Month: October 2023

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State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs 1918, it would appear the new boss in Bosnia is Serb

A while back, The Philatelist did an Austria Hungary Bosnian region stamp overprinted to reflect the occupation of Serbia, see https://the-philatelist.com/2020/03/27/serbia-1916-with-bosnia-occupying-serbia-in-the-service-of-germans-it-may-be-time-to-stamp-the-black-hand/    .Three years later, the same issue of stamps is now overprinted to reflect Serbia was not only back in charge in Serbia but had Bosnia and relishing it with lots of fun cross outs. Emperor Franz Joseph was dead so lets cross him out and the new State of… failed to mention Bosnia  so better also cross that out as well. At least the stamp is still denominated in Austrian money, so there are additional cross outs to look forward to. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

As Yugoslavia was coming together in the last days of World War I, a rare show of unity was displayed by all the various ethnicities from Yugoslavia who were members of the Austrian Reichsrat parliament. They would work together toward succession. Stamp overprints tell the real story though, the Serbian Cyrillic script tells the Bosnians who was in charge.

Todays stamp is issue A23, a 3 Heller stamp issued by the not internationally recognized state of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs in October 1918. It was a 16 stamp issue of overprints on an Austrian Bosnian military postage stamp from 1912 featuring Emperor Franz Joseph. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 40 cents unused. A postal cancellation doubles the value. the unoverstampted original from 1912 is also worth 40 cents unused.

At the time of this stamp there was still officially an Austrian appointed military governor of Bosnia, a Croatian General in Austrian service named Stjepan Sarkotic. He was not in favor of the Serbian takeover of the area though he realized there was going to be a major restructuring. In 1910, Austria allowed for freedom of religion in Bosnia to practice and not face attempts at conversion. To a large extent, this made Bosnian Muslims more comfortable. So it was with them that he met in the last days trying to avoid Serbian domination.

Austrian/Croat Governor of Bosnia Stjepan Sarkotic. He doesn’t look like the type of guy Bosnian Muslims could go to.

I mentioned above the action of the Yugoslav members of the Reichsrat. They were inspired by American President Woodrow Wilson peace proposal that specially set out self determination and autonomy for the many peoples of Austria Hungary. It was this spirit that lead to the forming of the State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs that indeed had representation from some from all the ethnicities including the Bosnian Muslims.

Serbian Army enters Zagreb in 1918 during the State of Slovenes s Croats, and Serbs in 1918

It was not to be. Entente power Italy was still at war with them trying to grab territory and the Entente powers decided instead on a Kingdom for the area under the old Serbian King. The new Kingdom arrested now former Governor Sarkotic. When he was released he relocated to Vienna and worked with Croat nationalists there. His goal was reunification of Croatia and Bosnia with Austria because he thought it the only way for the other peoples of Yugoslavia not to be crushed by Serbian nationalism and the influence of the Serbian Orthadox Church. He died in 1939 before the next round of Yugoslav postal cross outs folowing the German invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941, see https://the-philatelist.com/2019/09/20/croatia-1941-crossing-out-peter-ii-is-something-we-all-can-agree-on/  .

Well my drink is empty. Come again soon when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Quaiti State in Hadhramait 1969, The what state in where

The stamp topical guys have found another important country with which to show off western art. Where do you guess this is? Thee choices; the United Arab Emirates, Somaliland, or the Yemen. Those who guessed Yemen were correct. I guessed UAE knowing Finbar Kenny sought out some pretty small villages looking for Emirs and mythic post offices. This actually was a semi autonomous Sultanate affiliated with the British colony at Aden to the north. By the time of this issue however. communists had overrun the area and incorporated it into South Yemen. They let not good for postal use stamp issues continue though notice it is a state now not a Sultanate. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The quite nice painting on this stamp was painted by Thomas Gainsborough R. A. late in his career in 1785. It was painted of a young couple of 21 years, the future Mr. and Mrs. Hallett and their Pomeranian sheepdog. It was a period when British artists like Gainsborough were getting more recognized with the help of the then new Royal Academy and the fancy people could buy their art locally. Over the fullness of time, the particulars of the people on the painting became less important and the painting acquired the title “The morning walk” that it did not have in period. The painting is in the collection of the British National Gallery.

Sorry value seekers, this is a fake stamp so there is no catalog value.

Forces under Sultan Quaiti conquered this area in southern Yemen in 1881. The Sultan than entered into a treaty relationship with the British in 1890 and the area became a protectorate of the British Colony in Aden. In the early 1960s, the British intended to leave the area and they created a Federation of South Arabia as a hoped for successor state. The Quaiti Sultanate refused to join the Federation.

Map of area in period

The British had bigger problems in the area. Pan Arabist communists were receiving much support from Egypt’s Nasser and Britain had to declare a state of emergency in Aden. Over a short period there was a bomb attack on the colonial governor, an Air Aden airliner was shot down with no survivors, and most shockingly the Aden police mutinied and ambushed and killed 23 British soldiers. The British understandably lost interest in South Arabia and just left in November 1968.

Remember though the Quaiti Sultanate was not a part of South Arabia. They hoped for a UN referendum on the areas future. Instead that November the Yemen marched in unopposed and that was the end of the Sultanate. If you think of the relative position of Aden verses Dubai back in the protectorate days and think of Aden now. It would not be difficult to conclude that a still British influenced South Arabia under the Sultans might have been a better outcome. Neither Aden nor Dubai itself have much oil.

Well my drink is empty and one wonders what it must be like in modern Aden. When people think of how some of the old international trading cities thrived post Britain and others just sunk  into hell holes do you blame the British, do you blame Nasser, or do you look in the mirror. The last must be the hardest. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Tanzania 1993, Attack aircraft with training wheels for Africa

America with it’s wide open spaces used supersonic training jets since the 1960s. Europe stayed with simpler slower trainers to go with their crowded skies. African countries weren’t having much luck keeping Mig or Mirage supersonic fighter bombers in service for long. Copying South Africa, they began to eye the European trainers as attack aircraft. Simple easy to fly planes and remember it is not likely the other guys Mig will get off the ground. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Here we have a nice portrait of an Italian made Aeromachi MB339 looking ready to do more than train pilots. The MB339 was an improved version of the MB 326 with a raised rear cockpit to give a better view. The MB 326 was the huge African success with over 200 used by South Africa and dozens more used by Zambia, Congo, Ghana, Togo, and Tunisia. The MB339 was less successful in Africa but a few went to Eritrea, Ghana, and Nigeria. Notice I did not mention Tanzania. Their Air Force relies on China to provide thier copies of Mig fighters. China earlier attempt at jet trainers failed, see  https://the-philatelist.com/2020/04/17/china-1958-dreams-of-a-future-in-aviation/  . So Tanzania tries to keep their 40 year old Migs operational.

A row of Chinese made Mig 21 supersonic fighters in Tanzanian service. How would you like to be the Chinese pilot that has to try to get one in the air?

Todays stamp is issue A181, a 70 Shilling stamp issued by Tanzania on April 25th, 1994. This was a 7 stamp issue in various denominations that was also available as a souvenir sheet. None of the aircraft models displayed were used by Tanzania. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 75 cents cancelled to order.

South Africa faced a unique problem in the 1970s. The Air Force had a large fleet of French Mirage fighters and British Buccaneer and Canberra bombers. There was a bush war in in South West Africa where there was no air opposition. With sanctions meaning the expensive planes would be hard to replace, it also meant they would be hard to use. Before sanctions bit, South Africa had acquired a license to manufacture the Italian Aeromachi MB326 jet training plane. The South Africans called them Impalas and built over 200 with the capability to drop bombs, strafe, and fire light rockets. Many third world nations saw this as an answer to their inability to maintain expensive supersonic fighters. Casa in Spain. BAE in Britain, Aero in Czechoslovakia, Soko in Yugoslavia in addition to Aeromachi in Italy began to offer their training planes fitted out for combat. Many offered single seat versions, but it was felt it was better to keep the back seat to enhance training functions and even to act as bombardiers in combat.

The South African war in Southwest Africa eventually outgrew the Impalas, see https://the-philatelist.com/2020/01/28/south-west-africa-1981-put-down-your-crowbar-and-we-will-throw-out-the-cubans/   . Angola acquired a force of Cuban flown and maintained Soviet Mig 23s and South Africa returned to using the expensive Mirage fighters. After the change in government, South Africa did not maintain the large fleet of Impalas. Instead they bought a small fleet of quite advanced Swedish Saab Gripen fighters. that rarely fly in the Tanzania style.

China eventually got into the act with the Hongdu K-8. It was much delayed because at the last minute the Chinese had to substitute a Russian engine for the American turbofan the plane had been designed for. So finally Tanzania was able to acquire a modern jet trainer 20 years after this stamp.

I couldn’t find a picture of a Tanzanian Hongdu K-8, but here is one in Zimbabwe’s service.

Interestingly the South African experience probably held back sales of the improved MB339. It was decided to retain the old Rolls Royce Viper turbojet instead of moving to more efficient turbofans as most new trainer by then offered. This was done in hopes of South African orders, South Africa would not have been allowed the British/French Adour turbofan.

Well my drink is empty and so I will have to wait till Monday when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Canada 1929, Crossing the Saint Lawrence proves deadly

Quebec City had long desired a bridge over the Saint Lawrence River to connect the town of Levis. There was much struggle with financing but once construction started, the real problems showed as sections kept collapsing. As a result Canada much formalized the certification for being an engineer. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The building of the Quebec Bridge required 3 attempts, took 30 years to complete, cost three times what it was supposed to and the lives of 88 of the workers who labored to build it. This stamp from 10 years later seems to be that all is well that ends well. Hmm..

Todays stamp is issue A55 a 12 cent stamp issued by Canada in 1929. It was an eleven stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth $9.00 used. Not sure if the bottom perforation on my copy were trimmed at one point of whether it connected at one point to the more valuable imperforate pair version? Contemplating this mystery lead me to consult the prominent Canadian stamp dealer Christopher McFetridge. I encourage you all to check out his website http://brixtonchrome.com. Chris informed me that the trimmed bottom occurred on the lower edge of an upper pane of a four pane printer’s sheet of stamps. This was only done from the mid 1920s till 1934.

Quebec City wanted a bridge over the Saint Lawrence as far back as 1852. The crossing there was by ferry or a winter ice bridge. Whether the high cost should be paid by the two cities the province or the federal government was the question. The design finally got going when it was rolled into the National Transcontinental Railway project. At the time it was to be the longest steel riveted cantilever bridge in the world. Starting in 1929 it was the second longest thanks to another Canadian bridge, the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario.

Sir Collingswood Schreiber, he was knighted before the project. The honour was never stripped.

The project was under Sir Collongwood Schreiber, to which reported a dedicated railway engineer named Douglas. Mr. Douglas noted that calculations being turned in by contractors made no sense and required further work. To avoid delays, Douglas was fired and the project went ahead. The steel once actually cut proved much heavier than thought and as it was coming together there was much obvious warping. Schreiber assured every thing would be fine but then found other employment on a different lesser project. In 1907 there was a huge collapse of the still incomplete bridge. 75 workers died. Many of their grave markers were crosses fashioned from steel from the bridge.

1907 wreckage from the first attempt

A Royal enquiry followed that pointed to weak steel cables. A second attempt to build the bridge began. Disaster again struck. While attempting to lift the preconstructed center section in place, the section instead broke free and fell into the river. 13 more died this time. The next year in 1917 a new center section was successfully put in place. The bridge opened the next year to train, street car, automobile, and pedestrian service.

Third time the charm with the center section in 1917

Remember the bridge was originally part of the transcontinental railway project. This is complicating the bridge’s current situation. About 60 percent of the steel is heavily corroded. The now privately owned railway says it is just cosmetic so not important. The city of Quebec, the province or Quebec  and the federal government all want to see it fixed. It is back to the 19th century though with arguments on who should pay. In 1995 the bridge was declared a national historic site which allows for public funds for preservation. It will be interesting to see if the money comes through before the rust rerenders the structure unsafe.

Well my drink is empty and my bet is with the rust, Come again soon when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

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Kiautschou 1905. The German Navy attempts a model colony in China

The German colonies standard stamp issue was a view of the Kaiser’s yacht. The hope was he would come for them in times of trouble. In 1914 Kaiser Wilhelm announced he would rather turn Berlin over to the Russians than Kiautschou over to the Japanese. Inspired by the Kaiser’s words the colonists mounted a defense of the colony, despite being outnumbered 10-1 and no help coming from Germany, certainly not the Kaiser’s yacht. The Kaiser ended up turning over Kiautschou to Japan. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

There was a lot of second thoughts about maintaining far off colonies as was being promoted by German merchants. One proponent was Kaiser Wilhelm. Perhaps given this his yacht instead of his portrait or a battleship should have given colonists pause. Most of the colonies fell at the beginning of World War I without a fight.

Todays stamp is issue A3 a three cent stamp issued by the German naval colony at Kiautschau in 1905. There is an earlier version of the issue denominated in pfennig and marks. This was a ten stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.75 used.

In the 1890s, much mapmaking was being carried out by Germans hoping to find a German equivalent of Hong Kong. Germans had both the desire to create a model colony and the need for a coaling station for Germany’s far eastern naval presence. No target was finalized when two German priests in Kiatschou were killed in their beds by 20 armed members of the Chinese Big Swords Society. The Big Swords Society were local units of peasant farmers who fought back against looters, bandits, tax collectors, and apparently missionaries. The group’s members believed themselves immune to bullets based on the magic of their leaders. The far east German naval commander out of Shanghai wired Berlin and suggested taking advantage of the provocation and taking Kiautschou. He was told to sail the fleet immediately. Germany landed 700 rifle armed sailors and faced no opposition from the much more numerous Chinese defenders. The morning they landed and secured the place in two hours they received a further wire telling them not to land but wait for negotiations with China. They wired back saying they had already taken the city and made a public declaration. Berlin told them to then stay and negotiated from strength a Hong Kong style 99 year lease going till 1997.

German depiction of the Big Sword Society killing the Priests in their bedclothes
German landing in 1897

Germans set out to build their ideal colony under a naval administration. A railway was built to the nearest coal mine that Germany owned. A new city plan was devised and then expanded in 1910. By the time of Sun Yat-sen’s visit in 1912. The colony had the highest proportion of schools and students in China. He remarked that the colony was a model for China’s future.

When war came in 1914, the German far east fleet was mostly at sea and did not return to the colony out of fear of being bottled up. Japan declared war on Germany and began a blockade. They landed 25,000 troops that were backed up by 1000 British and 500 Sihks. There were several friendly fire incidents until the Japanese gave the British Japan style raincoats to wear. The blockade and siege lasted 2 months until the Germans gave up. On their way to be prisoners of war in Japan, they spat at the British that fought alongside the Japanese. The Treaty of Berlin from 1885 stated that Europeans should stick together in far off colonies no matter political differences in Europe.

German gun at Bismarck Fort destroyed by Japanese naval bombardment

Japan only held the colony until 1922 until it was returned to China under pressure from the USA. The Japanese were back during World War II. Post war for a few years the American Pacific fleet was based in what was now called Qingdao, using the old German port facilities. They left in 1948. The city now has more than 8 million people. If you are wondering what ever happened to the Big Sword Society. After expending much effort to convert them to the communist cause, in 1953 the government ordered the remnants liquidated. There have been small attempts to relaunch the societies using overseas Chinese who had kept up the traditions.

Well my drink is empty, and so I will have to wait until there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.