Guadeloupe Postal History

Part I

Grand Prix d’Honneur

Washington 2006

Edward Grabowski

Guadeloupe Details

• Two principal islands – Grand-Terre (north

island) & Basse-Terre (south island)

• Dependency islands: St. Barthélémy, Saint

Martin, Désirade, Marie Galant & Les

Saints

• Capitol at Basse-Terre; Principal

commercial center at Pointe-a-Pitre

• Numerous small village post offices

Part I

• Use of Stamps of France 1851 – 1853 (1f50c)

• Unpaid mail 1851 – 1853 (1f50c)

• Mail via commercial ships (35c)

• Mail via British Packets September 1853 –

December 1856 (1f20c)

• Rates of 50c paid or 60c unpaid 1857 – 1859

• French or British Packets 1860 -1863 (50c paid)

• French Packets 1864 – 1876 (50c paid)

Use of Stamps of France

• 1851 – 1853

• Trial basis in Guadeloupe, Martinique,

French Guiana and Reunion

• Rate of 1f50c per 7.5 g

• Via England

• Entry at Calais

Earliest recorded use of French stamps from any of the

Colonies – equivalent to a First Day Cover

November 2, 1851

Single weight (<7.5g) from Pointe-a-Pitre

January 15, 1852

Double weight (7.5g – 15g) from Pointe-a-Pitre

September 10, 1852

Triple weight (15g – 22.5g) from Pointe-a-Pitre

November 10, 1852

Double weight from Pointe-a-Pitre September 27, 1852

Prepaid at 1f50c and charged 15 decimes due on arrival

Pointe-a-Pitre June 27, 1853

Prepaid at 1f50c with 6 c 25c Ceres issues

Three known

Pointe-a-Pitre July 27, 1852

Double rate prepaid with 11 x 25c Ceres issues

Possibly unique but one stamp missing

Pointe-a-Pitre April 16, 1852

5 x 10c + 1F – Exceptional Franking

Grand Bourg, Guadeloupe December 27, 1853

Small village posting – only recorded copy

Moule, Guadeloupe August 26, 1852

Only recorded letter at double rate

Pointe-a-Pitre to Turin, Italy May 8, 1853

Double weight – 2 x 1f70c = 3f40c

Only recorded letter to foreign destination

from any of the four colonies

Unpaid Mail 1851 - 1853

• Possible to send mail unpaid during this

period

• Same rates as mail prepaid with stamps

• 1f50c per 7.5 g

• Carried under Article 13

• Via England

• Entry at Calais

Pointe-a-Pitre, June 13, 1852

Double rate – 30 decimes due

Petit Bourg, March 28, 1851

Port Louis, June 27, 1853

Double weight - 30 decimes due

Discovery copy

Grand Bourg, July 23, 1853

Mail via Commercial Ships

• Alternate method of transport

• Rate of 35 centimes: 25c postage and 10c

‘decime de mer’

• Less certain method

• Rarely seen

• No franked letters known from

Guadeloupe

Dated: Pointe-a-Pitre, July 27, 1853

Moule, June 30, 1851

Capesterre, June 23, 1852

September 1853 – December 1856

• Rate of 1f20c per 7.5 g via British Packet

• Typically unpaid

• Entry via Calais

• No stamps available

Single and double weight

Letters from Pointe-a-Pitre

Morne-a-l’Eau, May 24, 1856

Grand Bourg, March 9, 1854

Les Saintes, November 25, 1856

Only recorded copy

Saint Francois, September 25, 1854

Small Office Postings

1857 - 1859

• Pre-Eagles letters

• Postage

– Prepaid in cash – 50c per 7.5 g

– Unpaid – 60c per 7.5 g

• Via British Packets

• Entry at Calais

Anse Bertrand –

One of two known letters

From the 1850’s

Gozier/Gosier – triple rate

November 11, 1857

Discovery copy – two recorded

Saint Rose

June 22, 1857

Discovery copy

Petit Canal

Paid 50c in cash

November 10, 1859

Discovery Copy

Two examples recorded

Saint Martin

February 10, 1859

Unpaid – 6 decimes due

Front

Morne-a-l’Eau

Paid 50c in cash

July 27, 1859

Morne-a-l’Eau

July 27, 1859

Unpaid – 60c due

French or British Packets

1860 - 1863

• First mail with Eagles

• 50c per 7.5 g prepaid

• 60c per 7.5 g unpaid

• Brief period with equal rates

• Replaced January 1, 1864 with

– 50c French Packet rate

– 70c British Packet rate

Pointe-a-Pitre, June 28, 1863

Via French Packet

Martinique of Vera-Cruz line

Military datestamp applied in error

Pointe-a-Pitre, March 11, 1860

Double weight

Very early use of Eagles

Via British Packet

Pointe-a-Pitre, August 10, 1862

via British Packet

Pointe-a-Pitre, May 25, 1861

via British Packet

Basse-Terre, May 27, 1860

Unpaid – 60c due

Pointe-a-Pitre, October 26, 1860 – 6th weight level (3.00f)

Franked at 10 F (20th weight level) with 25 x 40c Eagles.

One lost enroute

Manuscript endorsement added noting such

Largest recorded multiple of 40c known

French Packet

1864 - 1876

• Reduced rate of 50c

• Applicable to French Packets

• Effective January 1, 1864

• Ended July 1, 1876 with beginning of UPU

• Initially prepaid with Eagles

• Subsequent use of later General Issues

Pointe-a-Pitre, February 24, 1865

Cachet of local packet line:

Martinique - Louisanne on reverse

Pointe-a-Pitre, May 26, 1863

COLONIES FRA TAMPICO

(Rare French Packet transit)

Pointe-a-Pitre, June 24, 1864

Double rate – 2 x 50c

Pointe-a-Pitre, March 8,1865

Double rate

Pointe-a-Pitre, June 24, 1865

Triple rate – 3 x 50c – rare combination

Triple weight letter posted Pointe-a-Pitre in 1869

Paris REBUTS….. Handstamp, etc

One of two letters known so processed

12th weight level letter from Pointe-a-Pitre

Pointe-a-Pitre, July 7, 1873

40c Ceres + 10c in cash

Blue cancels

Pointe-a-Pitre, May 23, 1872

GPE lozenge cancel

Double rate franked with only 20c stamps

Special PAQ FR datestamp

Use began in 1870

Basse-Terre, January 24, 1873

PAQ FR datestamp

Rare combination of 10c and 2 x 20c Ceres issues

Basse-Terre, 24 April 1875

PAQ FR datestamp

PAQ FR

PAQ FR