History Bound, LLC

Throughout history the names of locations, and who controls it, change. Cues the song “Istanbul (Not Constantinople).” Here is a look at some bygone places of yesteryear.

Kiauchau was a former German colony on the southern side of the Shantung peninsula in China. Seized by Germany in 1897 and subsequently leased to Germany by China until 1914. The land was returned to Chinese control after WWII.

Kiauchau Colonial German postage stamps. 1905. Former German colony on the southern side of the Shantung peninsula in China. Seized by Germany in 1897 and subsequently leased to Germany by China until 1914.

Lourenco Marques was a Portuguese possession in Africa. Portuguese Lourenco Marques is now known at Maputo, this is the capital and largest city of Mozambique.

Lourenco Marques. A Portuguese possession in Africa.

Nauru: An island nation in the South Pacific. Nauru was annexed and claimed as a colony by the German Empire in the late 19th century. After World War I, Nauru came under the protection of the League of Nations. During World War II, Nauru was occupied by Japanese troops who were bypassed by the Allied advance across the Pacific, and after the war ended, it entered into trusteeship again. Nauru was declared independent in 1968.

A former German possession in the West Central Pacific Ocean.

The Congo Free State was a corporate state privately controlled by Leopold II, King of Belgium, through a dummy non-governmental organization, the Association Internationale Africaine. Leopold was the sole shareholder and chairman, exploiting the land for rubber, copper and other minerals. The state included the entire area of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo and existed from 1885 to 1908. The Parliament of Belgium annexed the Congo Free State and took over its administration in 1908. The Belgian Congo became an independent country in 1960.

Congo Independent State - 1887

Inhambane Republic: The town of Inhambane existed in the 10th century, and was the southernmost port used by Arabs for slave trading.The region was visited by Vasco da Gama in 1498, who claimed Inhambane Bay for Portugal. The Portuguese established a trading post at Inhambane in 1534. A former Portuguese province is now a province in Mozambique.

Inhambane Republic. A former Portuguese province. Now a province in Mozambique.

Manchukuo was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia. In 1931, the region was seized by Japan following the Mukden Incident and in 1932; a puppet government was created, with Puyi, the last Chinese Emperor, installed as the nominal regent and emperor. Manchukuo’s government was abolished in 1945 after the defeat of Imperial Japan at the end of World War II. The southern part of the Liaodong Peninsula was ruled by Japan as the Kwantung Leased Territory.

8 fine stamps: Manchukuo 1939.

When a new stamp is issued by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), it is offered for sale in only a single city on one day and then throughout the country after that day. That date of sale in a single city is designated as the “official” First Day of Issue.

Fleetwood cachet

A first day cover (FDC) is a stamped envelope, postal card or other postal material that was processed at the post office where the stamp was issued, and has a postmark indicating the first day of issuance city and date. The cancellation will often be specially designed for the occasion and frequently will say “First Day of Issue” or something similar.

Fine set of four Apollo Soyuz FDCs. Nice Fleetwood Cachets.

The first official commemorative series of postage stamps (Nicknamed – Columbians) were issued in 1893 in conjunction with the Columbian Exposition held in Chicago that year, and marking the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s voyages.

Fine group of 5 FDCs of historic trains. (one not shown).

Collecting First Day Covers are a popular part of stamp collecting and there are plenty of resources, and information, dedicated to the subject. One of the most interesting components of a First Day Cover is the cachet. Cachets are the artwork that is added to the envelope, complementing the stamp subject. Only a small percentage of all pre-1930 FDCs that exist are cacheted, because most collectors and dealers of that period were happy enough to have an uncacheted FDC. Certain cachets are sought after and cachets in general will enhance the value and the collectability of the first day cover.

Official Cachet. Cancelled on board the U.S.S. Philadelphia, Nov. 10, 1940.