Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Overprints
As the cover below shows, in Ceylon, overprints were used on postage stamps for postage—not as a way to pay an excise tax.
The commercial overprints that follow are just some of the types used in Ceylon. If you know of others, please email us.
Aitken Spence, Colombo
Aitken Spence was established in Colombo in 1871.
In addition to using overprints,
Aitken Spence also used the
A. S. / & Co. perfin between 1904 and 1949.
...Bosenquet &..., Colombo
This may be a cancellation, as opposed to a commercial overprint.
C. & Co.
These C. & Co. overprints may be two different styles used by the
same company, or they may be from two different companies.
C. L. & Co., Colombo
The orientation of these C. L. & Co. overprints implies that
they are hand-stamped, rather than pre-printed.
Cargills (Ceylon) Ltd., Colombo
Cargills also used three different types of perfin between 1886 and 1954.
Carson & Co., Colombo
Carson & Co. was established in Colombo in 1857.
In addition to using overprints,
Carson also is believed to have used the
C. & / C. L. perfin in the 1920s.
H. W. Cave & Co. Ltd., Colombo
H. W. Cave was established in Colombo in 1876.
In addition to using a variety of overprint styles
between 1884 and 1908, they also used the
CAVE / COLOMBO perfin on issues of 1872-1880 and the
CAVE perfin from about 1912 to 1963.
To learn more about these overprints, see the Ceylon 'CAVE' overprints web page.
Colombo Club, Colombo
The orientation of this Colombo / Club overprint implies that
it is a handstamp.
Delmege Reid & Co., Colombo
The Delmege Reid & Co. overprint is probably the precursor to
the Delmege Forsyth & Co. Ltd. perfin (D F / & / Co.)
that was used from about 1903 to 1911.
Eastern Products and Estate Company (E. P. & E. C.), Colombo
The E. P. & E. C. overprint was probably used by the
Eastern Products and Estate Company of Colombo.
This firm also used the E. P. & E. C.
perfin from about 1904 to 1949.
F. & Co.
The overprint reads "Stamped/F.&Co.", which would appear to be a cancellation.
There was a Freudenberg & Co. in Colombo that used an "F&C" perfin
between 1872 and 1898—perhaps there is a connection.
Leechman
The Leechman overprint is wider than the stamp, implying that
this is a handstamp.
Mercantile Bank of India
The Mercantile Bank of India also used two perfins between 1904 and 1959.
S. & Co.
The Skrine & Co. used two "S&Co." perfins in Colombo
between 1879 and 1886; this overprint may be from the same company.