First Issues - 1852 to 1854

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Barbados

15th April 1852 SG2 Sc1	Commemorative SG116 Sc81 Diamond Jubilee	Charity 1907 SG153 Sc-B1 Kingston Relief Fund	Post Due 1934 SG-D2 Sc-J2

The Barbados stamps are pretty much standard issue for the time. Their first stamp on 15th April 1852 used the same design from Perkins Bacon as Trinidad and Mauritius, Britannia seated on bags of sugar. SG1a is yellow-green but the stamp shown is the less expensive SG1 deep green. The 1897 commemorative is a common Victoria Jubilee design. The 1d Post due shown was issued in 1934, the prettier ½d green SG-D1 SG-J1 in 1935. The 1907 Charity overprint issue is for earthquake relief.

Scinde and India

[1st July 1852] India Scinde commemorative 1977 SG861

The first Asian stamp was issued in the province of Scinde, now in West Pakistan, on 1st July 1852, organised by the first governor, Sir Bartle Frere. It was celebrated with a miniature image in a 1952 Pakistan commemorative and more colourfully by India in 1977, right.
A general India issue followed in 1854: the affordable ½anna SG2/Sc2 blue is significantly less expensive than the unissued ½anna red, SG1/Sc1. These stamps do not seem to have been commemorated, perhaps because they show Victoria and would symbolise imperialism. The remaining India firsts are unremarkable.

East India Company 1st October 1854 SG2 Sc2	Commemorative 1931 SG226 Sc129 Inauguration of New Delhi Fortress of Purana	Airmail 1929 SG220 Sc-C1 De Havilland Hercules	Charity 1971 SG646 Sc-RA3 Refugee Relief	[August 1866] First real Official 1939 SG-O143 Sc-O105

India’s first official, an 1866 definitive overprint, is unaffordable (£225). Overprints continued to be used until the first real official issue in 1939.

Crown Colony	Empire	Dominion	Republic
1860 SG52 Sc19	1882 SG84 Sc36	1947 SG301 Sc200	1950 SG329 Sc227

On changes of administration, in 1858, Gibbons notes [7, p.150], 'Queen Victoria assumed the government of the territories in Inda "heretofore administered in trust by the Honourable East India Company"'. They describe this as the Crown Colony period and from 1877, when Victoria assumed the title Empress of India as the Empire period. 1947 saw the Dominion period, leading to the Republic in 1950. The first stamp of each of these periods is shown.

India's state issue commemoratives are shown overleaf.

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