New Hebrides Postal Rates, Postmarks, Registration Cachets/Labels

Up until 1980 the South Pacific Republic of Vanuatu was a joint British-French colony, known as the New Hebrides Condominium. This dual colonial status has led many British and French colonial collectors to shun it and as a result fundamental aspects of its postal history have remained little studied. This is a great pity as the very nature of its Condominium status makes it a fascinating country to collect and research. In this book, we have attempted to redress this situation by analyzing the postal rates within the context of the evolution of its postal system. We also present a substantive revision of previous studies of New Hebrides postmarks and registration cachets / labels. The use of computer technology has also allowed us to resolve a number issues and to redefine several of the postmark subtypes. This has resulted in a comprehensive revision of the subject.