A concise postal history of French Annam protectorate and Tongking protectorate, former territories of colonial French Indochina, that were located in present-day Vietnam. Dates 1888 - 1892
The protectorate government over Annam and Tonkin issued only a single series of stamps.[1] On 21 January 1888 the protectorates overprinted "A & T" or "A – T" (an abbreviation for the French protectorates of Annam and Tonkin) on nine different French colonial commerce type stamps.[1] These overprints included a surcharge of either 1 centime or 5 centimes.[1] The surcharges that were added to these postage stamps come in different types with various letters and numerals and a variety of errors are known to exist.[1]
By the year 1892 the regular issue postage stamps of French Indochina had replaced the overprint issues of Annam & Tonkin.[1]
Tongking, also spelt Tonkin, is the northern part of Vietnam. Annam comprises most of central Vietnam.