BULLETIN 138

March 2006

Market Place – information

The President, one of several interested and undercover members present at the ‘Auction Maison Balasse’ on Saturday 21^st January 2006 reports:

“Belgian items went sky high but fortunately ‘ Belgian Congo ’ were rather more reasonable”.

Here he comments on some of the items that caught his eye

‘Reasonable’ is a relative term and Lot 1268 realised a staggering €2800!

This was EP N^o 15, from Tumba-Mani to Flawinne but on arrival then forwarded with additional postage added as an EXPRESS item to a passenger on board the s/s Albertville in Antwerp . It subsequently received a manuscript Bateau parti/Remis a la Poste in red ink and was forwarded to Clichy in France

Lot 1268

There were a number of private ‘Marks/Griffes’ on postal stationery

Lot 1277 was a picture postcard, bearing the 1910 10 centimes Mols cancelled Sakania 5 January 1911. On the reverse as seen in the illustration was the rectangular ‘Chemin de Fer du Katanga Chinzenda’ of 4 January 1911. Not a bad buy at €70

Lot 1277

Lot 1302 was an EP N^o 62 written in Molino, 9th October 1925 with a type 5 Albertville cancellation.It bears the rectangular Mark/Griffe - ‘Flotille Lac Vengeur’ of the C.F.L. company. €280!

Lot 1302

Lot 1332 A letter from Kigoma cancelled B.P.C.V.P.K. 28 July 1917, N^o 11. On the reverse is a fine hand stamped censor mark ‘CENSURE MILITAIRE’ of Kigoma, 5 August 1917. Censor signed ‘P. Greindl’. €65

Lot 1332

Lot 1333 - Registered letter to ‘Belgie Legerposterij, 8 at St Adresse with B.P.C.V.P.K. 5 Aug. 17 N^o 11 As illustrated and on the reverse – Censor mark: ‘OUVERT PAR LE CENSURE MILITAIRE/KIGOMA LE 5/8/1917. Le Major et le 1^e Regim Muller. €180

Lot 1333

Lot 1338 - EP 12. East African10c . with B.P.C.V.P.K. 3 June 1918. N^o 17 to Libenge with censor mark: VU POUR LA CENSURE CONTROLE 49^e DI …’Signed …. €44

Lot 1338

The Portuguese Post Office in Banana

By – Patrick Maselis

Preface.

The substance of this article was previously published in ‘Belgian Postal History, Bulletin 52’. Permission from the author to reproduce here is acknowledged and appreciated.

Introduction: A brief postal history of Angola .

From the 16^th century under the government of Don Manuel I, and until nationalisation in 1797, postal communication between Portugal and its colonies was a monopoly in the hands of the Gomes de Matta family. The running of the service was conducted for the financial benefit of the Matta family who were themselves richer than the royal family.

In 1798, the Portuguese postal service between it and overseas territories was nationalised. Theoretically therefore, there were some Angolan post offices in existence from 1797, but in the absence of official verification, we know only that:

	Three post offices had been opened at some time in the first half of the 19^th century - Loanda , Benguela, and Ambriz.
	The oldest recorded letter carried a Luanda cachet, dated 1809
	In 1849, a ‘2^nd class’ post office had been opened in Cabinda .

1^st and 2^nd class post office

The difference between these is that a 1^stclass office provided a facility to ‘register’ and ‘insure’ mail.

The BANANA post office

	We can say fairly safely, the Banana office opened as a ‘2^nd class’ office at the same time as Ambriz, that is some time between 1870 and 1875.
	The oldest reference to the office is recorded in ‘Bulletin official d’Angola nº43, 22 October 1881’.The two offices had by then already been promoted to‘1^st class’.

· In 1882 the Angolan government purchased a plot of land in the north of Banana for a large post office – ‘Angolana, Vol.II, p.725’.

	From about 30 December 1882, it is stated that all Portuguese boats of ‘Empreza Nacional de Navegação’ sailing between the west coast of Africa and Portugal , must call at Banana for post on both the outward and return voyages.
	The post office was officially closed on 5 May 1885 – refer ‘Statement nº194, Bulletin Officiel d’Angola’.
	In a communication from ‘Nuno de Fraitas Queriol’, a Portuguese government representative, it is said that the Banana post office will be transferred to the E.I.C. authorities.
	It is believed that the post office had in fact already been closed before the official statement was made, possibly in December 1884. A post office had previously been opened in Sao Antonio, which took on the remaining work from Banana, until the Belgians were able to operate their own service.
	The last letters from Banana with Portuguese cachets/cancellers are dated 17 November 1884.
	The first Belgian postmaster was Charles Massart who took office in Banana on 14 October 1885 and served until 1890.

Postal Tariffs

Local - letters weighing up to ‘½ once’

Until 1849: ‘40 reis’was charged though letters charged at 37½ reis are also known.

After 1849: ‘25 reis’

Overseas/foreign

Weight Tariff

Upto ½ once 80 reis

up to ¾ once 120 reis

up to 1 once 160 reis

up to 1½ once 200 reis

The fee for ‘Registered’ mail was 480 reis.

Cachets/post marks – three different postmarks known

Type I – in use at the oldest post office until about 1883

CORREIO DE BANANA

It is not known when this double circle cachet was first introduced. Illustrated below is the only known letter bearing this postmark - January 1883.

Figure 1

Figure 1 illustrates a letter written by João Luis da Rosa, a Portuguese shipping agent who later established several trading stations in the future Belgian Congo . Included with the correspondence was a plan of Banana which identifies, amongst other things, the location of the Post Office.

It was written in Boma and is dated 4 January 1883. The undated circular CORREIO DE BANANA cachet is a transit mark applied to the letter in Banana which was then conveyed by Steamer to Loanda, where it was received, 30 January 1883. The postage charge of 25 reis was paid on delivery by the recipient.

Type II and Type III

– used at the new office during 1883 – 1884

In succession to the ‘Type I’ postmark, two others based in style on those in use locally in Angola are classified as ‘Type II’ and ‘Type III’. Type II incorporated the ‘year’ and ‘Type III’ omitted it.

Type II

Figure 2

The ‘Type II’ canceller has been recorded in use during 1883 only -the earliest date being 19th April. Several examples exist on individual Angolan stamps typified by that illustrated in figure 2.

Type III

The ‘Type III’ canceller superseded Type II and is apparently the same stamp with the year removed - thus facilitating its use during 1884. It has only been recorded in use during 1884 and the latest recorded date is 17th November of that year.

At this time ‘Congo postage stamps’ had not been introduced and use of the Banana cachet was limited to the cancellation of correspondence franked with Angolan stamps or unstamped mail originating from the Congo.

Figure 3

Figure 3: A letter written by the explorer Dr. Zintgraff addressed to ‘L’Institut National Géographie’. It was posted at the Banana post office and bears a100 reis Angolan stamp cancelled on the last recorded date of 17^th November 1884 - as are figures 5 and 6. It arrived in Bruxelles 20^th December.

Figures 4 and 5 both illustrate particularly fine strikes from different correspondents, coincidentally both dated 17th November.

Figure 4

Figure 4: A letter from ‘ Dundas Bathurst ’ to his mother in England , written in Kinshasa , 25^th October where stamps were not available. It was directed via Lisbon and received the Banana cancellation.The 8^d postage due was applied in London and paid by the recipient.

Figure 5

The ‘ Bathurst ’ correspondence has provided a very interesting insight into the day-to-day living conditions of those intrepid Europeans, committed to the activities of the A.I.C. (Association Internationale du Congo).

Figure 6a

Figure 6a is a letter, this time to his father, written on 20^th August 1884 in Kinshasa . It was directed to London via the Portuguese post office where it received the Banana cachet dated 19^th September. The absence of stamps prompted the application of the tax stamp (Portuguese) and the 8^d postage due was both applied and collected in London .

Figure 6b

Figure 6b - Included in the letter is a sketch of the lodgings in Kinshasa of two A.I.C. agents - Bathurst and Swinburn.

Bathurst comments on the ‘conveniences of their accommodation’– “I have now got my bed finished, a jolly thick mattress of banana leaves, as they do not get so hard as grass mattresses.”

Acknowledgements

	Bontinck R.P. ‘Les mystères de la Post Portugaise de Banana’.
	Deneumostier-Saive Eliane. ‘Les Cahiers du Congo’ N^o 67. 2002, p3
	Frazao L. ‘Discours pour l’Académie Européenne de Philatélie’. Porto, 2004, p2
	Pinto Correia E.M. ‘Historia postal de Angola.’ Clube Filatelico de Portugal, Lisboa, 1999, p.8

Red Cross overprint

Issued in the Congo - 23^rd May 1942

By – Walter Deijnckens

Four values of the Waterlow & Sons definitive range of stamps issued 23^rd May 1942 in the Belgian Congo were subsequently overprinted

‘Au profit de la Croix-rouge – Ten voordeele van het Roode Kruis’ – with alternative language priority in French or Dutch.

However the stamps only became available to collectors in Belgium on request and limited to three sets. The ‘Ministère des Colonies’ supplied the stamps by post, accompanied by a small note.

This was not done until the 18th April 1946 - some 2 years after their availability in the ‘ Congo ’.

1960 – Mail; Red Cross assisted

By – Walter Deijnckens

Reference has previously been made with regard to the difficulties in ensuring the safe transfer of correspondence emanating from the Congo at the time of Independence – 1960^[1]. The following adds to the story.

Between the 9^th and 28^th July 1960, Sabena evacuated to Zaventem no fewer than 34,484 passengers from the Congo ^[2]. Approximately 20,000 Belgians remained in Lubumbashi when the province of Katanga demanded its independence and probably about 30,000 whites remained and suffered badly under the rule of the so-called ‘Free Congolese’.

Sending letters home during these turbulent times was a risk and as illustrated employees such as Mr. Dandois engaged by the AMI shipping agent in Leopoldville , gave this letter to an evacuee who in turn handed it over to the Belgian Red Cross on arrival in Zaventem. The Red Cross in turn placed it in the official post. The letter arrived at its destination on 8^th August 1960.

The Belgian Red Cross had postal freedom and used a special cancellation to verify their handling of this item.

	[1] B.C.S.C. Bulletin 137. p9
	[2] P.Verlinden. Weg uit Congo. p150

COB 281 Masks/Idols – Shade differences

- Walter Deijnckens.

Except for studies by Francis Vanderbeken – ‘L’Emission des timbres-poste, Art Indigène du Congo Belge’ 8th December 1947, and ‘Ruanda-Urundi’, 18^th May 1996 – I do not know of any other studies of this series.

Several articles about the ‘Idols’ have previously been published in the Bulletin, but there has not been any references to differences in shade of this value. Mr Vanderbeken did mention a colour difference between a ‘mauve’ 40 centimes value of the Congo (COB281) and the violet 40 centimes Ruanda-Urundi (COB 158). We can now confirm that the Congo COB 281 exists both in violet and mauve, whilst the Ruanda-Urundi COB158 is a more pronounced and darker mauve.

This latest observation supports the theory of at least one additional print run. Those receiving copy of this Bulletin electronically will easily see and recognise the differences reported.