FEPA News

FEPA NEWS 45 66 The World of Research Information about the Benin bronzes is readily available fromWikipedia and many newspapers. There is a very active current debate about the proper place for pre-colonial artefacts in “western” museum collections. If these were not bought and paid for when they were collected from the original owners there is a strong case for them to be returned to their place of origin. The Benin bronzes are scattered between museums in Britain, Europe and the USA and some private collections. Some of the museum pieces were bought from private collections, and consequently their acquisition by the museums has arguably been legitimised by payment. However, the above-referenced contemporary accounts show that all the Benin bronzes were taken by force when the Oba’s palace was ransacked by the British punitive expedition. Nigeria would like them back and some have already been returned. The postal history notes are taken from Ted Proud’s book (Ref 2) which his team researched from the official records, mainly the Nigeria Weekly Gazettes. In 2021 Paul Redhead published, ‘Collecting Nigerian Cancellations’ which corrected Proud’s book in some respects and extended the record of postal markings from independence in 1960 to the present day. It is available on-line at www.wasc.org.uk/WASCpublications.html with updates in May 2022 and November 2023, all free of charge (Ref. 5) When the Commonwealth Institute in London closed c.1996 its collection of weekly gazettes of the Commonwealth nations, held in its basement, was due to be destroyed. The West Africa Study Circle rescued the collections relating to Gambia, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Nigeria and, for lack of space in members’ homes, the Nigeria portion was stored in the basement of the Royal Philatelic Society London. The late Jack Ince created an archive of copies of the postal announcements from the Nigeria Weekly Gazettes which is now held by the West Africa Study Circle. When the RPSL moved premises, the complete set of original Nigeria documents was donated to the Bodleian Library in Oxford and is now available there for reference. I used the Jack Ince archive and microfiche copies of Nigerian Government departmental annual reports at the British Library to research my book ‘Internal Mail Routes of Nigeria 1900-1960. Volume 1: by Water, Rail and Air’ published in 2023 by the Rossiter Trust (Ref 3). I am continuing to study the movement of mail by road in Nigeria to prepare Volume 2. The postcard that instigated this article will feature in that book as a very early use of the new road from Benin City to Sapele. One may consider this to be context philately: a new label for what in my case is a long-standing way to understand postal history as an integral part of the history of Nigeria. I hope readers may find the way I do so helpful in their own collecting and, maybe, writing. References: 1 Boisragon Capt. A, The Benin Massacre, Methuen 1897 2 Proud E.B., The Postal History of Nigeria, Proud Bailey, Heathfield 1995 3 May R.F., Internal Mail Routes of Nigeria 1900-1960. Volume 1: by Water, Rail and Air, Stuart Rossiter Trust, 2023. 4 Mockler-Ferryman A, British Nigeria, Cassell & Co. Ltd. First published 1902, second edition 1906. 5 Redhead P., Collecting Nigerian Cancellations, WASC, Princes Risborough 2021. Also available for free download from www.wasc.org.uk