Nyasaland, Nyassa, Protectorate

#1 · October 9, 2021, 5:10 pm

I've clustered these few pages of Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyassa, Nyasaland .....

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#2 · October 10, 2021, 8:56 am

Quote from Steve on October 10, 2021, 8:56 am
The stamps of British Central Africa are of interest to me as I have always had this idea that Nyasaland was a cosy Central African British colony where whites and blacks got on well together. Then I discovered the Reverend John Chilembwe, an early anti-colonial freedom fighter who took advantage of WW1 to attempt to overthrow the British in Nyasaland. He failed and the Brits crushed his movement ruthlessly. However, hs insurrection led to a small change in labour practices and the way Europeans treated Africans. (This is probably where I got the misguided notion from that Nyasaland was all polite G&Ts and "yes sir, no sir bwana sir'.) Chilembwe was an interesting man of the cloth, probably much influenced by his education in the USA, a proto Black Lives Matter radicalisation in about 1900. He probably became a church minister because it was the only way a black person could gain any sort of authority under the colonisers. Ironically his folowers decapitated a cruel plantation owner probably believing they were doing God's work!

Most of these stamps are relatively common but depending on the dealer you are talking to they will vary greatly in price. I like the King Geo V Nyasaland 5/-. It looks clean and is in good condition. The Leopard set with rising sun to 1/- is also attractive but can be easily found. I suspect that the Geo VI set is more expensive. (Sorry, misplaced my SG Cat.) Sometimes, like with these 'Leopard' stamps, they are common mint. Sometimes used should cost more. It is always postmarks that distinguish the relatively common stamps one from the other. Rather than getting into mint stamps, I prefer those that have served their purpose and travelled through the postal system, having hopefully acquired a nice postmark on the way. People generally expect mint to be better / more valuable than used. But when you have unsaleable mint in spades a single used example is the more desirable item.

The attractive Nyassa Company stamps, like those of the stamps of the Mocambique Company, are those of a commercial entity given authority to run a postal service. If you can find Nyassa Company stamps and Mocambique Company stamps used on cover, these will be more valuable individually than all the stamps shown here put together.

The stamps of British Central Africa are of interest to me as I have always had this idea that Nyasaland was a cosy Central African British colony where whites and blacks got on well together. Then I discovered the Reverend John Chilembwe, an early anti-colonial freedom fighter who took advantage of WW1 to attempt to overthrow the British in Nyasaland. He failed and the Brits crushed his movement ruthlessly. However, hs insurrection led to a small change in labour practices and the way Europeans treated Africans. (This is probably where I got the misguided notion from that Nyasaland was all polite G&Ts and "yes sir, no sir bwana sir'.) Chilembwe was an interesting man of the cloth, probably much influenced by his education in the USA, a proto Black Lives Matter radicalisation in about 1900. He probably became a church minister because it was the only way a black person could gain any sort of authority under the colonisers. Ironically his folowers decapitated a cruel plantation owner probably believing they were doing God's work!

Most of these stamps are relatively common but depending on the dealer you are talking to they will vary greatly in price. I like the King Geo V Nyasaland 5/-. It looks clean and is in good condition. The Leopard set with rising sun to 1/- is also attractive but can be easily found. I suspect that the Geo VI set is more expensive. (Sorry, misplaced my SG Cat.) Sometimes, like with these 'Leopard' stamps, they are common mint. Sometimes used should cost more. It is always postmarks that distinguish the relatively common stamps one from the other. Rather than getting into mint stamps, I prefer those that have served their purpose and travelled through the postal system, having hopefully acquired a nice postmark on the way. People generally expect mint to be better / more valuable than used. But when you have unsaleable mint in spades a single used example is the more desirable item.

The attractive Nyassa Company stamps, like those of the stamps of the Mocambique Company, are those of a commercial entity given authority to run a postal service. If you can find Nyassa Company stamps and Mocambique Company stamps used on cover, these will be more valuable individually than all the stamps shown here put together.

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