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Post by greaden on Mar 24, 2024 0:02:38 GMT
Under the French Empire and following years, obscure French colonies were postmarked with a lozenge and 3-4 letters. GAB was one of those, not for Gabon as it did not exist yet, but for a small settlement on the estuary for the Gabon river. The town was Libreville, stocked with slaves newly freed. The French had a motive: to find people more willing to inhabit an African coastal town than French citizens, so that a proper coaling station could be maintained.
Here are some usages of the GAB lozenge postmarks:
Later on, the French general colonies stamps sent to Libreville did not match the postal rates, so the useless stamps they did have were overprinted with new values. The old GAB postmark was pared down and repurposed.
In 1889, while waiting for a new shipment of stamps, local printers improvised an ugly temporary substitute, also using the fragment of the old postmark as part of the stamp design:
Only 1000 of one were printed, and 1500 of the other.
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Post by greaden on Mar 24, 2024 0:14:38 GMT
In 1859, France split its settlements in Senegal and Gorée from those further down the coast. An entity called Cote d'Or et Gabon was created to cover Assinie and Grand Bassam in what is now Ivory Coast and also that Gabon estuary. Cote d'Or is Gold Coast in French. The name was later changed to Ivory Coast so as to avoid confusion with the neighboring British colony. If only they had the same consideration for the Congo.   
Assinie had the ASI postmark. Here are two examples, along with GAB:
Assinie was abandoned for a few years, before the colony was reconstituted under the wing of Senegal, culminating French West Africa.
Gabon-Congo became French Congo, which is really Gabon plus some territory newly conquered by Brazza. In 1904, Gabon was split from Middle Congo and Oubangui-Chari-Tchad.
Later those were all reassembled as French Equatorial Africa.
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rod222
Member 
Posts: 9,912 
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps, Ephemera and Catalogues
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Post by rod222 on Mar 24, 2024 3:29:02 GMT
In 1859, France split its settlement in Senegal and Gorée from those further down the coast. An entity called Cote d'Or et Gabon was created to cover Assinie and Grand Bassam in what is now Ivory Coast and also that Gabon estuary. Cote d'Or is Gold Coast in French and the name had to be changed to Ivory Coast so as to avoid confusion with the neighboring British colony. If only they had the same consideration for theo. Assinie had the ASI postmark. Here are two examples, along with GAB:
Assinie was abandoned for a few years, before the colony was reconstituted under the wing of Senegal, culminating French West Africa.
Gabon-Congo became French Equatorial Africa.
Phew! all new to me, took some understanding, using "The Stamp Atlas" and Google maps for Goree, Assinie and Grand Bassam. Looks like very specialised postage stamps, not seen before. There was huge territorial distance between Senegal and Gabon. Does there exist, any literature focussing on African continent coaling stations? |
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rod222
Member
Posts: 9,912
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps, Ephemera and Catalogues
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Post by rod222 on Mar 24, 2024 4:36:23 GMT
Gabon Sc#9 25c on 10c Surcharge Auction 2017 Opening bid 1c  Image of Libreville 1910 Sc#49> Ins: Afrique Equatorial  |
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Post by greaden on Mar 24, 2024 16:54:33 GMT
Between 1859 and 1864, mute lozenges were used on imperial eagle stamps. Later philatelists have sought to identify which pattern was used in which colony.
Here is the 64 point blue lozenge used in San Louis, on the Senegal river:
This 84 point lozenge was used on the island of Gorée:
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Post by greaden on Mar 24, 2024 18:34:31 GMT
From 1864 to 1876, the letters SNG were added for St Louis, and GOR for stamps postmarked in Gorée. Dakar was growing as a town along the coast facing Gorée, but did not become the colonial capital until 1902.
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Post by greaden on Mar 26, 2024 16:26:33 GMT
French Congo parcel post, postmarked in Libreville, Gabon, in 1891.
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