Squared Circle Postmarks

Introduction

 

When I started getting interested in the Squared Circle Postmarks I went looking for books or publications that would give me overall information for all the countries of the world that had been using this type of postmark. I found out that while the information is quite abundant for some countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Jamaica or Italy, for others the information was scarce or nonexistent.

 

The only world-wide publication I am aware of is the booklet “Squared Circle Postmarks Used Outside Great Britain” published by the Great Britain & Commonwealth Philatelic Society (Switzerland) but, while this is the most valuable publication existing on this subject with a lot of extremely useful information, also this one is not complete and does not include many countries, particularly those outside the Commonwealth.

 

As most publications are available only in English I noticed that my fellow Italian collectors had even greater difficulty collecting information on the Squared Circle Postmarks.  I initially decided to start preparing a world-wide summary for my own personal use, but I soon realized that my list is expanding every day with new findings and new information provided by other collectors and I need to share it with all those with the same passion to make it better and also to make it available to those who are supplying me with new information. So I finally decided to open a website on this subject which would summarize all the information collected until now on the Squared Circle Postmarks and would be continuously updated with new findings.

 

 Of course I also decided to publish it both in English and Italian to offer some support to my Italian fellow collectors, who don’t speak English. I will be grateful to anybody who can make additional contributions with information on additional countries or postmarks, to make this list even more updated and complete.

 

General Information

 

The Squared Circle Postmark is basically formed by combining two pieces of a cancel. It is a circular cancel with a city or country name and possibly also date information, completed with a series of external bars on the four corners to form an external square frame.

 

As anything else connected to Postal services, the first postmarks of this type were introduced in Great Britain at the end of 1879 as an alternative to the duplex cancels which were quite larger and apparently more difficult to use. Furthermore the idea behind this new postmark was that the combination of a circular postmark with the corner bars would allow to better cancel all stamps affixed on the letter. The Circle Squared Postmarks were very popular until 1910 but then their usage started to decline as new simpler cancels became available. In general they had virtually disappeared by 1930 (with some exceptions that I will mention later on)

 

This postmark was mostly used in Great Britain and in the Commonwealth Countries but was later introduced also in other countries like the Dutch Colonies, Italy (probably the highest number of different postmarks per country), Spain, China, Brasil, Hawaii etc.

 

During their existence they were modified many times so it is possible to find up to 10 different postmarks for the same post office.  In particular those of small towns and remote post offices can be quite rare.

 

 

The Countries From A to Z

 

Aden

 

The Aden Squared Circle Postmarks were used in 3 different locations: Aden, Aden Cantonment and Aden Camp. These postmarks can be found both on stamps of British East Africa and of India; they appear to be more common on India stamps (see pictures)

 

 

 

Albania (Italian Offices: Valona, Scutari and Durazzo )

 

These postmarks have been used in the above 3 locations in the early 1900’s.In Durazzo they have been used between 1904 and 1914,in Scutari have been used between 1903 and 1913 .

 

Scutari

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australia (South Australia)

They have been used in about 600 different Postal Offices in South Australia. This includes the Post Offices of the Northern Territories, which at the time were administered by South Australia (a list of Northern Territories offices is shown separately) .Similar postmarks have been used in Queensland, in Brisbane (see a separate section on this). I have been also told that they have been used in Melbourne, Victoria but I could not find any proof of this. 

 

These postmarks have been produced with many different variations, so it is possible to find postmarks which are different for the characteristic of the corners, for the dimension of the letters, the spelling of the abbreviation of South Australia etc.

 

 

 

Australia (Northern Territories)

Over 20 different postmarks have been identified in the book of  Overton ,  however there are probably more. In general they are all quite scarce except the Port Darwin and Alice Springs ones

 

Here is a list of known Post Offices in the Northern Territories:

 

Adelaide River, Alice Springs, Anthony’s Lagoon,  Arltunga, Barrow Creek, Borroloola, Brock’s Creek, Daley Waters, Everleen , Howley Creek, Durrundie, Katherine, Port Darwin, Powell Creek, Roper River, Top Camp (Alexandria), Union Town, Victoria River (Timber creek), Wandi, Winnecke (Gold Fields), Hermansbury (Mission station), Fountain Head railway station (on Pine Creek Railway)

 

Alice Springs

 

 

Australia (Queensland)

The squared circle postmark in Queensland was only used in Brisbane, where it was introduced in 1883 and continued until 1892 or later.

 

It was used for both departures and arrivals and the codes were always letters. Letters recorded so far (as per Campbell, Queensland Postal History 1990) are A, C, D, F, H (wide and narrow), K, L, P, T and U.

 

The postmark has a code letter, two lines for the date, "Brisbane" at the top and "QL" at the base. Some of the codes are more rare than others, and none appear to be particularly common.

 

Brisbane code F      Brisbane code L

 

Brisbane code B          Brisbane code A

Brisbane code D        Brisbane code E

Brisbane code H     Brisbane code K

 

 

Bahrain

These postmarks were used in Bahrain between 1885 and 1900, on stamps of British India.

 

A picture of various Squared Circle Postmarks from Bahrain

 

 

Bangladesh

These postmarks were widely used in British India including some towns which are now part of Bangladesh, such as the attached postmark of Sirajganj Bazar. It is my intention to identify all these postmarks separately. For the time being they are listed under India

 

Sirajganj Bazar

 

 

Barbados

As shown in the attached example, the postmark does not show anything else than the name of the island, the date and a letter, which can be A or B or C. These letters identify the time of posting .

 

Barbados A

 

Borneo (North)

I have not found any mention of these postmarks in any catalogue / book I have consulted. However two types are known to exist, from Sandakan and Tenom

 

Sandakan postmark

Brasil (Belem and Bagé)

There isn’t too much information about these postmarks and they are not mentioned in any catalogue. In any case they were introduced in Belem, in Para’, in the North of the country, around 1930 and were used for approximately 10 years, only for the airmail correspondence and as an alternative to a more common circular postmark. I have acquired postmarks dated from 1937 to 1947. They appear to be more common in 1941. It is possible that this postmark has been copied (in a larger size) from the neighbouring Suriname and British Guyana postmarks.

 

The second postmark is a new find and it has been used in Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, which is very far from Belem. All copies I have been able to see are dated 1942, at the time of the local fair. It appears that this postmark was probably produced only for philatelic purposes.

 

Belem

 

Bagé R.G. do Sul

 

 

 

British Bechuanaland  (now Botswana)

The Post Offices of Mafeking and Vryburg were located in this territory. In 1895 the territory was incorporated in the Cape of Good Hope Province and the Mafeking postmark was modified with the CGH inscription.  The Postmarks of these two locations with the B.B.  inscription  are quite rare.

 

Mafeking (with B.B. and CGH inscription)

British Central Africa (Nyasaland)

Here is a list supplied to me by a fellow collector:

Type	Type Details	Town	Hammer Details	Rarity	Notes
6	Squared circle, various sizes, BCA at	Blantyre	t/md/y
	base		t/dm/y
			LATE/md/y		Scarce
			PM t/md/y
		Chinde	t/md/y
			yr 10 for 01
		Chinteche (29 mm)			Nodder & Twynan
		Chintnche (31 mm)	md/y	R
			dm/y
		Chiromo	t/md/y
			t/dm/y
			date inverted
			o/md/y
			t/dm/o
		Dedza (31 mm)	t/dm/y	S
			t/md/y
		Fort Hill (29 mm)	o/md/y (y in full)	S
			md/t/y
		Fort Lister			Listed by Hillman
		Fort Manning	o/md/y	R
			o/dm/y
			d/my/o
		Fort Mlangeni (29 mm)	o/md/y	S
			o/md/o
			md inverted
			o/md/1/2y
		Karonga	o/md/y
			o/md/1/2y
			o/dm/y
			o/md/y (in purple)
		Kota Kota (27 mm)
		Lilongwe (29 mm)	t/dm/y	S
			t/md/y
		Ncheu (29 mm)	o/dm/y	S
			o/dm/o
		Nkata Bay			Listed by N&T
		Vua	o/dm/y	VR
		Zomba (27 mm)	t/md/y
			LATE/md/y	R	Rare
6m	Squared circle, various sizes, BCA at	Fort-Johnston	t/dm/y
	base, lettering larger and wider than		t/md/y
	normal		date error
		Zomba (31 mm)	t?/md/y	R
			(in bright green)
			(in violet)
6r	Squared circle, various sizes, BCA at	Dowa	o/md/y	VR
	base, lettering more widely spaced than		o/dm/y
	normal		o/do/o
		Ntondwe	o/dm/y	S
			o/md/y
6z	Squared circle, various sizes, BCA at	Fort Anderson	t/md/y
	base with dots flanking office name		t/md/1/2y
			t/md/o
			t/dm/y
			t/md/y (in violet)
		Kota Kota (29 mm)	t/md/y
			day inverted
			o/md/y
			t/dm/y
			t/dm/y (in violet)
			t/md/y (in violet)
			o/md/y (in violet)
		Liwonde (29 mm)	t/md/y	S
			t/dm/y
			double time		6:11 or 9:11 PM
		Neno	t/md/y	S
			t/dm/y
		Ngara	t/dm/y	S
			t/md/y
			o/dm/y
			o/md/y
		Port Herald	t/md/y
			t/dm/y
			o/md/y
			t/md/o
			o/md/o
6z	Field Post Offices	Neno mutilated	7/dm/y	VR
		Neno mutilated	10/dm/y	S
			10/md/y
			o/dm/y
			o/md/01
			o/md/o
			o/o/md
7	Squared circle, various sizes, blank at	Chikwawa	BCA/md/y		Various  spacings
	base		BCA/md/1/2y
			BCA/dm/y
			day inverted
			9CA/dm/o
		Chikwawa (BCA smaller)	BCA/dm/y
		Dedza BCA	o/md/y (in purple)	VR
		Dedza	BCA/md/y	VR
			BC /md/y		A of BCA missing
		Deep Bay (narrow gap)	o/md/y
			o/md/1/2y
		Deep    Bay (wide gap)	o/md/y
			inverted month
		Dowa BCA	o/md/y	VR
		Fort Alston	BCA/md/y	R
		Ft Anderson	BCA/md/o	VR
		Liwonde (29 mm)	o/md/y (d inv.)	VR
		Lujire (31 mm)	d/m/y	VR
		S.H.R.T.P.O. (29 mm)	o/dm/y	R
		Vua	t/dm/y	VR
		PMG Zomba		VR	Hilman collection
7	Field Post Offices	Nyasaland F F	F F/md/y	S
			w/ S inverted
			Naya salnd
			F F/dm/y
		Nyasaland FF 2	FF 2/md/y
			w/ S inverted
			D inverted
			FF 2/dm/y
		Nyasaland FF 3	FF 3/md/y	R
			FF 3/dm/y
		Nyasaland FF 5	FF 5/md/y	R
			dm/y m in figs (?)
		FPO No 1	o/dm/y	S
			o/md/y
		FPO No 6	o/dm/y	R
		FPO No 11	o/dm/y	R
9	Squared circle, 31 mm, office name	Blantyre	t/md/y
	followed by NYASALAND at top, thick	Chikala		VR
	arc divided by + at the base	Chinde BPO (only)	t/md/y
			t/dm/y
			yr in diff font
		Dowa	t/dm/y	S
			t/md/y
			t/om/y
		Fort Mlangeni	o/dm/y	VR
		Kondowe		VR	Undated strike only seen
		Livingstonia (31 mm)			Listed by Hillman
		Luchenza	t/dm/y	S
			t/md/y
			t inverted
		Mikalongwe	t/dm/y	S
			t/md/y
		Mlanje	t/dm/y	S
			t/md/y
		Mzimba	t/md/y	S
			t/dm/y
		Ngara			Listed by Hillman
		Zomba.Nyasaland	t/md/y
			yr inverted
			t/dm/y
		Zomba-Nyasaland	t/dm/y	S
9b	Type 9 with official name excised	Mlangeni			Sed here or at Vua
9e	Squared circle, 31 mm, office name	(Deep Bay) Registered		VR
	followed by NYASALAND at top, blank				listed by N&T
	at base
10	Squared circle, 31 mm, office name	Chintechi	md/y	R
	followed by M.O.B. at top, NYASALAND		md/y (in purple)
	at base, dots between	Chiromo	t/md/y	S
			t/dm/y
		Dedza	t/dm/y	S
		Fort Johnston	t/md/y
			t/dm/y
		Karonga	o/dm/y
			o/md/y
		Kota Kota	t/dm/y	S
			t/md/y
			t/md/y (in violet)
		Lilongwe	md/y	S
		Livingstonia	dm/y	S
		Liwonde	t/dm/y	R
		Neno	t/dm/y	R
			9 5 for time
			t/md/y
		Ngara	t/dm/y	R
			t/md/y
		Port Herald	md/y	R
			dm/y
		Zomba	t/dm/y
			t/dm/1/2y
			t/md/y
			o/dm/y
			dm inverted
			t/md/1/2y (in green)
			t/md/1/2y (in purple)
			t/dm/y (no dots)	R
O6	As 6, inscribed ZOMBA OFFICIAL	Zomba (29 mm)		VR

 

 

 

 

 

British East Africa

The territory is identified at the bottom of the postmark as BEA or EAP. It includes the 3 colonies of  Kenya, Uganda and Tanganika.

 

Here is a list of known locations:

ESCARPMENT (wf) black none 19.09.00 - 24.02.02

KIKUYU (wf) black B 19.07.99 - 22.08.99

KIKURGU (wf) black B 20.01.97 - 24.05.99

KILINDINI/

MOMBASA black none 20.05.97 - 19.12.99

KISMAYU black none 01.09.96 - 22.08.99

KIU black B 19.12.00 - 20.05.02

KIU black none 11.01.02 - 08.05.02

LAMU black A 08.11.91 - 20.10.99

MACHAKOS (wf) black B 01.01.97 - 16.03.97

MACHAKOS (wf) black A 22.05.97 - 20.03.01

MELINDI black none 09.07.92 - 18.07.92

MELINDI black A 19.06.93 - 06.11.99

MOMBASA black A 28.02.92 - 14.04.94

MOMBASA black A 07.07.95 - 27.11.99

MOMBASA black B 13.10.97 - 14.10.97

NDII (wf) black B 28.05.97 - 19.11.00

TAKAUNGU black none 03.10.95 - 15.12.96

TAKAUNGU black B 1897 - 29.11.98

TAKAUNGU black A 03.05.99 - 07.07.99

WASIN black none 07.10.92 - 18.08.94

WASIN black A 06.05.95 - 30.09.99A

RAILHEAD MOMBASA

Here's a copy of this last one.

ERD is stated as 27-06-98 and the LRD 25-03-02.

Here is also a picture of a BCA Lilongwe  postmark on a BEA stamp

 

Mombasa

 

British Guyana

Eleven offices have surely used these cancels from early ‘80s in 2 different types, with 1  internal ring and 2 or 3 external arcs . The locations where these cancels were surely used are  Brahn, Cabacaburi, Carmichael, Cotton Tree, Dunoon, Georgetown, Hackney, Mallali, New Amsterdam, Puruni and Skeldon. Hackney is known to have used a different cancel with two internal rings.

 

Georgetown

 

 

 

Burma (now Myanmar)

The stamps of British India were used in Burma with 3 different types of postmarks, see examples of Rangoon, Sanoway and Kyaukpyu St.

 

There are also some Military Post postmarks like  Burmese Field Sub P.O. and Upper Burma / Field P.O.

 

 

 

 

Canada

There are two types, with thinner and ticker bars. They were introduced in 1890.  But a precursor postmark has been used much earlier in Ottawa, between 1880 and 1881.  These postmarks have been introduced in all Canadian Provinces so there are hundreds of different types.  Three T.P.O.’s also exist.

 

They continued to be occasionally used until 1954 in London, Ontario. In Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, were occasionally used until  Christmas 1950.

 

A very detailed list of all Canadian postmarks can be found in the books published by BNAPS (written by Glenn Hansen and W.G. Moffat) “The Squared Circle Postmarks of Canada”. These postmarks are also catalogued at the back of the Unitrade Stamp Catalogue in case you do not have access to a specialized catalogue.

 

 

 

Cape of Good Hope

There are over 50 different postmarks for this British Colony. They have also been frequently used as arrival postmarks.

Port Elizabeth

 

Silver River

Kloof Station

 

A particular type of octagonal postmark was used in Capetown but this experiment was not very successful.

 

Here is a list of known postmarks in the Cape of Good Hope Province

 

 

 

 

 

China   (see under Shanghai)

Cyprus

The British Postal Offices started  to use the squared circle postmarks in 1882. They were used in 13 different locations. Most postmarks like Larnaca, Limassol and Nicosia are very common. Used for a very long period, until 1943 for Zii postmark. These are the dates of start and end for each of them:

Larnaca - Code A - 1882 - 1924

Code B - 1882 - 1922

Code C - 1882 - 1924

Code D - 1883 - 1921

Limassol - Code A - 1882 - 1930

Code B - 1882 - 1920

Code C - 1883 - 1923

Code D - 1892 - 1915

Nicosia - Code A - 1882 - 1912

Code B - 1882 - 1914

Code C - 1883 - 1914

Kythrea - 1884 - 1935

Lapithos - 1882 - 1931

Lefka - 1899 - 1926

Lefkara - 1884 - 1934

Lefkoniko - 1883 - 1927

Morphou - 1885 - 1901

Rizokarpaso - 1891 - 1926

Tricomo - 1882 - 1935

Vatili - 1882 - 1937

Zii - 1892 - 1943

 

Cyprus Town Cancels

Dutch Antilles/ Curacao

The Squared Circle Postmarks were used in these islands since 1891.Only the name of the island was shown in the postmark, with no indication of the specific post office.  They have been used in Curacao (different types exist), Bonaire, St. Martin, Saba and  St. Eustatius.

 

Curacao Dutch Indies (now Indonesia) Introduced around 1900 in the Dutch Colonies in the Indonesian Islands, were used in over 100 locations including the village of  Merauke in New Guinea.  There is a good variety of types and designs and they are all shown in the Guezendam catalogue.  They have also been used  by the Dutch Postal Agents of  Singapore and Penang. The Guezendam also shows two postmarks “Agent Bat- Amsterdam” and “Agent Bat.- Rotterdam” which  have been used on ships for correspondence mailed to the Netherlands and some travelling post offices like Batavia-Maos.

Saint Martin

 

 

 

 

Eritrea (Massaua, Italian office)

The squared circle postmarks were only used in Massaua.5 different types have been identified and they were used between 1892 and 1905.

Massaua

 

 

 

Great Britain

The squared circle postmarks have been introduced in Great Britain at the end of 1879 as an alternative to the duplex, which presented quite a few problems, were bigger and more difficult to use. They have been introduced in England and in Wales, but not in Scotland and Ireland. Notwithstanding that over 4000 different types are known to exist. They were widely used until 1910, then they started to be replaced by new types of cancels and ended up disappearing completely around 1930.

 

London                            Devonport

 

 

Greece (Salonicco, Jannina and La Canea, Italian offices)

They have been used in Greece only in these 3 locations in Italian postal Offices.  They were used in La Canea (Island of Crete) from 1900 to 1910,in Salonicco from 1908 to 1914 and in Jannina (Epyrus).  They are all quite rare, particularly on covers.

 

  

Cancels of Salonicco and  La Canea (2)

 

 

 

 

Hawaii

The history of the Honolulu Squared Circle Postmark is very interesting.  This postmark was originally produced in Canada and probably sent to Honolulu as a sample or as a gift from the Canadian Postal Authorities. The specimen of the Honolulu Postmark was produced in 1894 but it appears that the usage of this postmark only started around January 1897, as the postmarks from this period are very clear .It is known to have been used as a second class cancel (no date) between  1897 and  1900, only in Honolulu. The Honolulu postmark is rare on cover and, if other postmarks exist for other post offices, they would be very rare.

 

Honolulu

 

 

India - British

They were introduced around 1880, with bars  in the  corners. At least 4 different types were used in hundreds of  Post Offices (see the extensive list in the dedicated page). They have also been used for Military Post (also in North Burma) and on board of boats, for example the Post Office of the Bombay – Karachi Line and on the steam boat Ghat Dibrugarh. They have been used also in some Feudatory and Convention States, and ,as explained in another section, also in Middle East locations outside the Indian territory  (like Basra, Mahommera, Baghdad etc.) and also in Africa. In most cases they are applied on Indian stamps. As mentioned before, a very extensive list in available in this website, however it is understood that the list is far from complete and more research would be required. For the Indian postmarks used abroad please see the specific sections.

 

Grant Road railway, Bombay

 

 

 

India - French

These postmarks were used in some towns of French India ,such as  Chandernagore, Karikal, Pondicherry and Yanam, in postal offices run by the British Authorities and therefore stamped on stamps of British India. The type of  postmark was identical to the one used in India. They are very rare and I only have one picture of Chandernagore in my library.

 

 

 

India - Portuguese

The British Post was also active in Portuguese India and had some Post offices there. Even if the catalogues do not make any reference to postmarks for the enclaves of  Goa, Damao or Diu, it is possible that the squared circle postmarks have been used in these territories. I have been shown a postmark of Chandor Bazar which could be from Portuguese India (but a location with the same name exists also in Central India). This subject is still under investigation

 

 

 

Iran

Used on Indian stamps in the post offices of  Bandar-Abbas, Bushire, Jask, Linga and Mahommera. Quite scarce ,particularly on cover..

Mahommera

 

Bushire (6)

 

 

Iraq

Used on Indian stamps in the Post offices of Bagdad  and Basra (or Busrah, in the picture).

 

 

 

Italy

In this country there has been the widest usage of squared circle postmarks with over 10,000 different variants if we take into account all locations and the different types of postmarks existing in that location.  There is an excellent catalogue in Italian, Il Nuovo Gaggero - Catalogo dei bolli tondo - riquadrati del Regno d'Italia – published in 2002 by Vaccari.  Notwithstanding that, new postmarks are discovered on a regular basis and a new catalogue is under preparation.  They have also been used as arrival postmarks on correspondence arriving from other countries.

 

They have been used in most Italian Post offices between the end of the ‘800 and the beginning of the ‘900 and started to be replaced by other types of postmarks around 1910.They were still relatively common in the ‘20s.  The last known usage is in Canelli (Cuneo) April 11, 1933 and in Buvongi (Reggio Calabria), December 30, 1950.

 

These postmarks have been also imitated to produce some colourful private postmarks for some major hotels and some exhibitions. These “postmarks” have not been postally used and therefore do not appear in any catalogue

 

They were also issued for the Milan Exhibition and as TPO’s on trains and on boats. Some of these postmarks are quite rare. They were also used on the ships Portoferraio, Roma and  Regina Elena and on some torpedo boats during the first world war, all very rare. They have been also used in some offices abroad, but these have been identified separately, and classified under the countries where they have been used, all very rare, particularly on cover. I am showing here same examples of postmarks not  appearing in the 2002 edition of the catalogue (they will be included in the new edition), At the moment I have a list of over 50 postmarks not included in the Gaggero catalogue. As the list is expanding all the time I am not publishing it here, but it is available for anybody who could be interested in this type of information.

 

 

Cosenza distribuzione ,with internal ring

 

 Here are some examples of TPO’s, ships post offices and postal offices at National Exhibitions, all shown in the Gaggero catalogue, and some examples of private postmarks (not in catalogue)

 

 

 

Italy – Campione d'Italia

Used in Campione d'Italia between 1895 and 1911. It has an evaluation of  5 points in the catalogue "Il Nuovo Gaggero", (on a scale from 1 to 10) .but it appears to be rarer than that, considering I have not been able yet to obtain a sample.  Campione is an enclave in the Swiss territory, which has issued its own stamps during World War 2.

 

 

Jamaica

Introduced in 1882, four different types are known and have been used in about 40 different postal offices.  Some of these postmarks have been used for a very long time and can be seen even on George V stamps. Rarity varies from very common to quite rare.

 

Spanish Town (large type)- Kingston - Black River - Falmouth

 

 

Kenya

See British East Africa

 

 

 

 

Libya (Tripoli and Bengasi, Italian Offices)

Used in Tripoli for about 15 years between 1897 and 1912,six different types, all with a value of 7 points in the Gaggero catalogue.  Used in  Bengasi only from 1901 to 1907, two different types, both quoted  9 points in the Gaggero catalogue.

 

Tripoli di Barberia      Bengasi

 

 

Malaya

Over 40 different post offices are known, with many different types.  The design of the postmarks has been changed quite a few times, in an attempt to produce longer lasting postmarks.  This increases the possibility of finding rarer variants of a specific postmark. As mentioned before, also a Dutch Indies postmark was used in Penang.

 

Taiping (Perak)            Teluk Anson (Perak)                    Batu Gaya

 

 

Muscat

Squared circle postmarks have been used on Indian stamps used in Muscat. This postmarks lasted a fairly long time, from 1885 to the end of the century

 

 

 

 

Nepal

Used only in the capital. Katmandu, its length of usage is unknown.  It is rare

New Zealand

 The first squared circle postmarks were introduced in 1882 and progressively more and more post offices were added until 1915.Subsequently they started to be replaced by different types. But in some places they have remained in usage for a long time. The last known usage is in 1958, if we do not take into account the one used in Eureka in 1965, for historical philatelic celebrations and the one used in Whakatane in 1967 for the national stamp exhibition. They have been used in about 150 postal offices, but also in some naval offices (Monowai and Manganui – 2 types) and to celebrate some philatelic expos.(Aukland).There are also about 20 types of square circles with a PAID inscription on them. And about 20 other postmarks exist for some offices that at some time had only telegraph or telephone facilities. Different forgeries have been seen, usually on Stamp Duty issues and the 5 shillings Mt.Cook stamp.

 

Timaru Invercargill Wellington Christchurch Dunedin (2)  Eureka

 

 

 

 

Nigeria

 The squared circle postmarks were used only in 7 offices in Benin (now Koko), Bonny, Brass, Old Calabar (see picture), Opobo, Sapele (second issue), Warri, from mid 1890. They exist in black but also in violet (Brass,Opobo ,Sapele and Old Calabar) , in blue (Old Calabar) or red (Warri)

 

Postmark of Old Calabar

Northern Rhodesia

Introduced in the early 1900’s and used in 13 postal offices, with many different types. The towns where they have been used are:  Feira, Kampanda, Kapopo, Kasama, Lundazi, Mpiga or Mpika, Mwomboshi, Ndola, Nawalia, Petauke, Sakontwi, Serenje, Sitanda, Mwomboshi

Kasama

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nyasaland

See B.C.A.

 

 

 

Palestine (Gerusalemme, Italian Post)

The Jerusalem (Gerusalemme in Italian) Italian Post Office has used a squared circle postmark in 1914, just before the start of WW1.It is a quite rare postmark quoted the maximum of 10 points in the Gaggero catalogue

Gerusalemme

 

 

 

 

San Marino

Not to confuse with the Italian squared circle postmark of the town of San Marino, in the Vicenza province. San Marino has not introduced the squared circle postmarks but there have been cases where the correspondence has been stamped in transit or for the first time in Italian towns near the border. In the attached picture the card has been stamped in San Marino on the right with a normal circular postmark but then has been stamped at arrival in Rimini. The postmark has been put on top of the Minerva image on the right side. In the following picture there is a stamp which has not been stamped in San Marino but only in transit with an Italian squared circle postmark.

 

 

Shanghai (China)

Postmark used only in Shanghai for registered mail. Rare. Information on this postmark is quite scarce.

 

Shanghai , registered

 

 

Singapore

I am not aware of square circle postmarks  used in Singapore except those already mentioned in the Dutch Indies section

 

 

 

Somalia- Italian (Brava, Giuba, Merca, Benadir and Mogadiscio)

Used for a short period between 1903 and 1906 in the 5 locations listed above. They are catalogued in the catalogue Gaggero as very rare (on letter) with a maximum point of 10.  In addition to that there is another postmark titled “ Direttore dei servizi postali Mogadiscio” in purple, with no date.  Rare.

 

    

Brava                              Giuba                     Mogadiscio

 

 

Spain(Madrid)

Used only in Madrid around 1900, I am only aware of postmarks used between 1892 and  1909. I have also seen a copy of a half postmark (see picture) but until now I have not been able to find out if it is a variant or simply the effect of a malfunction.

 

Madrid cut (Nov. 1893)    Madrid whole postmark (Feb. 1893)

 

 

South Africa-  Orange Free State

In Orange Free State  some modified squared circle postmarks (octagonal) have been used with the province name shortened as OVS and later as ORC (Orange River Colony).  During the Anglo-Boer war some postmarks were used in different locations than what had been originally planned .For the square circle postmarks they have been used in Kuruman and Rustenburg. They are extremely rare. There are forgeries of this type of postmarks .

 

 

South Africa – Transvaal

The first one was used at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 1892 with the Z.A.R. inscription at the bottom.

They were used in a number of post offices , with different dimensions and designs. In some cases the Z.A.R. inscription was removed from the foot and they continued to be used in the early 1900’s. Here is the list of the known postmarks:

Amsterdam, Boksburg, Elandshoek, Ermelo, Hoenertsburg, Heidelberg, Johannesburg, Johannesburg Beurs, Kaapsehoop, Lichtenburg, Lydenburg, Middelburg, M. Wesselstroem, Ottoshoop, Pretoria, Rustenburg, Smitsdorp, Standerton, Utrecht, Carolina, Wolmaranstad

Johannesburg

 

 

Sudan

During the war against the Mahdi forces, the British troops set their camps round Wadi Halfa and the Nile. Of the 3 known Military Post Offices only one  (office number 11 - Suakin) used the squared circle postmark on Indian stamps, to stamp the correspondence mailed by British and Indian troops.

Field Post Office n. 11

 

 

 

Suriname

 

 

Also in this other Dutch colony they introduced the squared circle postmarks, which instead were never introduced in Holland. They have been used extensively but unfortunately there is no publication that lists the exact number of locations where these postmarks have been used. The official information at the moment identifies only the offices of Paramaribo (4 types), Sarama, Nickerie (3 types), Coronie (2 types) and Beneden Commewijne .There are for sure other ones which, particularly for the smallest locations, are surely rare items. I am also adding a picture of a Para postmark apparently used on the Para river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swaziland

Only 3 offices used these postmarks: Embadaan, Darkton and Bremersdorp (was Manzini) with the identification of the country as Swaziel or Z.A.R.: they exist also in blue.

 

 

Bremersdorp

 

 

Tunisia (Italian Offices, Tunisi, La Goletta and Susa)

Postmark used in Tunis between 1894 and 1895 Used also in La Goletta in 1893-96 and Susa in 1897. Rare. From 8 points (Tunisi) to 10 points (the other two) on the catalogue "Il Nuovo Gaggero".

 

Tunisi

 

 

Turkey (Smirne,Italian office)

Postmark used only in the Smirne post office in 1908- 1909.

Smirne

 

 

Zanzibar

Postmarks used on Indian stamps (on international correspondence in arrival, forwarded through Aden) around 1890 and on  Zanzibar stamps from 1898 to 1930.  There is a Zanzibar postmark plus four local postmarks of Chwaka, Mkoan, Mkokotoni e Weti, with the inscriptions of Zanzibar or Pemba at the bottom.  The Zanzibar postmark exists also of the Indian type, the others are of the British type.

 

 

 

Final remarks

 

I have tried to summarize in these notes all the available information on worldwide squared circle postmarks I have been able to collect during the years. It is however a subject on which there is still a lot to discover as confirmed by the recent discoveries I have made of Italian and Brazilian postmarks which do not appear in any catalogue. I am very interested in receiving any type of comment or information which can help me to expand this essay and also to exchange informations with other collectors of this type of postmarks ( write to stampsofitaly@yahoo.ca). Please note that my research has not included the Hoster postmarks, which, even if they are very similar to the squared circle postmarks, are not classified in the same category. I am showing hereunder the picture of a Berlin Hoster postmark, to help understand the differences between the two types of postmarks.

 

Berlin Hoster Postmark - not a Squared Circle Postmark

 

 

 

Bibliography:

ITALY - Crevato-Selvaggi: Il Nuovo Gaggero - Catalogo dei bolli tondo- riquadrati del Regno d’Italia - con la collaborazione di Daniele Prudenzano - Ed. Vaccari;

 

BRITISH EMPIRE - Robson Lowe: The Encyclopedia of British Empire Postage Stamps;

GREAT BRITAIN: Stanley F . Cohen: Collecting British Squared Circle Postmarks.

 

CANADA- UniSafe: Catalogue of Canadian Stamps;

 

 CANADA- British North America Philatelic Society : The Squared Circle Postmarks of Canada;

 

 JAMAICA- Bill Atmore: Jamaica Squared Circle Postmarks;

 

JAMAICA: Thomas Foster: The squared circle postmarks of Jamaica

 

WORLD WIDE- Curt Nicolaus Fernau: Squared Circle Postmarks used outside Great Britain;

 

INDIA - http://www.rjbw.net/IndiaUA.html: The Postal History of India, Indian Stamps Used Abroad;

 

AUSTRALIA- Rodney Overton: A Catalogue of Squared Circle Postmarks of South Australia.

 

AUSTRALIA: Donald G. Cox, South Australia, the Squared Circle cancellations, the Hawthorn Press

 

NEW ZEALAND: Patricia E. Capill- New Zealand Squared Circle cancellations.

 

NEW ZEALAND: Richard Wooders: The 1998 New Zealand Post Offices cancellations and postmarks guide.

 

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE: Gold Blatt: The postal history of the Cape of Good Hope

 

NYASALAND: Banks and Roberts: Postmarks of Nyasaland and Malawi

 

SURINAME: ERFMANN AND STUUT- Posthistorie van Het Rijksdeel Suriname: 1650-1975.

 

INDONESIA. ::A.W.ten Geuzendam:  De vierkantstempels van Nederlands-Oost-Indie 1892-1916. [This book has drawings of every hammer the author knew about.]

 

INDONESIA:P.Storm van Leeuwen: Poststempel Catalogus Nederlands-Indie 1864 – 1942. [This book contains some new discoveries not in the above book, but does not show every hammer. It does mention that the list includes 214 offices that used the squared circle.]

 

CURACAO:  Frank W. Julsen and A. M. Benders (1976). A Postal History of Curacao.

 

CURACAO: Curacao: Richard A. Phelps: An Identification Guide for Cancels (2009)

 

NIGERIA: Jack Ince and John Sacher: The Postal Services of the British Nigeria Region.

 

 NIGERIA: Mr E Proud :  The Postal History of Nigeria

 

BRITISH EAST AFRICA:  John Minns (UK) : BEA handbook