Blue Mauritius, book cover

Welcome to the Blue Mauritius Research Companion

This website contains biographical and bibliographical information about the Post Office Mauritius stamps and subjects related to them. It is based on my research for the book Blue Mauritius: The Hunt for the World's Most Valuable Stamps.

The British Library Philatelic Collections

Functions
Collection
Location
The British Library, Philatelic Collections, 96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB, United Kingdom
Summary

The British Library's Philatelic Collections were established in 1891 with the bequest of the Tapling Collection and consist of over eight million items, including postage and revenue stamps, postal stationery, artwork, essays, proofs, covers and entires, 'cinderella' material, specimen issues, airmails, some postal history materials, and official and private posts, covering almost all countries and periods.

In addition to specimens of both values of the 'Post Office Mauritius' stamps, the Library also owns Joseph Osmond Barnard's original handwritten estimate of November 1846 for producing the 'Post Office Mauritius' stamps.

Details

Events

1891
The British Museum received Thomas Keay Tapling's stamp collection, containing both an unused two pence 'Post Office' stamp and a used one penny 'Post Office' stamp on cover, as a bequest.
1898
Joseph Osmond Barnard's original handwritten estimate for producing the 'Post Office Mauritius' stamps was given to the British Museum for the Tapling Collection by Major Edward Evans.
1973
The Tapling collection was transferred to the British Library.

Prepared by: Helen Morgan

Custodians

Related People

Bibliography

Online Resources