Classical Greece and Antarctica, sidekicks of French philately

During the first 2016 semester, two French keen philatelists proposed conferences at the Collectors Club, the 120 year ols society of New York.

On Wednesday 2 March, Serge Kahn spoke of explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot's first expeditions to the Antarctica at the very beginning of the 20^th century. A conference massively illustrated with historic documents, but also mail posted all along the trips at ports of call in the Atlantic, at the countries' post office but British and French abroad offices too.

So a conference that can be of interest for collectors of Spain and Latin America. A question reminded that Britain has centralised archives of Captain Scott's expeditions in Cambridge, that organised philatelic exhibition.

Two weeks later, on Wednesday 16 March, Louis Fanchini made an impressive history and study of the Large Hermes Head stamps, the first of the Kingdom of Greece in October 1861. The French heritage is quite visible and understandable: the Greek order was engraved by the French Désiré-Albert Barre, son of France's first stamp engraver Jacques-Jean Barre, and printed in Paris at first.

It's noteworthy that Fanchini helped make the Wikipedian articles on this series in French and in English as complete as possible for a popular approach.

Both eminent philatelists (both long time elected members of the Académie, Kahn a polar philately judge and stamp show organiser) showed two popular sidekicks of the French philatelists: polar philately and foreign first stamps created in France).

The power point presentations can be read and video accessed from the Conferences page of the Collectors Club's website. Videos can also be found on the Vimeo's Club page: Kahn's here, Fanchini's there.


Note on Friday 26 August 2016:
Those who can access French monthly magazine Timbres can read in the September issue the final and tragic step of Charcot's life and boat by Gauthier Toulemonde, along a presentation and an interview of Serge Kahn.