Foreign and Commonwealth Office Collection

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Collection was formed by instruction from the Secretary of State for the Colonies on 23 April 1890 to all territories under his authority.

The intention was to have a record of all Colonial Postage and revenue stamps, postcards, embossed envelopes and newspaper wrappers.

[2] There is a full range of revenue stamps, as issued to the territories, for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II reigns.

[1] The collection consist of three ledgers into which stamps have been stuck down, preventing the examination of watermarks, and a further 36 boxes of postal stationery.

[3] The authorities in St Helena created stamps to raise money for the island of Tristan da Cunha after the population was evacuated due to volcanic activity in 1961.

St Helena stamps fund-raising for the island of Tristan da Cunha disaster in 1961, issued without authority of the Colonial Office and withdrawn. Full size image here.