The Comoro Islands lie off western Africa as an island group. They were individual island entities until French colonization. For a time after the colonial era they were aligned with Madagascar. Three, Anjouan, Grand Comoro and Moheli united as a sovereign state in 1975. It became an Islamic state in 1979.
Comoro issued a set of stamps honoring "great composers" in 1978. The set included JS Bach, Mozart, Berlioz, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, George Gershwin, and a souvenir sheet picturing Beethoven. This set (Scott 301-307) used "Republique des Comores". Following the shift in politics in 1979, the set was issued again with an overprint of the new national name (Scott 454-458) and in some cases new values. The Beethoven souvenir sheet was not re-produced.
On the present stamp JS Bach is shown seated at an organ console. The instrument is not identified, and its not readily apparent what instrument it may be.
