Subject:
The West African British Colony of Sierra Leone was founded in the early nineteenth century as a sanctuary for freed slaves. It was an early adopter of the principle of adhesive labels, with the first stamps being issued in the late 1850s. This display features a wide range of different aspects of Sierra Leone philately, with essays, proofs, specimens and issued stamps from 1859 to independence in 1961. Several categories of postal history will also be shown, with early mail both to and from Sierra Leone from the beginning of the 19th century. Specifically, there are sections on packet and ship letters, instructional marks, TPOs, censorship, air mails and village postmarks.