page16

Winter 2011 Newsletter

‘KIWI’ STAMPS of NZ PRIVATE MAIL COMPANIES

Sandra Poole

In the Autumn 2009 newsletter, I featured the first non-denominated or ‘Kiwi’ stamp issued by NZ Post on 7 September that year. Now I have discovered that several of the NZ Private Mail Companies have followed suit with their own Kiwi Stamps and some of these are shown below NZM- Issued April 2010.

The Fastway booklet contains ten stamps, five designs, one of which is depicted on the front cover. The stamp shown on the front of the Croxley booklet is of the kea, a native parrot of New Zealand. One kiwi stamp covers the Standard Post postage for a medium letter sent within NZ; an extra stamp has to be added with each increase in size- large, extra large and oversize. The rate for FastPost is 2, 3, 4 and 5 kiwi stamps respectively NZM booklets, (5 different covers available) contain 10 different stamps. The rolls of 100 include 20 designs and Kiwi advertising stamps, eg the Resene Range series 2011/12, are also available.

MALTESE POSTAL HISTORY-FIRST MALTA.STAMP

Les Sutton

The 1st December 2010 marked the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the issue of Malta’s first postage stamp.This stamp was used for prepayment of mail charges for both island and overseas up to 1st January 1885 when a new definitive set was brought into use. Printed by Messrs De La Rue & Co. using a die by J F. Joubert de la Ferte in panels of 240, the first printing was of 24,000 stamps on unwatermarked paper perforated 14 comb.

The same pattern was used on subsequent printings with variations in paper quality and the use of watermarks Crown over Block CC 1863 to 1879, Crown over Block CA 1882 to 1884. When village hand stamp cancellations were introduced to Malta in 1886, one of the earliest to be taken into use was Rabat in Gozo, renamed Victoria, to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887.

From Sandra Poole: I have now been to Malta 22 times and have got used to seeing the same red letter boxes that we have in England. It was with some surprise, therefore, when I saw the following on my recent visit in November. It made me wonder whether I had just not noticed the alternative style before or whether this design was, in fact, very recent. Perhaps someone at the Gozo PS could let us know.

SOUTHWOLD CHURCH CHRISTMAS CHARITY POST

E-mail from Rev Roger De Lacy-Spencer

Cover kindly donated by M. & C.Tennant

The Southwold Christmas Charity Post has been run by the Catholic Church here for the past few years and there are various designs and values, with a miniature sheet issued in the first year. A large number of cards and letters are carried each year, but not many packets and parcels The higher value stamps 25p, 50p and £1 are for the parcels and packets, the lower value stamps 10p and 15p for letters and cards. All proceeds go to charity and this year to St. Sophie’s Orphanage in Bethlehem which takes in Jewish, Muslim and Christian orphans.

The stamps are printed to a high standard in Germany We have too many £1 stamps on hand, so there may well be an overprint for next Christmas and possibly a new design. In a further email to the editor, Roger wrote that the post started in 2005 There were two letter rates as it was originally intended to have a first and second class delivery, but most of the letters were delivered on the same day anyway. Letter rates went up to 15p and 25p in 2008.

THE POWER OF THE PRESS! YOU REPLY:

In the last newsletter, Peter Goodwin requested information regarding his George Green Nottingham slogan postmark. Almost before the ink had dried, I received a phone call from Jim Weston, who told me that this slogan was in use in Nottingham officially from 5 July to 19 July 1993, but that it was still in use until the 23rd, i.e. after the official end-date. The information comes from a book on 1990s slogans, Part 1.

Does Anyone Know? I now have another query from Peter Goodwin, relating to the cover below. He would like to know where the showground was situated and anything about the postmarks, which he says are not listed in ‘Collect British Postmarks’ or in G. Hall’s ‘The Post Office at Nottingham’.

I can answer the first part. According to ‘The Lenton Times’(no.17, 2001), the 1915 Royal (Agricultural) Show was held in Wollaton Park, Nottingham ‘in an area now occupied by the portion of the Wollaton Park housing estate lying east of Middleton Boulevard.’ Access was via the Lenton Lodge Gatehouse and there was an attendance of 103,883. Can anyone help with the postmark? Replies to the editor, please.

STAMP IDENTIFIER USING A COMPUTER WEBSITE

Bryan Button

As you know there are many websites that are available to help us with all aspects of philately. The website under the auspices of The International Society of Worldwide Stamp Collectors (www.iswsc.org) has some useful information which includes: auctions; free album pages; links to other philatelic sites; free stuff for kids; exhibiting basics and a companion listing of bogus issues The on-line identifier works for English, Cyrillic and Greek characters and provides clear explanations for its use. Included here are four examples of inputs and their outputs of the characters taken from the stamps.

(I tried this website- just click on Bryan’s link above- and found the site useful, as it also listed some local issues Particularly recommended for those with general collections. Ed).

MAIL IN THE OUTBACK

Sandra Poole

I recently came across a box of old letters that I thought I’d thrown away years ago- I should have known better! Amongst these was a letter from my late father dated 5 November 1964, in which he refers to Alice Springs, Australia.

‘I had a pleasant day going out on the Royal Mail run to some of the isolated cattle stations- there’s often 50 miles or more between neighbours. We went out in a tiny single-engined Cessna plane- normally a four seater, but on this occasion only the pilot, with me sitting beside him, and the mail. We landed on little airstrips, and chatted a few minutes with the station people, and then on again- a couple of times he circled low around the homesteads for me to take photos from the air…We seldom went above 4,000 feet.’

I was there myself 30 years later and, of course, it is still in the middle of nowhere, although it does have an airport and, in 2004, the railway line was extended to Darwin. Whilst trying to find out more about current postal deliveries, I discovered that camels were used to transport mail and supplies from Oodnadatta (population 277 in 2006) to Alice Springs until 1929, when the railway made them redundant. The journey of around 520k took about 4 weeks- not exactly express mail, then! Currently, (if things have not changed in the last 6 months), a home delivery service to Alice Springs town camps does not exist. All mail to the camps is delivered to one postal box for collection by residents. The Tangentyere Council in Alice Springs sorts the mail, although it is not in their remit to do so, and Australia Post have been criticised for ‘dumping mail off in one lump’.

Cessna aircraft are still used to make flights to isolated settlements delivering mail and supplies, but I don’t know whether this is the case in this area. Perhaps you Australia and Flight experts can supply more information

MISCELLANY

Visit from the Cinderella Stamp Club to the Royal Philatelic Society: Sandra Poole

In celebration of the Cinderella Club’s 50th Anniversary the previous year, members had been invited to each provide a 2 frame standing display at the prestigious home of the Royal Philatelic Society in the heart of Marylebone. This was on the 16 December and Chris, Maddie and I went along to savour the occasion. After all, I, at least, am hardly likely ever again to be invited to display to the Royal Philatelic Society! Carpe diem, says I!

We set off early to arrive in plenty of time to put up our displays and then went off for a pub lunch and a chat with other members. Our Chairman had requested all contributors to provide a thumbnail introduction to their displays, with scans of key items, and these were compiled into a colourful and informative brochure. 23 members provided a total of 24 displays, including a spoof power-point presentation They included local posts, revenues, poster stamps and much more.. There were, I believe, over 100 people present, including us, them, partners and supporters! What was particularly nice was that most seemed genuinely interested in what they were seeing and were also ready to chat. Unfortunately, because of the snow and long journey home, we had to leave before the festive eats, but it had been a great day out.

Joint members of our Society and the R.P.S.L. made a similar visit in January as representatives of the North Midlands Region, but I have not received a report from anyone who went.

“Local stamps are booming- there can be no doubt about that. It is clearly reflected in the ever increasing prices being paid at auction and elsewhere for items even slightly out of the ordinary; and when it comes to the really rare material, the motto everywhere seems to be ‘The sky’s the limit.’ ” No, this was not written in 2011, but was penned by L.N. & M.Williams in ‘The Cinderella Philatelist’ in 1961! (Ed.).

it is with regret that I have to report the death in January of Wilf Hill, a past President of our Society. He was also the President of the G.N.C.S. P.S. for many years.

CHANNEL ISLANDS: Douglas Harvey. (Synopsis of the display to the Society on 19 November 2010.)

In July 1940, the Germans captured the islands, together with the stamp collectors and their dealers. The instruction given to the Post Office was to proceed with normal operation, but serving local post only. Thus enforced postal independence came to Guernsey and Jersey. Alderney had been evacuated and the islands were no longer in contact with Britain. The money circulated, but the stamps quickly ran out and new stamps were printed by the island printers. Demand for the stamps was high, and stamp rationing was introduced on Guernsey. Post Office queues became longer as islanders rushed to buy the stamps. Jersey issued the famous Blampeid stamps of island views, and these were also in high demand. Many first day covers were produced, but they are not illustrated and, even now, they are not particularly scarce. When the British Post Office (GPO) was re-established, a few regional issues appeared, but there was a demand from the island parliaments for postal independence, and this was granted in 1969. During the immediate post war period, the Island of Herm had issued stamps for local use, as no GPO service was provided. As tourism on Herm developed, the sales of local stamps prospered. The later issues, during the island tenancy of Major Peter Woods, were of excellent quality, having been printed by Harrisons and designed by two established artists, Victor Whiteley and Jennifer Toombs. Herm was incorporated into the Guernsey Post, together with Sark and Alderney, in 1969. Both Guernsey and Jersey Posts were determined to produce items which would appeal to the collectors. They would combine quality, affordability and worldwide distribution and would not issue stamps in excess of reasonable demands by islanders and collectors alike. The authorities approached Crown Agents for assistance. The initial definitive issues were designed by Granger Barrett (for Guernsey) and Victor Whiteley (for Jersey) and were printed in photogravure by Harrisons (low values), Delrieu of France (Guernsey high values) and Courvoisier of Switzerland (Jersey high values). Unfortunately, by having different printers, the stamp formats also differ and the sets do not match up particularly well. Worse still, the two Guernsey stamps showing the island’s location- of significant interest to the new American collectors- had the latitude stated as 40 degrees north, when it should have been 49 degrees. These were reissued as ‘corrected latitude.’ Although Alderney has had its own stamps since 1983, the issues are also sold and valid throughout the Guernsey Post region. On my visit, I posted an Alderney stamp on Herm to get an interesting cancellation. Alderney commemorates the ‘Return of the Islanders’ rather than ‘Liberation’. It was clearly difficult to establish new thematic stamps for the lucrative commemorative issues. When other countries were displaying wildlife, the Channel Islands were decidedly short of wildlife. The Germans had eaten all of their rabbits and there was little else other than insects. Jersey therefore commemorated the Wildlife Trust which has established the island Zoo with Jennifer Toombs as the illustrator. In the subsequent years, she has produced more than one issue per year for Jersey, on average. But Jersey looked to its own artists for thematic inspiration. Amongst the living Jersey artists was Alan Copp, who has now designed many issues. The postal authorities were keen to participate in the Europa issues, beating the GPO to this annual issue. Some of the themes proved difficult. For Music Year, it was necessary to highlight composers who had visited the island for holidays. For the theme of Human Genius, Guernsey took the St. Peter Port Harbour. Halley’s Comet was seen as the Star of Bethlehem and it reappeared for the opening of the new Post Office in St. Helier.

STAMP GIMMICKS: Sandra Poole On 11 January, Royal Mail brought out a miniature sheet, featuring the first moving pictures on British stamps. The sheet depicts ’Thunderbirds’ and by tilting the sheet at an angle, a sequence of 36 frames may be viewed. I’ve said it before and I am saying it again, ‘what next’!!

There has recently been some correspondence in the philatelic press regarding non recognition of Universal Mail stamps by postal workers. I found this to be true when taking one into the main post office in Nottingham. There the counter clerk admitted he had never seen one before, but nevertheless (albeit reluctantly) he franked it for me. As you read in our Autumn 2009 Newsletter, Universal Mail has an access agreement with Royal Mail to use their postal network throughout the UK. I have now used the stamps on four occasions to send postcards to New Zealand, but delivery times are very unreliable: 22 days, 27 days, 15 days and 6 days. I read that a card coming the other way took a month to arrive.

SOCIETY AND OTHER NEWS

Congratulations to Allen Wood, who joined the NPS in 1961 and therefore celebrates 50 years of membership this year. He has been President of the Society on two occasions and now enjoys the honour of life membership. See him in action on 1 April! Adrian Ritoridis has informed members that he will be bringing along wine and Greek nibbles when he presents his display on 18 February. Adrian received a bronze medal award in the Greek National Exhibition with his single frame display entitled ‘German Rocket Mail’, which the President of the Hellenic Philatelic Federation had invited him to submit.

Cancellation- the meeting on 3 December was cancelled on account of the icy weather. Brian Clayton’s display on the Australian Antarctic (!) Territory and Ross Dependency was rescheduled for 7 January. It looked as though Brian Clayton was finally out of the woods on 7 January, when after reshufflings, cancellations etc, he finally managed to present his display on Antarctica and the Ross Dependency to our Society. Not so! He was due to present it again, this time at the GNCS PS, but when we arrived, we found there had been a power cut and all meetings had been cancelled.

DISCLAIMER: While every care is taken during the production of this newsletter, neither the editor nor the Society officers can accept any liability for views,opinions or unintentional publication errors that may occur.

Previous Page

Next page

Home