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French Stamps

Charity Stamps of 1941-1942


The surtaxed or "semi-postal" pictorial French stamps of this period were intended to raise money for national events and public charities.

Many of the later charity stamp issues are inscribed "Secours National" or "National Relief".  This national fund provided food and clothing for the poor and for needy children.



The two surtaxed French stamps shown above (Y&T #474-475, Sc. #B108-B109) were issued on January 1, 1941.  The surtax on these stamps benefited French Prisoners of War.

The two designs feature views of prisoners of war inside of barbed wire enclosures.



The surtaxed French stamp shown above, at the left (Y&T #496, Sc. #B110), was issued on February 20, 1941 to publicize the Fight Against Cancer.  The surtax benefited the fund for cancer control.

The design features an allegorical representation of "science battling cancer".


The 1 F. denomination definitive French stamp shown above, at the right, was overprinted and surtaxed (Y&T #494, Sc. #B111) on March 4, 1941.  The surtax benefited the Secours National.



The two surtaxed French stamps shown above (Y&T #497-498, Sc. #B112-B113) were issued on March 4, 1941.  The surtax benefited the Secours National / Marshal Petain's Winter Relief.

The two designs feature men hauling coal and an allegorical  representation of "France aiding a needy man".



The 70 C. denomination commemorative French stamp shown above, at the left, was overprinted and surtaxed (Y&T #502, Sc. #B114) on July 17, 1941.  The surtax benefited the Sea Rescue Society.


The surtaxed French stamp shown above, at the right (Y&T #503, Sc. #B115), was issued in 1941.  The surtax benefited the French overseas territories.



The twelve city Coat-of-Arms-type surtaxed French stamps shown above (Y&T #526-537, Sc. #B117-B128) were issued on December 15, 1941.  The surtax benefited the Secours National.

The city Coats-of-Arms, in the order that they appear above, are as follows:

  • Nancy.
  • Lille.
  • Rouen.
  • Bordeaux.
  • Toulouse.
  • Clermont-Ferrand.
  • Marseille.
  • Lyon.
  • Rennes.
  • Reims.
  • Montpellier.
  • Paris.



The surtaxed commemorative French stamp shown above, at the left (Y&T #541, Sc. #B129), was issued on March 23, 1942 to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of the Comte de Laperouse.  The surtax benefited the Secours National.

Jean François de Galaup, Comte de LapĂ©rouse (1741-1788) was a French naval officer and explorer.  His ship vanished in French Oceania, near the Solomon Islands, during his attempted circumnavigation of the World.


The surtaxed pictorial French
stamp shown above, at the right (Y&T #540, Sc. #B130), was issued on April 4, 1942.  The surtax benefited French airmen and their families.

The design features
planes flying above fields.



The surtaxed commemorative French stamp shown above, at the left (Y&T #542, Sc. #B131), was issued on May 18, 1942 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Alexis Chabrier.  The surtax benefited musician's charities.

Alexis-Emmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894) was a French Romantic composer and pianist.  His family did not approve of a musical career, so he studied law in Paris and worked as a civil servant until the age of thirty-nine, composing in his spare time.  From 1880 until his death, he worked as a full-time composer.


The surtaxed pictorial French stamp shown above, at the right (Y&T #543, Sc. #B132) was issued on May 18, 1942 to publicize the Imperial Fortnight of 1942, a traveling exposition of imperial ideals and new colonial projects.  The surtax benefited the Secours National.

The design features an symbolical representation of the "French Colonial Empire".



The surtaxed commemorative French stamp shown above, at the left (Y&T #544, Sc. #B133), was issued on June 16, 1942 to celebrate the 600th Anniversary of the Birth of Jean de Vienne.  The surtax benefited French seamen.

Jean de Vienne (1341-1396) was a French knight, a general, and the first Admiral of France during the Hundred Years War.


The 1.50 F. denomination definitive French stamp shown above, at the right, was overprinted and surcharged (Y&T #552, Sc. #B134) on September 10, 1942.  The surtax benefited the Secours National.



The twelve city Coat-of-Arms-type surtaxed French stamps shown above (Y&T #553-564, Sc. #B135-B146) were issued on October 5, 1942.  The surtax benefited the Secours National.

The city Coats-of-Arms, in the order that they appear above, are as follows:

  • Chambery.
  • La Rochelle.
  • Poitiers.
  • Orleans.
  • Grenoble.
  • Angers.
  • Dijon.
  • Limoges.
  • La Havre.
  • Nantes.
  • Nice.
  • St. Etienne.



The two surtaxed pictorial French stamps shown above (Y&T #565-566, Sc. #B147-B148) and the pair with the blank label (Y&T #566a, Sc. #B147a) were issued on October 12, 1942 to publicize the Tricolor Legion.  The surtax benefited the Legionnaires.

The Tricolor Legion or the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism was a French militia founded on July 8, 1941.  The legionnaires, wearing German uniforms in the theater of battle, fought alongside the Germans against the Soviet Union's Red Army on the Eastern Front.  The legion had no formal link with the Vichy government, and Marshal Petain disapproved of Frenchmen wearing German uniforms.





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Charity Stamps of 1941-1942






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The surtaxed French stamp shown above (Y&T #504, Sc. #B116) was issued on October 23, 1941.  The surtax benefited the Sea Rescue Society.

The design features a
fisherman.