The Stamps Of Indo-China.

Rod, looks like you are correct. The string, or staple portion has been trimmed off.

(screen cap from the SICP website)

Right! Spain,
Thank you.
Missed that on the SICP website.
(One of the great fully transparent and free information sites)
A boon for the collector of Indo China.

If what we see is rust marks, then staples.

Agree with you! as a member of the SICP I enjoy the web site and the ICP journal published each quarterly, full of information about Indochina philately.

Wish you all a Happy New Year!!!!

New Year Greetings PC - French Indochina, 1911

"From Chad to the Rhine", airmail stamps issued in 1946 depicting famous battles of the Free French army and the allies during WWII. Designed and engraved by Albert Decaris:

General Leclercs and the French army entering Chad:

Battle of Koufra, Italian Libya:

Battle of Mareth, Tunisia:

Invasion of the Allies in Normandie, France:

Liberation of Paris, France;

Liberation of Strasbourg, France:

I have a question.

Using Scott catalog (all I have), the last Indochina stamp was issued in 1949 and the first State of Vietnam stamps were issued in 1951. In 1949, region was divided to become the State of Vietnam (an Associate State of the French Union) as part of an attempt to appease nationalists. During this time, France was trying to install Bao Dai again as emperor of Vietnam. The republic was declared in 1951.

Now my question is what was the status of the postal system? I assume the French ran the postal system until 1951 with Indochina stamps but what happened then? Were the 1951 stamps issued under French influence or was it locally generated and Indochina not used?

The French system obviously disappeared after the Geneva Accords.

Angore ----The Viet Minh were overprinting the stamps of Indo-China since 1945 ,They were told by the Allies that after the Japanese were kicked out that they could become a indepedant country .

Al - Bao Dai remained Emperor until 1954. The republic in the South was proclaimed in 1955, at which point it left the French Union.

Angore, I have no certain answer, but can say that all covers I saw from this period 1949-1951 are franked with French Indochina stamps. I went back to a very comprehensive 40 pages article about "PTT Service in Indochina" by René Despierres, but it covers the period from the beginning of the PTT service up to 1940. Maybe better to ask in the SICP site.

Here is the last stamp issued for use in French Indochina on July 4, 1949:

Thanks for the replies. A better way to ask my question is when did the French turn over the postal system to the State of Vietnam (name for the new entity under the French Union) that was supposedly operating through the mostly urban controlled areas in Tonkin, Annam, and Cochina.

The transfer of government functions was not all at once per the book "Embers of War" that I am currently reading. I was thinking closer when the first stamps were issued,

he Viet Minh had their own system in parallel.

There was a parallel postal service as you indicated.Mostly Tonkin & Annam..
CIVIL MAIL IN TONKIN AND NORTH-ANNAM

The postal service of the VNDCCH, which went underground after the "Hà-Nôi clash" of December 19, 1946, used Indochina stamps with the 1945/46 surcharges until the stocks found in 1945 were exhausted in the coffers of the Indochina Post Office. The new general issues will not take place until 1948/49.

At the start of 1947, the VNDCCH postage rate rose from 30 xu to 50 xu for the single letter. Registered letters are no longer accepted. Franked letters, especially from administrations, are more numerous than franked letters, but, because of the shortage of paper, they are reused multiple times until complete deterioration so that there is none left. today very little.

A decision 314 QD / BT of December 28, 1946 of the Post Office of the VNDCCH, decentralizes the initiative to overcharge the stamps in stock with new values #8203;#8203;and authorizes, if necessary, the printing of new stamps.
This faculty was apparently not used in Tonkin, the old stamps being used for a value higher than the face, along with inflation.
On the other hand, the zones located in Annam, will make use of it. North of Annam in 1948-1950 and south of Annam from 1951.

As the VNDCCH postal service was not recognized by the UPU, there was no foreign postal mail until the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
More reading here:
https://www.histoire-et-philatelie....51-1954.html

From 1889 up to 1907, all stamps issued for use in French Indochina colony were general stamps show allegorical figures, the same stamps issued for most of the French colonies. In 1905, Paul Doumer, the governor of French Indochina, demanded to have distinctive postage stamps that show local culture. Hence, in 1907, a definitive set of stamps featuring young women of different Indochinese ethnicities was issued for use in the colony.

The set, contains seven different woman designs, was designed by Puyplat based on real photos and engraved by G. Johannet (which his name doesn't appear on the stamps).

In 1922, the Richmond Times Dispach published this article (sorry for the bad scan but this what I found):

The 75c. stamp, shows Khmer Woman, is the main stamp that provoked the author to write the article. Here it is with the original photo used as a model to design it:

There are two spaces under Varieties on the Indochina pages but these are not in Scott. From another source, the 5c appears to be Y&T 265 / Michel 343 and the 3c is Y&T 263A / Michel ????

They are listed as "not issued". Any history on these?

Michel I (roman numeral for not issued)

Angore,

Both stamps appear on the following page. The 5c Michel 343 Admiral Rigault de Genouilly and the 3c unissued stamp Michel I General Courbet (according to Michel, the 15c Michel II Garnier in the bottom of the page also not issued).

I don't know the reason they were not issued, but please note that former stamps with same design issued under Vichy administration during WWII 1943-4, have the inscription ET (Etat Francais), not RF (Republic of France) like these stamps.