Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2020 i Stamp Collector

To mark the centenary of the unveiling of the Cenotaph on Whitehall, London the British Forces Philatelic Service (BFPS) has produced a commemorative cover to be issued on the 11 November 2020. The Cenotaph on Whitehall, London was erected after the First World War to be part of the ‘Peace Celebrations’ in July 1919. It was only meant to be a temporary structure but as it became a symbol of commemoration for the huge loss of life suffered during the war it was decided that a permanent structure was needed. Designed by Edwin Landseer Lutyens the Cenotaph, made from Portland stone, was duly unveiled by King George V on the 11 November 1920. The cover bears a watercolour sketch of the Cenotaph by Merle Drury. A Royal Mail 1st class…

Insects on British stamps is nothing new, but the return of bugs for this set feels justified, highlighting their importance to our environment. So which tiny winged creatures are buzzing onto this simple set of six? The stamps feature six important insect pollinators found in the UK and explores the range that not only includes bees and butterflies, but other often overlooked important pollinators including moths, beetles, hoverflies and wasps. The two 1st class values feature illustrations of the Common Carder Bee (Bombus pascuorum), a relatively widespread bumblebee which feeds on flowers such as large blue pea; and the Painted Lady Butterfly (Vanessa cardui); thistles are a common source of nectar for these migratory butterflies in Britain. On two £1.45 stamps we see the Longhorn Beetle (Rutpela maculata) and the…

SOLD FOR £2,002 Estonia, German occupation, Local Issue of Elva on postcard cancelled ELVA/15 VIII 1941 SOLD FOR £605 Japan, Philatelic Exhibition Tokyo 1934 sheetlet MNH (with cert.) SOLD FOR £507 USA, 12c G.Washington black with grill MNG (no gum) 1861 good centering (with cert.) SOLD FOR £943 Syria, Postage due 1920 MNH, stamps of French Levant 1902 overprinted SOLD FOR £623 New Zealand stamp 1/2d overprinted ‘VICTORIA LAND’ canceled British Antarctic Expedition 1913 on fragment of letter SOLD FOR £420 Danish West Indies, préphilately, Letter from Christianstad Copenhagen paid \’4.1/2\’ in cash, with datestamps ‘Christianstad’ & ‘St. Thomas’, British Post Office ‘Paid/AT/ST.Thomas’ in red, with a single outer circle and ‘Paid’ in a straight line, Scarce! SOLD FOR £565 Italy, 25c 1924 with ‘Tagliacozzo’ advertising appendix (with cert.) Buy…

Created on the 18 November 1903, the Panama Canal Zone referred to a 553 square mile area inside Panama which encompassed the canal and five miles on either side; it did not include Panama City or Colon. Between 1903 and 1979, this territory was controlled by the United States who had both built and financed the construction of the canal and used the surrounding area mainly for military purposes. From 1979 to 1999, joint US – Panamanian control was agreed before it was finally returned to Panama’s jurisdiction in time for the new millennium. During the early period, townships and other installations housed both civilians and military personnel but there were no independent shops – only those run by the Canal Company which, in turn, was run by the Canal…

Michael Portillo’s television series Great British Railway Journeys has reminded audiences of the importance of Bradshaw’s Railway Guides in Victorian Britain and Pigot’s Directory was among those which performed the same function prior to the arrival of the railways. Both publications provide the context of contemporary letters which is a vital part of story telling. Like many counties, Northamptonshire is a tale of two halves. Pigot’s tells us that ‘the air is esteemed equal of not superior to any in the kingdom’ which was the explanation for so many of the nobility and gentry having their country seats there, with more mansions than any other county. But in the absence of wood and coal, agriculture predominated over industry with one notable exception – the manufacture of boots and shoes for…

The first World Postcard Day took place on 1 October, bringing together postcard enthusiasts around the world with a series of special events and celebrations. Organised by the team behind the Postcrossing project (www.postcrossing.com), which allows people to safely send and receive postcards around the world, the special day of celebrations saw many post offices create special postmarks and run special promotions. A spokesperson for World Postcard Day said: ‘There’s nothing quite like the joy of finding a surprise postcard in your mailbox, and the goal for the World Postcard Day is to bring that joy to as many people as possible.’ Events taking place to mark the day included a talk at Virtual Stampex by stamp collector Graham Winters, India’s first online postcard exhibition (www.debutpex.com), and an Instagram postcard…

A set of new stamps celebrates the life and achievements of Isle of Man resident Mitch Murray CBE. ‘I’m looking at ten remarkable stamps,’ writes Mitch, ‘and I’m like a drowning man, but in a good way. My whole life rushes before me, the stamps capture it; colourful, interesting and full of fun. ‘This fabulous collection, issued by the Isle of Man Post Office, represents my career in all its aspects, and covers a period of sixty years. It’s an honour I could never have imagined receiving. Believe me, a lifetime tribute like this is so much better when you’re still alive. For one thing, you’re able to make sure they get your story right. However, that was never in doubt. Not with this team. ‘Having experienced the talents and…

As an island, Jersey’s culture, identity and history have all been moulded by the ocean. As such, it is no surprise that a lot of Jersey’s myths and legends take place on the Island’s coastline. Six of these tales are illustrated on a new set of stamps. The Bull Among the Rocks Fishermen used to talk of a bull that roamed around the rocks on the southern coast of Jersey during low tide. People refused to go down to the beach as they could hear the bull roaring. One brave fisherman trudged out during low tide, following the bull’s roar. He found a rock pool that had eroded and formed a pipe. As the tide went out, the water was sucked down the pipe, making a gurgling noise. The gurgling…

AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS Antarctica continues to be ‘hot’, according to Grosvenor Philatelic Auctions, due to the inspiring adventures of the early explorers rather than climate change. ‘Some dramatic prices were noted including the £7,688 paid for the attractive picture postcard sent by botanist Carl Skottsberg during the 1901-04 Swedish Expedition and £7,192 for a rare card sent by ornithologist Brian Roberts (pictured) from the 1934-37 British Graham Land Expedition, only around six items of similar outgoing mail having been recorded. SOLD FOR £7,192 This 1888 British Honduras 3c on 3d Brown was recently sold at Robert A Siegel. With better centring than typically encountered the stamp was described as being ‘the key rarity of British Honduras. Only one sheet of sixty stamps was printed.’ The lot description explained: ‘This rarity was…

Two little-know, perhaps trivial, facts about GB 7d stamps caught our eyes as we browsed a well-thumbed copy of Gibbons while seeking a suitable candidate for this month’s HOW MUCH feature. The first is that throughout the long and prolific stamp issuing reign of Queen Victoria a 7d stamp was never called into service. Not until her son Edward VII inherited the throne and issued his own definitives (1902-1913) did Britain’s stamp buying public get a 7d value; grey in colour and for use primarily on telegram forms and for sending parcels. In 1912, which marked the advent of definitives for George V, the 7d stamps switched to a shade of green. Remarkably they then remained loyal to shades of green for the next fifty-nine years until decimalization in 1971…

POSTCARDS Official railway postcards Over eighty different railway companies issued postcards, writes Richard Stenlake, starting around 1899 with court size postcards and continuing past 1923 Grouping until up to the war. The LNWR alone produced almost a thousand different designs, including a few done for the St. Louis Exposition that British dealers look for when visiting the States. To collect all the cards from all the British and Irish companies would be a lifetime’s work so most collectors specialise in their favourites. This is one of the few postcard topics that has a catalogue. John Alsop, wrote and self-published a 400 page illustrated reference book to these cards in 1987 which attempted to list them all and the research has gone on since with supplements. Railways were quick to understand…

The palace is located in the Croatian city of Split on the Dalmatian coast and the palace complex constitutes the most complete remains of a Roman palace anywhere in the world. Diocletian (AD 244-311) was born in Dalmatia. From rather humble origins, he made a remarkable military career in the Roman army and in 284 he became the emperor of the eastern part of the Empire. He seems to have been a competent leader and he introduced tax reforms to finance his military campaigns and his many building projects. In about 295 he ordered the building of a palace in Dalmatia. His many years as a soldier and an emperor had been exhausting and due to illness he decided to resign his position as emperor on 1 May 305. He…

K2 attracts larger-thanlife figures. The first major expedition to it, in 1902, featured Aleister Crowley. Crowley was a superb climber, but not a team player. He slowed progress by insisting on bringing a small library all the way to base camp. Half-way up the mountain, he threatened to shoot a fellow member. The expedition was only kitted out with the kind of boots and coats that got people to the top of the Alps, but despite this, they managed to reach 21,500 feet, a world altitude record (Mont Blanc, the highest Alp, rises to 15,700 feet). Crowley later founded a religion and became notorious for sex, drugs and the occult. The popular press called him ‘the wickedest man in the world’, but in reality, though narcissistic and manipulative, he did…

Quick Links Page 8 World Postcard Day Page 9 GB Stamps online conference Page 10 Stamps honour teachers Page 12 The latest new stamps The very first Virtual Stampex took place recently with thousands of collectors from around the world coming together for three days of trading, exhibits, talks and socialising. With Covid19 making most physical events impossible, the committee of the Philatelic Traders Society (PTS) opted for an innovative solution, providing a virtual conference complete with stands, an auditorium, and the ability to chat with traders via text, audio or video. Suzanne Rae, PTS Chairman told us: ‘I said before the show that I could not be prouder of what the PTS Team has delivered in bringing this bold concept to the international philatelic stage, but now that I’ve…

A special online conference dedicated to collecting classic GB stamps is set to take place on the popular www.allaboutstamps.co.uk website from 13 to 15 November. Following the success of the month-long Summer of Stamps, which attracted thousands of collectors from around the world, the threeday conference will give collectors the chance to learn more about British stamps with special talks, webinars and Q&A sessions, as well as a showcase of stamps to add to your collection in the ‘Marketplace’ pages. The online conference will be free to attend and is set to be the first of an ongoing series of ‘Collectors’ Conference’ events on the allaboutstamps.co.uk website. Editor Matt Hill said: ‘The Summer of Stamps was a great success and covered all kinds of different subjects. We’ll definitely be returning…

Royal Mail has unveiled four special edition postboxes to honour black Britons past and present during October, Black History Month. The ‘social media-activated postboxes’ are painted black with a gold trim, and each feature a figure of significance to the British black community, who has also appeared on a special stamp. The postboxes highlight the prominence and nationwide success of all the Black Britons featured. A full list of black Britons who have appeared on Special Stamps over the years can be found by scanning a QR code on the boxes, which link through to a dedicated online gallery on the Royal Mail website www.royalmailgroup.com/en/insights-innovation/responsibility/in-pictures-black-history-month-2020 Peter De Norville, Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Royal Mail said: ‘Black History Month is a great opportunity to celebrate the contributions that black…

Guernsey Post’s philatelic bureau has released a miniature sheet stamp depicting St Anne’s Church on the island of Alderney, in celebration of the 170th anniversary of its consecration in 1850. Widely acknowledged as being one of the finest Victorian buildings in the Channel Islands, the Church of St Anne was built to the design of Sir George Gilbert Scott, one of the most prolific architects of the 19th century. Scott was famed for much restoration work on ecclesiastical buildings, including Westminster Abbey in London. Originally intended to serve both as a parish church and a garrison church for the military stationed there in the mid-19th century, the threat of invasion eventually came from Germany, whose forces occupied the island during the Second World War and used the church as a…

Here’s a philatelic tale that will give you hope and you may not have heard this story told quite like this. Firstly, forgive the initial sensationalism and its rather bleak outlook, but it’s important to dash your hope before we clear the sky for what is an important and significant cover from the Cape of Good Hope; we know the sun does shine there and it isn’t called Good Hope for nothing! So, put your coat on, and hang on in there, even when things get a bit frosty. The hope bit comes later… Robson Lowe, a philatelic legend, famously declined to sign the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists. That was a great shock to many at the time, and his reasons were as disturbing. Lowe refused the greatest philatelic honour…

One of the most collectable issues of the King George V and VI period is the Large Key Plates (also known as the ‘Nyasa’ design). Developed from a King Edward VII issue of 1908 for Nyasaland, the colourful issues were designed to pay for larger postal rates, usually from 2/-to £1 and for revenue purposes, usually with values greater than £1. The two colour printings were, in the main, printed on coloured paper, which gave the issues a three colour design. When mounted on an album page, this colour gives a very attractive display. With postal issues from 1918 through to the early 1950s there is ample opportunity to cover every aspect and area of British Commonwealth collecting, from the West Indies, through to Malta in Europe, Nyasaland and Tanganyika…

For centuries, newspapers have published ‘all the news that’s fit to print’. In some countries this basic freedom remains a rallying point for those fighting for better lives. In others, newspapers have become little more than gossip rags which trash the very concept of a press that speaks truth to power. The easiest starting point are issues that celebrate newspaper anniversaries, such as the Isle of Man’s lovely 225th anniversary of The Times series (2013). The six stamps feature headlines from the iconic paper including Kennedy’s assassination, England’s 1966 World Cup win, the Moon landing, Concorde’s retirement, the Queen’s visit to China, and the first postage stamps issued by the island’s Postal Authority in July 1973. Arguably the world’s first newspaper-boy was ten-year-old Barney Flaherty who replied an advert for…