Malagasy Rep. First Issues

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French Madagascar

including Diégo-Suarez, Nossi Bé and Ste. Marie de Madagascar

leading to the Malagasy Republic

1896

↓ - Protectorates -
Malagasy Republic
see also Madagascar, British Consular Mail

French Colony

25, a-c


	SG1, 3-4, 6-16 FICC#319	xxx

perf 14x13½, no wmk, typo
Printed at the Govt. Printing Works, Paris.

Description	Col †	Date ‡	Scott	SG
1 centime black / azure	R		28	1
2c brown / buff	Bl		29	2
2c brown / buff	Bk		29a	2a
4c purple-brown / grey	Bl		30	3
5c green / pale green	R		31	4
5c deep green / green	R		-	5
5c yellow green	R	1901	32	17
10c black / lilac	Bl		33	6
10c red	Bl	1900	34	18
15c blue (quadrille paper)	R		35	7
15c grey	R	1900	36	19
20c red / green	Bl		37	8
25c black / rose	R		38	9
25c blue	R	1900	39	20
30 cinnamon / drab	Bl		40	10
35 black / yellow	R	1906	41	21
40c red / yellow	Bl		42	11
50c carmine / rose	Bl		43	12
50c brown /azure	R	1906	44	12
75c violet / orange	R		45	13
1 franc olive-green / toned	R		46	14
1f olive-green / toned	Bl	1899	46a	15
5f mauve / pale lilac	Bl	1899	47	16

† Colour of the inscription. R = red; Bl = blue; Bk = black.
‡ Year issued, where other than 1896.

Madagascar was discovered by the Portuguese in 1500, but eventually developed by the French who established a protectorate over Diégo-Suarez in 1840. The first issue as a French colony in 1896 is detailed above, but before then there was a French Post Office issue in 1889 and specific issues for Diégo-Suarez (1890), Nossi Bé (1889) and Ste. Marie de Madagascar(1894).


French Post Office	Diégo-Suarez §	Nossi Bé ¤	Ste. Marie de Madagascar
1889 Sc1 SG1 FICC#259	1890 Sc4 SG4 FICC#262	1898 Sc1 SG8 FICC#260	1894 Sc1 SG1 FICC#304

Diégo-Suarez

1890 Sc6 SG6

§ For Diégo-Suarez, Scott [1] and Gibbons [2] agree on five overprints of French Colonies stamps in the first issue. Scott only dates them as 1890, but Gibbons dates them individually and makes Sc4, SG4 the earliest as 25th January. Sc1, SG1 shown above is dated 15th July, and the example shown has the violet handstamp inverted. Gibbons notes that the "surcharge varies in position, but is always more or less diagonal".
¤ The catalogues disagree over the sequencing of the blue-handstamped Nossi Bé issues. Sc1 is shown.

Diégo-Suarez followed the mundane French Colonies handstamps with a set of four remarkably idiosyncratic designs ilthographed locally, the first of which is shown.

Scott [3] states, "Madagascar became a French protectorate in 1885 and a French colony in 1896 following several years of dispute among France, Great Britain, and the native government. The colony administered the former protectorates of Anjouan, Grand Comoro, Mayotte, Diego-Suarez, Nossi-Be and Sainte- Marie de Madagascar. The Malagasy Republic succeeded the colony in1958 and became the Democratic Republic of Malagasy in 1975. The official name was again changed in 1993 to Republic of Madagascar."

Malagasy Republic

10th December 1958

Africa

10, 10a


Malagasy Republic	Republika Malagasy	Democratic Republic of Malagasy	Republic of Madagascar
1958 Sc300 SG1	1961 Sc321 SG29 FICC#665 Θ	1976 Sc549 SG353 Δ	1993 Sc1167 SG? ◊

Scott [3] states, "The Malagasy Republic succeeded the colony of Madagascar in 1958 and became the Democratic Republic of Malagasy in 1975. The official name was again changed in 1993 to Republic of Madagascar."

Scott numbers Malagasy sequentially, while Gibbons [4] starts again at #1.

Independence

1960 Sc-B18 SG28

Θ The FICC catalogue recognises a 1961 issue when the spelling changes to Republika Malagasy. A case can also be made for the previous issue, a single semi-postal, overprinted for independence, shown right.
Δ This is the first stamp inscribed "Democratic Republic of Malagasy", however, Gibbons starts the section earlier at SG338, Sc543. Scott does not identify any particular stamp as beginning that era.
◊ Again, Scott does not mark the beginning of the era, but this might be the first stamp with a change of name, as the lowest value in a set depicting orchids, but the denomination does not match the Scott listing. 1993 issues are not listed in Gibbons Simplified, 2004 [5] , although some are noted as "in excess of postal needs".