Return To Catalogue - Mauritius 1847-1859
Note: on my website many of the
pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the cd's;
contact me if you want to purchase them: evert@klaseboer.com.
Reprints were made in 1912 with the original plates (in Paris?), the paper is different from the original stamps. Some of them have the word 'reprint' on the black. See also http://www.stampsmauritius.com/PostOfficeForgeries.htm for more details, examples:
Many forgeries exist, of many of them it is not certain who made them. But in Mauritius Illustrated (compiled and edited by Allister MacMillan) on page 318 Albert Rae writes: 'I have had occasion several times to see very clever forgeries of both Post Office stamps affixed to parts of envelopes having every sign of old age and duly post-marked with the proper date. They were so well executed that they would have deceived any unexperienced collector, and especially beginners. Imitations of the two Post Office stamps made and sold as such by Mr.Moens, of Bruxelles, are far from resembling the originals'.
I have seen many forgeries in the following desings; the 'G' of 'POSTAGE' has a very long tail and the 'A' of this same word is very broad:
I have also seen these forgeries in many fancyfull colours, examples:
(reduced sizes)
(Other primitive forgery)
A bunch of primitive forgeries.
Forgery of a 2 p stamp, actually an advertisement label of a
German stamp dealer Walter Behrens in Braunschweig (probably
somewhere in the early 1930's). The text on the back reads
'Nachbildung kostenfrei uberreicht durch Briefmarkenhandlung
Walter Behrens Braunschweig Werbeschriften kostenfrei'. Behrens
also made an almost identical 1 p 'reproduction' in red. It has
the same text on the back, but in red color. I know that Behrens
made 'facsimiles' of at least one other mayor rarity of the world
(British Guiana 1856 issue, see below).
A Behrens advertisement card with two Mauritius forgeries and a
British Guiana forgery.
Reproductions with text 'REPRODUCTION D'apres l'original' with a
handwritten number and the chop of a dealer 'J.PERRON PARIS'.
They appear to be closely copied from a genuine stamp (as the
text in French at the back indicates).
These forgeries have a 'star' in the left bottom corner instead
of a cross. They have the appearance of the 1859 Sherwin issue.
Probably an Oneglia forgery; heavily
engraved as usual with engraved Oneglia forgeries. These
forgeries are engraved. I've also seen a 1 p Oneglia forgery. The
loops in hair are quite typical in these forgeries. Also the band
of the crown is too white.
The following stamps are all forgeries:
Rather bad quality forgeries, 2 p blue and 2 p red
Another very badly done 1 p forgery.
Photographic forgeries of the 1 p and 2 p on thin paper
Usually overprinted Fac-Simile. But not always.... Note the dot
in the right leg of the "N" of "ONE".
Row of 4 two p 'Post Office' stamps with 'Fac-simile' overprint,
note that there are two different types.
Forgery pasted on a piece of a letter. The 'E' of 'POST OFFICE'
is too near to the square ornament just above it.
More information on the 'Fac-simile' stamps can be found by clicking here.
('Faksimile 1986, apparently made in Germany, inscription 'DIE
BLAUE MAURITIUS')
Zoom-in of this 'Faksimile'; it has the text 'Faksimile 1986' at
the bottom and also printed obliquely in blue at the back.
Some Peter Winter forgeries (made somewhere in the 1980's) on letter:
I've also seen the same envelope with the same stamps, but both
with a 'PAID' in a circle cancel
(Other forgeries made by Peter Winter)
Another modern 'reproduction':
(Zoom-in of the stamps on the above reproduction)
I've been told that the above reproduction was made by Prophila (50000 pieces seem to have been made). Apparently a photo was used as can clearly be seen from a zoom-in of the stamps (click on any of the two above stamps to see more details). Also the word 'reprint' was added in the design.
'Reprint' sheet made in 1963 for the London Stamp Fair.