This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Djibouti, first known as the Obock Territory; it afterwards was known as French Somaliland until being called the French Territory of Afars and Issas.
Djibouti is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Eritrea to the north, Ethiopia to the west and south, and Somalia to the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
First stamps
After the French administration was moved from Obock to Djibouti in 1894, stamps of Obock were overprinted DJ or Djibouti.Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. The Stamp Atlas. London: Macdonald, 1986, pp.279-280.
A set of definitives inscribed Protectorat Côte des Somalis / Djibouti was issued in 1894.
French Somali Coast
From 1902 stamps inscribed Cote Francaise des Somalis were issued for the French Somali Coast.
French Territory of the Afars and Issas
In July 1967 the name of the territory was changed to the French Territory of the Afars and Issas and the first stamps under the new name were issued on 21 August 1967.
Independence
The territory obtained independence from France as the Republic of Djibouti on 27 June 1977 and the first stamps of the new republic were issued on that date.Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue: North East Africa. London: Stanley Gibbons, 2013, p. 29.
See also Postage stamps and postal history of Obock
References
Further reading Dubois, Colette. Djibouti au regard de ses timbres-poste, 1893–1977: images d'altérité, images de propagande. Paris: ARESAE, 1998, 47p. Kingsley, Robert T. The Early Issues of French Somaliland. In: American Philatelist. April 1991. Schreiber, Michael. Early Stamps of Djibouti. In: Linn's Stamp News. June 15, 1992. Torrance, A.R. French Somali Coast: The Postal History 1939–45. Abernethy, Perth: Chavril Press, 1993? , 24p. Tristant, Henri. Histoire Postale de la Côte des Somalis. Paris: "Le Monde des philatélistes", 1975. Vol 1: Avant-propos, rappel historique et économique, Obock et Djibouti; Vol. 2: Timbres et oblitérations de la Côte des Somalis, 1902–1967; Vol. 3: Poste maritime, poste aérienne, contrôle postal, courrier éthiopien, documents
External links
French Somali Coast timeline. http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/eastafrica/cotedessomalis19391977.html 1913 Log of Milanko Raitchevitch Archived here.