The Sudan set of stamps showing the Camel Postman was originally printed in 1898, and was used in one form or another until the 1960's. I got started collecting Sudan for the King George VI stamps, but after a while realized that there were multiple versions of these stamps. So I started collecting the whole country. As a result, the page scans cover the time period of 1897 until the 1960's.

As you look over the various stamp options, please note there are three basic watermarks: a single rosette, a star with crescent, and the SG (Sudan Government) watermark. These can be used to determine the relative time period the stamps were produced. In addition to the basic sets, you will find paper variations of chalk or ordinary paper, perforation variations, and some color shades. If you like to go beyond the basic issues, try collecting the Official sets as well. Some can be quite challenging, as you will see by the blank spots in my collection.

One of the biggest problems collectors have with Sudan is sorting the various Camel Postman issues. Naturally, the watermark is the first thing you should check, but the 1937 and 1948 issues have the same SG watermark, so you have to look at the design to determine the correct allocation. Notice the Arabic caption under the postman to determine the printing. See the examples below:

The pages are from my collection, and are identified by the Commonwealth, Gibbons, and Scott numbers in that order. The page images were scanned in a larger size and at a higher resolution so you can more easily see the details used in viewing them. Feel free to select the page and let it download to your screen and save it to your hard drive for viewing. If you are using a PC, selecting the page will typically open it in Microsoft Photo Viewer (or whatever you are using as your default). From there you can enlarge the size for more close-up viewing. If you are using a phone - go find a PC or a Mac. The images are 1200 pixels wide and you will go mad trying to view them on your phone.

Please be patient if it takes a few minutes for each page to load.

This article was written to help you identify your stamps.
Please feel free to ask a question, or suggest a correction.