British post office in Morocco

In the XIX century, in the port cities of Morocco, a number of European states opened consulates , as well as post offices that processed correspondence sent outside the country and functioned until 1912 . Sheriff and private companies were responsible for the delivery of internal mail. ^[2] Among the foreign branches in Morocco, there was a whole network of British post offices, also known as "Moroccan Agencies" ( English Morocco Agencies ).

The first post office in Great Britain was opened in Tangier in 1857 , and in the beginning letters were paid with British stamps . ^[2] Due to the fact that the British postal service in Morocco was under the jurisdiction of Gibraltar, it switched to the use of Gibraltar postage stamps immediately after the latter appeared in circulation, namely January 1, 1886 . During 1887 - 1891, new British branches opened in various Moroccan seaports. ^[2] Post offices began to operate and far from the coast: in Fez in 1892 and in Meknes in 1907 . Gibraltar stamps were used in all these branches, which can be determined by the postmarks on them. ^[2]

Since 1898, Morocco / Agencies (“Agencies in Morocco”) were printed on postage stamps, first in the printing house of the Gibraltar Chronicle, and later in London , which led to the appearance of a number of varieties of the overprint. There is a Morocco overprint for the second issue. ^[2]

On January 1, 1907, the British Post Office , headed by in London, began to manage the post offices directly ^[2] , and they remained under its authority until Morocco gained independence in 1956 . From 1907 to 1956, all postage stamps were overprints on issues of Great Britain ^[2] , which were made with the designation of denominations in three different currencies . They were used at all British post offices in Morocco and were canceled on December 31, 1956 . ^[2]

In total, from 1898 to 1938 (before the formation of the French protectorate zone in Morocco ), 157 postage stamps with the Morocco Agencies stamp on the stamps of Gibraltar and Great Britain were issued by British mail. ^[3]

British Currency Overprints

UK postage stamps with the same overprint and overprint of the new value in British currency , as well as without overprint of the new face value, were put into circulation in 1907 . They were available in all post offices and were mainly intended for parcels , and later for airmail . Overprints were made both on standard stamps and on some commemorative stamps ; all of them were an overprint of the text "MOROCCO / AGENCIES" , until the 1936 edition with a portrait of Edward VIII . Subsequently, from 1937 to 1949 , for the payment of parcels, there were postage stamps without overprints ^[2] , but in 1949 an overprint appeared again on stamps for use in Tetuan . At that time, there was only one post office, except for Tangier, for which its own overprints were made.

Spanish Currency Overprints

Before the creation of the French Zone , all post offices also had stamps with denominations in Spanish currency , after which their circulation was limited to the Spanish zone . ^{[2] The} overprint was basically the same as on stamps with denominations in British currency, the additional difficulty was only in the need to fit the denomination in sentimos and pesetas . Overprints were placed on all types of postage stamps in the United Kingdom, with the latest issues in the summer of 1956 depicting Elizabeth II . All of them were withdrawn from sale on December 31 of the same year. ^[2]

During the existence of the zone of the Spanish protectorate, in 1912-1956, the British post issued 50 postage stamps. ^[3]

French Currency Overprints

Postage stamps with denominations in French currency ( centimes ) intended for use in the French zone have been put into circulation since 1917 . They remained in postal use until January 8, 1938 , when they were withdrawn from sale due to the closure of British branches in this area. ^{[2] The} overprints were exactly the same as those issued for the Spanish currency, but they were issued less in the number of types.

Overlays for Tangier

For the Tangier International Zone, our own overprints were made from 1927 to 1957 .

The most comprehensive book on post offices in Morocco, written by David A. Stotter , Chairman of the GB Overprints Society ( GBOS ), was published in October 2007 by the Postal History Society ( PHS ) and the ( BPT ), 367 pages, hardcover and priced at £ 49. Published under the title The British Post Office Service in Morocco 1907-57 (The British Postal Service in Morocco 1907-1957), the book details the history of the postal service of the so-called British period, from the moment control was transferred to the General Post Office in Gibraltar in January 1907 until the closure of the Tangier post office in April 1957. The book was recently awarded the Crawford Medal of the Royal Philatelic Society of London and a large gold medal at an exhibition in Harrogate in 2008 . ^[four]

The first brochure on Moroccan agencies written by John H. Vallis was published by G.F. Johnson in 1921 . The second was written by R.H. Sampson ( RH Sampson ), it was published by the Royal Royal Philatelic Society in 1959 in a limited edition of 250 copies. Subsequently, the late Ken Clough published two pamphlets (the second was a second improved and augmented reprint of the first), published by the Gibraltar Study Circle in 1978 and 1984 . The Overprint Printing Society of Great Britain also published in 1992 a special print booklet on editions of Edward VII , written by M.H. Gellatly and M.K. Wlodarczyk.

The Gibraltar period, until the end of 1906, is covered in detail in a book written by Richard Garcia and published jointly by PHS and BPT under the title: “The British Postal Service in Morocco 1749-1906” (“British Postal Service in Morocco 1749-1906 "). This book, along with a book by Richard Stotter, gives a complete description of the history of the post office of British post offices in Morocco. It is planned to publish a third book with a description of postage stamps and whole things .

• British consular post
• British Post in Tangier
• British Post Abroad
• History of UK Post and Stamps
• en: Postage stamps and postal history of Morocco

• Wellsted R., Rossiter S. , Fowler J. The Stamp Atlas. - New York: Facts on File Publications, 1986. - P. 270. - ISBN 0-8160-1346-2 . (eng.)

• Rossiter, Stuart; Fowler, John & Wellsted, Raife. Morocco Agencies (British POs in Morocco). Morroco Stamp Atlas . Sandafayre Stamp Auctions. Date of treatment November 27, 2010. Archived May 11, 2012.
• Morocco Agencies . Country List . All World Stamps Catalog sponsored by Stanley Gibbons . - Stamps of British mail in Morocco in the Stanley Gibbons online catalog. Date of treatment November 27, 2010. Archived May 11, 2012.
• Morocco Agencies . Stanley Gibbons Shop . Stanley Gibbons Ltd. - Philatelic materials of the British post in Morocco on the website of the Stanley Gibbons company. Date of treatment November 27, 2010. Archived May 11, 2012.
• Morocco Agencies . A — Z of postal authorities. Encyclopaedia of Postal History . Stampsite: The Encyclopaedia of Postal Authorities; BlackJack - Information on stamps of British post in Morocco in the database “Encyclopedia of the history of mail. Encyclopedia of Post Offices. " Date of treatment November 27, 2010. Archived August 14, 2007.