"When the first obliterators were sent out to Barbados in 1852 the following numbers were allotted to the various Post Offices :-
1. G.P.O. (Bridgetown), 2. Christchurch, 3. St. Philip,
4. St. George, 5. St. John, 6. St. Joseph, 7. St. James,
8. St. Thomas, 9. St. Andrew, 10. St. Peter, 11. St. Lucy.
In his reference to these obliterators in his handbook on the Post Office in Barbados, Mr. H. Bayley states that there are 'three bars above and four below the figure'. Whilst this is true for some of the numerals it is certainly not true for all of them. Whether anyone has investigated this matter thoroughly before, or not, I do not know, but despite continuous search I can find nothing definite on the subject. This seems to call for some research by our Study Circle. As it is mainly a case for tabulating results I suggest that members who are interested in this colony and are willing to co-operate could probably do so by letting the Hon. Secretary have the following particulars of any stamps in their possession, or which they may see, which bear the `barred' obliterator
(a) Numeral. (b) Number of bars above. (c) Number of bars below.
(d) Date-probably only obtainable from an entire. (e) If on entire brief details of other postmarks. (f) If more than one example of the same obliterator is consulted the number of such examples.
There are obviously likely to be some difficulties in discriminating between '6' and the '9' although the two numerals appear to be slightly different; evidence from entires would undoubtedly be useful in these cases. If sufficient data were forthcoming the results could be summarised and published in a future Bulletin giving due acknowledgement to all concerned."
|
Link to Prev / Next Related Article
|
Link to Next Article in Bulletin
|