The Philatelic Database – Archive of Stamp Collecting Articles

This little hunt for butterflies in West Africa requires neither net nor mosquito repellent, so forget your pith helmet and take a relaxing look at the beautiful and exotic stamp issues of Gabon.

For our many collectors of West Africa, here is a video which should prove informative

The Anglo-German boundary of 1890, had done much to separate many of the tribes of West Africa…

Here’s an early archival video of Togoland. This should be of great interest to collectors of West Africa and German colonies:

This article is based on an article, which originally appeared in the “Stamp Collectors’ Fortnightly”, October 28, 1911.

The original St. Helena sixpenny stamp, printed by Perkins, Bacon & Co. in 1856, bore a completely new and rather austere head of Queen Victoria, probably engraved by Humphrys.

[Paper read before the Brighton branch of the Junior Philatelic Society, UK]

These handsome stamps showing the elderly Queen Victoria were designed by G.D. Drummond and recess printed by Waterlow and Sons Ltd. Owing to a temporary shortage in Southern Nigeria, the latter issues were put into use during 1902.

This article was originally published by the United States Government Printing Office in 1929. It should be of great interest to postal historians of West Africa, who may be interested in understanding the formalities governing the postal arrangements between the Gold Coast (Ghana) and the United States.

This 18k. multicoloured stamp issued on December 10, 1979 celebrated the International Apartheid Year.

Announcing the publication of a new book entitled “West Africa in the British Library Philatelic Collections” by Jeremy Martin and John Powell.

Some stamps have been issued having an advertisement printed on the back. The most well-known are certain Queen Victoria issues of New Zealand, but some British stamps were also printed experimentally. Modern self-adhesives from Sierra Leone have advertisements printed on the backing paper. Sometimes known as Adson. .

This article was taken from “Gibbons Stamp Monthly” (October, 1956). It contains some interesting material concerning the early issues of the Elizabethan reign and the printers and designs of these issues. It should be of interest to all of our West African enthusiasts. To the Gold Coast goes the honour of being the first British [...]

Here is a curious little article, concerning the West African country of Fernando Po, which I discovered in a very early journal, “The Stamp Collector’s Magazine” (May 1, 1869). It is republished, with little correction, retaining its Victorian style.

Whilst trawling through early philatelic journals looking for interesting and informative articles for The Philatelic Database, I came across this very early paper read at the Plymouth Philatelic Society by Mr. A Levy (Hon. Secretary), January 11, 1893. “If any member is curious as to the reasons which have prompted me to select the postage [...]