Forged Postmarks

FORGED Postmarks

The Madame Joseph forgeries

B64

PORT LOUIS
2
SP 29
10
MAURITIUS

REGISTERED

6 MY 35
G.P.O. MAURITIUS

REGISTERED

26 MY 42
G.P.O. MAURITIUS

PORT LOUIS
2
AU 23
43
MAURITIUS

6 MY 35 (Two varieties, one has the second E broken in Registered, first day of issue for Silver Jubilee set)
Madame Joseph was a London stamp dealer who specialised in the repairing of stamps and the production of postmarking devices (454 implements which are now safely housed in the museum of the Royal Philatelic Society London). A service Madame Joseph did offer to members of the trade, was the 'hire' of her implements for members to convert their own stamps into 'fine used' examples. This service may account for the perfect 100% strikes on some stamps, whilst others have only a faint part strike of one of her implements. At an unknown date the implements changed ownership from Madame Joseph to the London Stamp dealer Gordon Rhodes, (1935-1960), and after his death Cecil Jones.
For more information see Madame Joseph Revisited A display given to the Royal Philatelic Society London By Brian M Cartwright FRPSL. 5 May 2005

The January 1996 issue of The American Philatelist contained a fake alert regarding forged post-war British Commonwealth postmarks. Amongst the 45 different devices is a this single example from Mauritius. The American Philatelist only says that the devices were found in the estate of a deceased dealer in British area material.