Stamps of Jordan from 1920 to 1960

The British received a mandate from the League of Nations over the Arab territory on the east bank of the River Jordan. Stamps of the Egypt Expeditionary Force issued in Palestine were overprinted in Arabic to signify ‘East of Jordan’ and issued in November 1920. The Greek Orthodox Convent in Jerusalem did the overprinting and the 1m stamp is known with the overprint inverted.

Stamps of the EEF series and various contemporary issues of Hejaz were overprinted in Arabic to signify ‘Arab Government of the East’ between 1921 and 1925. Numerous different types of overprint, often incorporating the date in Arabic numerals, were used in this period. The close family ties between Jordan and Arabia (the Emir Abdullah was the son of Kine Hussein of Hejaz) are reflected in the use of Hejaz stamps by Jordan at this time.

Perkins-Bacon recess printed a series of stamps portraying the Emir Abdullah. The stamps ranged from 2m to 1000m and were released between 1927 and 1929. The series was re-engraved between 1930 and 1939 with the figures of value expressed at the left instead of both sides. A 1m denomination was introduced in 1934. A version of this series, lithographed in Cairo, appeared in 1942 while Bradbury Wilkinson recess printed the series in 1943 – 1944, using a different gauge of perforation. Colour changes and new values appeared in 1947.

Transjordan became an independent kingdom in 1946, the emir being elevated to the status of a king. To celebrate independence, a series of nine stamps was lithographed at the Catholic Printery in Beirut and issued in May 1946. The common design featured a map of Jordan, the torch of enlightenment and the dove of peace.

De La Rue recess printed a set of nine stamps, in denominations from 1m to 200m, to mark the inauguration of the first national parliament in November 1947. The stamps featured the parliament building in Amman and were curiously inscribed with the hyphenated form ‘Trans-Jordan’. The country officially became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan at the time of independence but continued to use the archaic name on stamps until 1947.

Since independence, Jordan has had an uneasy relationship with the Arab world in general and Egypt in particular. From time to time, stamps in an Arab omnibus design have been issued to demonstrate Arab solidarity. In May 1960, a 15 fil stamp was issued to mark the inauguration of the Arab League Centre in Cairo. The same design was used by all participating countries, with the appropriate portrait inset and an overprint adding the name of the country and the value.