Federated Malay States And Straits Settlements

Greetings.

Wish to obtain a catalogue (need not be the most recent publication date) which I can use to identify stamps issued by the Federated Malay States (FMS) and Straits Settlements. Particularly the various shade varieties, perforation varieties, ink varieties, etc.

To-date have been reliant on the Scott catalogue (Standard as well as Classic Specialized) which includes very limited information re varieties.

Have reviewed the Lin Yang Chen website and KGVI's British Colonial Stamps website.

Does the Stanley Gibbons' "Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore" catalogue also include listings for FMS and Straits Settlements?

Does the Stanley Gibbons' "Commonwealth & British Empire Stamps 1840 – 1970" include listings for FMS and Straits Settlements?

Am also interested in Dr. F.E. Wood's "The postage stamps of the Federated Malaya States and Johor et al", second reprint, July 1981. Does this book include a catalogue listing of the FMS and Straits Settlements stamps? Or is the focus chiefly on the history, design, and printing of these stamps?

Thanks in advance.

Two seconds on Google:
https://www.stanleygibbons.com/prod...th-edition-3

Thank you.

This is what I use. You can usually find them on ebay.

Thank you, Coastwatcher.

Found a more recent edition of your book earlier today via the publisher site.

Can you confirm the contents are presented in English?

Calstamp, Yes, it is entirely in English.

Thank you, Coastwatcher.

Try

https://www.malayastudygroup.com/pu...ublic-index/

SG Commonwealth covers the area, and probably gives you better catalogue numbers than Scott for internet purchasing. Actually, you probably want to use both sets of numbers.

Robson Lowe's Encyclopedia has lots of miscellaneous detail for most anything in the Empire, and even though the information is more than 50 years old, it's still nice to have.

If you end up drilling down into the KGV era, then Fernbank's King George V Key Plates of the Imperium Postage and Revenue Design has good coverage of the Straits Settlements. If you're going to jump in with both feet, get the second edition, as it's enlarged, but, more importantly for those of us who are shallow about these sorts of things, largely in color.

Whenever* I look something up in SG's Commonwealth, I also check the Commonwealth Five Reigns Catalogue put out by Bridger and Kay. Mine is 1980. It lists things that SG doesn't mention. You may have seen it mentioned on the kgvi site. It does not cover the entirety of the Commonwealth, but it does include SS and Malaya.

*This statement is aspirational. I know that I should check Five Reigns every time; in practice, it's not every time.

Thank you galeoptix and cjd.

Read through the Malaya Study Group website. Purchased Gibbons' "Commonwealth & BE" and the Malaysia specialty catalogue from Intl Stamp & Coin.

And requested loan of FE Wood book from the APRL.

This should keep me busy for now.

That's how it starts...

If this will be your first experience with SG's Commonwealth, allow for a long first date...you'll be flipping around for hours.

My primary reference is SG book (content similar to 1840-1970 book)but also have the Tan book. The Tan book has more illustrations. SG covers shades and perforation varieties much more than Scott.

Thank you, angore. That's precisely the info I was seeking. Specific to perforation and shade varieties. So will add your recommendation to the purchase list. (Can never have too many reference books!)

Some addtl details to cjd 's posting of April 11:

"Commonwealth Catalogue of Five Reigns", A.M Leverton.

528 pages, hardcover.

Published 1980, Bridger & Kay.

Currently available for $18 USD.