French Indian Settlements. Stamps And Covers.

A few Random Bits and Pieces.
Thanks to free gifts Jos Sanders and Tony McGillycuddy.

Currency : Cents, Cache, Fanons, and Rupies.

Rod, do you have any news of Tony?
I see Tony lapsed his membership of our India Study Circle in 2020 and did not renew further.

Hi Joy,
no I have not, I may have his email, and give him a 'Hi"
I had a feeling he was peeved about something (my opinion)
not sure what, he was/is a generous, jolly fellow, and a fanatic with Indian Philately, I learnt a lot from him.
He posted on several Forums, if I recall.
I miss his input.

Here is an 1827 Chandannagar–Khosalpur stampless letter (ex-Contractor).



Prima facie, it may appear dull but what is striking here is the Giles 1 (ex-X12) postmark (struck on Mar 14 but date not entered in manuscript in the postmark) of Br. Indian PO of Chandannagar in Fr. India territory, which is extremely rare (only 3 recorded).

How do we know it was struck on the 14th?

French India Design.
Symbolism : The Lotus
Here shown on the Postage Stamp, and Postage Due.

The lotus flower is a famous symbol in Hinduism. In general, lotus flowers represent spiritual enlightenment, growth, purity, and birth, among many others. The flower symbolizes one's ability to perform their duty without being influenced by any desire, pleasure, or gain.

Pane Makeup.
Shewing typical French Sheet Half moon puncture. (Can also be printed)
(Unique to the French Stamp Works...Institut de Gravure )
Interpanneau pieces marked with single coloured "Jubilee Line" or "Marginal Rule Line" to prevent forgery production.
Punctures at bottom of sheet Unknown "Tractor feed of sheets" ?

French Indian Settlements.
An opinion
Authors : Mr. Blair Stannard (Canada) and Tony SCF

Note: Old Discussion, LINKS MAY NOT WORK--REMOVED
French India

When Frederick II of Prussia siezed Silesia in 1740, France sided with him, the British with Austria. As a result of this, The War of
Austrian Succession, the British decided that France's power in India was too great to be left alone. After the French quickly cornered the English in a naval battle, a treaty was signed trading Madras for Cape Breton Island in North America.

Relations between the British and French worsened as each became mired in local Indian politics. After the nizam, a major Mughal noble and power-broker, died, the French took advantage of this time to pick sides in a dispute over who would be Karnatic nawab (governor).

(Karnataka was a dependancy of the nizam. The nizam chose a nawab in
1743, but rivals for the nawab-ate weren't satisfied. Is this clear?
Good.) The French chose Chanda Sahib for nawab and Salabat Jang for
nizam. The British, not to be outdone, responded by saying that
Muhammad Ali (the Indian, not the boxer) should be nawab.

The nawab-ship wasn't really all that important, but it made a good
excuse for a war. The British/Muhammad Ali, led by Robert Clive,
gained control of Arcot (the capital of Karnataka) in 1751, and the
French/Chandra Sahib were forced to surrended in 1752.

Peace and tranquility reigned for . . . four years. Then, the Seven
Years' War began in Europe in 1756, and the British and French in
India were at it again. The British, with their naval superiority, won victories in the Bengal, at Madras, at Pondicherry, and at Wandiwash.
The French surrendered for the second time in 1761.

Thus, the French were permitted, by various treaties, to retain only
tiny settlements: Chandernagore, Karikal, Mahe, Pondicherry, Yanam


Chandernagore was a really tiny (3 sq.miles) enclave some 20 miles
north of Calcutta. It was owned by the French between 1816 and 1950
when a referendum returned it to India.


Pondicherry was the capital of the French possessions and occupied an
area of 113 square miles. It had been lost by the French during the
Napoleonic wars but was handed back to them in 1816 and stayed French
until it was returned to India after independence.

Karikal (Karaikal), near Pondicherry, was a small French settlement
on the S.E. coast in the Tanjore district. It is now a beach resort.

Mahe (S.E. (Malabar) Coast)

and Yenam, near Pondicherry
The smallest census district in India is Yenam in Pondicherry
with a population of 31,362 only.

Some more stamp links of interest.

French India (French Republic) 1892 - 1940

French India (French Republic) French Republic stamps overprint
1892 - 1940

French India (French State) 1940 - 1944

French India (Free French Administration) 1941 - 1944

French India (IV French Republic) 1947 - 1954 11 01

French India - perfins (BJC)

Blair
Blair, that was an excellent example of stamp collecting also teaching us history. But I take exception to your listing of the 1940-1944 French State issue (Petain). There was no way for these stamps to have reached India, and even if they had, they would not have been issued, since the five settlements had opted for de Gaulle. The British would not have allowed Petain to control them. They must be classified as "prepared for use but not issued for postal use".

Tony

Not a worldwide collector, but here is the French India page as it now stands from my topical collection of the 1939 New York Worlds Fair.

24 French colonies were covered by this omnibus issue of May 1939. Of those, 6 subsequently issued during the war a variety of Free French overprints on available stocks. Timing of these overprints depended on local circumstances, of course, but my understanding of French India is that being surrounded by British India, these little enclaves oriented toward de Gaulle and declared free French promptly. Pondicherry, part of French India, hosted a long-distance radio station which pushed out the Gaullist message quite early across the region, even before the British were prepared to support broader action by scattered local Gaullists.

Of all the originals and overprints, at this point I lack only the two French India circle overprints. A pair were auctioned by Spink in 2011, long before I started this little side venture. Hope springs eternal that I might one day get a pair.

- Jonathan

Rod 222
What a nice class of history,thank you very constructive

Lovely contribution, thanks Jonathan.
That omnibus is one of my many favourite stamps.
As a kid, I had a ripped torn and stained example,
but it fascinated me.
What better image to get a young kid into collecting stamps.

rod222



The date was in the description of lot 440 [1827 Chandannagar–Khosalpur stampless letter with Giles 1 (ex-X12) mark of Chandannagar] of the Indian Postal History The Soli F Contractor Collection Spink Sale 1217 dt. December 16,1999, with estimate of £1000–£1200 (the lot remained unsold).

This is an 1887 Chandannagar–Bordeaux, France cover with solo franking of Colonies Françaises 1881 25c YeT 54, with 2 Inde Chandannagar double-circular datestamps dt. Mar 4,1887, one used as cancel.



What is worth noting is the circular segmental deep gray blue handstamp of Durgacharan Rakshit and Company, Chandannagar, which was the sole Forwarding Agent of Fr. India mail from Chandannagar during 1880s.

Unfortunately, Kenneth Rowe did not list this Agent even in the last edition of The Postal History and Markings of the Forwarding Agents (1996 4th Ed.), published by Philatelic Bibliopole, Louisville, USA.

The cover was superscribed to send it via Mumbai and Brindisi.
There was no sevice of Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes in Kolkata and there was no direct mail service of CMM from/to Mumbai before Jan 14,1896 when Mumbai was made a stopover in the Ligne N Yokohama–Marseille line following the new contract of Nov 1894.

The mail from Fr. India enclave of Chandannagar was thus routed via Mumbai to catch the Peninsular and Oriental Stram Navigation Company Br. packets, hence it got the Paquebot Anglais par la Voie de Brindisi entry mark.

This cover was carried by SS Nepal from Mumbai on Mar 11,1887, which reached Adan on Mar 17 and As Suways on Mar 22.

Joy, it has often been said that I don't know < > , but I would also like to know how you know the postmark on the stampless letter was struck on March 14