Plastic bag to protect overweighted magazine

Stamp Magazine, whose is now part of another compagny, was overloaded for the January 2011 issue: the magazine of course, a promotional paper, Stanley Gibbons seasonal bag of promotions, another one from another stamp dealer...

... and the plastic bag exploded during the trip.

Here is the yellow bag inside which the magazine and accessories were put by the French post operator.

No datestamp was marked... the magazine was not belated. No reinscribing of the address as it can be read on the initial bag.


On this topic of British magazine sending, I note that, for 2 issues, Gibbons Stamp Monthly arrived one to two later than before... Quelle honte!

Currency exchange in Londonian Monaco

To see, at London 2010, I bought the ASCAT stamp issued by the Monaco Postage Stamp Issues Office.

About the topic of this stamp: William H. Gross, businessman, collector in its own pasttime and generous philanthrop. As soon as he achived a fantasy of having a complete collection, he soldit in the benefit of humanitarian organisations. Last year, the association of philatelic publishing houses, he was honored by their award.

About my curiosity: at the OETP stand, the 1.35 euro stamp was sold 1.35 pound sterling. At an exchange rate of 1 pound for 1.13 to 1.30 euro, a small benefit either for the cost of being at the fair or to avoid huger postage cost to their clients.

The stand was located in a square room that completed the great hall and the catwalks. You could find the second café, the Post Office counter, Stamp & Coin Mart, Monaco and Australia, and some non European dealers.

Philatelic magazines at stamp shows

In Paris, a new "Stamps Planet" show is currently happening without - again - a stand for Timbres magazine. Some years ago, the redaction told the cost of the stand and moved stock was not worth the number of daily visitors during the whole week. Yet there are always present at the Paris Autumn Stamp Show.

Competitors L'Écho, whose website is always in labor, is certainly looking for new subscribers on a more commercial then philatelic stand... or being rattached to Yvert's, its owner.

The Fed Fse Assoc Philat (they signed La Poste's Charter, good call...) missed some letters in its name, but surely distribute its Philatélie française to youngersters and newbies. They will be automaticly subscribers when they participated to an Assoc Philats.


Over the Channel, at the Festival of Stamps 2010, from 8 to 15 May, the three main magazines were present, even on a little corner.

The most simple: Gibbons Stamp Monthly sold inside the Stanley Gibbons stand. Hugh Jefferies, editor- and salesman-in-chief was quite approachable every day all around the show.

Stamp & Coin Mart, Collectors Club of Great Britain's philatelic and numismatic publication, was well represented by a very polite and charming women (not in the Monaco fashion). She was not forcing the subscription, but proposed as a test the last three issues with a discount: 1 pound sterling the issue instead of 3.10.

A draw was proposed too. To win: a day at Bletchey Park, a spy place of World War Two in conjonction with the Britain Alone stamp issue.

A draw again with Stamp Magazine for an unused collection of George V stamps.

Certainly, as Timbres magazine, this company finds the financial cost important, but they were there! Not even a stand, but two lively-and-cheerfully-managed square meters with two chairs, a coffee table, some anniversary issues to be sold, an urn. Little yes, but right at the sole exit :)


I love the British commercial sense.

Eurovision topical collection expanding

Tonight, in Norway, the final of the 55th Eurovision Song Contest will take place.

After Finland and its 2007 victory, not very appreciated by French television animators, Norway issued this 18 May a four stamp series about its winners,including the last one: Alexander Rybak.

(Posten.no)

Eurovision 2009 - Norvège winner (Norway) - Alexander Rybak
envoyé par haribo1912. - Clip, interview et concert.

What is the more laughable in the winner song video is the final comment by French presenter: "he may perhaps finish ahead of Patricia Kass" (the French singering proposed a requiem last year...).

Results of the 2010 London Philatelic Games

I am back from a London week end and a profesional run away to Southern Italy.

Quickly after the doors closed, Saturday 15 May 2010, the palmares of the competitive exhibition of 2010 London stamp show were published. The Grand Prix was incarnated by a reproduction of Arnold Machin's depiction of the Queen's head, offered by the
Royal Philatelic Society London.

This Grand Prix was won by a British indigeneous with a study of the first line engraved stamps. More original would have been the choice of 19th century Korea or San Francisco as a postal hub in the same period.

French speaking philatelists would be please to know that Miss Livie-Laure Tillard (expert's daughter) won the youth prize with her presentation of the Marianne du Bicentenaire overprinted for use in Saint Pierre et Miquelon.

Soon: tales of a stay in London, a little line of the Italian one and too much more on the little stories of the always surprising φrench φlatelic pond (that can not be let alone for a dozen days...).

Marziano, French dealer and librarian

Pascal Marziano is a French collector, expert, hunter, and consequently, dealer of modern stamps and oddities. He just opens his commercial website.

What could I find while I am not very interested in recent definitive freaks and three-zero philatelic orders?

A bookshop... where the note for each sold book will be kept online to help specialists and curious people know what are the tools of their passion.

A thank to one expert of France's new generation.

Ooooooooooooooooooh!

Norvic Philatelics finally got a better depiction of the King George V Accession stamp to be issued just before the London Festival of Stamps' exhibition, from 8 to 15 May 2010.

Royal Mail via Norvic Philatelics.

A touch of Braille

It is not because Gibbons Stamp Monthly's editor in chief did not appreciated the boisterous euro coin sale near his stand at MonacoPhil that he kept long grief against Monaco Stamp Issuing Office (OETP).

(OETP).

As soon as the March issue, here is a 2009 stamp of Monaco on the cover to announce Peter Jenning's topical article on the philatelic 200th anniversary of Louis Braille.

The OETP even bought a page of advertisment to announce his stand number at the Festival of Stamps, the international exhibition of London, from 8 to 16 May. And a good page: #6, after the content and before the news section.

And here you can see how the OETP Director changed: no more denuding muse to tease lascive mal...

(WNS)

...

My apologies: now the lady is almost completely undressed. But the goal is obviously artistic: it is on a stamp reproducing one of the great Monte-Carlo posters.

On the ad, that stamp is surrounded by eleven fake red British phone boxe stamps.

Everything put inside a square.

One message: number of the stamp, no name of the exhibition, and the OETP name and e-mail contacts.

The last campaign from the previous director or an attenuated version of the campaign by his successor?

Contemporary art and best wishes

Frankly, who can think one's receiving best wishes with that stamp on the cover?

I know that I have a profound ununderstanding of contemporary,
but frankly...

Here, yes it is childish, very traditional,
but the message stamp clearly announces the message.

Ascending topical collection followed Abbot Pierre's death

Abbot Pierre (1912-2007) was an important voice in France, having call the need to help the poorest and homeless people. From his death in 2007, he quickly became the subject of topical philately. A fact that certainly origins from his Foundation's need of donation and from La Poste's need to promote its spam-mail and stamp printing expertises.

Detail of the roofs and chimneys under which one is in the warm,
the main goal of Abbot Pierre's fight.
Notice the ondulating stamp separation,
proof that this stamp is autoadhesive and not the gummed version
(design from photograph and engraving: Claude Andréotto).

With the help of Google, I retrieved Dominique's Blog philatélie articles on Abbot Pierre's recent philatelic career.

21 June 2008 : the Foundation ordered MonTimbraMoi stamps, the French personalised stamps. The idea is known of firms, their public relation offices and of La Poste: stamp = human sending = I open the spam that I used to throw directly in the garbage = more receivers are going to answer.

7 October 2008 : same stamp, it seems, but the personalised stamp expert can see an IDtimbre, the personalised service aimed at firms and companies. Here in an offset version for 150000+ stamps. Spring test was efficient.

23 December 2008 : let's try to illustrate a stationery. The stamps are expensive though = back to the less sexy Destineo service markings + illustration à la stamp = same effect than before with some money saved.

17 June 2009 : certainly the Foundation and La Poste noticed that the philatelic pond was eagerly (in all the senses of that word) watching the experiments. Let's be compensationate with the frogs: creation of a IDtimbre collector. A minisheet of four of those personalised stamps to be sold to collectors and donators.

26 September 2009 : the Foundation being such a good client (and to be more profitable), let's make a personalised stamp in a unexpected rate (Destineo 35 grams) printed in only one step against two for the other personalisations (the legal mentions, then the picture ordered).

12 December 2009 : there must be a philatelist at the Foundation. Cinderellas on covers were created to distribute the pamphlet in streets, mail boxes and car windows.

Fondation Abbé Pierre used every stamp it can
to promote its goals
(thank you Laurence for your garbage).

26 January 2010 : no more order (or offering) of personalised stamps because the State and Phil@poste issued a φ-stamp - or "gummed commemorative" in old-philatelic language. But the client is King: autoadhesive being more useful for the Foundation's volunteers.


And there are the covers before 2008 with their illustrations and mottos, the stationery-for-answer, etc.

And as every collection must have its precursors, here, look for a 1994 Uruguay stamp.

Major philatelic association quits French Federation

In the French philatelic pond, there is some turmoil whereas every one thought that the Great Charter of the Philately and the appearance of the golden cypher on the commemorative stamps were announcing great times of happiness.

The Union marcophile, one of French main topical associations (contrary to the numerous geographical ones), is going to resign the French Philatelic Associations Federation. The conflict began with a confidence problem on where the UM could be host. It finished in a mail consultation last January: 80% of the members who answered agreed with leaving.

It restarts, here and there, once again, the unending debate on the role of the Federation when La Poste controlled all main philatelic debate, especially when selling stamps is the topic.

Which consequences of UM leaving FFAP?

A thousand of members times some euros of federal stamps... the Federal treasurer will announced at the next Congress in June 2010 how many stamp souvenirs the federated associations must sell to compensate.

Little effects for the UM members individually: they are members of other associations and will have a federal stamp to participate in official exhibition. That seems to be the main motivation to keep in an association.

Maybe Marcophilex, UM annual exhibition, will be more difficult to organise without the financial and jury help of the Federation and its postal partners?

I stand very far of these association topics, but it seems to me that the relations between individual members, federated associations and the national federation are not conflictuous in the United Kingdom or the United States (and in the latter case, money use is very surveyed by members).

Another country, another more understood and useful role for the federation?