German Kamerun - Valdivia Provisional

Here's another nice story from the collection.

In 1898, Germany launched the Deutsche Tiefsee-Expedition (German Deep Sea Expedition). The purpose of the Expedition was to conduct oceanographic and biological studies off of Antarctica and in the Indian Ocean.


Route of the Expedition

The Expedition traveled via the Valdivia, a steamer formerly of the Hamburg-America line.


Valdivia

The Valdivia arrived in Kamerun in late September 1898, and departed in early October. Due to the unusual volume of mail being sent by the members of the Expedition, the post office in the city of Kamerun (present-day Douala) ran short of 10 Pf stamps. To remedy the shortage, the postmaster bisected 20 Pf stamps for use as 10 Pf provisionals. As with other provisional uses throughout the German colonies, this practice was frowned upon, but tolerated by the German postal authorities. The bisects became known as the Valdivia Provisionals.


Valdivia Provisional

All legitimate uses are canceled on 3 October 1898. The total number of stamps bisected is unknown, but is believed to be approximately 100 (1 sheet). It's among the rarest of the German colonial bisects, third in catalog value (€20,000) only to two of the three bisects from the German Marshall Islands (MiNr 3 I H at €35,000, and MiNr 12 H at €45,000).

Fantastic!

- Thanks for sharing!

Outstanding! I had no idea there were any bisects from the colonial era, let alone that many. Out of curiosity, are there any known bisects of the colonial yacht stamps (German Marchall Islands, for instance).

Brian

Brian,

The commonly recognized bisects from the colonial era were:

German Southwest Africa MiNr 7 H -- Keetmanshoop Provisional

Kamerun MiNr 4 H (this one) -- Valdivia Provisional
Kamerun MiNr 10 H -- Longji Provisional (see also here)

Karolinen MiNr 9 H -- 1905 Ponape Provisional
Karolinen MiNr 10 H -- 1920 Ponape Provisional (see also here)

Marshalls MiNr 3 I H -- Early 1900 Jaluit Provisional (don't have this one in my collection...yet)
Marshalls MiNr 9 H -- October 1900 Jaluit Provisional
Marshalls MiNr 12 H -- October 1900 Jaluit Provisional (the white whale -- last I heard, only 8 known to exist)

Of those, the Karolinen 10 H and both Kameruns are Yachts.

PostmasterGS, in connection with my worldwide collecting, I've always liked the stamps of the German colonies, especially the yachts, but my knowledge of them is superficial. I found your post and the backstory of the Kamerun bisects to be fascinating. It inspired me to check out your website, which is fabulous!