POST MARKS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
PREPARED BY ALEX VISSER (RDPSA)
EXPLANATORY NOTES TO THE ADDENDUM OF
“THE POSTMARKS OF SOUTH AFRICA AND FORMER STATES AND COLONIES”
Since Ralph Putzel, RDPSA, published the first volume of the ten-volume opus magnus in 1992, major changes in the status of post offices in Southern Africa occurred. Many post offices were closed, and new post offices opened. Furthermore, many cancellers were unable to handle the year 2000. The SA Post Office resolved to use a standard steel canceller, based on the Swiss style which is termed “new style” in the description. Apparently some 7 600 of these cancellers were issued.
However, individual post offices were given certain freedom, and some regions resolved to use a variety of self-inking cancellers. These have been found to have a relatively short life of two to four years and may become elusive in years to come. Until clarity on their availability is obtained, their price has been retained at 2/10, as for all current material, consistent with the original pricing.
In the Addendum, which is maintained in electronic format to facilitate inclusion of new information in the correct position, the same style as the original books is kept. Information readily available in the books is not repeated. Note that the books are out of print and will not be reprinted.
The same numbering system as in the books is maintained, except in some isolated instances where the information for a particular post office is renumbered, but this is clearly indicated. Where the information of a canceller in the book is modified an asterisk is found after the number, such as No. 4*. If no asterisk is shown the information is new. This is also true of additional variants of the date format.
SOUTH AFRICA
Postmarks are listed alphabetically per Post Office
To locate your search, please click on the applicable letters of the alphabet
Unrecorded cancellers, or better copies of illustrated strikes, are always welcome. These can be sent electronically (scanned at 300 dpi) or as clear photocopies.
A large number of postal historians have provided me with new information, which is gratefully acknowledged. I would like to express my appreciation to them all for providing material for the Addendum.
Alex Visser (RDPSA) alex.visser@up.ac.za
GERMAN SOUTH WEST AFRICA/SOUTH WEST AFRICA/NAMIBIA
ADDENDUM TO THE COMPREHENSIVE HANDBOOK of the POSTMARKS OF GERMAN SOUTH WEST AFRICA/SOUTH WEST AFRICA/NAMIBIA by RALPH F PUTZEL, prepared by ALEX VISSER
Some 30 years have elapsed since Ralph Putzel published THE COMPREHENSIVE HANDBOOK of the POSTMARKS OF GERMAN SOUTH WEST AFRICA/SOUTH WEST AFRICA/NAMIBIA in 1991. In the intervening period considerable new research has become available. Additionally the Namibian independence in 1990 and the year 2000 required the introduction of a complete new range of date stamps. It has become time to consolidate this new information into a single document, albeit in electronic format. This Addendum is the document, and it builds on the originally published book but does not duplicate the information, unless there is a correction or addition to the previously published information.
I wish to acknowledge the encouragement that I received from Dr Hans Ulrich (Uli) Bantz, President of the South West Africa Study Group (SWASG), over many years to update the Putzel book. Dr Bantz was also the Editor of the SWASG Newsletter that documented many of the new finds. Without the huge assistance I received from Herrn Friedhelm Beck, Secretary of the Windhoek Philatelic Society (WPS), who managed to compile a complete listing with ancillary information on post-independence and the year 2000 date stamps, this work would not have materialised, as my own collection obtained from mail use, was sadly incomplete. I express my sincerest appreciation to Friedhelm for his kind support, and also wish to acknowledge the extracts of the background from an unpublished document he prepared which I included in the Introduction with his permission. Both Friedhelm and I received substantial assistance from NamPost and in particular Ms Hannelie Maasdorp, Manager, and Ms Sannie van Wyk of NamPost’s Philatelic Services, which I wish to acknowledge.
Postmarks are listed alphabetically per Post Office as in the book
To locate your search, please click on the applicable link in blue
Day wheels on date stamps are separate, and for dates up to 9 the other digit wheel could be a block, a hyphen or a blank. These are normal and although Putzel describes some of them they are not variants and are no longer recorded.
Abbreviations additional to those on p.175 of the book: S.A.M.C. – South African Military Constabulary
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE
REVISED LISTING OF THE POST OFFICES AND THE POSTAL MARKINGS
1792-1910
Franco Frescura and Alex Visser
To locate your search, please click on the applicable link in blue
FOREWORD
by Franco Frescura
It gives me great pleasure to write the Introduction to this, the next stage of this research project. This work has had a long and chequered career. Begun late in 1978 when Michael Nethersole, David Morrison and I discovered a common interest in the postal history of the Cape Colony, it rapidly developed a life of its own, and for a long time we despaired that it would ever be finished. David dropped out in 1981, while Michael and I developed an on-off-on arrangement as our respective careers took their unpredictable paths. Inevitably my wife Lesley was also “press-ganged” into service, and many a cold Highveld night was spent by the two of us reconciling hopelessly tangled Colonial records. Yes, we did have better things to do, but at that time our daughter was just settling down into her sleeping routine … well, you know the rest.
ZUID-AFRIKAANSCHE REPUBLIEK (ZAR)/TRANSVAAL
ZAR AND TRANSVAAL DATE-STAMPS UNTIL UNION:
A WORKING CATALOGUE
by Bas Payne and Alex Visser: original publication and updates
Introduction and purpose:
The purpose of this catalogue is to provide a chronological listing of the date-stamps used by the postal authorities in Transvaal, from the beginnings until Union (31 May 1910). Handwritten cancellations are outside the scope of this catalogue even when dated.
This catalogue is based on the listing of Transvaal date-stamps in Putzel’s catalogue (Putzel and Visser 1992-2003; referred to as Put) and Alex Visser’s Addenda (Visser nd; referred to as Add), and uses their numbering; it gives more detail, especially earliest and latest reported dates of use, and more illustrations of examples, and is arranged chronologically by earliest date of use.
Other published sources on which this catalogue depends heavily are:
- Mathews’ Transvaal Philately (Mathews 1986, hereinafter referred to as Mat),
- Putzel’s Encyclopedia of post offices and agencies (Putzel 1986-90, (Ency)),
- the series of three articles on ZAR date-stamps published by Alan Drysdall and George van den Hurk in The Transvaal Philatelist (van den Hurk and Drysdall 1993 (vdH&D), van den Hurk 1993 (vdH), and Drysdall and van den Hurk 1994 (D&vdH)), and
- Frits Aab’s website (Aab nd).
This catalogue is being published in parts in the Transvaal Philatelist, which are being put on this website with the very kind permission of the Transvaal Study Circle committee https://transvaalstudycircle.org/ Updates will be added on this website as new information becomes available; we hope that fellow-collectors will help.
Listing conventions and abbreviations
To locate your search, please click on the applicable link in blue
SWAZILAND PHILATELY TO 1968
LISTING OF THE POST OFFICES AND THE POSTAL MARKINGS
by Alex Visser
The early postal services in Swaziland were provided by the South African Republic (ZAR) post office from 1887 until the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War. The first postmarks were versions of the ZAR postmarks of the time. During the War no postal service functioned in Swaziland. After the War in late 1902 the service was restored initially under Transvaal administration, and later the Union postal administration, and new postmark types began to appear.
Swaziland issued their first stamps on 2 January 1933, but administration of the post offices was only transferred from the Union Post Office from 1 January 1954.
The book “Swaziland Philately to 1968” edited by Peter van der Molen RDPSA FRPSL was published in 2013 by the Royal Philatelic Society London. This magnus opus is no longer in print but is available in an electronic version.
A number of new items and information has become available since publication and Chapter 15 of this book is now presented in an updated web based electronic version with kind permission of the editor. In order to maintain an alphabetical order new information is added under the office. As a result some page formatting has been lost compared with the published version. Background and supporting information contained in the book has been included in separate sections in this version and can be accessed by the links below. Modifications or new information is shown in bold red in the text.
In April 2018 what was known as SWAZILAND became ESWATINI. Only towards the end of 2019 the first date stamp appeared with the changed country name. This information is not relevant to the Chapter 15.
To locate your search, please click on the applicable link in blue
Office history, Typology, Rarity
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Updated December 2021
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Location of Post Office and places