Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2020 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!… me but I was only 15 at the time!) 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…

An invitation to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is the most prestigious honour in philately, which recognises achievement, research, publication and service in many areas of philately, writes Jon Aitchison RNCP, FRPSL, Keeper of the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists. The Roll was instituted in Harrogate in May 1921 and the signature of His Majesty King George V appears at its head as the first signatory. In its design, it contains the names of 42 so-called ‘Fathers of Philately’, names of great philatelists who would have been invited to sign had they been alive at the time. At the first ceremony in Harrogate the signatures of the initial 39 names were added to the Roll. At the annual meeting of the Board of Election of the Roll of Distinguished…

In the long and varied history of registration, it has to be admitted that Britain does not exactly have a shining record. Some form of registering important or valuable letters was in use in many European countries from the eighteenth century onwards and for that reason incoming registered packets had to have a distinctive postmark applied at the Foreign Post Office in London before onward transmission. Several attempts were made to introduce registration in Britain but they all fell on deaf ears. On the other hand Ireland had a system of registration from the early nineteenth century, complete with special postal markings. This was abolished in 1831 when the Irish Post Office was absorbed into the UK system and it was not until 1841 that the British Post Office offered…

At times like these, discussing our hobbies may seem trivial or inappropriate – obviously our health and safety takes priority over everything. But whilst we’re stuck indoors, spending time on our hobby could well be a welcome distraction and, as I write, there are still many ways you can buy and sell your stamps. It could be a good time to start on those albums you’ve always wanted to write up, work through your check-lists, and get your collecting organised like never before. As I sit in my make-shift home office, we’re about to launch a new weekly email, a podcast, and we’re adding a host of new content to our website (allaboutstamps.co.uk) all to help you keep collecting during this really tough time. Be sure to visit the website…

All About Stamps www.allaboutstamps.co.uk Of course we had to pick our very own website. Since we launched the allaboutstamps.co.uk site, we’ve enjoyed a consistent growth in numbers, with more and more collectors bookmarking the site and returning to pick up the latest news, buy and sell updates, stamp guides and expert advice. Be sure to sign up to the free email newsletter whilst on the site and we’ll send you a regular, friendly email with more updates and offers. The Smithsonian National Postal Museum postalmuseum.si.edu The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum is dedicated to the preservation, study and presentation of postal history and philately, and the website reflects this goal very well. At the time of writing virtual exhibitions included ‘Women on Stamps’, ‘The Black Experience African-Americans on Postage Stamps’, and…

Guernsey Post’s philatelic bureau has issued a set of commemorative Alderney stamps to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of William Wordsworth, one of the central figures in the English Romantic revolution in poetry. Bridget Yabsley, head of philatelic at Guernsey Post, said: ‘We are really delighted to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Wordsworth’s birth with our stamps. Wordsworth revolutionised poetry through his use of vernacular language, which came from his desire to capture everyday people and events in everyday language; his poetry was inspired by his love of nature, which was written among the beautiful lakes and mountains of the Lake District where he spent most of his life.’ In 1793, Wordsworth’s poems were first published and two years later he received a legacy enabling him to pursue…

There have been long periods of time when British armed forces were stationed in Egypt. From 1932 until 1936, special seals were issued and sold which allowed British soldiers and their families to send letters home at a reduced rate. These seals were affixed to the back of the envelopes. In 1936 the system with franking seals was abolished and replaced by Army Post stamps issued by the Egyptian Postal Administration. The stamps have denominations of 3 and 10 millièmes and they show a portrait of King Farouk. Franking their letters with these Army Post stamps, British military personnel benefited from lower rates for their mail to the British Isles. In 1938 there was a new issue featuring a portrait of King Farouk. The denominations were the same as before.…

For centuries before Europeans explored East Africa the indigenous kingdoms and tribes of the region employed runners, camel caravans and dhows to communicate and trade over long distances; even crossing the Indian Ocean with high value spice and ivory cargoes. Ships from north of the Mediterranean eventually reached Zanzibar in the 15th century, gradually evolving ship letter services that linked a number of ports to Aden, to the Nile, thence to Europe, bringing the eastern regions of the continent to the attention of increasing numbers of white explorers and entrepreneurs. In the late-19th century Europe’s Great Powers carved out territories on the East African mainland, with Great Britain and Germany competing for areas that later and separately became Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika. An agreement reached in 1885 gave Tanganyika to…

O’Higgins came from a noble Irish family, who had once been court poets for clan chieftains and had over the centuries acquired substantial lands. These were seized by Cromwell, and by the start of the 18th century the O’Higgins were tenants on land that had once been theirs. This was too much for Bernardo’s father, Ambrose, who emigrated to South America, found employment with the Spanish colonial government and organized a postal service across the Andes between Argentina and Chile (then a remote outpost of empire). A military career followed, which ended up with his becoming a general. He also had an illegitimate son: Bernardo. Ambrose disowned his child publicly but paid for Bernardo’s upbringing and left him a large estate when he died. The two never met. The young…

British collectors who owned a beginner’s album in the late 1930s to early 1960s often found a bonus starter pack of stamps and hinges included with their new album when it first came into their possession. Irrespective of the album’s title, the accessories bundle, as well as one or two of the albums, probably came from a Welsh company officially known as The Philatelic Factory, though called by its employees, and many in the trade, The Stamp Factory. Operating in 1920 from a small office in Colwyn Bay, Wales, Thomas Cliffe built a thriving import-export enterprise that bought and sold bulk lots of used postage stamps from around the world. A nimble fingered workforce of young women sorted the incoming bundles of stamps into country packets which were then farmed…

Letterpress printing is the opposite of line engraving. The image area is raised up, not dug in and the raised type receives a coating of ink which is then transferred to the surface of the paper. It is not absorbed into the sheet as it is with line engraving. Its earliest form is woodblock printing, or xylography, which was developed in China around the 2nd century AD, where the image is carved into a single block of wood. It was revolutionised by Gutenberg in the 15th century, with the invention of movable type. This led to a boom in the production of books and other material and many early printing presses were originally wine presses, adapted to a new industry. They soon developed. The first all-iron hand-fed press was introduced…

IBRA2021 World Stamp Exhibition Held at the Messe Essen, Germany from 6 to 9 May 2021, this is a full international exhibition under FIP patronage with FEPA recognition. All FIP classes are accepted at €80 per frame, €110 for single frame exhibits and €50 for literature, plus a UK handling and transport charge to be advised. UK deadline for entries is 23 September 2020 but this is extended to 4 October 2020 for anyone seeking to achieve qualification of a new exhibit at Autumn Stampex 2020. Exhibits must already have achieved at least a vermeil medal (75 marks or above) at a national show. For entries please contact the UK commissioner Frank Walton at Frank@FrankWalton.com Website www.ibra2021.de NOTOS 2021 European Philatelic Exhibition Held at the Peristeri Exhibition Centre, Athens, Greece…

Someone clever once said ‘Knowledge is Power’* and stamp collecting is the perfect example. Our wonderful hobby continually challenges us – as we obtain stamps we continue to learn, to discover new stories and facts, to add context and insight to our collections. When Stamp Collector drops through your letterbox each month, you’re treated to a friendly guide full of knowledge and know-how, news and views, all helping you to build your collection. Thousands of collectors receive the magazine every month, why not join those in the know? Subscribe from just £9.99 per quarter on Direct Debit, and we’ll also send you a FREE welcome gift. Thousands of collectors receive Stamp Collector in the post each month, here’s why: • Save money! A DD subscription will save you over £17…

It is fortunate that some family correspondences have survived. Perhaps not treasured or particularly cared for in later years, they surface upon a death and enter the world of collectors and historians. Most are then dispersed into groups or single items, as these illustrated items here were, whereas others enter museums or similar institutions. Not all of these relate to families of wealth or land ownership, but it appears that a majority do, simply because they have the facilities for long term storage. The Tollemache family (pronounced TOL-mash) had various branches, one of which owned Hintlesham Hall in Suffolk. One descendent, Ralph William Lyonel Tollemache was of lesser means. As a Rector he managed to marry twice, and had fifteen children, as well as having pride with his third given…

Peru sent an all-male team of 41 competitors to London. They competed in seven different sports. In the fifty-metre free pistol event, Edwin Vásquez garnered a gold medal for Peru. To publicise the Olympics participation, the country’s postal service issued a set of four airmail stamps on 29 July 1948. They were printed by Waterlow & Sons, Ltd. The one-sol value depicts a map of South America and the British Isles. The design includes the word ‘AEREO’ or Air Mail in English. Basketball players are shown on the 2s value, a discus thrower on the 5s stamp and finally rifle shooting on the 10s top value which was printed in yellow, a choice of colour which was far from successful. These three values were then overprinted AEREO in red. The…

Spain have issued a single stamp marking the 25th anniversary of the Spanish Federation of Coeliac Associations (FACE), which aims to support those with coeliac disease, a multi-system autoimmune disorder caused by gluten. Of course the global pandemic has presented Spain, and the majority of countries around the world, with a much more difficult and dramatic problem. The design at least reflects and commends the hard work of professionals in dealing with the disease, depicting a doctor putting her hand in the way of a wheat branch – a cereal grain which usually represents the presence of gluten. The stamp is completed with the federation’s logo.…

Five ‘Pioneering Irish women’ are celebrated in a set of colourful new stamps issued by An Post to coincide with last month’s International Women’s Day. The stamps, designed by Oonagh Young, feature Irish women who achieved international recognition in Fashion, Film, Aviation, Athletics and Art: Carmel Snow, Editor-in-Chief of the Harper’s Bazaar magazine from 1934 to 1958; Maureen O’Hara, a renowned Hollywood film actress and recipient of an honorary Academy Award in 2014; Lillian Bland, the first woman in the world to design, build and fly an aeroplane having built the Mayfly in 1910, and successfully completed her first flight that same year. Maeve Kyle, was the first woman to represent Ireland at the Olympics in 1956, and also Ireland’s first triple Olympian and Sarah Purser, portraitist and stained glass artist…

The recent Warwick and Warwick sale allowed for email and telephone bids only, and news on future auctions will be published on the website (www.warwickandwarwick.com). A statement read: ‘The current emergency is affecting all our lives and all business activity. We are committed to complying with all Government guidance as it evolves in response to scientific and medical advice. It is our aim at all times to protect our staff and all of our customers.’ The Spink website states: ‘Spink is dedicated to continue bringing you respite in these challenging times as some form of life must go on. The auction program continues with the support of our online platform SpinkLive.’ Visit: spink.com Grosvenor’s auction of Specialised Great Britain originally planned for April 16 is now due to take place…

Born in 1795, Rowland Hill was raised in a family of educators whose schools, Hazelwood and Bruce Castle, enjoyed excellent international reputations. Hill was a school master for 26 years before ill-health forced him to retire. It was then that he devoted his energies to postal reform. Prior to 1840 the British postal system was complex and expensive for the user and subject to corruption and abuse by officials. With the arrival of the Industrial Revolution and railways the population was becoming more mobile and the cost of sending letters was preventing poorer families from remaining in contact. Rowland Hill recognised this social injustice and became determined to remedy it. He produced a pamphlet entitled ‘Post Office Reform: its Importance and Practicability’ and campaigned vigorously for a universal penny post…

Sir Daniel Cooper was a Lancashire-born merchant who rose from humble beginnings to become a noted philatelist and an important politician in Australia. Cooper was the nephew of the Australian convict, also known as Daniel Cooper, who funded his education. Often plagued by bad health, Cooper soon gave up his studies and, again with the help of his uncle’s backing, began working for a French-American law firm in Le Havre in a bid to gain more commercial experience. His travels next took him to New South Wales, where he went into business with his brother-in-law and soon became a successful businessman with a growing portfolio of properties. His roles included being a director of the Sydney Railway Co. in 1850, a director of the Bank of New South Wales from…

Creating and displaying a collection of the stamps of one country in chronological order can be a formidable task, particularly if the country concerned has issued several thousand stamps. An alternative is to collect and display stamps of one country as a series of individual areas of interest. This article illustrates how this may be done in the case of France. Red Cross France has issued many stamps surcharged to support the Red Cross. There are two notable areas for collectors. The first is the series from 1940 until 1983, during which a pair of Red Cross stamps was issued annually. Many of the stamps illustrated paintings, carvings, stained glass and sculptures and make an excellent collection. The second area is the series from 1958 to 2000 that were surcharged…

Why collect? • Attractive stamps with lots of variety and visual appeal.• On trend.• A positive and uplifting thematic.• International Happiness Day ensures regular new stamp releases. Five notable releases 1992, GB, Happy & Glorious, Queen Elizabeth II: 40th anniversary of the accession issue 2008, Bhutan, Colour Your Own postage stamps 2014, UN, six-stamp set for International Happiness Day 2016, UAE, International Happiness Day, eight-stamp set 2016, GB, Mr. Happy stamp, as part of a ten stamp set celebrating the Mr & Little Miss books Expand the theme Letters and cards have been used to send happy greetings ever since the advent of the Penny Post. However motto stamps, greetings stamps, and more recently the likes of Smiler stamp sheets, are now a regular part of many postal authorities’ annual…