In 1868, the German trading house of Carl Woermann established the first German settlement in Kamerun. This settlement was quickly followed by others, as German merchants raced to establish a presence in the territory before competing British and French agents.  On 14 July 1884, German explorer Dr. Gustav Nachtigal officially raised the German flag over Kamerun and declared it to be under German protection.

In 1912, Germany acquired from France the territory of Neu-Kamerun, which formerly bordered Kamerun to the south.  Among the settlements in Neu-Kamerun was Soufflay, which had formerly had a French post office.  When the French left, however, they took the postal equipment with them, and no German post office was opened to replace it.  As a result, officials in Molundu, which housed the nearest German post office, ordered the creation of a provisional canceller for use in marking postal items from Soufflay.  These items were then routed through Molundu, where they were cancelled with the official Molundu canceller.

Two versions exist – a small handstamp made from rubber, and a later, larger handstamp carved from ivory.