Europe . In this situation, and whilst the ‘post office’ might eventually identify his address in say Belgium , there remains the problem of meeting the additional postage cost. In effect, we are speaking here about letters franked at 15 centimes representing only the internal postage rate. They now need forwarding to Belgium and require an additional 35 centimes to meet the international rate of 50 centimes.

 There are only two alternatives:

* To forward the letter as is, and for the recipient to be faced with ‘postage due’ at double the underpaid sum; that is 2 x 35c = 70 cents

* To find somebody who will add stamps to the value of 35cents

       Forward - with added postage

 To find a volunteer to make up the additional postage might be less likely in today’s world, though much easier in the past. Either voluntary as a friend, as an agent or as the result of being a member of some organisation, the addressee would in all probability ask someone to take care of his mail, and when appropriate have the postage value suitably made up to cover any extra costs for forwarding.

 We should therefore examine stamps cancellations, keep our eyes open for ‘forwarded mail’ and be alert the contribution it will make to our collection

Figure 1

Figure 1. ^[1]

The first illustration is a letter from Matadi 2^nd May 1896, to Boma where it arrived five days later on the 7^th. As the addressee had gone back to Europe the franking has been made up to cover the extra international postage rate.

It left Boma for Gand ( Belgium ) on 11^th May and arrived 26^th June, having acquired the Anvers transit mark of the same date.

 The first stage of its journey was covered by the inland letter rate of 15 centimes, represented by the strip of three 5c ‘dark red brown’ stamps cancelled Matadi, 2^nd May 1896.

 The international rate to Belgium was 50 centimes and therefore additional stamps to the value of 35 centimes were added. These are represented by the three 10 centimes and ‘light red brown’ 5 centimes stamps – all cancelled ‘BOMA’.

Return to sender - with insufficient postage paid

Figure 2

Figure 2. ^[2]

Here we have an interesting sequence of events concerning a  ‘Picture post card’ where the sender had franked it as ‘local’ with insufficient postage to meet the ‘international rate’.  

There were various courses of action for the ‘Post Office’ to consider in dealing with the matter.

1. Indicate ‘Postage due’ and permit the card to go forward – hoping the recipient will pay the tax and that the Congo Free State as a member of the UPU will be appropriately reimbursed.

2. Establish if the sender is identifiable – name and address declared? To correct the omission, if indeed identifiable, ‘Return to sender’. (It is always possible that a recipient would not be prepared to pay the 70 cents postage due for a simple postcard)

Before 1^st May 1902, the postage rate for a picture postcard to Belgium (which this is) was 50c.

Figure 2 is a picture postcard posted from Boma to Contich ( Belgium ) 3^rd February 190?. It would appear that after cancelling the stamps, the post office worker realised that the wrong rate of 15 centimes had been applied and returned the card for the missing value of 35 centimes to be made up. The writer duly obliged and the additional stamps were added and cancelled, again at Boma, 5^th February.

Forward – and the recipient is taxed

Figure 3

Figure 3 ^[1] - illustrates a letter charged at the inland letter rate of 15 centimes, from Tumbu-Mani (7^th July 1897) to Leopoldville .

It was then forwarded to Boma, where it arrived on the 14^th. (Lukungu transit 12^th July.)

 As the addressee had gone to Europe, the letter was forwarded a second time - to Seraing ( Belgium ) where the international postage rate applied. The postage paid was insufficient and the Boma post office applied the T mark indicating ‘Postage Due’.

 After spending 3½ months in the postal system it was directed through the Brussels office and arrived in Seraing (29^th October 1897).

There is a manuscript Inconnu à l’appel à Seraing  (unknown at Seraing ) and the final readdressing and subsequent forwarding to Montegnée ( Belgium )

 ‘Postage Due’ was charged at 70 centimes, (represented by the 20c and 50c postage due stamps) being double that of the underpayment.

1. Ph. Lindekens collection
2. Th. Frennet collection