The postage stamps of Syria offer a wide and interesting field of study to the general collector as well as to the most minute and exacting of philatelic specialists. There is a wide field of issues, overprints, surcharges, errors and provisionals. One can collect a representative collection of fifty or accumulate a specialised collection running into the thousands.

While Syria was part of the Turkish Empire the various stamps of that country were, of course, used in Syria. The Turks, however, were defeated by the Allied forces in 1918, and during February and March, 1918, the Palestine type, 1 Piastre, deep blue, and then light blue, was used. Printed by the Typographical Department, Survey of Egypt, in Cairo; watermark Royal Cipher and rouletted 20. The deep blue was issued ungummed and the light blue gummed. Then, later, followed a eleven values, issued also in Palestine in 1918, and printed by the stamping department of the of Inland Revenue, Somerset House, London; watermark Royal Cipher and perforated 15 x I4.

The above issues were chiefly used in Palestine, parts of Asia Minor and in Eastern Syria only.

Meanwhile, in 1919, in Beyrout, the centre of the French zone of operations, new stamps were issued consisting of French issues of 1900-1906 overprinted “T.E.O.” and surcharged in Egyptian currency, the “T.E.O.” standing for “Territoires Ennemis Occupés.” Later, French Levant stamps of 1902-1906 were used and similarly overprinted. The above stamps were in use only in Western Syria or in the territory now known as Grand Liban.

In 1918 the Emir Feisal, now King of Iraq, entered Damascus and established a provisional government under his administration but under British control. In the beginning of 1920 the stamps of Turkey from 1913-1919 were used provisionally and overprinted in Damascus with the Arabic seal “Hakuma el Arabia,” and some of the stamps surcharged in Egyptian currency. On March 4th, 1920, the Emir Feisal was proclaimed King of United Syria, and a special set of stamps was issued by the Arabian Government of Syria, and one of the set, the 5 milliemes, pink, overprinted in Arabic with green ink, “In commemoration of the independence of Syria. Adar (March) 8th 1920.” The overprinted Turkish provisionals continued in use for about two months, and one can find covers with the British E.E.F. stamps, Turkish overprints and regular Syrian issues together on same. On July 24th the independent Syrian Arab kingdom ceased to exist; the Syrian army was defeated by French troops, and the French seized the machinery of government and have continued to have control of the country ever since.

In July, 1920, the French administration in Damascus seized the remaining stocks of Syrian stamps issued by the Arabian Government and overprinted them ”O.M.F.” (“Occupation Militaire Francaise”). This overprint was already in use in Western Syria, on French stamps and surcharged in Egyptian currency. The “O.M.F.” overprints continued in use in Eastern Syria till 1922. In 1923 the stamps of France 1900-1921 were overprinted “SYRIE-GRAND LIBAN,” for use in all parts of Syria. In the early part of 1924 the same issue of French stamps (1900-1921) were overprinted “SYRIE,” while in Western Syria, henceforth known as Grand Liban, the same stamps were overprinted “GRAND LIBAN.” In the latter part of 1924 a new issue for Alaouites came out separately. Previously this district of Syria used the postage stamps of Syria. At this time also the stamps of France were overprinted and surcharged in Arabic as well as French. The stamps of Great Lebanon and Syria also received this bi-lingual overprint.

On January 1st, 1925, the present Pictorial set was issued, consisting of one set for Syria and another for Great Lebanon. There were thirteen values from 10 centiemes to 25 Piastres, four Air Mail stamps, and five Postage Dues. The stamps were designed by J. de la Néziére and printed in France by the Helio Vaugirard. The set for Alaouites consists of Syrian current stamps overprinted bi-lingually.

In the latter part of August 1926, the 75 centiemes, 1 Piastre 25 centiemes, and 2 Piastres 50 centiemes were withdrawn from all three countries and surcharged respectively 3 P.50, 12 Ps., and 6 Ps. On October 4th, 1926, the 25 centiemes was withdrawn and surcharged 4 Ps., and remaining stock of 1 P. 25 surcharged 20 Ps. In the latter part of November, 1926, the remaining stocks of 75 centiemes and 2 Ps. 50 were surcharged 4 Ps. 50 and 7 Ps. 50. This became necessary on account of the fall of Syrian currency which is based on the franc. To meet the demand for a new value the 25 Ps. was surcharged 15 Ps.

An entire new series is in preparation for Great Lebanon.

Errors and varieties exist in abundance in all issues, such as reversed surcharge, double surcharge, missing letters and figures forming all manner of combinations and freaks.

There is no doubt that the stamps of Syria form a good investment for the near future. There will no doubt be a considerable rise in catalogue prices. In fact, they are already rising. Some of the stamps of Syria are already getting scarce. For instance, the 2 Piastres on 45 centiemes, green and blue, S.G. 153, S.G. 155, S.G. 151. The same is true of the various Olympic sets. S.G. 212 has already leaped to a shilling before the new catalogue is hardly thought of. S.G. 214 and S.G. 219 will be rarities in the new catalogues when out.

Forgeries of the Feisal overprints abound. A knowledge of Arabic is essential for the inexperienced novice to be able to detect them. The specialist will have no difficulty in finding them out. Beware of unused copies and examine carefully the postmarks of all used copies.

Feisal provisionals were only issued in Eastern Syria and should, if postally used, bear the postmarks of Horns, Hama, Aleppo and Damascus and the towns in these districts only. At the time these stamps were used the postmarks in use bore the Christian date in French (and it should be “1920″) and the Moslem date year “38″ in Arabic. If it bears any other it is a forgery. I have seen some with the date “1915″ with the Damascus postmark, but they were only used Turkish stamps of the time when Damascus was a part of the Turkish Empire, with the overprint forged later.

The same numbers were printed of the Pictorial sets of Grand Liban, and the same number of the Refugee sets.

The numbers for Syria include those afterwards overprinted for the use of Alaouites.

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MY FIRST VISIT to www.philatelicdatabase.com was memorable, in the way one might remember a first encounter with a fine wine. And please don’t scoff until you have had a taste yourself, because this site really is a modern classic. With appeal for philatelists of all levels of experience and specialisms, the design and content are refined but relaxed in tone; at once authoritative and compelling.

The Philatelic Database home page carries teasers for a dozen or so fresh and fascinating stories from around the world, plus an inviting array of links to news feeds, thematic articles, discussion threads, a weekly opinion poll and an invitation to subscribe to a free weekly newsletter. The main sections of the site are well conceived and delivered, all well worth a visit: Stamp Profiles, Video, Maps, Dictionary, Crosswords, Directories, Facebook Forums and Post Offices.

Co-founders Richard Turton and William Cochrane worked on the concept for more than a year before the site launched in 2007: ‘We both worked for the journal Philately from Australia between 2005 and 2006,’ Turton recalls, ‘and very much wanted to take that publication online, but couldn’t get the idea authorised, so we made our own site. We wanted to create an online archive for articles that would otherwise be lost or only available to society members.’

Now one is based in Leeds and the other in Australia, and they ‘utilise Skype and email to best advantage.’ The quality of the writing is the best I have seen on a stamp website; all is clear, readable and modern, presenting stamp collecting as very much alive and part of the present. Turton’s considerable experience in Graphic Design is immediately evident.

‘We listen very closely to our readers,’ he says. ‘The site has changed a lot in response to their needs and concerns. We initially had an online Forum section that was integrated into the site itself, but we saw that Facebook was growing at an incredible rate. Our Facebook page is a relatively new undertaking for us, but we are pleased with the positive response. So far most members look to exchange stamps. We also use Twitter, primarily to publish our rss feed and bring in new readers from that social network. We listen to our readers very closely and the site has changed greatly from its inception due to their needs and concerns. For example, it went from a three-column site to two columns in response to reader’s opinions. And it is always great when we receive comments from readers who recognise relatives or personal connections in the articles. One that comes to mind was the grand-daughter or great grand-daughter of the distinguished Irish philatelist Lane Joynt. After she discovered our article about him, she wanted to pass on some of his philatelic collection and we were happy to point her towards David Beech at the British Library.’

PhilatelicDatabase.com is that kind of place. Bulletin readers will revel in it •

You can subscribe to the British Philatelic Bulletin here

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The United Nations Postal Administration has drawn upon the talents of artists of many nations and varying backgrounds for the designs for the Organization’s first stamps. It was felt that designs should come from artists representing as many different cultures as possible, so that diverse interpretations of the international concept might be reflected in the stamps.

This brief profile of Mexican designer Leon Helguera begins a series focusing on the extent to which the artistic talents of many nations and many cultures have been utilized.

Leon Helguera
One of the eight designs chosen for the first regular issue of United Nations stamps was the work of Leon Helguera, a commercial designer and illustrator, whose design was used for the 1½ and 50 cent denominations.

Born in Mexico, Mr. Helguera worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for several Mexican publications before coming to the United States. In 1943, his design tor a stamp honoring the United Nations was chosen by the United States Post Office Department in a contest among leading American artists. Since then, he has designed stamps for the United States and the United Nations. (See also 1953 Canadian Jewish Chronicle article.)

1951

1953

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