French Stamps
Issues of 1870-1875
Type: Bordeaux - Ceres
French stamps, along with France itself, went through a complete evolution during 1870. These events all resulted from the Franco-Prussian War (July 1870 - May 1871). This conflict would result in the end of the French monarchy, the establishment of the French 3rd Republic, and the creation of the German Empire.
The formation of the North German Confederation, led by the Kingdom of
Prussia, in 1867, resulted in tensions between the newly united Germanic
kingdoms of Europe and the French monarchy. On July 16, 1870, the
French Empire of Napoleon III declared war on the German Confederation -- a very, very bad decision!
The combined German armies quickly invaded France, and at the Battle of Sedan, on September 2, 1870, they captured the French emperor, Napoleon III. On September 19, 1870, the German armies laid siege to Paris, and on January 28, 1871, the French capitol surrendered.
The French, led by the republican movement, wasted no time at all in abandoning their monarchy. On September 4, 1870, they formally abolished the monarchy, and established the French 3rd Republic. The new republic would survive until 1940. The French monarchy was gone forever!
The events leading up to and during the Franco-Prussian War are much more complex than I have stated here in my very brief summary. This 10 month long war changed the face of Europe. For detailed information, Wikipedia has an excellent article on this subject. Here is an outgoing link.
At the beginning of November 1870, the printing of new French stamps was moved to Bordeaux, where the provisional republican government had fled, in order to supply the post offices in non-occupied areas. Napoleon III stamps continued in use in the German occupied areas, until their supplies were exhausted.
These stamps of the new 3rd Republic are known as the "Bordeaux Issues". The new stamps continued previous frame designs, but the inscription at the top was changed to REPUB FRANC. The profile of the Roman goddess Ceres, originally used for the first French stamps, replaced that of Emperor Napoleon III.
As the first of the Bordeaux Issues were imperforate, the 10 Cent., 20 Cent., and 40 Cent. denominations closely resemble those denominations of the 1849 issues. They would not fool most philatelists though.
The imperforate 1849 issues are typographed, have fine detail, and the shading in the face and neck is composed of colored dots.
The imperforate Bordeaux issues are lithographed, have a coarse appearance, and the shading in the face and neck is composed of colored lines and / or dashes.
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The nine imperforate provisional government major-Ceres-type stamps shown above were issued beginning in 1870. French stamp specialists refer to these as the Bordeaux Issues.
There are multiple types of most of these stamps. Please see the specialized catalogs for details.
The simplified catalog attributes are as follows.
- 01 C. (1870 - Y&T #39, Sc. #38) - Olive Green on Pale Blue, Bronze Green on Pale Blue.
- 02 C. (1870 - Y&T #40, Sc. #39) - Red Brown on Yellowish, Brick Red on Yellowish, Chestnut on Yellowish, Chocolate on Yellowish.
- 04 C. (1870 - Y&T #41, Sc. #40) - Gray.
- 05 C. (1870 - Y&T #42, Sc. #41) - Yellow Green on Greenish, Green on Greenish, Emerald on Greenish.
- 10 C. (1870 - Y&T #43, Sc. #42) - Bister on Yellowish.
- 20 C. (1870 - Y&T #44-46, Sc. #43-45) - Blue on Bluish, Ultramarine on Bluish.
- 30 C. (1870 - Y&T #47, Sc. #46) - Brown on Yellowish.
- 40 C. (1870 - Y&T #48, Sc. #47) - Orange on Yellowish, Yellow Orange on Yellowish, Red Orange on Yellowish, Scarlet on Yellowish.
- 80 C. (1870 - Y&T #49, Sc. #48) - Rose on Pinkish.
There are three major issues of the 20 Cent. denomination. They are as follows.
- (Y&T #44, Sc. #43) - The inscriptions at the top and bottom are small and there is quite a space between the upper label and the vignette. There is very little shading under the eye and in the neck.
- (Y&T #45, Sc. #44) - The inscriptions in the top and bottom labels are similar to those of Sc. #43. The shading under the eye and in the neck is heavier, and the upper label almost touches the vignette.
- (Y&T #46, Sc. #45) - The inscriptions in the top and bottom labels are much larger.
There are other varieties on these imperforate French stamps, as well as privately produced roulettes and perforations. See the specialized catalogs for details.
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The fourteen Siege of Paris and French Third Republic major-Ceres-type stamps shown above were issued between 1870 and 1875. These new French stamps are typographed, perforated 14 x 13 1/2, and they have a much clearer appearance than the previous lithographed and imperforate Bordeaux Issues.
The simplified catalog attributes are as follows.
- 01 C. (1872 - Y&T #50, Sc. #50) - Olive Green on Pale Blue, Bronze Green on Pale Blue.
- 02 C. (1872 - Y&T #51, Sc. #51) - Red Brown on Yellowish.
- 04 C. (1872 - Y&T #52, Sc. #52) - Gray.
- 05 C. (1872 - Y&T #53, Sc. #53) - Yellow Green on Pale Blue, Green.
- 10 C. (1875 - Large Numerals - Y&T #54, Sc. #60) - Bister on Rose.
- 15 C. (1873 - Large Numerals - Y&T #55, Sc. #61) - Bister.
- 30 C. (1872 - Large Numerals - Y&T #56, Sc. #62) - Brown on Yellowish.
- 80 C. (1872 - Large Numerals - Y&T #57, Sc. #63) - Rose on Pinkish.
- 10 C. (1870 - Small Numerals - Y&T #36, Sc. #54) - Bister on Yellowish.
- 10 C. (1873 - Small Numerals - Y&T #58, Sc. #55) - Bister on Rose.
- 15 C. (1871 - Small Numerals - Y&T #59, Sc. #56) - Bister on Yellowish.
- 20 C. (1871 - Small Numerals - Y&T #37, Sc. #57) - Blue on Bluish.
- 25 C. (1871 - Small Numerals - Y&T #60, Sc. #58) - Blue on Bluish.
- 40 C. (1870 - Small Numerals - Y&T #38, Sc. #59) - Orange on Yellowish, Yellow Orange on Yellowish, Red Orange on Yellowish, Scarlet on Yellowish.
The 10 Cent., 15 Cent., 20 Cent., and 25 Cent. denominations exist in tête-bêche
pairs. The 25 Cent. denomination comes in three types, and the 40 Cent. denomination comes in two types.
Imperforate reprints were made of many of the 1870-1875 Ceres-type French stamps in 1887. They are not terribly expensive.
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Return to French Stamps from
Issues of 1870-1875
In 1871, some of the 1867 10 Cent. denomination stamps, with the profile of Emperor Napoleon III, were overprinted with a large blue "10". This surcharged stamp was never placed in use, though the catalogs do list (Y&T #34, Sc. #49). Forgeries of this stamp are plentiful.