Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2023 i Stamp Collector

AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS PRICES INCLUDE BUYER’S PREMIUM UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED BAHAMAS BEAUTY The Graham Booth Collection of West Indies, Transatlantic Mail and British Ship Letters was recently sold at Spink. Amongst the highlights was this 1879 envelope sent to the USA bearing two pairs of the Bahamas 1863-77, perf 14, 1d scarlet-vermilion in combination with a USA 3c green. The letter had been mailed aboard a ship and all cancelled ‘6’ in vertical oval of bars at New York. The reverse featured a ‘New York Paid All’ duplex and arrival c.d.s. for 29 March. The lot was said to be ‘a very rare combination franking and most attractive’. SOLD FOR £1,900 CHINESE COLOUR Spink’s latest Hong Kong sale included this 1904 cover sent to Chuhsien bearing a Chinese Imperial Post 1c…

In the 1890s Germany belatedly decided to acquire a few colonies throughout the wider world. Most of its expansionist aggression earlier in the century had focussed on eastern Europe, with politicians such as Chancellor Otto von Bismarck obstinately refusing to consider overseas empire building on the grounds that it cost more to hold distant territories and to administer them than the value of goods and taxes they generated for the Empire. Bismark fell from grace not long after Kaiser Wilhelm II succeeded to the throne. At about the same time an influential German sociologist, Max Weber, argued strongly that unless Germany built a navy to compete with the ships of world powers Britain and France, those rivals for resources might blockade the German Empire and starve the German people into…

The coast of Alaska was colonised by Russian explorers in the 18th century. In 1821 Tsar Alexander formally claimed the coastline. However, it was never a very profitable colony. After the Crimean War drained the Russian exchequer, they began negotiations with the US to sell them the territory, fearing that otherwise it might fall into the hands of their enemies, the British. America had other matters on its mind at the time, as this was during the Civil War. Once that had ended, serious negotiations began. These ended with the US paying $7.2 million for the 600,000 square miles of territory–that’s around eight times the area of Great Britain. A seafront house with 2½ acres in the Alaskan town of Kodiak is currently on sale for around $4 million. At…

Keys have been around for as long as people have had valuables – or secrets – that they needed to keep away from prying eyes. The earliest known lock and key device is over 6,000-years-old and was found in Nineveh, in ancient Assyria. Today, keys come in all shapes and sizes, from the traditional metal front-door key, to electronic key cards. Keys are commonly used symbols in literature, art, and heraldry. They’re also found in lots of interesting places: on maps, typewriters or computers, on music scores, and in cryptography. All of which makes this a theme with awash with collecting possibilities. Belgium’s 2014 optical illusion stamp is a rare example of a stamp featuring a key, that’s just a key—and not a symbol for something else. The five stamps…

The small format definitive issues of King George VI – the ‘low values’ in the range ½d to 1s – are sometimes overlooked as a collecting area. There are only 27 basic stamps, none of which are hard to find mint or used. However, if you want to extend the collection, the usage of these stamps is an area with enormous possibilities. So for the sake of this two-part article, we’ll look at a fundamental topic within that area – the most common ‘solo usages’ you can expect to find for each stamp. This is probably the place to start! A ‘solo usage’ is exactly what it sounds like – a single stamp used pay the whole of the required rate, whatever that rate may represent. It’s sometimes phrased as…

‘money spent in the wrong way soon mounts up …’ Successful and enjoyable collecting depends upon understanding the relationship of your budget to your interest. Offers and services can be confusing can’t they, and money spent in the wrong way soon mounts up. In philately, sometimes it is hard to decide which way to go. Your passion may exceed your resource, so just what may be best for you? Often, it is not what you collect but how you collect This is the reason why my team and I have devised this quick and easy philatelic route-map QUIZ which does not ask you what you collect – but helps you to determine by your answers just which type of collecting service may best suit you … Presently you may find…

Spain Spanish stamps emerged from a lull in a seemingly endless civil conflict. The first Carlist War (1833-39) was between the liberal supporters of Queen Isabella and the traditionalists who supported Don Carlos, a claimant to the throne. It ended in victory for the liberals, who then split up into half a dozen warring factions. The unrest continued until 1844 – 54, when Ramon Narvaez and other generals allied with the Moderados in government to introduce a programme of administrative, educational and financial reforms. Reform of the postal system had been on the agenda since 1843 – a cause championed by the Count of San Luis, one of Queen Isabella’s ministers. However, it was not until 1847 that Perkins Bacon were asked to quote a price for producing stamps. When…

With Dry January, the UK’s annual one-month alcohol-free challenge, forcing many of us to examine our alcohol consumption levels, what better time could there be to address the issue of booze in our stamp collections as well? Many countries proudly feature their traditional alcoholic beverages on their stamps. Wine on stamps is an area of thematics that’s widely attractive, proven by the existence of the Wine on Stamps Study Unit in the US, dedicated to the hobby of collecting stamps related to wine, grapes, viniculture and viticulture. It produces a quarterly journal, Enophilatelica, and a Wines on Stamps checklist. Its Instagram page carries lovely images to whet your interest in tipples on timbres. Luxembourg Wine Festival of Moselle stamps are amongst those featured on its website, and Luxembourg is a…

Whilst we have all been affected by Covid in recent years, and may be again in the future, we should remember that we are not by any means the first generation to be afflicted. Smallpox was one of the most feared contagions in past centuries, partly because of its high mortality rate and also as a result of its dramatic impact on the human body. Its first recorded appearance was in Persia but by the year 570 war and trade had dispersed the disease as far as France and Spain and by the 15th century it was endemic in all the countries of Europe. Jenner’s invention of the cowpox vaccine transformed the picture in the early nineteenth century although it was not until vaccination became compulsory in England in 1853…

CHAPTER THREE THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF A DEATH IN CAIRO PART ONE - A PERILOUS PASTIME Noella, with a hand to her neck, ran a solitary finger across her throat and gasped as William Le Queux tentatively translated the message received from police investigator Louis Lépine. In what was a rather casual tone for Noella’s liking, Le Queux informed her that Hector Giroux was found guilty of the murder of Gaston Leroux as well as the theft of the Hawaiian missionary stamp and the authorities sentenced the Frenchman to death by guillotine at a public execution. Le Queux seemed to take pleasure in explaining the grim procedure that would lead to the convicted stamp collector’s demise. ‘Sadly, my dear Ms Bry, we’re going to miss the bloody exhibition because we’re…

A couple of months ago in this column I asked whether the reign of King Charles III would provide the reason for some to draw a line under the collection, while for others a new Monarch provides the opportunity to start something new. I have seen comments wondering whether the new King has his own thoughts about stamps, particularly the reasons for issue, and that a change of policy might result. I simply do not know the answer. It may be that the King will indicate his views to Royal Mail. We do know that the King has commendably made known that he does not want to see any wastage and so stamps that have already been prepared showing the portrait of the late Queen – such as the new…

Falkland Islands An archipelago 300 miles off the coast of Argentina, functions as a self-governing British colony. They issued their first adhesive postage stamps in 1878, and remained loyal to sterling currency down to 1971 when they switched to pounds and pence in tandem with Great Britain. The last predecimals issued in 1970: a set commemorating the Restoration of s.s. Great Britain. (figure 1). Fiji In the South Pacific, issued stamps with sterling values from 1870. A switch to decimal currency (100 cents = 1 dollar) took place in 1969; and the island became independent one year later. The last predecimals were issued in 1968: a three-stamp multicolour set commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the World Health Organisation (figure 2). Gambia A British colony with its own stamps as early…

CELEBRATED SETS The story of this set begins with a comet. Jersey Post commemorated the 1986 appearance of Halley’s Comet with a set of three stamps by Jennifer Tombs. The 10p value featured its appearance in 1066, which was recorded in the Bayeux Tapestry and the design was a clever adaptation of the original embroidery. The stamp was well received, so the same style was adopted for the 900th anniversary of the death of William I the following year. This event passed unnoticed in Britain – but the impact of the early Medieval period is still felt in Jersey. Many of the island’s leading families ‘came over with the Conqueror’ or shortly afterwards; their coats of arms are shown on the island’s definitives from 1981-89. The Norman legal system still…

Few months go by without news reports of refugees from one conflict or another. One consequence of such reports is ‘refugee fatigue’, an indifference to the plight of refugees as a result of the frequency of such reports. In 1959, World Refugee Year (WRY) was conceived to combat refugee fatigue and encourage action towards a permanent solution to the refugee problems of the time. Although World War Two had ended fourteen years earlier, by 1959 there were still around 40,000 European displaced persons living in camps and a further 100,000, while not in camps, still needing assistance, particularly in Germany, Austria, Italy and Greece. Outside Europe there were large numbers of refugees from Iron Curtain countries, Algerian refugees in North Africa, Arab refugees in the Middle East, Jewish refugees from…