World of Stamps: Saint-Louis, by Geir Sør-Reime

Yes, there is another Saint Louis, the city of Saint-Louis in Senegal, which in fact is twinned with Saint Louis in Missouri. Saint-Louis, Senegal lies in the northwest of the country, very close to , at the mouth of the . This river is the border

1978 map of Senegal with shortwave sta- tions showing (Sc. 499)

2009 postcard sent from Saint-Louis, picture side shows aerial view of island of Saint-Louis, stamps are cancelled at Main Post-Office in Saint-Louis. between Senegal and Mauritania for most of its length, al- though close to Saint-Louis, it changes course dramatically and runs southwards, and here, both shores of the river are in Senegal. In the east, the Senegal River has its source in Mali. Saint-Louis is the oldest French settlement in , founded in 1659 on the island of Ndar close to the mouth of

Issue 5 - May 6, 2011 - StampNewsOnline.net  the Senegal River. It was named after French King Louis XIV. The 300th an- niversary of the founding of the town was commemorated on a 1959 air post stamp issued by the short-lived Mali Federation (a federation of Senegal and Mali). This stamp shows an aerial view Mali Federation 1959 of the island city with the Faidherbe for 300th anniversary Bridge clearly visible. [Reminder: you of Saint-Louis (Mali can use your pdf magnifier to hone in Sc. C1) on illustration details. JFD.] Saint-Louis soon became a very im- portant economic and political centre, and was capital of all French West Af- rica 1895-1902, and remained capital of Senegal until 1958 (and Mauritania 1989 Bicentenary of until 1960). French Revolution and T h e c i t y showing locals mak- ing complaints at the has expanded Governor’s Palace in to the land on Saint-Louis (Sc. 814) both sides of the river, and in 1897, a bridge 1906 from Upper Sen- egal and Niger and was built to con- showing Louis Faid- nect the island herbe (Sc. 1) with the east- ern shore. This 1935 showing Faid- bridge, designed by herbe Bridge in Saint- Louis (Sc. 149) and named Pont Faidherbe after the Governor (depicted on 1906 stamps of French West-African possessions, including Senegal and Upper Senegal and Niger), was featured on Senegalese stamps from 1935 onwards. A 2007 tourism stamp from Senegal again featured this famous landmark, this 2007 showing peli- time with pelicans in the forefront. cans in front of Faid- herbe Bridge, Saint- Pelicans abound in the Senegal River Louis around Saint-Louis. During WWII, the

Issue 5 - May 6, 2011 - StampNewsOnline.net  Pétain regime in reprinted the Faidherbe Bridge stamps (and other definitives) without the RF monogram. These stamps were never placed on sale in Senegal, however. One of the most fa- mous residents of Saint- 1943 Petain-regime reprint of 1935 defini- Louis was Lamine Guêye tive, without RF mono- (1891-1968) who was gram (Sc. 194A) a strong proponent of Saint-Louis (although born in present-day Mali). He was a member of the French Senate and was the President of the National Assem- 1 9 6 9 a i r bly of independent Senegal 1960-68. He was post stamp commemorated on a pair of air post stamps p o r t r a y i n g in 1969. Lamine Gueye I had the (1891-1968), chance to visit President of the National Saint-Louis in Assembly of May this year. Senegal 1960- Although there 68 and a na- is an airport in tive of Médine, now in Mali, but a resident of Saint-Louis Above, three 1000 Francs fiscal stamps used to pay Saint-Louis, entry visa issued by Honor- in fact one ary Consulate-General in Oslo, Norway; right, 1967 air post stamp showing of the oldest terminal building at -Yoff airport (Sc. C52) airports in Africa, it is hardly used today, so I arrived via the airport in Dakar, Senegal’s capital. The terminal of this airport was depicted on a 1967 air post stamp. One of the first things to do arriving in a new coun- try is of course to get some cash. In Senegal, the West African Franc 1972 for 10th anniversary of West African Monetary Union and the CFA France (Sc. 374)

Issue 5 - May 6, 2011 - StampNewsOnline.net  2003 banknote of 10,000 Francs CFA (Franc CFA) is the cur- rency. This currency is shared with other West African states, and was introduced in 1962. The 10th anniversary of the CFA Franc was com- memorated with a 1972 stamp by all member states of the currency union, including Senegal (see page 3). From Dakar, it is a four-hour ride on quite good roads northwards to Saint- Louis. Along the road, the landscape is domi- nated by Baobab trees, one was depicted on a Left, 2002 showing Baobab tree; right, 2002 stamp. The road 1988 showing Thiès passed by the town of phosphate mining (Sc. 790) Thiès, a major mining center of Senegal and the phosphate mining was featured on a 1988 stamp. The road follows more or less the railway line that also runs from Dakar to Saint-Louis. Originally opened in 1885, it is currently not running, but there are plans to re-open traffic on the line. Our hotel in Saint- Louis was just south of the Faidherbe Bridge and facing the Senegal River and the numer-

Goats roaming the street (the eastern shore of Saint- Louis) in front of our hotel, the Faidherbe Bridge in the distance (far right)

Issue 5 - May 6, 2011 - StampNewsOnline.net  ous pelicans. The area around Saint-Louis is characterized by acacia trees, one such was depicted on a 1997 stamp. Just at the bridge, there are a few build- ings that are closely associated with postal history: the Main Post-Office and the Post Hotel. When the French air company Late- coere, later renamed Aeropostale, com- menced flights from to Dakar, 1997 showing Saint-Louis became an important refueling acacia tree (Sc. station. Saint-Louis was also the departure 1232) point for the first, 1930 non-stop flight from Africa to by Aeropostale pilot Jean Mermoz. This pioneering flight was com- memorated on 1980 and 1985 air post stamps. The 1980 stamp 1980 air post stamp for 50th anniversary of first portrays Mer - non-stop flight Africa-South America (Sc. C148); moz and his right, 1985 air post stamp for 55th anniversary crew, whereas of first commercial flight, France-Saint- the 1985 stamp Louis-South America (Sc. C149) depicts his plane “Laté 28”. The 30th anniversary of Mermoz’ death was com- memorated on four Senegalese air post stamps of 1966. 1966 set, Sc. C48-C51, for Jean Mermoz death anniversary, left to right: Mermoz’ “Arc-en-Ciel” plane; Mermoz’ Latecoere 300 “Croix du Sud” plane; map showing his last flight, from Dakar to ; Jean Mermoz

Another of the pilots who flew for Aeropostale at times was the famous French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery. He has also been depicted on a Senegalese 1989 stamp, and he and the route from Toulouse to Saint-Louis were also

Issue 5 - May 6, 2011 - StampNewsOnline.net  Near right, 1989 showing An- toine de Saint-Exupery (author and aviator), one of the pilots on the France-Saint-Louis- South America route (Sc. 821); far right. French West Africa 1947 air post stamp showing Saint-Exupery and air route Paris-Saint-Louis (French West Africa Sc. C11) featured on a 1947 air post stamp from French West Africa, a stamp-issuing entity that also included Sen- egal in the post-WWII years. To commemo- rate the feats of these and other aviation pioneers, an air rally has been organized between Toulouse and Saint-Louis since 1984, and in 1994 for 10th 1994, a stamp was T o u l o u s e t o S a i n t - L o u i s issued for the 10th Air Rally (Sc. anniversary of the 1117) rally. In Saint-Lou- is there is also a museum dedicated to the airmail history, and I was lucky enough Geir Sør-Reime and Mrs. Camara (Director of Tour- that the museum was used as the ism) in the Aeropostale venue for a meeting between my Museum, Saint-Louis own delegation and the tourism authori- ties of Saint-Louis.

Western shore of Saint- Louis (on left) with fish- ing boats (pirogues) lying on the sheltered side of the sand dunes facing the Atlantic

Issue 5 - May 6, 2011 - StampNewsOnline.net  During our stay we were able to meet a lot of exciting people, taste the very tasty blend of African and French cuisine found all over Saint-Louis and enjoy the wonderful weather, long sunny days with no clouds, but with the mild breezes from the Atlantic keeping temperatures down at a moderate level. And naturally, I posted a number of postcards back home! [The card pictured on page 1 is one of those cards. JFD.]

Issue 5 - May 6, 2011 - StampNewsOnline.net