COVER N. 544 - MADAGASCAR

Postmark: Antananarivo Antanimena Madagascar 28.10.2024

Posted on the 28th October; Received on the 16th December 2024

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Madagascar, the land of Imense baobabs, outlandish lemurs and intriguing chameleons....How could I not be nothing less than elated to be able to add a cover from this rather uncommon origin to my collection?

Hartelijk dank, Eric, Muito obrigado! Once again, "with a little help from my friends" finds a fitting translation into this humble blog.

Independent since 1960, this former French colony in the Indian ocean, the 4th largest island in the world, separated from the African Continent by the Mozambique Canal is famous for its biodiversity, with 90% of the species therein living being endemic and as such not be  found everywhere else.

Judging from the cover Eric so kindly made sure I would get, stamp diversity is also an attribute of the Island state, and no less than 6 different stamps were used to post the cover to Portugal. 

Strangely enough a CN222 Customs declaration sticker was also affixed tot he envelope, at a given moment of its transit, and it had to be lifted upon arrival, since it was covering the information about the Post Code in my address.

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) .... la mer.... claire de lune... la cathédrale engloutie... some of the most beautiful piano scores of the early 20th century bear the signature of this French  composer considered to be the first of the impressionist composers.

On 29SEP1988, the Postal Services of Madagascar issued a six stamp set dedicated to Musicians, which included the stamp on the cover dedicated to Debussy, illustrated with his effigy and a scene from his sole opera, Pelias et Melisande, in the background.

The other stamps on the set were dedicated to Carl Philippe E. Bach (80 MFr); Franz Schubert (250 MFr); Georges Bizet (170 MFr); George Gershwin (550MFr) and Elvis Presley (1500 MFr)

A one stamp souvenir sheet was also issued (1500MFr), and it featured Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

Nothing against good old Elvis, but to see him in the company of the other 5 makes him look sort of "the odd man out" of the group.

A set of 5 definitive stamps dedicated to the cultivation of Rice, was issued in 2001,  all stamps being identical except for the dominant colour (and value, of course) . The blue stamp, originally with a face value of 1120 Ariary (the national currency of Madagascar, introduced in 1960) was again reissued in 2021, with a 1000 Ariary surcharge, as featured on the cover.

As expected from a place with such rich biodiversity, Flora and Fauna are common Madagascar stamp issue themes. The 5000 stamp featuring a  Propithecus candidus,  a critically endangered lemur, was issued on 15JUN2015aas part of a three stamp set which also featured two members of the Plantae kingdom:  a  1500 Ariary stamp with a photo of an Hildegardia ankaranensis and a 1000 Ariary stamp with a photo of a Ouratea obtusifolia, both of these being local endemic plants, I suspect.

The ubiquitous  Goldfish (Carassius auratus) sadly swimming around and around in many a small water pot in many a children's room around the world is the theme of the single stamp souvenir sheet with a face value of 20000 MFr, issued on 27MAY1994. Further to the souvenir sheet, the issue comprised another seven fish tank beauties depicted on 10; 30; 45; 95; 2x 140 and 3,500 MFr.

Zheng He was a Chinese navigator, born in 1371 in what is now Jinnin, in the province of Yunnan.

Among his navigation feats were seven voyages undertaken between 1405 and 1431 in the Pacific and  Indian Oceans  and also the in the Persian Gulf. Some claim he also reached America during his maritime explorations.

On 16OCT1997, the Postal Service of Madagascar, issued a 5700 MFr  one stamp souvenir sheet celebrating the valiant explorer. 2 of the satmps were used on the cover, the one on the right having been glued onto de frame of the souvenir sheet, hiding it from view.

World Post day is celebrated every year on the 9th October and as its is well known it is not uncommon for Postal Services to issue celebratory stamps for the occasion.

The  300 MFr on the cover with a map of Madagascar with a logo on top that I would suspect to be the emblem of the Postal Services at the time was issued on 21OCT1997.

The postmark was applied at the country's capital, Antananarivo.