Johore State is on the extreme south of the Malay Peninsula near the island of Singapore. Thru a series of treaties, Johore became a semi-independent state under the Straits Settlements. Overprinted stamps of the Straits Settlements were issued beginning in 1878 until they were eventually replaced by stamps with the image of Sultan Abubakar in 1891. Upon the death of the Sultan in 1895, Sultan Ibrahim was crowned as the new Sultan. An initial set of stamps using a portrait of Sultan Ibrahim was issued in 1896. This set was replaced in 1904 with a series of stamps using a newer portrait. This portrait was used until 1941 when the Japanese captured the territory. During this time period, paper with four different watermarks was used to print the stamps, effectively creating four different collectable sets all with the same portrait of Sultan Ibrahim.

The 1904 set was the initial version of this new set of stamps. You can identify this set by determining the single Rosette watermark. Later issues were printed on paper using Multiple Rosettes beginning in 1910, then Multiple Crown CA beginning in 1918, and finally Multiple Script CA beginning in 1922. The 1904 set was initially printed on ordinary paper. Chalk coated paper was used in 1910 for four of the lower values.

If you have trouble determining the watermarks on these stamps, try looking at them face down against black paper. The stamps watermarked with a Singe Rosette will always be centered fairly well on the stamp, and the design does not repeat, so even if you can not see the entire watermark, only one Rosette will be visible. See the images of the four watermarks below for reference. They are shown as they are normally seen from the back.

Once you have determined the watermark, the next step is to sort between chalk and ordinary paper. The initial stamps were printed on ordinary paper. The later issues of the first three values, and the 10c value were printed on chalk coated paper. Although a silver coin will draw a line when rubbed gently against most chalk paper, I find this does not work very well for the early issues like this set. I look for a shiny coating on the paper when viewed under a good light source. You can also rub your finger across the face of the stamp. It will slide easily over the chalk coated paper, and will feel like it is catching against the ordinary paper. Another test is the quality of the impression. The chalk treatment was used to insure a better quality printing. For the record, the term chalk is not scientifically accurate, but it is the term that has been used in the catalogs. Only the four stamps printed on two kinds of paper are listed with the paper description below.

Unlike modern stamps which are issued in the millions, definitive sets from this time period were issued very conservatively. I do not have the quantity printed, but would be interested in adding this information to this page if a fellow collector provides it.

The catalog numbers are from the 2013 Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue (SG) and the 2011 Scott catalog (ST). The historical details, description and dates are from "The Postage Stamps of the Federated Malay States, Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor, Straits Settlements, Sungei Ujong, and Trengganu" by Dr. F. E. Wood. You can access the catalogue publishers using the "Links to British Colonial Stamp Sites" at the bottom of this page.

The images were saved in a larger size and at a higher resolution so you can more easily see the details used in sorting them. Please be patient if it takes a few minutes for this page to load.

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