This 86-page hand-assembled album, titled Britische Besitzungen und Kolonien ("British Possessions and Colonies"), traces the postal history of the British Empire continent by continent. Each section opens with a hand-painted or clipped regional map — the Mediterranean, North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania — followed by mounted stamps, typewritten catalogue notes, and, in later sections, complete covers and first-day envelopes. It is a classic example of the old-school "collector's exhibit" style of album-building, where geography, history, and philately are presented side by side.
About the Collection
The album opens in Europe with Helgoland and Gibraltar, each introduced by a short typewritten history of how the territory came under British administration, before moving on to Malta and Cyprus. From there it crosses the Atlantic to Canada and the Caribbean possessions — including Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Bermuda — with a painted map of North America marking each colony in red. A dedicated South America section covers British Guiana, illustrated with a clipped magazine map of the continent.
The Africa section is the most extensive, opening with a full continental map showing the territories that once fell under colonial administration, followed by page after page of issues from West, East, and Southern Africa, including the Niger Coast Protectorate, Nigeria, and the Union/Republic of South Africa. A cover from the 1955 SATISE International Stamp Exhibition in Cape Town is mounted among these pages, alongside a small tribute display referencing the "Blue Mauritius," one of philately's most celebrated rarities.
The final third of the album moves through Asia and Oceania — Hong Kong, Malaya, and the Malay states — before closing with Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the wider Pacific island territories. Later pages shift from loose stamps to full first-day covers and airmail envelopes, reflecting how the collector's approach evolved from classic-era mounting to postal-history collecting as the album progressed.
Key Highlights
- 86 pages spanning six continents' worth of British colonial postal history
- Hand-painted and magazine-clipped maps introducing each region
- Typewritten catalogue notes on the political history of each territory
- Classic-era used stamps from Helgoland, Gibraltar, Malta, and Cyprus
- Colonial issues from Canada, the Caribbean, and British Guiana
- An extensive Africa section, including Nigeria and South Africa
- A 1955 SATISE Cape Town International Stamp Exhibition cover
- A tribute page referencing the famed "Blue Mauritius"
- Hong Kong, Malayan, and Pacific/Oceania issues, covers, and FDCs
View the Full Album
For the best viewing experience, open the complete album as a PDF. Mobile users are especially encouraged to view the PDF for optimal readability.
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