North Borneo, located in the northern part of the island of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

, was a British protectorate from 1888 and a British Crown colony after 1946.

First stamps

Initially, mail from the British protectorate of North Borneo was sent via

Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capita ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, using

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

s of the Straits Settlements. After the

North Borneo Chartered Company The North Borneo Chartered Company (NBCC), also known as the British North Borneo Company (BNBC) was a British chartered company formed on 1 November 1881 to administer and exploit the resources of North Borneo (present-day Sabah in Malaysia). ...

was founded to administer the territory, it issued its own stamps in 1883. These used a design incorporating the coat of arms (a

dhow Dhow ( ar, داو, translit=dāwa; mr, script=Latn, dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically spo ...

and a lion), inscribed "NORTH BORNEO", and with the value written in English, Jawi, and Chinese. Initial values included 2c, 4c, and 8c, followed by large 50c and $1 stamps of a more elaborate design with the arms flanked by two natives.Stanley Gibbons – North Borneo stamps
. Retrieved 26 January 2014.

Later issues

In 1886 ½c, 1c, and 10c values were added, and there was a demand for 3c and 5c stamps, resolved by

overprint An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a Postage stamp, postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or Ticket (admission), ticket after it has been Printing, printed. Post offices most often use ...

ing existing types. At the same time, the printers ( Blades, East, and Blades of London) produced a new design, largely the same but inscribed "BRITISH NORTH BORNEO", and joined by 25c and $2 values, also with elaborate frames. The stamps were redesigned again in 1888, to say "POSTAGE & REVENUE" instead of just "POSTAGE", at which time the 25c to $2 values also received minor changes. These were followed up in 1889 by even larger and more elaborate $5 and $10 stamps. Between 1883 and 1890, postage stamps of North Borneo were valid to nearby countries only if sent by direct steamer at 8¢ rate, otherwise additional adhesives of either Hong Kong, Labuan or Strait Settlements had to be affixed. Shortages in 1890, 1891, and 1892 necessitated more surcharges. In 1894, the protectorate issued a new

definitive series A definitive stamp is a postage stamp that is part of the regular issue of a country's stamps, available for sale by the post office for an extended period of time and designed to serve the everyday postal needs of the country. The term is used in ...

engraved by

Waterlow and Sons Waterlow and Sons Limited was a major worldwide engraver of currency, postage stamps, stocks and bond certificates based in London, Watford and Dunstable in England. The company was founded as a family business in 1810. It was acquired in 1961 ...

, comprising nine pictorials featuring natives plants, animals, and scenes, and inscribed "STATE OF NORTH BORNEO". North Borneo was made a British protectorate on 12 May 1888. In 1901, stamps were overprinted "British Protectorate.".

World War II

North Borneo was occupied by Japanese forces in 1942. During the occupation, overprinted stamps of North Borneo and Japan were used. In 1943, two stamps of Japanese design were issued for North Borneo. Following liberation, stamps of North Borneo were overprinted "BMA" by the British Military Administration.

Post-war

The

Crown Colony of North Borneo The Crown Colony of North Borneo was a British Crown colony on the island of Borneo established in 1946 shortly after the dissolution of the British Military Administration. The Crown Colony of Labuan joined the new Crown Colony during its f ...

was established in 1946 after the

ceded the territory to the British Government. The Colony issued stamps until 1963 when North Borneo (as

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

) joined Malaya, Sarawak and Singapore to form the Federation of

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

References

External links