Some North Borneo philatelic items of interest

Just a few more things that I have accumulated over the past few months. Otherwise, things have been rather quiet without any startlingly significant acquisitions after missing out on some essential items because our area continues to attract a lot of interest and outstanding material are getting more expensive. 

I have somehow acquired this desirable specimen set on the cheap and now have a spare $5 stamp as well. The 1931 50th anniversary set is arguably the best designed and printed set of stamps from North Borneo. There are no known errors or varieties such was the quality control. This was unlike in previous years with re entries, different perfs, imperf pairs etc etc and one wonders whether the laxity in quality control was on purpose. To retrieve their reputation on this occasion, the decision was made to put the stamps on sale on 1 January 1931 and  to withdraw the issue fully on 31 December 1931 and all remaining unsold company stock was destroyed both in North Borneo and London. On the same day, the printing plates, dies and cylinders were also defaced. Requests from dealers to buy up remainders were tersely turned down.
A one frame competitive display with all aspects of this set including the artist's sketches, various types of proofs, mint and used sets including postal history should be worthy of a good medal in competition. And of course, the equally attractive Waterloo sample stamps in different colours should be included as well. You can see this set in pairs on this blog by clicking here and here.
A very good reference for this set of stamps would be the monograph North Borneo The Fiftieth Anniversary Issue Of The British North Borneo (Chartered) Company by L H Shipman. Shipman was a very well revered past president and editor of  The Sarawak Specialists' Society.

This cover to USA was rather unusual in going via Manila and not Hong Kong. Normally, mail bounded for the US would get a backstamp as it was sorted in Hong Kong. There is no such backstamp here from HK or Manila. Apart from Hong Kong there was also a direct surface mail connection between Manila and San Francisco as the Philippines were an American possession. A ship from the Eastern & Australian Steamship Company usually called on Sandakan on its way from Australian ports to Japan via Manila and Hong Kong towards the end or beginning of each month. In the BNB Herald, SS Arafura arrived from Australia on 1st December 1924 and left the next day for Manila. The ships Hinsang and Mausang were the usual ships that carried mail via Hong Kong on a fortnightly basis.
This is commercial mail from C S Lam & Co in Sandakan dated 24 NOV 1924 has the correct 12c rate for foreign mail to USA. It would have been a lot more interesting if it was a registered letter. Little is known about C S Lam and an advertisement in the Herald gave some indication of his business. But the addressee, Barr Rubber Products Co in Ohio actually made toys out of rubber.

This is an attractive philatelic cover with part of the 1909 set. It has a total of 51c in stamps when the correct imperial rate would have been 6c+12c for registered post to Britain. It was posted on 27 DEC 1926 with a registration I label with various arrival backstamps. The envelope was from the Sandakan Hotel and it was a very pleasant surprise to find a brief note inside with the corresponding stationary paper.

  

This is a very uncommon early incoming mail from Singapore in the Straits Settlements to Kudat. The sent date was SE 28 91 but unfortunately there was no arrival cancellation. The stationary used was from the Chartered Bank of India Australia & China with the embossed seal at the back of the envelope. And also the 5c Straits stamp has the letters C B I. The UPU rate from SS from 1 1 1891 was 5c but it was 8c for outgoing mail from North Borneo.

This was the wax seal from the Chartered Bank of India Australia & China used in Kuching on one of my covers.

Some Tenom covers

I do not have much in way of Tenom postal history as these are very uncommon pre 1940s  but these ones here are worth showing. It was a small quiet place in the hills servicing the agricultural enterprises in the area. And besides, nearby Beaufort was the administrative centre for this area of the Interior Residency in the south west of North Borneo near to Labuan and Brunei. Easy accessibility is still a problem to this day.

This is a tatty cover with a missing 10c stamp but it is an important item of postal history from North Borneo. It was sent from the Tenom internment camp over the WWl period. Prior to the first World War, there were significant numbers of Germans working in North Borneo and in British Asian territories in general. The most well known German national in North Borneo was probably Paul Brietag who managed the Batu Puteh Estate near Sandakan. And also the personnel on the various German Norddeutsche Lloyd Bremen steamers which were a life line to Singapore and Sooloo. 

During WWl, these German nationals and their allies were interned at Tenom at the residency. Only the single men were interned and the married with their spouses were allowed to leave the country. They were probably treated very well as the war divided people who were very good friends. The hospitality of the Germans particularly on the ships was said to be legendary. USA being neutral, their consul Hanson acted on behalf of their interests. He was known to visit the Batu Puteh estate regularly for this purpose. Unfortunately, any more information on this aspect of our history is particularly lacking and very little was mentioned in the British North Borneo Herald. As usual, it was the bearer of good news and anything unseemly was simply brushed aside.

This uncommon cover was addressed to the Private Committee for International Correspondence  at Lausanne in Switzerland and sent from Internment Camp, Tenom, B N Borneo. The sender's name is not eligible. It was post dated 17 May 1916 with Tenom D2, transited at Jesselton on 18 May 1916 with D7. It passed through Singapore on 30 May 1916, then censored at Bombay before going to Switzerland. It has a faint Tenom registration cachet, R2 which is uncommon with a recorded use span of 25.4.16-29.5.16 (Proud). It was also censored at Tenom by A N M Garry who was the acting assistant district officer at Tenom. Garry was a great railway enthusiast. There were only 4-5 of these covers known. 

Update Sep 2025 from a description on a cover in the Sep SG auction

the tiny German internment camp at Tenom, which was closed after the five (!) German internees complained of cannibalism and headhunters in the vicinity of the camp. Amusingly, an independent report by the US consulate concluded that whilst the cannibalism claim was false ('having never even existed' in North Borneo) there was a ‘certain element of truth’ in the reports of headhunters! The internees were moved to India and Australia to avoid further complaints

Airmail covers are popular and commands a premium especially those which were carried by the Dutch airline, KLM. Proud mentioned that airmail rates were introduced in North Borneo by 1932 and I have an Imperial airmail cover sent in March 1931. These covers have to go to Singapore first by sea. Mail by Imperial Airways went by train to Penang, then by ship and train to Karachi for the air service in stages to Croydon near London. The time taken from Penang was about 18 days and from Sandakan, an additional 7 days. 

The KLM was much faster as all stages from Alor Star was by air. It was estimated initially to take about 23 or 24 days from Sandakan to reach London and a day or two faster from Jesselton.  But it was actually much faster as the service became established. The 9,000 mile journey between Batavia in the Dutch Indies and Amsterdam took on average 12 days and with favourable conditions, as quick as 10 days. So for urgent letters it was preferable to use the KLM service even though it was more expensive. The above cover has the right rate of 60c whereas the rate was 25c for airmail carried by Imperial Airways.

This cover was sent  on 7 JUL 1936 from Tenom and received a back stamp at Jesselton on the same day. This is the only Dutch airmail cover from Tenom that I know of. Come to think of it, I can not recall an Imperial Airways cover from Tenom either.
Correction: 01/03/2019. I went to a display last night and there was this very nice U registered Tenom KLM cover. 

This very beautiful Sanbride postcard showing Tenom was actually sent from Sandakan and not Tenom unfortunately. It shows an idyllic scene of the police station and jail. The postcard received a Sandakan T mark as it was underpaid by 2c for the prevailing imperial rate of 4c. This Sanbride postcard is rare.

 Tenom in the 1950s.

This is a 1948 FDC with the 8c  from the Royal Silver Wedding issue. It has the uncommon Tenom T mark UP4 for underpaid mail. The imperial rate was changed from 8c to 10c on 1 April 1948.