Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2019 i Stamp Collector

1 If You want to learn_how the stamp trade works, please read on… When I was 15, I did. I wondered if there was some secret source of supply? So, I bought my 1st stamp mixture, (wholesale I thought), broke it into 50 smaller units, advertised it in Stamp Magazine ‘Classifieds’, and waited for the orders to roll in… I’m still waiting, 48 years later!… 2 Three years later,_ attending my first public stamp auctions I wondered how some bidders seemed to buy everything, paying the highest price? It didn’t occur to me that they were probably Auction Bidding Agents, paid by absent (dealer) bidders to represent them. I wondered why two collectors sitting side by side muttered to each other “he’s a dealer” as if that justified him paying…

Many older stamp issues of Pakistan are a lot scarcer than is generally believed. There is demand from collectors both in Pakistan and abroad resulting in frequent buying ads in the philatelic press. The Princely State of Bahawalpur was independent for a brief period in 1947 before joining Pakistan. Official stamps were first issued in 1945 and regular postage stamps were added in 1947. They remained in use within the state until 1953. Bahawalpur released some of the most beautiful stamps in philatelic history. On 1 December 1947 Bahawalpur issued a ½-anna commemorative stamp marking the bicentenary of the ruling family. It is a beautifully engraved stamp showing Amir Muhammad Bahawal I Abbasi, the founder of the dynasty. It was printed by De La Rue & Co. Ltd., London. This…

1867-1869, the ‘Cleaned Plates’ issues In Gibbons, the changed appearance of these stamps is said to result from cleaning the plates. Other authorities think that a new thicker tympan (or ‘blanchet’) was being used. This eliminates the blots and smudges of earlier stamps and these issues are described as being ‘pale’, dull’ and ‘flat’ with no relief effect. There can also be white dots or grains in the medallions. The control numbers are thicker than previous issues and with more errors: an inverted 1 in the 10l or an inverted 2 for the 20l. The ‘0’s can also be inverted and a 20 has been changed to a 40 on the 40 lepta stamp. 1870, the special Athens printing In 1870, a new printing machine arrived from Germany and a…

How long have you been collecting stamps? I started when I was a school boy in the 1950s because my school encouraged the pupils to do so and there was a stamp club. Foreign travel was only for a lucky few in those days and so collecting foreign stamps must have transported me in my mind to those fascinating foreign parts. There have been periods when I have stopped collecting but it’s been more or less continuous for about sixty years. What attracted you to this subject? In addition to many traditional philatelic areas, I have been collecting poster stamps which are privately produced stamps attached to mail to get a message across to businesses and the public such as exhibitions, services and goods etc. I was introduced to the…

The daughter of Jupiter and Justice, Peace, or Pax, as the Romans called her, may no longer be worshipped as a goddess but even in these troubled times, the ideals that she represents are, thankfully, still going strong. Traditionally portrayed as a young woman in classical dress, she holds olive branches, a horn of plenty, and a staff or sceptre to signify her authority. In philately Peace appears in many other guises. Some postal authorities choose to show her as Eirene, the Greek version of Pax, cradling a child, on her left arm. The child represents plenty, and the prosperity that comes with peace. For some, the personification of Peace takes its inspiration from Christian mythology, with winged Peace, a popular and re-occurring theme on stamps. Others take a more…

STAMP FAIRS 1 December 2019 Botley North Hinksey Lane, Oxford OX2 0LT 07957 158299 Bowdon Mercure Hotel, Langham Road WA14 2HT 0161 766 9031 Hopton on Sea Hopton Village Hall, Station Road NR31 9BE 01502 563759 Taplow Taplow WI Hall, Institute Road SL6 0NS 01895 637283 Uckfield Ridgewood Village Hall, New Road, Ridgewood TN22 5TE 01903 244875 4 December 2019 Cirencester The Bingham Hall, King Street GL7 1JT 07966 565151 6 December 2019 London Royal National Hotel, Bedford Way WC1H 0DG 0208 946 4489 7 December 2019 Bournemouth Pelhams Park, Milhams Road, Kinson BH10 7LH 01489 582673 Cardiff City Hall, Cathays Park CF10 3ND 01792 415293 Kings Lynn Gaywood Church Rooms, Gayton Road; PE30 4DZ 01328 829318 Leicester 129 St Nicholas Circle LE1 5LX 0116 235 0441 Powick Powick Village…

GREAT BRITAIN 001 The Christmas Story, one value Issue date: 5 November 2019 Design: Charlie Smith Design Illustrations: Hari & Deepti Printer: International Security Printers Print process: Gravure Perforations: 14.5 x 15 Perforations: 14.5 x 15 Gum: Self adhesive Stamp size (standard): 24mm x 28mm Stamp size (large): 34mm x 28mm 1st Mary with baby Jesus 2nd Angel Gabriel £1.35 Shepherd and Christmas star £1.55 Jesus in the manger £1.60 The shepherds £2.30 Three Kings Large Mary with baby Jesus Large Angel Gabriel ALGERIA 002 International year of the periodic table of chemical elements, one value Issue date: 2 January 2019 Printer: Imprimerie Banque Centrale d’Algerie Perforations: 14 x 14 Stamp size: 43mm x 29mm DZD25.00 Chemical table with inventor Dimitri Mendeleev 003 The role of women in the medical…

What prompted you to create the monograph? After many years of development of the Philatelic Collections I came to realise that a lot of information, while published, was available from a diverse range of places. In an effort to bring all of this information together I decided to compile the guide, mainly from published sources. It is always of importance to attempt to inform the philatelic world, and beyond, of what is held and how it might be see. Is this the first time such details of the British Library Philatelic Collections have been published? One of my first actions when I became Curator of the British Library Philatelic Collections in the early 1980s was to publish a leaflet listing and offering short descriptions of the many Collections held and…

As soon as Rowland Hill’s postal reforms came into practice, the medium of stamps and postal stationery was used to spread the nation’s messages. Back in 1840, Britain used the post to assert the Queen’s rule (via the simple but effective stamp design) and (on the short-lived Mulready envelopes and letter sheets) the reach and power of the British Empire. Sadly, the letter-writing public didn’t quite share the same world view as that depicted in William Mulready’s artwork and the days of the letter sheet were numbered just days after it was introduced. We explore the Mulready in a special ‘Market Insight’ guide on page 24 of this issue. Despite its bad reception all those years ago, the postal stationery is a wonderful piece of history and it’s no surprise…

The Postal Museum in London has opened its second Post & Go machine in the Mail Rail exhibition. The machine initially vended the Post Office Underground Railway and 1st class Machin, both with a new overprint ‘Mail Rail’ of all values. The original kiosk in The Postal Museum will remain operational as usual. The Post & Go machines are available at The Postal Museum during normal opening hours. Please see www.postalmuseum.org for more information. The USA’s Postmaster General, Megan J Brennan, has announced that she will retire from her post on 31 January 2020, after five years in charge. Brennan, who joined the US Postal Service as a ‘letter carrier’, is said to have resisted calls from the US President to change rates for companies such as amazon. In a…

SOLD FOR £7895 France, 1f vermilion Cérès 1849 MNG (with cert. Brun & Calves) SOLD FOR £526 Japan, First flight Tokyo-Lakehurst by Airship Graf Zeppelin, letter cancelled Tokyo 1929 to New York SOLD FOR £460 Italy, Defintive 100 lire brown 1955 perf. 13 ½ x 14 MNH (with cert.) SOLD FOR £1,754 Qatar, Definitive 1961 Cheik Al-Thani, Rupees overprinted Riyals MNH SOLD FOR £514 German offiche in China, letter cancelled Shanghai / Deusche Post to Hamburg, British Censor SOLD FOR £330 Switzerland, Federal post 2 ½r ‘Orts Post’ 1850 used (with cert.) SOLD FOR £350 USA, 90c George Washington 1860 used & repaired SOLD FOR £350 Yugoslavia, Definitive Alexander I overprinted “XXXX” 1928 MNH SOLD FOR £578 Estonia, Airmail 5mk 1923 proof signed K.Kokk SOLD FOR £475 Belgium, 1f orange…

The school nativity play Ask anyone about their strongest school memories from the Christmas season and chances are, the school nativity play will get a mention. Jersey Post pays tribute to this wellloved tradition with eight stamps showing scenes from a traditional nativity play, complete with a king resplendent in a cotton wool beard, a ‘donkey’ in an animal onesie and the obligatory plastic-doll baby Jesus. With evocative illustrations by Montreal-based illustrator Sharif Tarabay, the stamps have been designed to convey the heart-warming atmosphere of a school nativity, where the slip-ups and missed lines are all part of the fun, as children whisper mischievously and wave at the audience, and parents crane their neck for that first glimpse of their child – who, whether he or she Mary, Joseph or…

They are the stamps that most of us will see more times than any other this year, as we send and receive our Christmas mail. Christmas 2019 is Royal Mail’s festive stamp issue and is centred around eight Special Stamps that take us through a retelling of the Christmas story. Paper-cut artists Hari & Deepti have been commissioned to create colourful illustrations that make use of this delicate art, with a clever use of light and shade to put the focus on the nativity with its familiar cast of characters including Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, the angel, shepherds and the three kings. These figures are so familiar to most of us that we perhaps sometimes take them for granted, but these striking portrayals bring a new focus to a…

This beautiful exhibit probably wouldn’t have found a place in a philatelic exhibition thirty years ago, writes Chris King, although one of the few books on the subject, Adhesive Wafer Seals: A Transient Victorian Phenomenon by Michael Champness and David Trapnell, was published in 1996 by Chancery House Press, Beckenham. This brings me to my first point – whatever you collect, try to find if anything has been published on the subject in the past. Philately is a curious enterprise, it is often referred to as a hobby, but many collectors are also serious researchers whose knowledge rivals many academic professionals, and who wish to share their passion with others. Since around 1860, philately has created a literature greater than that to be found for many other fields. Unfortunately, given…

Our quiz on why the Post Office first issued a number of values (in the October issue) seems to have pleased many readers, especially those who already knew the answers. Some who didn’t told us later they had always planned to look into those very questions but failed to get around to them until the quiz prompted action. So here’s a second opportunity to improve your knowledge, or remind yourself of facts now dim in your memory; not about stamp values, but on design errors spotted after certain stamps went on sale. Two examples are so well known we shall count them as freebies to get you off to a flying start: What’s wrong with the portrayal of Christopher Columbus on the St. Kitts-Nevis 1903 ½d green? And what about…

This is a letter-card rather than a cover, for it has a message on the inside with a very interesting pictorial heading. Letter-cards were still very much in their infancy when this tourist souvenir was created in 1903. The outer side shows that it was a special piece of postal stationery, purporting to emanate from Spitsbergen, the large Arctic island which the Norwegians (who annexed it in 1920) call Svalbard. Spitsbergen (‘pointed mountains’) was the name bestowed on it by a Dutch explorer in the 17th century, but the Norwegians prefer the name that alludes to the land allegedly discovered by the Vikings 700 years earlier. The letter card has an impressed 100 ‘unit’ local stamp of Spitsbergen with an Arctic scene and the date 1900 flanked by ‘TROMSØ’ and…

Send your society and club news to: matthewh@warnersgroup.co.uk Read more society news and find your local club at www.allaboutstamps.co.uk The recent meeting of the Chelmsford & District Philatelic Society featured guest speakers Christine Earle and Patrick Reid. Christine provided a detailed history of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the related postal history. Christine provided examples of stamps, letters, telegrams and postcards that were produced and sent throughout the world from the two post offices situated at either end of the bridge. Patrick’s display was on the theme of postage due marks for New South Wales covering the period 1891 to 1965. He gave a detailed account of the complicated system instigated by the UPU to ensure consistency in charging underpaid postage throughout the world and the impact it had on…

A Agriculture: 005, 043 Architecture: 006, 029, 058, 061, 070, 071, 080, 084 Aviation: 007, 060 B Birds: 026, 039, 049, 054 C Carnivals: 024 Celebrations: 014, 023, 034, 038, 055, 062, 076 Christmas: 001, 014, 038 Comics: 011 D Dance: 040 E Economy: 019, 031, 043, 084 Education: 036, 059, 065, 084 Energy: 087 Engineering: 058, 087 Environment: 070 Europa: 039, 049 Exhibitions: 024 Explorers: 064, 077 F Fauna: 021, 035, 049, 067, 081 Fine arts: 010, 012, 028, 063, 073, 074 First World War: 022, 032, 037, 069 Flags: 044 Flora: 025, 050, 072 Food: 005 G Geology: 018 Government: 009, 015, 027, 057, 090 H History: 022, 029, 032, 036, 037, 045, 046, 047, 048, 056, 079 Holy days: 014, 023, 038, 062, 076, 080 I Industry:…

David Beech MBE was the Curator of the British Library Philatelic Collections from 1983 until 2013, is a Fellow and past President of the Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL). David discusses his recently published monograph on the Library’s collections on page 97. Paula Hammond has worked as a publisher, copy-writer, ghost-writer, author, and journalist. She has written over thirty fiction and non-fiction books as well as comics, poetry, and scripts for DVDs and CD-ROMS. Her collecting passions include autographed FDCs. Professional writer Chris West has written about many different subjects, from crime fiction through history to how to start a business. He has written two books on stamps, including First Class: A History of Britain in 36 Postage Stamps and writes our Stamp Story on page 52. Stamp Collector Advisory…

1 The 1d Black is the world’s first adhesive postage stamp, as such the 1840 stamp and all of Britain’s subsequent stamps do not include the country’s name. 2 Rowland Hill is credited with inventing the postage stamp after issuing a pamphlet on postal reform, he described the idea as ‘…a bit of paper just large enough to bear the stamp, and covered at the back with a glutinous wash’. 3 A ‘Treasury Competition’ was run in the lead up to the stamp issue, asking members of the public to design the new labels. None of the designs were deemed good enough and a portrait of Queen Victoria was used. 4 The authorities also issued a postal stationery lettersheet at the same time as the Penny Black. Called ‘Mulreadys’ after…

Communication by letter relies upon the privacy and security of transmission whether handled by the postal service or privately. Prior to 1839 postage was charged depending on the number of sheets and distance and so it was important to seal the letter itself if possible and not use another sheet which would increase the postage required. This problem hastened the development of the Wafer Seal. Sealing and securing the letter in the early days of letter writing was done by the application of a ‘wax’ seal often covered by paper impressed in the wax. It should be noted that the so called ‘wax’ was in reality a mixture of shellac and powdered vermilion. Using wax seals was inconvenient for the general public and so an alternative was sought based upon…

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Formed in 1990, the Revenue Society is the international society for collectors of revenue stamps and documents and is the only international philatelic society that covers revenue stamps of the whole world. With more than 350 members in forty different countries, members’ interests are wide ranging and varied. Members stay in touch through The Revenue Journal, published quarterly and sent to members free of charge. The journal has detailed information about this field of collecting, with many articles on which little or nothing has been previously written. Further study material can be found on the society’s website http://revenuesociety.org.uk where members can access the group’s library of 400 items, an index to the journal, lists of catalogues and display lists. Members are also encouraged to exhibit their collections at regular meetings…

PostEurop has awarded a prize for the Best Europa Stamp since 2002. Up until 2007 it was only the members of the postal administrations who were taking part at the annual plenary assembly of PostEurop that could vote for the stamp they liked the most. The stamps were displayed in the congress centre and they could fill in a ballot with the name of a country. This way of choosing the Best Europa stamp lead to frustration amongst the stamp collectors as they didn’t have their say in this process. That’s why PostEurop decided to change the way the best stamp was chosen and, in 2008, launched an online contest in order to select the best Europa stamp. The contest has run in this way since then, but it leads…