Sunday, May 21, 2023

Labuan 1879-1894

Initially, Labuan used stamps of Straits Settlements, but in May, 1879, Labuan began issuing its own Postage Stamps. The first stamps of Labuan featured the bust of Queen Victoria with the denomination written in three languages – English, Jawi, and Chinese. For about 15 years, multiple issues were printed with various colors and watermarks.

1879 Original Issues (Sc 1-4 Engraved)



The red diamond cancel is typical of early Labuan stamps

1883-85 Issues (Engraved)
1885 Sc 17

1883 Sc 24

1892 Issues (Sc 33-37 Engraved)






1894 Issues (Sc 42-44 Lithographed)



Engraved VS Lithographed
The differences are quite visible
The lines in the neck and hair are much finer and detailed in the engraved.
Sc 36 vs Sc 45

Forgeries
The forgeries are somewhat difficult to differentiate.
There are 2 main forgers Fournier & Imperato (referred to as the "Italian" source)
As well Kamigata made forgeries.

Imperato Forgeries



Features
Heavy outline around the head
Coarse irregular neck shading
Thick lips with long crease
Short blunt lower corner arrows outside frame
Hair below the ear is one thick line

Fournier Forgeries





Very similar to the Imperato forgeries
Heavy shading in lips and crease less pronounced
Shading in hair clearer

Kamigata Forgeries
A decent forgery
Facial features and shading are the best of the 3
The corner arrows are almost nonexistent
The postmarks are in Japanese characters or will read "IMITATION" in a circular postmark

Others
A rather crude forgery from an unknown source
Corner floral elements are all wrong
Large openings in the corner features
Lacking facial shading

Torres taken from his 1896 catalog