Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2022 i Stamp Collector

BRINGING COLLECTORS AND TRADERS TOGETHER This month I had the pleasure of chatting to Suzanne Rae and Isobel Klempka from the Philatelic Traders’ Society, for the recently launched PTS Trade Vlog (you can view it over on the website: www.allaboutstamps.com.news). It was great fun to chat to them and to fellow guest Josh Buchsbayew from Cherrystone Auctions. It was also a really good opportunity to discuss how the philatelic trade works and how stamp dealers and auction houses reach collectors. Of course we discussed the advertising in Stamp Collector and how this is a vital part of the publication. As an editor, I am obviously proud of the many stories, articles and tips included in each issue, but it’s fair to say the adverts are equally important, giving readers details…

Following a recent PostEurop Board of Directors meeting, the 2023 Europa stamp theme has been updated to reflect the troubling situation in Ukraine. The theme for 2023 will now be ‘PEACE – the highest value of humanity’, a topic proposed by the Ukrainian post office, Ukrposhta, in order ‘to show solidarity with Ukraine and to promote the universal value for all humanity – peace’. The 2023 theme will be based on a common design to be selected via a design competition. The change of topic means that previously planned theme of ‘Underwater Fauna & Flora’ will now be celebrated in 2024 and ‘National Archaeological Discoveries’ has been postponed to 2025. The PostEurop Board of Directors also decided that Russia and Belarus are allowed to issue their 2022 EUROPA Stamps under…

This new set from Royal Mail tackles the familiar theme of the Second World War – recalled, quite rightly, on a growing range of British stamps – but from a different angle, showing the effects the global conflict had on the female population of Britain, who often found themselves in new roles. There is a poignant historical feel to this new set. Indeed, Royal Mail worked with Professor Lucy Noakes, Rab Butler Chair in Modern History, Department of History at the University of Essex, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, on the stamp issue, and also, Richard Poad from the Air Transport Auxiliary Museum and Professor Richard Overy, Professor of History at Exeter University. Until 1941, women’s work was voluntary, but the increased demands of a global war meant that…

Quick Links Page 22 Stamp detective Page 24 Latest online sales Page 26 Grenada price guide AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS PRICES INCLUDE BUYER’S PREMIUM UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED IMPERFORATE BLOCK Spink’s recent ‘Important Stamps and Covers of the World’ sale included a lower left corner block of four of the British Guiana 1934 4c. slate violet, with missing horizontal perforations. The lot was said to be ‘an extremely rare multiple of this variety and unique positional piece’ and the catalogue went on to explain the scarcity of the item: ‘From the original single sheet of sixty, yielding some thirty pairs of the variety, 26 or thirty were cut into singles and sold in the normal course of business, eight or twelve were purchased by a local clergymen who complained to the Post Office…

The girl featured is Samantha Smith from the US state of Maine. She was ten years old in 1982, when relations between the Soviet bloc and the West were deteriorating at a terrifying speed. She decided to do something about this, and wrote to the newly elected General Secretary of the Communist Party (i.e. the Soviet Union’s premier), Yuri Andropov, asking what he was going to do to prevent global war or, if he wasn’t, why he wanted to have such a conflict. The letter was published in the party newspaper, Pravda – but Samantha received no reply. Not a quitter, she contacted the Soviet ambassador in Washington. In March 1983, Andropov wrote back. The reply makes interesting reading. Andropov expresses his hatred of war, citing the horrors of the…

Similar to Royal Mail stamps, those issued in presentation packs, used on official First Day Covers and sent out from the philatelic bureau are pre-printed by CCL Label Ireland Ltd in lithography, including the service indicator, datastring and the images. There are kiosks at various retail outlets, such as shops and stores, the Sea Terminal, the Douglas Sorting Office and the Main Post Office. These kiosks go under the banner ‘Pay & Post’ and are powered with Fujitsu printers, which have the value of the stamp without a border. A smaller counter machine almost a hand held unit; an aCon Printer is used at the philatelic bureau and at exhibitions, producing similar stamps to the pre-printed stamps but with a different font. Post Offices use a desktop printer from Epson,…

In order to promote philately among the younger ages, the organisers of the HELVETIA 2022 event in Switzerland launched ‘Philamovie’, a video competition with a philatelic theme. Participation was open to people aged under thirty and the only limits set were 300 MB file size and a one-minute video duration. The videos are now live on the exhibition website: www.helvetia2022.ch/en/philamovie The conference ‘Public and private allies for the protection of the heritage of postal history’ took place recently in Rome. All the major Italian philatelic associations were present: FSFI, ISPP, ‘Aldo Cecchi’, ANPF as patrons, and AISP, AICAM, ANCAI, ASPoT, CIFO, Gruppo di Modena, Il Postalista, Post Horn, and USFI as supporters. The Italian authorities have applied pressure to postal historians, collectors and traders in recent years regarding postal history…

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Artist Peter Mason, also known as the Post Pop Art Man, is looking for a suitable home for his latest postage stamp creation, a collection of nine portraits of the Queen all made from stamps. Writing on his website, Pete explained: ‘Right now I need someone who is in charge of or who owns a large indoor public space to help me display my “Homage to the Queen” in her Jubilee year… it is large being nine times 3ft square and needs to hang on a wall around 12ft by 15ft. A museum, gallery or public foyer would be great. Please contact me if you can help.’ You can contact the artist on email: thepostpopartman@btinternet.com Reports that Poland have issued an official postage stamp showing the face of Ukraine President…

Unsung Heroes: Women of World War II Issue date: 5 May 2022 Design: Supple Studio Stamp Format: Square Number per sheet: 50/25 Stamp Size: 35mm x 35mm Printer: International Security Printers Print Process: Lithography Perforations: 14.5 x 14.5 Phosphor bars: as appropriate Gum: PVA 1st - Protecting Civilians: Air Raid Precautions 1st - Deciphering Enemy Messages: Codebreakers 1st - Nursing on the Front Line: Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service 1st - Supplying Military Production: Women’s Voluntary Services 1st - Repairing Army Vehicles: Auxiliary Territorial Service 1st - Lighting The Way To Victory: Auxiliary Territorial Service 1st - Arming The Fleet: Women’s Royal Naval Service 1st - Maintaining RAF Aircraft: Women’s Auxiliary Airforce 1st - Powering The War Effort: Factory Worker 1st - Meeting Britain’s Demand: Women’s Land Army Miniature…

Royalty There have been many stamps issued featuring royalty past and present. Collectors can aim for a complete royalty collection or perhaps concentrate on the 27 superb large-format stamps issued between 1967-1981 that illustrated princes and princesses of Monaco and/or around thirty stamps issued from 1956 that illustrated Princess Grace, the former American film star Grace Kelly. Czeslaw Slania Often claimed to be the foremost stamp engraver, Slania engraved no fewer than 235 Monaco stamps between 1974 and 2002. A collection of his work for Monaco is a superb aspect. Monte Carlo Rally First run in 1911, Monte Carlo Rally is a now a hugely popular and world famous annual event. At one time, competitors would set off from different parts of Europe and meet up in Monaco. These days,…

It has become de rigour when writing about French Colonies stamps for the popular collecting press in Britain or North America nowadays to begin with a reminiscence on the pleasures of a juvenile treat. The delight came from opening and rummaging through a half crown envelope or a $1 bulk pack of those colourful French memory-joggers back in the late-Forties to early Sixties. Allow me to uphold the tradition by recalling the thrill of thrusting my own stamp tweezers into an eagerly opened bargain package and withdrawing an all-action image of a pair of Togolese archers bringing down a full-grown water buffalo that had charged them with horns as deadly as their arrows. Or perhaps the tweezers extracted an Ivory Coast specimen depicting a camel train plodding a native trail…

Being cut off from your family and far away is most unwelcome at any time, but should you also be subject to possible injury or worse due to military service, then regular contact is paramount to peace of mind. Over one hundred years ago, contact at a distance was only possible by letter, with delay of transit, receipt and reply. During the first few months of war, many men, both young and older, felt a duty to volunteer, resulting in their parents and family having pride in their son’s decision but horrified with fear about the possibility that their offspring might not return alive. For the soldier at a military camp in the UK or many thousands of miles away in a hostile country with an enemy forever near, the…

Sometimes Collectors get a raw deal, don’t they? For example, whilst on holiday, I remember my wife (a keen plant collector), once spent an extraordinary amount in the sum of £200 for some plants. She paid the bill and was just about to leave when she spotted the company’s catalogue (price/stock list) which she hadn’t seen. Being 200 miles away from home she asked if she might have one so that she could use their mail-order next time? Incredibly she was told the price of the company’s pricelist was £5. Naturally, she didn’t buy one, nor did she ever do business with that company again – ALL for the sake of just £5 – that company lost the goodwill of a client who spent £200 on just one first visit…

Quick Links Page 8 More stamps support Ukraine Page 9 Stampex tickets now on sale Page 10 GB Congress details PRESTIGIOUS AWARD WIN FOR JERSEY STAMPS Jersey Post is celebrating after winning Philatelic Campaign of the Year at the World Post & Parcel Awards 2022. The company has been recognised for its emotive ‘Flockdown’ stamps, a set of commemorative stamps designed to lift people’s spirits and give people hope during the Covid-19 pandemic. The winning stamps, which feature eight colourful ‘lockdown birds’, are the result of a creative collaboration between Jersey Post and Berni Martin, a Jersey resident who set herself a project to paint a bird every day during Jersey’s first Covid-19 lockdown, each bird a reflection of her mood on that particular day. Brought to life by Jersey…

France recently paid homage to actress and singer Jeanne Moreau, who passed away in 2017. Moreau reached the height of her fame in the 1960s and won many awards and accolades, being described as ‘the greatest actress in the world’ by director Orson Welles. The €1.43 stamp features a black and white photo of the actress. www.laposte.fr Latvijas Pasts, the postal service of Latvia, recently released a new stamp and cover to mark the centenary of the Latvian Olympic Committee. The stamp’s design shows an athlete running with the Olympic torch, with graphics representing a number of sports in the background. pasts.lv/en Åland Post’s contribution to the Europa theme of ‘Stories and Myths’ features ‘sjörå’, a female water spirit similar to a siren, who would give fishermen good luck and…

The ‘barcoded’ definitives are the latest chapter in the Machin story that began on 5 June 1967 and has since resulted in hundreds of different stamps, and about which countless thousands of words have been written. Catalogues and handbooks have studied the various aspects, while the Machin Collectors Club and Modern British Philatelic Circle keep enthusiasts up to date with developments. I suspect that there are collectors who can recall the launch of the stamps in pre-decimal currency days: perhaps a few still continue collecting the series. Unravelling the variations can certainly prove complex. For some, the new larger format, barcode versions may come as a blessing: a chance to draw a line under the collection. For others it could provide the opportunity to start on a Machin collection, perhaps…

CINDERELLAS New York’s beautiful Cinderella In the past poster stamps were often designed and printed in a bid to publicise (and help finance) stamp exhibitions, writes Christer Brunström. The 1926 International Stamp Exhibition in New York was celebrated in grand style on a set of four poster stamps. The promoters went to great lengths to produce what must be one of the most beautiful designs ever seen for a stamp exhibition. The stamps were recess printed by the American Bank Note Company and the design features the two hemispheres with four different means of transportation (Pony Express, Steamship, Railway and Airplane). The result is simply superb! The exhibition opened on 16 October 1926 at the Grand Central Palace in New York. It had 800 frames of exhibits. The famous British…

CURATOR’S PICK Italy’s Wiley Post The Museum of Philately is a unique digital platform that captures and preserves award winning collectors, collections and rarities. Find out more at: www.museumofphilately.com The year 1933 saw the world endure a turbulent twelve months. The Great Depression affected most countries on the planet, unemployment was at an all time high, and in Germany, which was particularly affected, Adolf Hitler was appointed the Chancellor and promptly banned all other political parties, turning Germany into a One Party State; we all know how that played out. On a more positive note in that same year the rather aptly named Wiley Post became the first pilot to fly solo around the world, and coincidentally the Italian Air Cruise took off and connected Italy with the Netherlands, Iceland,…

Worldwide there are over 90 National Lotteries. The oldest continuous state lottery was established in Puerto Rico in 1934 and some have been used to provide funds for everything from health services to the arts. Many national lotteries have been celebrated on stamps and Upper Volta’s 1972 and 1977 issues (celebrating the 5th and 10th anniversaries of their lottery) are lovely examples, with the 1977 stamp showing images of emergency vehicles and bank notes emerging from a lottery-funded pot of plenty. Gambling on sporting events makes around $220 billion every year. The so-called Sport of Kings, horse-racing, is also one of the biggest money-makers. In the UK, horse-racing brings in around £1 billion annually, with high-profile events like the Grand National often persuading even non-gamblers to ‘have a punt’. Thanks…