Blue Mauritius, book cover

Welcome to the Blue Mauritius Research Companion

This website contains biographical and bibliographical information about the Post Office Mauritius stamps and subjects related to them. It is based on my research for the book Blue Mauritius: The Hunt for the World's Most Valuable Stamps.

Burrus, Maurice (1882 - 1959)

Born
1882
St-Croix-aux-Mines, France
Died
7 December 1959
Occupation
Post Office owner and Stamp collector
Summary

Maurice Burrus was an earnest collector from the age of seven. His early interest in stamps and his love of stamps on cover were helped along by his family’s ancient business antecedents and the hoards of old correspondence in the family attics. Burrus had a penchant for things small, including miniature books. He also had a fine sense of history, which led him to support archaeological digs in Provence and underpinned his attitude toward philately.

The collector's aim, according to Burrus, was 'to reassemble the whole of the stamps issued in one country, in a certain part of the world, or if possible, of the whole universe, and not to estimate the value of stamps according to their beauty of engraving or design' (The Philatelic Magazine, 21 October 1922). He sought stamps in fine condition but was not averse to stamps which had ‘done duty’ (used stamps) in his efforts to attain this goal.

At the time of his death he owned five Post Office stamps.

Owner

Bibliography

Books

Catalogues

Journal Articles

Journal Notes

Newspaper Articles

Prepared by: Helen Morgan