(Page 55) Newsletter Autumn 2020.

ANOMALIES, (A SHORT SERIES)

ALAN SQUIRES

Concorde. I have been looking through my collection and found some anomalies, or oddities. We all know that stamps are only produced to raise revenue for the country concerned. This being the case, the subject for the issue really does not matter as long as it cashes in on whatever is popular at the time. In my small Concorde collection, I came across this example from Djibouti,.I had no idea where this country was without looking it up.

Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country located in the Horn of Africa in East Africa. It is bordered by Somalia in the south, Ethiopia in the south and west, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in the east.” This from Wikipedia.

At no time did Concorde land or take off, let alone visit Djibouti, but they still produced a sheetlet of two stamps featuring Concorde for people like me to purchase for our collection.

RACIST POSTMARKS

IAN JAKES

(Ian Jakes prefaced his article with a reference to “an article in ‘Stamp Magazine’ by Robert Hill in August 2015 dealing with racial segregation in South Africa. Two examples were shown of similar postmarks, one in Pretoria (1943) and another in Johannesburg (1961), where the ‘N.E.’ signified not ‘north-east but ‘Non-European’ and ‘NW referred to ‘Non-White’. There was more on the subject, but this, at least, puts his article into context and shouldn’t contravene any copyright laws.. Ed.)

I now turn to my specialised area of British West Indies and in this instance to Jamaica. After the resignation of Postmaster General Nash in September 1955, there was a crisis of confidence at the GPO, Kingston, Jamaica and Postmaster General Lt. Colonel Joseph Green from Singapore was appointed on 10 December 1955 to restore some order. One of his first duties was to announce the opening of Kingston North West postal agency:

Below is a Kingston Northwest (NOT Kingston North West) postmark, first issued on 13 December 1955:

Is the temporary Rubber Date-stamp a genuine mistake or is somebody being wilful? The permanent metal date-stamp (PMD), (below), made in London and reading “KINGSTON (NW.)”would normally be available for use within three months of the opening of a new postal agency, but the PMD was not seen until late summer 1956.

The reason for the delay is not known. However, the Kingston North West postal agency is not in the north-west of Kingston. It is on the southern edge of Jones Town, a 99% black area of Kingston with a very high crime rate and, for many years, a no-go area. The reader is advised to Google 135 Orange Street, Kingston for a full resumé of the area. Does (N.W.) mean North West or Non White? The reader can choose.

(For those without access to the internet, Orange Street was where ska and reggae really took hold in the sixties. Ed)

PHILATELIST OR PHILOGRAPHIST ?

ALAN SQUIRES

I recently received a cover catalogue through the post. These come at frequent intervals because I once bought a cover from them way back in the dim and distant past. I always peruse their catalogues when they arrive before consigning them to the recycling bin.

Perhaps I had a little more time on my hands this time, what with lockdown and all. So, I was a little more attentive to the contents. All the covers on offer had been signed, as is usual with this particular catalogue. (Many of you now know which catalogue I received!)

What I noticed was the number of signatures that looked like those on my prescriptions from my doctor. I could not believe he had signed any of them in the catalogue. Below are some examples of signatures that I could not decipher.

Even worse, is the legible signature of someone who has no connection with the content of the cover or the event that the cover commemorates. I know these covers are often signed for various charities and the money raised is going to a good cause.

In case you have not worked out the title of the article, a philographist is a collector of autographs. I wonder from the content of the catalogue, which is more important, the philately or the philographist?

MAGASIN DU NORD, FIRST DAY COVERS, Part 3

SANDRA POOLE

When I concluded my last article on Magasin du Nord FDCs, I had not envisaged a sequel. But the more I look into these covers, the more information I glean and the more problems I encounter. Cover 59, below left, was a problem. Cover 58 (not shown) has a ‘Help the Refugees’ overprint and was issued on 7.4.1960 which is fine. The next stamp issue, 28.4.1960, was a series of three farm scenes marking Danish Agriculture and commemorating a food fair in Aalborg in the summer of 1960. This should have fitted in perfectly with cover 59 numerically and datewise, but unfortunately cover 59 bore a definitive stamp issued 17 months and many commemorative issues later! Another problem was matching the design- a map with a marine background- to Danish agriculture!

My conclusion, although I cannot be 100% certain, is that the cover was used for different definitive stamps, just like the postmen covers in my previous articles, and that the map shows all the areas that the Royal Danish Post delivers to. But the problem doesn’t end there, unfortunately. We are left with three spare numbers- 60, 61 and 62 (63 is used for the Royal Silver Wedding issue- 24.5.1960.) The only logical solution that I can come up with is that there was a separate cover for each of the stamps of the Danish Agriculture issue- this does happen sometimes.

This cover, another anomaly, is unusual for its number: 1 4H, with a gap between the ‘1’ and the ‘4’. It was issued on 13.2.1953 and affixed is a block of 4 King Frederik IX definitives surcharged ‘NL +10’ as Danish Aid for Holland. There was no official philatelic cancellation. I cannot explain the odd number although the ‘H’ may represent Holland. I have no. 18, Rescue at Sea, 26 3 1952, and the next commemorative after that and immediately after 1 4H is The Border Union issue, 26.3.1953. In the meantime, there was no. 19, a postman issue. I have two copies of this dated 25.6.1952 and 14.8.1952 respectively. Magasin du Nord itself was probably confused, hence the irregular number!

Magasin du Nord produced two covers (below) to commemorate the 150th birth centenary of Georg Carstensen, founder of the Tivoli Pleasure Gardens. They were both numbered 76 but were in different colours, one green and yellow, the other red and yellow. The stamps were issued on both normal and fluorescent paper and on two different dates, three months apart. My theory- and it is just a theory- is that the two covers were produced to differentiate between the papers but in the event- and this is a fact- there was no philatelic cancellation produced for the stamp on fluorescent paper, although there had been one for the first issue. However, as can be seen here, the covers did not go to waste.

The covers below are both unnumbered. Cover 96 (not shown) was issued on 24.2.1966. This cover shows an office interior and marks the 150th birth anniversary of educationist Christian Kold. It was issued on 29.3.1966 and should, therefore, have been no.97. However, Magasin produced two covers, 97 and 98, one for each stamp in a set of two in the next issue, and dated 12.5.66 and 16.6.1966.

Lastly, this CEPT cover with a mail coachman, dated 28.4.1969, should chronologically be no. 118, but strange things happen as you can now see- the covers were numbered as follows: 117, 11.3.1969; no number, 28.4.1969; 119, does not exist; 120, 22.5.1969; 121, 12.6.1969; 122, 28.8.69; 123, 25.9.1969 and FINALLY No. 118, 10.11.1969!

Footnote: Philatelic postmarks were not produced for all definitives, surcharged or not, nor for all fluorescent stamps.

VENDING MACHINE LABELS

SANDRA POOLE

Zimbabwe. Can it really be that long ago? Vending machine labels were introduced in Zimbabwe in October 1985, as can be seen on the cover below ?

All the details of the vending machine labels appear on the insert

Some more vending-machine labels:

(Left GB: From first day cover issued on 1 May 1984. Other values were 0.16 and 0.03½. Paper with wavy line background is phosphor coated).

(Centre and right): Switzerland: The paper has a patterned background. Additiionally, the label on the ruight has a pattern of crowns in rows; every alternate row being inverted. The centre label is dated 1981. The original Swiss Frama labels date from 1976.

A couple of more recent examples with, perhaps, a bit more appeal!

Information, please: . Sorting through my unmounted collection of Australian stamps, I found this actual-size item below. Is it a meter mark cut out, with the meter stamp part missing, or some thing else? I am no expert on Australian postmarks.

MISCELLANY

Communication from Waikato.

in the Summer Newsletter, Bill Whitaker wrote a short article about the 1934 Victoria Centenary stamp issue. Ross Bernie, the new editor of the Waikato PS Newsletter, supplied some additional information, as follows.

The 1934 Australian issue mentioned was to celebrate the centenary of the formation of Victoria becoming a British Colony, when it separated from the colony of New South Wales. The colonies became states of Australia when the country of Australia was established in 1901. Prior to 1901, Australia did not exist as a country. All states of Australia therefore celebrated their centenaries as states in 2001, when Australia celebrated its centenary, but continue to celebrate their proclamation days commemorating their separations from the colony of New South Wales on various dates in the year.

The continent was named Australia by the sailor and explorer Matthew Flinders in 1804 after circumnavigating the continent in 1803. The name is derived from the Latin name Terra Australia Incognito that was used on early maps to describe the great unknown Southern land. I would say that the Melbourne skyline was little changed when I first visited Melbourne in 1959, but it is very much a city of skyscrapers now. My own family history on my paternal grandmother’s line goes back to Melbourne, NSW, prior to separation. Initially, New South Wales covered most of the continent east of Western Australia and also included New Zealand. A little bit of trivia-New South Wales is the only state that has three time zones. Standard time zone is GMT+8, with Broken Hill on Central Australian time (GMT+7.5 and Lord Howe Island on GMT + 8.5.

The six states of Australia- stamps (added by the editor).

Crossword Puzzles- Alan Squires

As well as a philatelist, I am a crossword fanatic. My present puzzle book is the Telegraph Cryptic Crosswords and. I can sometimes do these in four sessions but sometimes it is three or four days before I get my first answer.

The following two clues may not be for most of you but here goes:

8 down: It enabled Queen Victoria to stick to her post. (5,5)

This was the first clue I got in this puzzle.

9 across: This was obviously a misprint, or was it? (3,1,4)

SOCIETY NEWS

Congratulations to Chris Tennant: 50 Years of Membership.

I briefly mentioned this anniversary in the Spring Newsletter. In 1970, our new membership year started in October instead of January as it stands now and it was in October that Chris became a member of Notts Philatelic Society. At the time, there were just under 193 members plus himself. He would have been welcomed at his first meeting by President Tony Sibley, (still a member after 64 years). Kenneth Brown, F. Alan Pickett and Allen Wood were also members then and still are. Derrick Avery was vice president and the honorary vice president was the Head Postmaster of Nottingham. It is also interesting to note that Chris and the other members mentioned above have attended meetings at the three different venues: the Victoria Hotel in 1970, the Albert Hall Institute from1972 and the Society of Artists from 1984.

When we were discussing the year Chris joined the Society, he told me the anecdote how one member speaker talked until 10pm and that was just the first half! I think he was pulling my leg about the second bit, but sometimes it can feel like that!

Chris is due a framed certificate marking his 50 years as a member but, who knows when, in the current situation, the presentation will be ?

Website: The Notts Philatelic website has now been restored to its former glory and our name remains.

The Society formed a web site ten years ago using Easily Ltd in London for hosting. The host provides a computer which is always serving the internet. A domain name (NottsPhilatelic.co.uk) can be attached to the account. All co.uk names are controlled by Nominet in Oxford. In August 2020, we lost our Easily account without warning as Easily removed it. This was not surprising as the company has changed direction and is no longer allowing low-price hosting. Many hosting companies have also followed this trend, whilst others use advertising sponsors.

In September, I asked Nominet to transfer the domain name to Google to be used with a new site, with the title: https://sites.google.com/site/nottsphilatelic. Google offers free site hosting but with the obvious difference that the domain name (www.nottsphilatelic.co.uk) is now only a pointer to the site, rather than the site title. We will continue to pay for the domain name and use it in our publicity. There are a few minor differences e.g. text size, which are due to the different way in which Google sites are constructed, but an important difference is that the new site prefix is https being the new “secure” standard. The code is also written in the “New Google Site” format, instead of the “Classic Google Site” format, which becomes obsolete next year.

I am also pleased to help any member who would like to set up a web site. Bill Whitaker now has “Bill’s Philately” showcasing Australian stamps and Mike Siverns has a site for the Radcliffe-on-Trent PS. Links are on the Notts site. (D.H.)

Closure of Meetings: Our last actual meeting was on 6 March and since the remote AGM, President Brian Clayton has had to watch his carefully planned programme for the new presidential year gradually fall apart, with a lot of false dawns. As stated in the last Newsletter, we were hoping to be back to normal for the September meetings. Little did we know! Now we are hoping to start afresh in the New Year but, with a sharp rise in Covid cases, even that now seems doubtful. Please check the web site regularly for updates. Members without computers or smart phones will be contacted via a landline call when meetings are back to normal.

In the present circumstances, it seems unlikely that the first meetings in the new year 2021 will actually take place, Just in case, these are a Members’ Evening on 8 Jan, Letters E,D,S, Ascension Islands, A. Squires 22 Jan.

Zoom Meetings: with societies everywhere having to cancel normal meetings, Zoom meetings have been gaining in popularity, not as a permanent replacement, but as a temporary alternative and as a means of keeping in touch with members. Richard Capon set up the first ones on an experimental basis. He gave the first display on 13 August 2020. We have also linked up with Leicester PS to share meetings and watched three interesting short displays there on 13 October.

Bill Whitaker has provided a ‘standing’ display’ on his new website: https://sites.google.com/view/BillsPhilately . Bill has also been sending scans of newly-mounted sheets on Australia around the membership by e-mail as a way to keep everyone involved in the Society. Fresh ideas are always welcome.

Apologies for the delay in sending out hard copies of the last two Newsletters. The printing shop was closed for 3 months and I delivered as many as possible by hand- it gave a purpose to my walks, but I am not as quick as Royal Mail.

Virtual Stampex took place on 1-3 October and it seems to have been a success. A lot of work went into the planning and delivery of the show. I believe one or two members attended it. There were one or two interesting talks, a visit to the Museum of Philately and stands to visit.

The Newsletter. The next copy is due out at the end of January. Please send anything original and of philatelic interest to me before the end of December

"ZOOM MEETINGS": In August 2020 the Society initiated a series of video conferencing meetings using the "Zoom" program for communication. Reports of these meetings are shown below. Some of the slides shown in the presentations may be viewed in the Zoom section of this web site.

"Marianne"; Richard Capon, 22 October 2020

This symbolic representation of France originated in the Revolution. It was originally adopted in stamp design for fiscal stamps. After the liberation, in 1945, Edmund Dulac designed a definitive stamp featuring Marianne and this started a long series of definitive stamps with this theme. For catalogue purposes, the designer's surname follows Marianne and the most famous issue is Marianne de Gandon. Although definitive stamps can be less attractive than commemoratives, Richard included many delightful illustrated covers in the display and gave an insight into the designers' competitions which were used to prepare for the Marianne issues. The display was ideal for a Zoom presentation and provided a most enjoyable evening of viewing. (D.H.)

"The United States Bicentennial":Douglas Harvey, 8 October 2020

The display centred on the issues from the U.S. Postal Authority from 1971. After the Declaration of Independence in 1776 the War of Independence continued until the surrender in 1781. The art work of John Trumbull and others was transferred to stamps to provide the documentation. The talk highlighted the reasons for seeking independence and the ensuing struggle. (D.H.)

"The History of the Penny Black": Mike Siverns FRPSL, 24 September 2020

In 1635, Charles I set up a letter office in England and Scotland to transport documents between London and Edinburgh. This was the only postal service until 1680, when William Dockwra set up a collection and delivery in the London area. In the 18th century, the growth of turnpike roads permitted better connections.and postal services followed, but with conflicting and expensive charges for delivery. The 1840 reform act reduced the postal charge to 1d per ounce with no mileage surcharge. Of greater importance was the introduction of pre-paid postage in the form of adhesive stamps. President Brian Clayton thanked Mike and introduced a discussion on the relative costs of postal deliveries. (D.H.)

"Penny Universal Used in Antarctica": Brian Clayton, 10 September 2020

For the Antarctic Expeditions in the early 1900's, overprinted penny stamps of Colonial New Zealand were made available for franked correspondence to New Zealand. The 1908 Shackleton expedition overprint was "King Edward VII Land" in two vertical lines. The stamps were used on board the expedition ship Nimrod and at the Cape Royds base in Mc Murdo Sound. Due to adverse weather conditions, Shackleton landed in Victoria Land rather than the intended destination. The 1911 Scott expedition used stamps of The Dominion of New Zealand overprinted "Victoria Land". They were used at the Cape Evans base on Mc Murdo sound and on the Terra Nova. Members thanked President Brian Clayton for his display.

"Three Engravers": Douglas Harvey. 20 August 2020

The display centred on three engravers with the initials "N", "P" and "S". Presented in chronological order, Jules Piel came first. The French engraver was most noted for the Christmas Red Cross issues. After his retirement in 1958, Pierre Gandon engraved the later stamps. Czeslaw Slania is regarded as the greatest stamp engraver of all time. Born in Poland, most of his working life was spent in Sweden and he engraved over 1000 stamps. He has been suceeded by Piotr Naszarkowski, who also migrated from Poland to Sweden. President Brian Clayton thanked the speaker.

"Crete"; Richard Capon, 13 August 2020

This event included an introduction to using the video software, followed by a prepared display. Stamps of Crete were shown, commencing with the provisional government issues of 1900. From 1908, these were overprinted "Greece". Issues from Austrian Post Offices from 1903 to 1914, which were also used in the Turkish Empire, were sold in French currency, as were the issues from French Post Offices in 1902-3. Finally, Italian Post Office issues were shown with overprinted Italian stamps. President Brian Clayton thanked Richard and endorsed the decision to hold video conferencing meetings during this period, when the normal meeting venue cannot be used.

Crossword answers: 8:Penny black, 9: not a clue

DISCLAIMER: While every care is taken during the production of the reports, neither the editor or Society Officers can accept any liability for views or unintentional publication errors that may occur.

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