POSTAGE STAMPS

Postage Stamps

In April 1854 the Government of Bombay received from Calcutta a letter stating that 3,000 sheets of ½ Anna stamps had been printed and that each sheet was of 360 stamps. This was estimated to be sufficient for six months use by all Post Offices under the control of the Indian Postmaster General. It was added that as it was proposed to introduce the new postal system on 1 June, it did not permit any delay in the distribution of stamps.

Bombay did its sums and then informed the Political Agent at Aden, that Aden’s allocation for one month was 2,567 stamps. Presumably this slightly odd number was arrived at by dividing the six month allocation for Aden, which was to be 15,552 stamps, by six. Or in other words 162 sheets as the ½ Anna sheets ended up being 96 and not 360 stamps to a sheet.

The first 81 sheets were despatched from the Bombay General Stamp Office on 6 June, with the remaining 81 following on the 30th. The Stamp Office also sent 50 sheets of 1 Anna stamps (also at 96 stamps to a sheet, a total of 4,800 stamps) on 30 August. This completed the initial issue, indents being required for further supplies. Postage stamps went into use on 1 October and not 1 June as had been originally intended.

Although Aden was administratively part of India it was to be some years later before it was agreed that mail to and from Aden and India could be sent at Indian Inland Rates of 1 Anna per ½ ounce. The rate meanwhile was 4 Annas per ½ ounce, whilst the rate to England at that time was 8 Annas (quite soon to be reduced to 4). The intended use of the lower denominations was for Indian Inland Rates (to which, as has been said, Aden was not entitled) and for Soldiers Sepoys and Seamen’s letters for which the rate was ½ Anna.

At this stage it was not compulsory to put stamps on letters and certainly until the 2 and 4 Anna stamps arrived in December 1854 it would not have been very convenient to have used the lower denominations on mail to the UK. Bearing in mind the postal rates mentioned in the previous paragraph there was little call for 2 Anna stamps once 4 Anna stamps were available. In fact only 50 sheets of 2 Anna stamps (at 80 stamps to the sheet) were ever sent to Aden, of which only 28 sheets were issued to the two outlets, the Post office in Camp and the one licenced vendor. This amount to only just over a thousand stamps and makes it quite easily the rarest of the imperforate stamps used in Aden.

Where the vendor was located is not clear but it may have been in Tawahi as the very great majority of 4 Anna stamps sold were sold by him and not by the post office. Some 1 Anna stamps would have been used to pay Ship Letter charges, that is for mail carried on ships that were not designated mail steamers. Thus both 1 as well as the 2 Anna stamps of this first imperforated issue of postage labels (as they were also referred to) are also very rare used in Aden.

From April to November 1855 about 1,200 of the 4 Anna stamps/labels were being used at Aden each month. They were issued in sheets of only 12 stamps to a sheet. Aden had also indented twice for 8 Anna stamps, but these were never sent, as no stamp of this denomination was ever printed imperforate.

This photo of the Crescent in the early 1930's shows the Manackjee shop, no doubt now run by sons or grandsons.

Both the Post office and the vendor, who was named Eduljee Maneckjee, were paid commission on sales of stamps. In 1857 it would appear that the discount was ½ Anna in each Rupee, or in other words 3.125%. Initially, back in 1854-55 it was probably only 2.75% - but even so this would have been a ‘nice little earner’ for the vendor.

During 1855 from March to July inclusive only 4 Anna stamps were issued from the Treasury to the two outlets. The first and only indent for the year 1855-56 was on the 2 July for 500 sheets of 4 Anna stamps. The total quantity of 4 Anna stamps that arrived in Aden up until mid-August 1855 less than 20,000 stamps.

Perforated stamps were issued in India October 1855 and these would have arrived from India the following month. Residual stocks of imperforated stamps were being sold until some time in 1858, when any remaining stocks were withdrawn. Although a total of 31,104 of the ½ Anna imperforated stamps had been sent to Aden, not more than half had been used by 1858. The reason for this was that until 1884 Sepoys serving off mainland India were not yet entitled to the ½ Anna concessionary rate. They had to pay the full rate but were then reimbursed the difference from regimental funds, regiments submitting an annual bill to the Indian Post Office.’ Thus the ½ and the 4 Anna stamps of this first issue are of more or less equal rarity. The number of 1d Blacks issued in the UK was 60 million! (But how many philatelists collect ‘India used in Aden’?!)