Author Description

This full-colour catalogue presents Egypt's postage stamps in the first one hundred years and is organized chronologically, using the Stanley Gibbons numbering system. It begins with the first group of definitive stamps issued in January 1866, at the time of Khedive Ismael, who ruled Egypt from 1863 to 1879. He gave great attention to the fledgling postal service and the infrastructure it needed. The language of this First Issue was Turkish, and the currency was the Turkish Para and Qirsh. One qirsh was equivalent to forty paras. As Egypt developed, the need for postal services grew, and post offices were opened all over the country. Egypt's political and social development is reflected in the different stamp designs representing major events during the various political systems in Egypt, from being part of the Turkish Empire, then a British Protectorate, then under Egypt's Monarchy, and finally being declared a Republic. The first director of Egypt's Postal Service was Giacomo Muzzi, who had come to Egypt from Italy in about 1820. Before taking on this responsibility, he owned and managed Posta Europea, a very successful company that provided postal services all across Egypt. Khedive Ismael decided to buy the company and appoint Mr. Muzzi as the first Postmaster General. This explains why Italian was the language used in the Second Issue, released in 1867. The language was later changed to French, then English, and sometimes combined with Arabic, Egypt's official language. It depended on who the Postmaster was at the time. Definitive stamps were supplied as the demand arose in terms of the numbers and values. In addition to issuing stamps for regular use, the Egyptian government also issued commemorative stamps to mark special occasions and events, such as international exhibitions, conferences, anniversaries and festivals. These were limited in duration for the occasion that they commemorated. Another type issued was the Postage Due stamp, for when the sender had