Classic Siam: The Early Years

Dr Prakob Chirakiti and the Philatelists Association of Thailand

10 April 2008

Introduction

From an idea first discussed in 1957, the first meeting of the Thailand Philatelic Society was held in London on January 25th 1958.

The Society already boasted 25 members, 15 of whom were present, including Peter Collins, Eric Dabbs, J H Davies, Cyril Fawdry, Miss E Frere, Bill Freshwater, Chas. M.C. Symes, Dick Townsend and G E Wilson.

With Dennis Langford's address listed as Bangkok, Herb Herman living in the Bronx, New York and the rapid addition of Alex Petrie in Australia, the Society was international from the very start.

Peter Collins was really the founder and driving force behind the TPS, becoming Secretary, Treasurer and Editor of the newsletter, already called The Thai Times. Cyril Fawdry became President and Charles Symes was elected Chairman. In addition, Prince Chula of Thailand was invited and agreed to become Patron of the fledgling society.

The first issue of The Thai Times contained a library list, details of a new issues service and the packet as well as the first list of members. In the second issue, the Society gave a hearty welcome to Bill Kee and Pakdi Yongvanich, both in Bangkok. Pakdi Yongvanich is still a life member of the Society.

The 25th Anniversary of the society coincided with the Bangkok 83 Exhibition. This was attended by members and several of them obtained awards for their displays. Pride of place goes to Prakaipet "Pet" Indhusophon, who later published a book of his collection and was invited to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists at the RPSL.

The Society has been blessed with a number of long serving officers including Peter Collins in several roles over 28 years, Eric Dabbs, Geoff Farrier, Brian Land, Dennis Langford, Jonathan Manning, Ted Marshall, Mike Roberts as auctioneer for 29 years, Del Smith as editor of The Thai Times for 22 years and Don Wills.

In 2008, the Society has more than 160 members spread across 20 countries.

Classic Siam: The Early Years

During the reign of King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V), Siam was faced with the internal modernization problems and external colonization of the western superpowers. Important changes had taken place that are reflected in the postal services then available in Siam.

This collection exhibits the development of the postal system from before the introduction of Siamese postal services in August 1883 to 1910.

Prior to this foreign postal services were carried out by forwarding agents such as A.L. Johnston & Co., Boustead & Co., Malherbe Jullien & Co., Windsor & Redlich Co., and the British, French and U.S. Consulates in Bangkok.

1873 Straits Settlements stamp tied by forwarder chop and blind cancel on cover from Siam to Hong Kong with the forwarder handstamp of Malherbe Jullien &Cie alongside. Endorsed 'per steamer' with Singapore transit mark of 11 March 1873	1864 entire letter from Bangkok to London franked with 2 Annas, 8Annas and 8 Pies for the 10 Annas 8 Pies rate, tied by Singapore "B172" cancellation with Singapore transit and London arrival marks.	British Post Office in Siam. 1879 cover from Bangkok to Martham, Norfolk, England, franked with single Straits Settlements 8 cents for an 8 cents rate, cancelled with black British Consulate Royal Arms chop and a blind canceller. Singapore transit mark dated October 17 1879 with Martham cds dated November 25.

I: The First Issue

The first issue stamp bore a profile portrait of King Chulalongkorn facing to the left, enclosed within an oval frame, with inscriptions of value in panels either at the top or bottom. The first issue was intended for domestic usage only as it had only Siamese characters and numerals and included the values of 1 solot (1/2 of one att), 1 att (the local printed matter single rate), 1 sio (2 atts, the local single rate for letters), 1 sik (4 atts, the inland provincial single rate), 1 fuang (8 atts) and 1 salung (16 atts).

1884 Great Britain 1d stamp on cover from Siam to London to pay the UK delivery.

When Siam began her postal services in august 1883 she was able to serve only areas in Bangkok with no provincial or foreign postal services. Foreign postal services were still carried out by forwarding agents and the foreign consulates in Bangkok. These services stopped in July 1885 after Siam joined the U.P.U. and started her own foreign postal services. Siam also began to expand her provincial postal services starting with Samut Prakarn in August 1885.

When Siam introduced her own foreign postal services in July 1885, the postal stationery card rate was 4 atts, the neighbouring country foreign single rate was 8 atts and the non- neighbouring foreign single rate was 12 atts. Since the one salung stamp was worth 16 atts which was more than 12 atts, it was devalued to 12 atts and used for the foreign single rate.

British Post Office in Siam. 1884 cover from Bangkok to New York franked with Hong Kong 10 cents tied by British Post Office (Bangkok) cds dated September 4 1884 and pen.	1885 mixed usage of the first issue stamp and Straits Settlements on cover. The Siamese stamp was for the local single rate to the British Consulate in Bangkok and the Straits Settlement stamps "B" overprinted were for the foreign postal rate.	The first issue used after Siam joined the U.P.U., the earliest recorded usage on cover.
The one tical on one solot overprint.	Provincial cover to Bangkok franked with 1 Sik tied by Prachinburi CDS dated RS 27/4/10 (July 27 1890)

Also in July 1885 the existing one solot value stamp was surcharged in English changing the value of the stamp to one tical (or from 1/128 of a tical to 1 tical). There were five different and distinct handstamps of the "tical" surcharge.

II: The Second Issue

The second issue was introduced to replace the first issue with name of the country and the value in English and with Arabic numerals in April 1887. The stamps had a full face portrait of King Chulalongkorn enclosed in an oval horse-shoe shaped frame with an inscription in Siamese around the side and the top reading "Postage and Revenue Siam". The value of the stamp was inscribed in Siamese on the left tablet of the stamp, with an Arabic numeral in the right tablet and an English inscription between the two value tablets "Siam Postage & Revenue" in three lines. The second issue stamps were on "Chakr" watermarked paper with one symbol per stamp. The second issue included a of 2 atts value (the local single rate for letters), 3 atts (the foreign printed matter single rate), 4 atts (the inland provincial single rate), 8 atts (the neighbouring foreign country single rate for letters), 12 atts (the non-neighbouring foreign single rate for letters), 24 atts (the non-neighboring foreign single registered rate for letters) and 64 atts. However, these values did not include the 1 att value which was the local printed matter single rate and with the resulting shortage the first issue 1 sio (2 atts) was surcharged one att in August 1889, followed by surcharging of the second issue 2 atts and 3 atts values with one att in November 1889 and September 1890, respectively. There were then a series of surcharges of the second issue stamp to values of 2 atts, 3 atts, 4 atts and 10 atts from 1890 to 1899.

1887 cover from Bangkok to London bearing 12 atts, the foreign letter rate, tied by Bangkok P PAID with stars cds dated 17 October 1887	The second issue stamp	The "Chakr" watermark
1889 cover from Bangkok to Stadthagen, Germany, bearing 64 atts second issue tied by Bangkok cds (without P PAID, with stars) dated 16 October 1889. Boxed 'R' and manuscript No 991 registration number. Brindisi transit mark dated 24 November 1889.	1895 registered cover from Siemrap, Cambodia to Saigon franked with 1 att on 64 atts pair, 2 atts on 64 atts and various values of second issue.

III: The Rejected Die Issue and the Third Issue

The Rejected Die Issue was developed to compensate for shortages of the 1 att, 2 atts, 3 atts, 4 atts and 10 atts stamps. This bore the three quarter face portrait of King Chulalongkorn whereas the second issue had the full face portrait. The inscription and the frame encircling the portrait were similar to the second issue, except for some very slight modifications in detail and slight variations in the proportions of the various parts of the design. The issue included values of 1 att, 2 atts, 3 atts, 4 atts and 10 atts. The King did not approve of the design and the stamps were never approved for use.

The third issue was developed to replace the rejected die and the second issues. This bore the profile portrait of King Chulalongkorn facing to the left and was similar to the first stamp. The inscription and the frame encircling the portrait were similar to the second and Rejected Die issues, again except for some very slight modifications in detail and slight variations in the proportions of the various parts of the design.

1900 cover from Battambong, Cambodia, to Bangkok franked with 1, 2 and 3 atts of the Rejected Die Issue tied by Battambong small type cds dated 28 October 1900

The issue included 1 att (the local printed matter single rate), 2 atts (the local single rate for letters), 3 atts (the foreign printed matter single rate), 4 atts (the domestic provincial single rate), 8 atts (the local single registered rate), 10 atts (the neighbouring foreign single rate), 12 atts (the non-neighbouring foreign single rate), 24 atts (the non-neighbouring foreign single registered rate) and 64 atts. When the third issue was introduced in September 1899, the Rejected Die stamps were also accidentally released, since the two issues had similar designs and looked alike. Only a small amount were in fact released before the mistake was discovered. The remainder of the Rejected Die Issue were then destroyed.

Due to fluctuations in the value of the currency, the foreign postal rate was changed from 12 to 14 atts in May 1903 and back to 12 in April 1904. The second printing of the third issue in January 1904 was planned to take into account this postal rate change, and now included the values of 14 atts (the foreign single rate) and 28 atts (the foreign single registered rate). The second printing of the third issue used the same design but with colour changes.

1902 local registered cover bearing 1 att and 2atts values of third issue tied by Bangkok 2 cds dated 27 December 1902	1902 cover from Bangkok to New York bearing 10 atts for a 12 atts foreign letter rate tied by Bangkok 1 cds dated 29 October 1902. Boxed 'T' and manuscript 5c postage due with New York DUE 2 CENTS mark.	1906 cover from Battambong, Cambodia, franked with first and second printings of the third issue tied by Battambong cds dated 21 September 1906

IV: The Fourth Issue

The fourth issue was released in December 1905 with values of 1 att (the local printed matter single rate), 2 atts (the local single rate for letters), 3 atts (the foreign printed matter single rate), 4 atts (the domestic provincial single rate), 5 atts, 8 atts (the local single registered rate), 12 atts (the non-neighboring foreign single rate), 24 atts (the non-neighboring foreign single registered rate) and 1 tical (64 atts). The second printing was issued in April 1908 to accommodate a rate change from 12 atts to 9 atts and included values 9 atts (the new foreign single rate) and 18 atts (the foreign single registered rate). The second printing is differentiated by colour changes.

1908 cover from Kedah, Malaya, to Kandramanickam, India, bearing 1 att and 4atts values of third issue tied by Kedah cds dated April 1908 with transit marks of Penang and Madras.	1908 cover from Batu Menkebang, Kalantan, Malaya, to England bearing 4atts of third issue for the postcard rate, cancelled by manuscript BM 8/5/08 and Kalantan cds with Singapore transit mark of 12 May 1908	1909 local registered AR cover bearing multiple 3 atts value of second printing of fourth issue tied by Bangkok 2 cds dated 20 July 1909

V: The Jubilee Issue

In November 1908, the 1 att, 3 atts, 4 atts on 5 atts, 8 atts and 18 atts of the fourth issue were surcharged with "Jubilee 1868-1908" both in Siamese and English to celebrate the auspicious occasion of the 40th anniversary of King Chulalongkorn's Coronation. In addition to these low values, a high value was printed with the design of an Equestrian Statue of King Chulalongkorn, which was to be unveiled that day in honour of him reigning longer than any of his predecessors of the Chakri Dynasty.

VI: The New Currency Issue

The new currency surcharged stamp.

In 1909 the currency was changed from the octal system (the att) to the decimal system (the satang) and the fourth issue stamps were surcharged with the new currency. The new Garuda issue was released in May 1910. A few months later on 23 October King Chulalongkorn passed away.

Highlights of the Exhibit

Frames 1-6: The pre-Siamese postal services period
The earliest recorded outgoing missionary letter.
An early incoming letter from the U.S.A. to D.B.Bradley.
Covers showing the usage of the stamps of India, the Straits Settlements, the Straits
Settlements with "B" overprint, Great Britain and Hong Kong.

Frames 7-16: Development of the first issue
The Royal mails from King Mongkut, King Prapinklao and King Chulalongkorn.
The largest strip of the "rising p".
Essay, die and colour proofs of the first issue.
The only recorded cover with all values of the issued stamps.

The Garuda issue stamp

Frames 17-19: The early Bangkok cancellations
The Siamese Bangkok cancellations using the Chulasakaraj era (minor era).
The Bangkok P PAID cancellations.
The Bangkok 1 and Bangkok 2 cancellations.

Frames 20-22: Development of the second issue
Essay, die and colour proofs of the second issue.
Rare usage of the second issue in former Siamese territories on cover.

Frames 23-31: The second issue surcharges
The Siamese "handstamp surcharges" variety and usage on cover.
The "Roman surcharges" variety and usage on cover.
The "Antique surcharges" variety and usage on cover.

Frames 32-34: The Rejected Die Issue and the third issue
The rare perforated colour proof and variety of the Rejected Die Issue.
Usage of the Rejected Die Issue on cover in former Siamese territories.
Usage of the third issue on cover in former Siamese territories.

Frames 35-37: The fourth issue and its surcharges
The rate change from 12 to 9 atts.
Usage of the fourth issue on cover in former Siamese territories.
The fiscal issue surcharges.

Frames 38-39: The Jubilee Issue
Die proof of the low value jubilee issue surcharges.
The imperforated variety of the high value jubilee issue.
Rare usage of the jubilee high value on cover.

Frames 40-43: The new currency issue
The imperforated variety of the new currency surcharges.
Rare usage of the provisional surcharges of 1909 on cover.
The imperforated variety of the Garuda issue.

Awards

Siam Classic: The early years
Boonchai Bencharongkul
FIP: Large Gold Canada 1996
FIAP: Grand Prix National Bangkok 2000

Siam: The early years
Prakob Chirakiti
FIAP: Large Gold Philippines 1996
FIAP: Grand Prix International China 1996
FIP: Large Gold China 1999
FIAP: Grand Prix d'Honneur candidate Bangkok 2000, India 2000, Hong Kong 2001
FIP: Grand Prix National Bangkok 2003
FIAP: Grand Prix d'Honneur Hong Kong 2004

Siam Classic: The first issue
Prakob Chirakiti
FIP: Large Gold Australia 2005, Washington 2006, Espana 2006
FIP: Grand Prix International St. Petersburg 2007

Siam: The second issue and its surcharges (1887-1899)
Vanna Chirakiti
FIP: Large Gold Washington 2006, Espana 2006