Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2021 i Stamp Collector

1 If You want to learn how the stamp trade 1 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, 51 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…

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Swedish explorer Sven Hedin (1865-1952) led a scientific expedition to the northwestern part of China. In order to help fund this expedition, the Chinese postal service issued a set of four stamps with a total face value of 20c. Of the printing of 25,000 sets only 4,500 were actually sold at face value at a number of Chinese post offices. The remaining stamps were handed over to Hedin who sold them for $5 each and the money thus obtained helped finance the expedition. Quantities of the set were picked up by Hedin’s many friends and supporters all over the world. The design is quite attractive and it is based on the ‘Nomads in the Desert’ painting in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The…

Some poster stamps do have a postal connection of sorts, writes Christer Brunström. This is the case with a Chilean 1925 poster stamp featuring a rather youthful portrait of Chilean national hero Bernardo O’Higgins (1778-1848), who was deeply involved in Chile’s struggle for independence both as a military commander and as a politician. O’Higgins was of Prussian-Irish descent which explains his Irish-sounding name. The date indicated on the stamp, 21 May, undoubtedly refers to the Battle of Iquique, a naval battle which took place on that date in 1879. Today 21 May is Navy Day, a public holiday in Chile. The stamp has no denomination but it carries the prominent inscription of ‘PRO RAZA’. This is obviously a reference to an ambition to create a Chilean nationality uniting the first…

The recent Great Britain Philatelic Society meeting at the Royal Philatelic Society London featured ‘The Immediate Past President’s Guest: The Philatelic Congress of Great Britain’ by Steven Harrison FRPSL, followed by their AGM and members’ displays. This display was postponed from last year due to the Covid pandemic. Originally, Colin Searle was due to give the presentation but he sold his collection to Steve, who kindly agreed to give the display which featured a selection of Congresses from 1909 to 1953. Steve is one of the hardest working people in philately. He is Chairman and Programme Secretary of the Royal Sutton Coldfield Philatelic Society, Chairman of the Midland Philatelic Federation, soon to be Chairman of ABPS, Council Member and Head of Governance at the Royal Philatelic Society London and Organising…

16 APRIL 1847, TRINIDAD The stamp that nearly missed the boat If the Lady McLeod was a proper stamp, it would pip the Post Office Mauritius by a matter of months. But until only recently it was regarded as a bogus issue, denied a catalogue listing and of very little monetary value. Today, it is highly prized and deserves a mention (if not an official place) in this listing. The paddle steamer Lady McLeod (named after the wife of Governor Sir Henry) had operated a weekly postal service between Port of Spain and San Fernando since 1845. Some users paid by subscription but most preferred to pay cash on the day. Captain (later shipowner) David Bryce frequently ran out of change and had to turn letters away or carry them…

The Crawford Medal The Royal Philatelic Society London is pleased to announce the recipient of its prestigious Crawford Medal for 2021. The award has been made to James L. Grimwood-Taylor for his book International Postal Reforms, published by the Society in 2020 in two volumes. The Crawford Medal is awarded each year for the most valuable and original contribution to the study and knowledge of philately published in book form. In the first volume of Grimwood-Taylor’s new examination of the history of international postal reforms, Postal Reforms and the Historical Background to the Postage Stamp 1550 to 1839, the author studies in detail Rowland Hill’s 1837 Post Office Reform. This publication places Hill’s work in its true historical context and traces the origins of the high postal rates that he…

The first Swiss international exhibition for more than fifty years, HELVETIA 2022, will be held in beautiful Lugano next to its eponymous lake in the Canton of Ticino. This is a specialised world stamp exhibition, with FIP Patronage and FEPA Recognition, organized by the Swiss Federation of Philatelic Societies in cooperation with the Philatelic Society of Lugano. It will be held at Padiglione Conza, Lugano’s fairground and convention centre, which has space for approximately 2,000 exhibition frames. The competition classes will be: World Stamp Championship, Traditional, Postal History, Postal Stationery, Aerophilately, Thematic, Literature, One Frame. The AIJP (Association internationale des journalistes philatéliques) and AEP (Académie européenne de philatélie) have also granted patronage to HELVETIA 2022. Fine wines, good food, a stunning setting, and just over an hour by train from…

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CHAPTER ONE THE CURIOUS CASE OF ‘THE LONDON GANG PART SIX - THE CONFIDENTIAL PROPOSITION Noella stood silently opposite Buhl’s stamp shop in Victoria Street, twenty minutes ahead of her meeting with the two stamp dealers. Objectively observing, she thought the street seemed much the same as any other she’d trudged through in the City since her arrival from York two days earlier. Despite cobbles to the centre highway it was a muddy thoroughfare, trampled by stern-faced inhabitants, horses and cabs. A fog had enveloped London the night before and was now suspended as a morning misty veil draping the entire district. Buhl’s office frontage was in stark contrast to the many drab buildings in the area. Its glossy green wooden framed windows and door were devoid of flakes and…

‘ANYONE WHO STOPS LEARNING IS OLD, WHETHER AT TWENTY OR EIGHTY. ANYONE WHO KEEPS LEARNING STAYS YOUNG.’ These words of wisdom were uttered by Henry Ford, the Michigan-born car magnate whose name is still seen on countless new cars today (and whose face appeared on a USA stamp in 1968). He certainly had a point and it applies to all walks of life, including stamp collecting. Indeed, I’d go a step further and say that collecting keeps us young. The pursuit of both new material and knowledge is not only an ongoing challenge but a constant inspiration and even the most experienced collector will gladly admit there’s always something new to learn. So I’m glad to say the many articles in this issue will keep you occupied and feeling sprightly…

The Royal Phialtelic Society – the home of the John Sacher Library and the Spear Museum of Philatelic History – includes in its collections many items relating to the history of philatelic clubs and societies. These include specialist and local, enterprise and educational, past and present organisations, which have formed the backbone of British Philately since its beginnings in the 1860s. Chris King FRPSL will be making a presentation on 28 September 2021 at 2pm at 15 Abchurch Lane on: ‘Clubs and Societies: Organising UK Philately – The first 150 Years.’ Chris explained: ‘We are hoping this will be a hybrid event with guests able to attend in person at Abchurch Lane, and via Zoom. We want to preserve this history and to make it better known, not least amongst…

Serbia Post recently issued a pair of stamps to celebrate the advancement of technology, stating that the stamps are also a nod to the way technology has brought the world together during the Covid19 pandemic. A statement explained that the stamps are ‘dedicated, not only to the modern age of digitalisation, but also to the specific use value of technology and tools arising from this phenomenon of the modern world, and in the circumstances of human development in the year 2021.’ www.posta.rs Canada Post mark the 100th anniversary of the launch of Bluenose, described as ‘the most recognised sailing vessel in Canadian history’, with a booklet of ten domestic rate stamps. The special stamp issue features two values showing Bluenose on a fishing expedition, and the boat Bluenose competing in…

Your quick reference guide to recent online sales, in association with delcampe.net Austria (Lombardo-Veneto), 45b blue (type I) 1850 MH SOLD FOR £845 Belgian Congo, Parcel 5f lilac overprint. ‘COLIS POSTAUX Fr. 3,50’ 1887 MH (signed) SOLD FOR £591 Danzig, German stamp 2M blue overprint. ‘DANZIG’ in red 1920 MH SOLD FOR £466 Thailand, King Bhumibol Abulyadej Rama IX definitive 1947-49 MNH SOLD FOR £1,646 German occupation of Aegean Islands, German stamps overprint. ‘INSELPOST’ 1944 MNH (with cert.) SOLD FOR £493 Belgium, Olympic Games 1920 Antwerp imperforated MNH/MLH SOLD FOR £445 France, unissued 20c Cérès blue 1849 MNG (no gum) (with cert.) SOLD FOR £1,192 Portugal, 100R Dona Maria II lilac 1853 used (signed) SOLD FOR £534 Cyprus, strips of stamps 10s (SG100) & £1 (SG101) KGV 1921-23 overprint. ‘SPECIMEN’,…

The commonest of properties with ‘character’ on postcards is The Crooked House of Himley, writes Richard Stenlake. Starting at 99p including postage on internet sites, and with similar prices at fairs, everyone can afford a few cards of this old Staffordshire farmhouse that later became a pub and then sank to a jaunty angle thanks to mineworkings below. Hence it became known as the Siden House, siden meaning crooked in Black Country dialect. By Edwardian times it was the Glynne Arms, named after the local landowner and, judging by the number of postcards that survive, a popular tourist attraction. Leaning heavily at an angle, the effect inside was like pacing the deck of a vessel in a rolling sea. One illusion caused was a gravity hill which could be demonstrated…

1 Which alphabet letter appeared in the central design on the British Columbia 1865 3d deep blue?2 Name the king featured on the 18 piastres stamp issued in Cyprus in 1928.3 Name the fruit that appeared on the first stamp of thePitcairn Islands.4 A workman is shown on the first 1d stamp of Sierra Leone when the country became independent in 1961. What is the workman doing?5 Which animals appeared on the first stamps of Northern Rhodesia issued in 1925?6 What were the words written beneath XMAS 1899 on Canada’s Imperial Penny Postage stamp of that year?7 What postal crime is illustrated on a 1986 stamp of Micronesia?8 Which country issued bottle-shaped stamps in 2000, and what had the bottles contained?9 In which year was the posthorn first seen on…

2001: Clive Akerman & Gavin Fryer, The Reform of the Post Office in the Victorian Era and Its Impact on Economic and Social Activity 2002: Ulrich Ferchenbauer, Osterreich 1850 – 1918 2003: Fritz Heimbuchler, Rumanien/Romania: Furstentum Walachei 1820–1862, Vereinige Füstentümer 1862–1872 2004: Claude Delbeke, Nederlandse Scheepspost II: Nederland en det Westen 1600–1900 2005: Robert P. Odenweller, The Stamps and Postal History of Nineteenth Century Samoa 2006: Bryan Kearsley, Discovering Seahorses – King George V High Values 2008: David A. Stotter, The British PO Service in Morocco 1907–1957 2009: Eric Yendall, King George VI Large Key Type Revenue & Postage High Value Stamps 1927–1953 2010: Michèle Chauvet, Colonies Françaises, Les Tarifs et Service Postal 1848–1878 – Les Colonies D’Afrique 2011: Robert P. Odenweller, The Postage Stamps of New Zealand 1855–1873 –…

We need to write a job description for a teacher at the School of Philately, and the vacancy is for a Head of department. It will go along the lines of: A Philatelic Science Head Teacher to provide direction on syllabus, give instruction and guidance to students so they explore and understand the important concepts in the science of philately, including printing, perforations, watermarks, and plating, and ensure students know how to gather evidence to arrive at conclusions. But above all, to ‘inspire’ students to learn. And our next legendary collector would get the job for sure. Walter Dorning Beckton was a British Philatelist who, although a solicitor by trade, very much became the chalkboard and ink pot behind the science of philately in Britain. In fact, he set up…

Devlan Kruck is a professional philatelist and philatelic journalist, currently working for the Swiss-based International Auctioneers David Feldman SA. Along with Marcus Orsi, Devlan will be presenting the ‘Adventures in Philately’ webinar series (find out more and book your place at www.allaboutstamps.co.uk). Vince Chermishnok is engaged in a variety of philatelic pursuits including both writing about and exhibiting his collections. He holds memberships in several groups including POSSU, the PPHSGB and the CPSGB. Vince shares his love of penguin stamps in our special thematics guide on page 72. Richard Smith is the Secretary of Leeds Philatelic Society and recently helped the Society achieve a FEPA Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Activities for the Promotion of Philately. He will be presenting the Kay Goodman Lecture at the ABPS Congress in Harrogate…

The York Stamp & Coin Fair, scheduled to take place on 16 and 17 July, was cancelled due to ongoing social distancing requirements in the area. Unfortunately the cancellation was announced after the August issue of Stamp Collector had gone to print, and we would like to apologise for any confusion caused. A statement from the organisers read: ‘Following discussions with York Council, we have decided that the continuing social-distancing restrictions make it impossible for us to run the fair successfully. We hope to be back in January 2022. We look forward to seeing you all again then.’ Many readers will have met Peter Rowe at the Strand Stamp Fair, at auctions up and down the country and, recently, on Andrew Vaughan’s stand at Stampex, writes David Bailey. He also…

Monaco recently celebrated the life and career of the stamp engraver Czesław Słania, on a stamp engraved by the renowned stamp artist Martin Morck. Born in Poland in 1921, Słania was passionate about drawing from childhood. He studied engraving at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków, and developed his talent in intaglio. He threw himself wholeheartedly into this painstaking discipline, which is beloved of philatelists because, from an aesthetic point of view, it produces a much better effect than can be achieved by offset printing. Słania began his career in his country of origin in 1951. In 1960, by which time he had been living in Sweden for several years, he secured employment as an engraver with the Swedish postal service. Słania would go on to produce some 450…

After six years of using ½d to 4d imperforate adhesives distinguished by ink colours rather than printed values, the colony’s mail users had first sight of a 1s value; still imperforate when first issued, in 1858. It carried the name ‘BARBADOS’ in a curve at its head, and the value ‘ONE SHILLING’ in a straight label at the foot of the stamp. The central design remained unaltered, described in official Post Office documents as: The figure of Britannia seated on bales of merchandise, her right hand holding a spear, and her left arm resting on a shield charged with the Union Jack. In the background to the right is a three-masted ship in full sail. Initially the stamp’s colour was brown-black, altering to black in 1866. That seems fitting given…

One commodity that you won’t see being imported from China these days, but you could during that period in Chefoo, is Opium. To be fair, there were other imports much more ordinary, such as woollen and cotton goods as well as iron. Of course opium was used in China for medical purposes from as far back as the 7th century, but during the time that our featured cover was sent in 1876, imports of this drug were around 4,500 long tons, which apparently is equivalent to the total global production of this opiate, for a decade, during the turn of the 21st century. As it later transpired the Chinese became less reliant on imports; by the end of the 19th century their own production surpassed that imported. Things have changed…

Two hundred years ago, Northern Europe was unsettled to say the least, and Finland’s identity was made uncertain by ongoing conflicts in the region. The country had belonged to Sweden since the 13th century, but was annexed to the Russian Empire at the Peace Treaty of Hamina on 17 September 1809, becoming an autonomous Grand Duche of the Russian Empire, with the Russian Emperor being the Grand Duke. Russian Czar Alexander I (1801-1825) promised that Finland could retain the existing religion, basic laws and privileges of the social order. Despite Russian rule, Finland was allowed to manage its affairs and the employment of its own civil servants. A parliament was assembled in 1863 and in the same year the Finnish language received official status, equal to Swedish. In the 1860s…

STAMP AUCTIONS 1 SEPTEMBER 2021 WARWICK Warwick & Warwick Court House, Jury Street Warwick CV34 4EW 01926 499031 www.warwickandwarwick.com 8 SEPTEMBER DERBY Cavendish, Worldwide & Great Britain Stamps & Postal History Cavendish House, 153-157 London Road, Derby DE1 2SY stamps@cavendish-auctions.com 01332 250 970 www.cavendish-auctions.com 9 SEPTEMBER 2021 LONDON The ‘Greca’ Collection of Southern African Postal History Spink, sale taking place at: The Royal Philatelic Society London 15 Abchurch Lane, EC4N 7BW concierge@spink.com 020 7563 4005 www.spink.com 13 SEPTEMBER 2021 LONDON The Indica Collection of India Telegraphs at Stanley Gibbons 399 Strand, London, WC2R 0LX support@stanleygibbons.com 020 7557 4452 auctions.stanleygibbons.com 15 SEPTEMBER 2021 LONDON Stamps and Covers of Africa Spink, sale taking place at: The Royal Philatelic Society London www.spink.com 23 SEPTEMBER ONLINE Mayfair Postal Auction info@mpastamps.com www.mpastamps.com STAMP FAIRS 1 SEPTEMBER CIRENCESTER…

The 1930s was a decade of internal turmoil across Europe and beyond, and the precedent for the following years of both external and internal conflagrations. It was time to ensure continuing welfare as never before, and to be alert to impending danger and take any action that one could. Into this world in late 1908 was born Karoline Hermann of Jewish parents in Vienna of German nationality. In Vienna she was known by the familiar name of Lintschi, and this appears on the cover she received from the Netherlands in December 1939. Her father died in the Great War, and her mother Rosa brought up Karoline and her brother Josef in a simple but upright way. As the 1930s came, her personal life brought further strife. Having married in 1932…

Philately offers a different and unusual way of learning and understanding our weather processes and systems here on Earth and even how space weather can affect us. This branch of philately or stamp collecting is called ‘Meteo-philately’ and covers a huge and diverse range of topics with thousands of stamps issued globally from Australia to Zimbabwe and even the British Antarctic Territory. Predicting our weather wouldn’t be possible without the use of ground-based weather stations, remote-sensing, radars and satellites. In 1968 Canada celebrated the bicentenary of the first fixed-point observations undertaken at Fort Prince of Wales in 1768, Manitoba by William Wales and Joseph Dymond. This was Canada’s first meteorological stamp. We are certainly well acquainted with seasonal weather here in the UK. On 13 March 2001, Royal Mail commemorated…

‘Penguines!‘ Conor O’Brien, would write his 1926 book, Across Three Oceans, ‘Penguins!’ ‘Who would believe in penguins, unless he had seen them?’ Almost 100 years later his words still hold a certain truth as these species of birds capture our imagination. Around the same time that Mr. O’Brien was penning his text, the Falkland Islands, during the reign of King George V, was releasing an eleven-stamp set that would feature a penguin and, specifically, the Gentoo. Since then, numerous countries have issued postage stamps with penguins that depict all aspects of their life cycle and environment, which makes for a fascinating thematic or topical collection. Whether you have come to the topic through professional interest, childhood fascination or are a bird aficionado, welcome to the wonderful world of penguin philately,…