This Papar D1 cancellation has to be one of the foremost candidates for the best looking postmark of North Borneo. It is best struck in violet but also available in black. It would be interesting to know why these 2 different colours were used over its life span. And whether different inks were used in different months as I have only seen violet examples for December 1949.
This temporary hand stamp was made of rubber and needed replacing at regular intervals. With use, it gradually degrades and produces wavy lines which adds to its desirability. The 8 point star shows up very well in this example.
The small part cancel in black on the left margin is most probably a Jesselton Australian type transit marking. The mail were sorted at the General Post Office(GPO) in Jesselton before being forwarded towards their destination .
As the rubber date stamp deteriorates, an unattractive smudged cancel is produced. This one is in black ink and is most certainly another Papar D1.
This is the Semporna D1 temporary cancel and is much rarer than Papar D1. Even though SON(socked on nose), it would be preferable if it were on a larger stamp like the UPU (Universal Postal Union) issue to capture all its features. It was manufactured in the same way and has the same layout but somehow it is not as attractive as the Papar violet cancel. I think it is probably down to the different ink that was used. The waviness of the outline is also less pronounced.
This is either a Semporna D1 or a Keningau D1 or even a Papar D1 postmark as they are all temporary hand stamps with the same basic design. Papar D1 was in use for less than a year while the other two went on for 2 years.
Part 1 of this topic was in September 2011.
I will be travelling in the next few weeks. Posting will be rare or at best erratic.
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