The Issues of Niger Coast Protectorate - Part One - 1892-1894
Switching gears completely from the modern flavour of the last several posts, I felt it was time to take a large step back in time to the 1890's, before Federation, to show you the first issues of the Oil Rivers Protectorate, which changed its name to the Niger Coast Protectorate on May 12, 1893. The Protectorate came into being on June 5, 1885, when the Brisish proclaimed its existence. It extended over the entire southern coast of what is now Nigeria, and excluded only the then colony of Lagos, and the centre of the Niger Delta. The main port areas included Benin, Bonny, Brass River, Forcados River, Old Calabar River and Opobo River. There are only a handful of territories whose stamps differed in design from the standard Perkins Bacon Britannias and Chalons, or the De La Rue Queen Victoria Keyplates. One of these was the Oil Rivers Protectorate, which started off with Great Britain Jubilee issues that were overprinted, and then went on to feature beautiful Widow's Weeds de...