Weeks #2017.32 and 33 on SébPhilatélie

Monday 7 August: Should a stamp be altered to gain value?
A philatelic philosophic question that encompass traditional to today's commercial philately: should a stamp be altered to gain value?

Uncancelled and unfolded or folded on cover? How would you collect such a stamp? (Correos website).

Thoughts from many examples that make philately more famous than miles of new or cancelled stamp albums: from the alleged burning of the second known One Cent Guyana to the Spanish origami stamp of July 2017, and remembering many flowering-able stamps.

Saturday 12 August: No holidays for the French philatelic service.
Once upon a recent time Phil@poste, the French philatelic service, never issued stamps in August and was light with one or two touristic stamps in July.

The « sweet bitter intensity of chocolate », one of the 12 stamps by Cécile Gambini for The Taste booklet, issued Saturday 5 August 2017 (via Phil-Ouest.com).

This year a complete illustrated adhesive booklet was issued the first weekend of August and the first day of issue of Le Havre's 500th anniversary stamp happened past Thursday the 31st.

Hopefully other news happened in French Philately outside new stamps: French young philatelists gathered medals at the international exhibition in Bandung, Indonesia.

Tuesday 15 August: French and communists pastimes for British collectors.
Did you know The Association of Scottish Philatelic Societies edits stamp games to discover foreign language vocabulary?

The board of the stamp game in French createed by StampIT of The Association of Scottish Philatelic Societies.

This Summer its Youth Development - Stamp ID section added the French edition, joining Japanese and Spanish. The Language of Stamps board games can be freely downloaded and print-it-yourself on the ASPS website or solid games can be ordered.

In London from 17 October to March 2018 the British Museum will exhibit the communist part of its collection of banknotes. An interesting exercice to see how communist states have illustratede their ideals to the public.

This 1975 banknote of Somalia pictured all the roles a Somali woman should do: exhausting totalitarian multitasking or opening them the world? (British Museum via The Guardian).

The collections of the British Museum are a wonder thank to generations of curators and donators. It even includes postcards sent or bought by them like this Guardian article reminded last year. As for the banknotes the curator explained the differences for historians between the country and population as they are pictured on cards and as they eventually were.

Thursday 17 August: The 2017-2018 RPSL program.
The program of Thurday exhibitions and conferences was published on The Royal Philatelic Society London website.

The touch of the new President Patrick Maselis is quite visible, an interest in Belgium, Africa and Monaco, along established customs to invite other Societies to present their members' collections, from German postal historians to the philatelic academy of Russia.

First event, Thursday 14 September: The West Indies from the Queen's Royal Philatelic Collection, presented by its Keeper Michael Sefi.

Weeks #2017.31 on SébPhilatélie

Monday 31 July: Some news from philatelic societies.
The Royal Hispanic Philatelic Academy is publishing a special issue of his journal to mark its 40th anniversary.

On Thursday 27 July The Royal Philatelic Society London celebrated its library volunteers and employees with a special exhibition from their collections.

On Friday 28 July The Postal Museum finally opened in London, but know that the Mail Rail, the exhibition and travel through the former Post Office underground train will only be opened to the general public in September. Seems reservation for Mail Rail would be prudent.

In the middle of summer the New Zealand post office announced the Children's Health stamp series is discontinued due to sales being insufficient to donate enough to Stand ; 2016 would be the last one of a now complete collection.

The Swiss Postcrossing stamps (Postcrossing blog, 28 July 2017).

On 7 September the Swiss Post will issue three stamps - one per rate - about Postcrossing, the postcard blind exchange postcard website. Max Spring designed the humorous labels.

Friday 4 August: Being postal with Charles Bukowski.
Summer reading: Post Office by United States author Charles Bukowski who wrote quasi autobiography in some of his novels.

As it happened Bukowski, a free spirited man - spirit as the fumes of some beverages... -, was a postman and after a period of successful horse racing betting, a postal clerk sorting envelopes. Despite a reasonable efficiencies he wrote how some of the rules and regulations were alienating the staff.

A reflexion on inhumane modern fordism? Or an ode to laziness and easy pleasures?

Sunday 6 August: "175 proven stamp exhibiting tips" by Steven Zwillinger.
Another summer reading, but incomplete because of the nature of the book, this will guide a potential philatelic exhibitor into the preparation and the competition, hopefully, on "the path to gold".

The cover of The Path to Gold (American Association of Philatelic Exhibition website).

The very interesting and thought-inducing book by Steven Zwillinger was published 2016 by the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors and compiled his chronics he wrote for The Stamp Dealer & Collector from 2009 to 2016, and the publications of the AAPE.

From a detailed example of a synopsis (the text provided by the exhibitor to the jury) to etymologicly iconoclast ideas... or simply reminders that one should enjoy oneself's and the public's when exhibiting.

After I wrote my article on SébPhilatélie, I found that Steven Zwillinger was awarded a large silver medal for this book at the international exhibition in Bandung, Indonesia this August and was elected President of the American Philatelic Research Board of Trustess, which pilot the American Philatelic Society's Library in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

Week #2017.24 on SébPhilatélie

That week between 12 and 18 June 2017, nobody on the old continent can keep his eyes shut: Summer was here. And Winter was but a long-forgotten legend only the eldest spoke with glee to sceptical children who preferred to break open the fire hydrant in the burning streets of the capital...

Yes, I shouldn't bingewatch Game of Thrones during heatwave episodes :)

Monday 12 June: What's this stamp's message?!
Considering my two decade long career as French voter, I am still puzzled by the message of this stamp designed by Louis Briat in 1995.

Louis Briat's National Assembly stamp, issued 15 May 1995 (via Phil-Ouest.com).

It commemorated the bicentenary of the Directoire decree that decided the Council of Five-Hundred, the new lower chamber of the First Republic, be hosted in the Bourbon Palace, where the National Assembly sit to this day. Another stamp in 1998 marks the effective installation in the building in 1798.

But the meaning of the symbols... decided by the artist... ordered or accepted by the political and postal authorities...?

After two decades of political despair in front of my democracy, I concluded that the nightly blue palace kept Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People prisoner of the political elite.

Now, under the current Macronmania, I'm thinking that the People entered the sleepy palace to set the old political world ablaze... Not very Emmanuel Macron that idea... Is it a premonition of what would happen if he failed considering some of the new deputies: Le Pen and Mélenchon.

Tuesday 13 June: No stamp at the Oaxaca post office. What of the Museum?
I receive a holiday postcard from Oaxaca, Mexico. The sender was sad that no postage stamp was available at the post office of this city, famous for precolombian archeological settlements.

A Mexican counter label, 12 April 2017. The postcode 68001 corresponds to the current set of codes for Oaxaca city and state (thank you Sophie).

At least, it makes me get interested in the MUFI, the Museum of Philately, located in Oaxaca. Its website and Twitter account are quiet interesting to browse and follow.

Will this little fish stand still in his stamp? (MUFI's Twitter page, June 2017).

For example, yesterday Friday 23, the MUFI opened an exhibition on water and the sealife, displaying stamps of fishes like in an aquarium. And collectors of missing colors would like the little animation the MUFI team published with a Singapore 1960s error.

Wednesday 14 June: Uninspired stamps of France...
The article in French is the evil kin of the one published the same day in English.

While touristic stamps of France are often wonderful, inspired and sometimes looks innovative in treatment, commemorative anniversary are sometimes dull.

Why engraved a phi letter in the hand of a Queen of France? Fun with or against collectors? Or, I wish, an angry gesture by an engraver fed up by adding this stupid symbol on all commemorative stamps of France since 2010? I'm afraid the answer will be the former.

The main part of the article are about the centenary of the Lions Club. Too many postal operators just copy-paste the anniversary's or the organisation's logo. And have the gods of philately and good taste mercy for Monaco...

Simple designs yes, but useful design for the Lions Club (Jersey Stamps webshop).

Praise by Jersey Stamps! At least, this often accused of issuing too costly and useless stamps issued a six stamp series that explains what is a Lions Club for.

Thursday 15 June: Universal Mail stamp puzzled a French Muggle family.
A family from Nantes received a postcard from the son's friend visiting London.

The postcard and its many labels (Presse Océan).

The local newspaper Presse Ocean showed the card on 15 June explaining the problem and even that the French post couldn't explain it.

Philatelists will recognize a Universal Mail UK stamp, the private post that aimed at tourists' international postcards.

The sending family bought a booklet at any commodities in central London, but not a post office. Universal Mail franked card can be dropped in a Royal Mail box. At the sorting center, these cards are gathered and given back to Universal Mail that forwards them by anyway at the lower cost possible.

In this case, early April, the chosen route was lenghthy in distance and time: through Praha, Czech Republic. Hence the postage paid label with the Czech Post's logo.

Saturday 17 June: Royal June of travels.
Is it the Royal Philatelic Society London's June activities? Or my Summer-is-coming state of mind? For the second year in a row, I got travel inspired by the June articles and displays at 41 Devonshire, London.

I could only invite you to check the summary of the June issue of The London Philatelist, the last edited by Steve Jarvis, and the collection and talk by Frank Walton, his last as President of the society.

Weeks #2017.22-23 on SébPhilatélie

Ten days in June, before Summer hit the South of France (and the rest of Europe it seems).

Thursday 1st to Sunday 4 June: Interamerican exhibition in Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon.
During four days, the Club de Saint-Pierre (with a refurbished website) hosted its third international exhibition in this French overseas collectivity, SPM Expo, with six countries of the American continent attending.

The poster of the exhibit designed by Jean-Jacques Oliviéro (official website).

To follow the event the website and its blog were of course useful, and were reinforced by the local radio and television public channel, SPM 1ère.

A list of reports and interviews to watch back:
- Club president Stéphane Fouchard presented the event, the importance of exhibiting and the value of collecting stamps during the radio news on Thursday morning ;
- On the Wednesday evening tv news the mounting of the exhibit was reported ;
- On Friday the camera followed high school students training their Spanish with Jaime Benavides, the Mexican representative (on this link look for the 2 June 2017 edition), followed by Fouchard explaining this was the sole continental competition for 2017 and the impact for the archipelago ;
- On Sunday (article on Monday) a report of the award ceremony took place with the 109th and 110th medal and Grand Prix for Jean-Jacques Tillard and a gold medal for Loïc Detcheverry for Cancellations of Nova Scotia on stamps of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. Jim Taylor, President of The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada was interviewed too.

Sunday 4 June: 50 years of Machin, 10 years of philatelying in English.
A personal article on me and the English language. It dated well before I needing it for philatelic purposes, but since my first subscription to Stamp Magazine, English philatelic reading became quite addictive.

The June 2007 issue of Stamp Magazine that encouraged my continuing subscription.

The Machin series is to thank for too.

Wednesday 7 June: Were chocolate bar wrapping be recess-printed!
Warning: open class topic getting off-topic... but...

After many weeks of thoughts I finally opened and ate the Rococo Chocolates bar I bought last January in Chester (remember). A powerful taste for only 63% dark chocolate from Peru!

Okay, I admit, this item is damaged. I need to learn how to unmint chocolate packaging... Must be like carefully open envelopes.

Back to philately... Let's try at least.

The drawing outside and inside the cardboard wrapper are the same that of the shopping bags and could have been printed in intaglio.

The article was written to mark the day the Rococo Chester team opened its new premises: 118 Northgate.

Friday 9 June: Another souvenir of Frédéric Bazille's paintings.
Thank to Michel Soulié, President of the Montpellier Philatelic Association, I now held a 1980 souvenir edited by the association for the Day of the Stamp, inspired by The Pink Dress, another view of the Castelnau village by impressionist Frédéric Bazille.

Local Montpellier souvenir at the Day of the Stamp 1980, illustrated by G. Jeanjean, inspired by Frédéric Bazille.

Readers in the Americas could see paintings of Montpellier-born Bazille in Washington, D.C. until the 9th of July at the National Gallery of Art.

Sunday 11 June: The Postal Museum to open 28 July in London.
Finally - some almost waited 20 years - the Postal Museum is to open in London on Friday 28 July 2017.

More informations on the Museum's website and Twitter account.

Today, 21 June, there still some informations missing, especially how to book for the Mail Rail, the new attraction reactivating the former London postal underground train of the British Post Office.


After such ten days, Spring felt very well, the Winter children thought... But Summer was coming.

Week #2017.19 to 21 on SébPhilately and French television

Only five articles in three weeks?!

When we say that French people are lazy with all the May's Banking holidays while the summer sun's arriving too: Labour Day, Victory Day, Ascension, and soon Pentecost... For the latter two: yes, we boast ourselves of being a secular republic.

Thursday 11 May: Micro-Philippinian vs Macro-Russian stamps.
Two postcards, two very different stamps.

A stamp and a cancel very haphazardly made... But efficient and cost saving. Thank you Pascale for the postcard from Bohol island.

Size: 2.5 x 2.2 cm for PhilPost 2015 issue on its Mailing Center picturing the Central Post Office of the capital Manila. Even if the composition is a superposition of... unequal text, picture and logo. The cancel of the Tourist Center is not traditionall round, but very horizontal too.

Large 1997 painting of the "Russian" monastery in Mount Athos, autonomous orthodox enclave in Northern Greece. Thanl you Olga via Postcrossing.

The complete contrary to this large painting, gold shining, round and neatly cancelled 5 cm square stamp from Russia.

Dmitri Anatolyevich Belyukin, one of current institutional painter of the Federation, painted Saint Panteleimon, a monastery founded originally by monks from Russian plains in the 11th century. The printer did a very good job with these bright colors.

Saturday 13 May: Free French postal history in London.
In April the Stuart Rossiter Trust, a British foundation encouraging postal history research, published The Free French in London 1940-1945 by Peter A. Baker.

The announcing flyer.

In a 64 illustrated book, the author studies the mail from the forces, administrations and government gathered around Charles de Gaulle between 1940 and 1945.

9.50 British pounds plus postage.

If you are interested in postal history of the military and French episodes such as the French-Prussian War of 1870-1871, check the publications by or helped by the Trust.

Wednesday 17 May: 4 Android video games for Finlandia 2017.

The main page of the project: http://16tiko.projects.tamk.fi/en/

In the months before European philatelic exhibition Finlandia 2017, the museums of Tampere and the Tampere University of Applied Science worked together on a project for business information students: they had to create video games inspired by the museums.

The 25 games created can be downloaded and played on smartphones and tablets running with Android. On Google's Play Store look for the titles and help yourself with the icons.

Four of them are inspired by the Posti Museo, the Finnish postal museum opened Septembre 2014.

The postal and philatelic games' icons (site of the projet).

Two of them are "scrollers": you have to move the main character or boat on the screen to avoid obstacles and retrieve flying letters in Finnish landscapes and coasts (Postal History by NoClueGames) and mail barrels lost at sea (Castaway by North Star).

Again in Stampedu by Placeholdr Software (for stamp stampede), the player must follow the rythm of the game: letters of different rates are descending quicker and quicker. Would you succeed to frank them correctly while avoiding dangerous fuming black ones. Your reward: stamps!!! At least digitised ones by topics.

World of Stamps by Team Vasama will certainly interest elder collectors: quiz on countries and topics of stamps with stamps to collect as prizes.

An interesting initiative.

Monday 22 May: A philatelic counter in Luang Prabang, Laos.
Without being hopeful, a traveller friend of mine discovered that Luang Prabang has a philatelic counter for 55'000 inhabitants!

A philatelic counter in central Laos in French! A little sign in English will help the majority of tourists still writing postcards (with Tomath's autorisation).

Okay, the city and surroundings are touristic, with I am told fabulous falls and river beaches, including places worthy of a former royal capital.

Stamps bought there seem to spread from 2010 to 2015, Buddhist inspired as much as the 40th anniversary of the National Day with all the symbols of a communist people's régime.

Saturday 27 May: "Suomi! Finland in my heart... Forever!"
This week took place Finlandia 2017, an European exhibition, in Tampere where the Finnish postal museum was opened in September 2014 - remember: it opened with a correspondence exhibit that permitted a media frenzy minisheet.

Not able to attend, I summarize what stamp issues marked this event organised along the year of the centenary of Finland's independence.

Saturday 27 May p.m.: The many problems of first and last kilometers of transportation.
On Saturday early afternoon French public channel France 2 proposed an economic weekly magazine, Tout compte fait, on the transportation of food, mail and goods nowadays.

It summarizes with efficience how the city delivery by bike works (or not considering health and working insurance), how La Poste put its postmen at new tasks to find new revenue (delivering medicine, watching on city problems, visiting elderly), and how barges on river can help deliver goods and food in the country and inside the city.

The reports can be watched again at this address for a week after broadcast. But it may appear on the magazine's youTube page afterwards.

Londonian society looking for new iconic doorstep

Two weeks ago the council of the Royal Philatelic Society London voted on an important decision concerning its headquarters at 41 Devonshire Place, in the British capital.

Andrew Martin arriving at a certain doorstep to present the king and philatelist George V in  the recent philatelic Timeshift documentary (BBC Four, first broadcast Monday 14 November 2016).

President Frank Walton's message recalled the two decade long debate - speed up by the necessity these past six years - on how to fund the standards upgrading of the building open to members and visitors all year long: from all level accessibility to respect of the Heritage Listed obligation in the Marylebone area, including the modernisation of all networks (from the web to electricity).

A task that would have moved out everything for fifteen months. And in the end would have let the Society still with the problems of space for the library and the museum, and welcoming researchers and public.

One of the announcing poster for Stockholmia 2019, the 150 anniversary exhibition of the RPSL, with the famous door redesigned by Maria Gadh (exhibition website).

In the end the commercial value of the building is equal to the estimated cost of renovating it completely... The council decided to sell 41 Devonshire Place and find a new renovated and more spacious nest for all visitors, conferences, books, periodicals, archives, museum artefacts, personnel of the Society... if possible at the public transport crossroad in London.

41 Devonshire Place has been the Royal Philatelic Society London since 1925.

Week #2016.39 on SébPhilatélie and on the web

Monday 26 September 2016: Oh les timbres ! blog's back.

After a long pause, the French well-written topical blog Oh les timbres ! is back with daily articles inspired by the (numerous) new issues of the French Post and the news - even sad ones as the first article is about Nice after the terrorist attack on Bastille Day.

Monday again: new banknote, new generation in Britain.

Since Tuesday 13 September, the Bank of England is introducing banknotes in polymer: stronger, waterproof, cleaner because washable.

Can you spot the publicly known security features on the Winston Churchill 5 pounds note? (Flikr account of the Bank of England).

Be careful though, the Daily Mail journalist (?) James Smith lost 10 pounds: one fiver melted into the microwave, the other into the water tubes from a washmachine. Never play with money.

Friday 30 September: Remembrance of the Channel Island occupation by the Germans.

On Thursday 29, the Royal Philatelic Society London hosted a conference by Ron Brown on "The German Occupation of the Channel Islands 1940-1945". The first half was a traditional philatelic history on how the local authorities of Guernsey and Jersey managed the needs for stamps, with some liberty from the occupying forces.

On the other half, the paper became tragic with the stories of the arrest, captivity in French occupied prisons and even deportation to Nazi Germany camps of some Islanders for crimes of food stealing, listening to the BBC or for only being Jew. These lifes were recalled by Mr Brown with letters and cards sent to or by them.

The paper is available for all on the RPSL website (pdf file). Members (directly) and non-members (write the RPSL secretary) can access the video on youTube.

Sunday 2 October: British Museum's collection of Middle East postcards.

Last Monday 26, Maev Kennedy for The Guardian met St John Simpson, archeologist and British Museum curator for the Middle East collections, to be presented with the collections of postcards and thoughts on the future of this particular mean of communication.

Simpson has been putting some postcards into the exhibits to add views of the daily life of the countries involved, correspondence of European travellers. A new way to study history for today's historians, hence the 5000 card boxes the Museum is keeping.

But, the digital age is hard for postcard collectors and researchers: Tehran youth who doesn't know where the post office is, Bahrain shops not stocking postcards, a new generation of academians who never wrote and sent one...

France in the next Royal London philatelic season

I'm back from holidays through Wales, London and Paris and pleased to read in the mail the 2016-2017 program of the Royal Philatelic Society London.

On the French philatelic side, the main event will happen on the afternoon of Thursday November 24^thAcadémie de philatélie, whose president Robert Abensur just applied to RPSL membership.

French philately and postal history in the Small Library at RPSL's 41 Devonshire Place: this is the part directly available to members and visitors to study. Other volumes are available on demand and found on the RPSL Catalogue. The current magazines and journals are in the Large Library with tea and cookies (picture under Creative Commons licence by-nc-sa 3.0 fr).

On Thursday September 29, Ron Brown will propose a conference on the Channel Islands and islanders during the German occupation 1940-1945: from the postal service in those isles to the mail to and from deported inhabitants in camps in France and Germany.

Rest of the program in another (long?) article on the blog in French because next year the Society will take again a tour of the whole world and times of the past centuries. First example in the summer issue of The London Philatelist: Markand Dave and P.S. Dixit look at the Indian settlements' archives and mail of the Danish East India Company...

Complement on Wednesday 26 October 2016:
The Académie de philatélie published the program of the collective exhibition its French members and foreign correspondents will propose at the RPSL on November 24^th.

Week #2016.14 and 15 on SébPhilatélie

Summaries of the articles on the French side of my blogs that weren't adapted over here.

Sunday 3 April: British machine stamp to Spain while a British empire is falling down
Correos, the Spanish postal operator, will start using Post & Go like machine next week during a national exhibition. More at Norvic Philatelics' blog.

But on StampBoards.com, lots of people have been wondering what's happening to Stanley Gibbons since the group's current direction bought many philatelic businesses and an auction website whose refurbishment was costly. At the London stock exchange, this strategy seems not to attract investors...

Monday 11 April: rightless citizens of France in colonial Guyane
Thank to a France Culture programme, I discover historian Miranda Spieler who worked on how some inhabitants were living without their rights as citizens in French Guyana: freed slaves, former prisoners of the penal colony who cannot pay their trip back to Europe, etc.

What of their mail?

Tuesday 12 April: Fourth episode for RTÉ's Inside the GPO
This blog article is updated after every new episode of the Irish television on the Great Post Office of Dublin. In the fourth installment, last Tuesday, Christmas is almost near the postal employees, the clients and visitors of the music and carol happenings.

Saturday 16 April: Thursday 14th, a great USA day
On Thursday the American Philatelic Research Library announced the third stamp of the McCoy Inverted Jenny block of four have been found again on April 1st by the New York branch of Spink. Does that clear the mystery of the heist in 1955?

That same day at the Royal Philatelic Society London, Gordon Eubanks proposed a conference on the imperforated stamps of the United States from 1851 to 1856 - after the first two stamps of 1847. With a nice way of telling stories as well as describing classical stamps and their many types (my personal black beasts), he offered an introduction to these stamps and the postal history of the country, looking both at the West and to the British world economy.

Ancien Régime France and London technology at the RPSL

On Thursday March 31st, the Royal Philatelic Society London hosted two conferences.

During the tradition 5pm one, Christopher Hitchen presented "The Post in Paris up to the Revolution", that can be - to me at least - an introduction to French postal history before the Industrial Age.

The video of the conference can be watched on youTube here and a summary can be read on pdf by all visitors of the RPSL website.


Earlier in the afternoon, there was a presentation of the "digital services" proposed by the Society mainly to members, but to visitors and researchers too.


Mark Bailey described the content of the RPSL website and the intesresting elements reserved to members: links to live and on-demand youTube videos of the conferences.

The importance of web availibility of the 2015 conferences on youTube: dark blue the present at 41 Devonshire Place to exhibitions and conferences, light blue the web views of conferences (screen capture from Mark Bailey's presentation).

His presentation highlighted how important it was to non-Londoner and overseas members that exhibited collections and collections are now available online.


Then, with communicative enthusiasm, Geoffrey Eibl-Kaye showed how The London Philatelist Archival Edition's software works and helps the philatelist finds all the necessary past articles of the Society's journal. An edition that was refurbished software-side recently and now sold on memory stick.


Finally, Mark Copley presented the two in-house scanners. The Plusteck I discovered during my second visit at 41 Devonshire Place for my first study trip in the library. Don't forget your memory stick or laptop.

The Bookeye 4 by Image Access.

The new one, purchased thank to a donation, is the very professional Bookeye 4 by Image Access that can quickly scan an A2 size space. Very efficient to digitalise whole books, one of the current projects of the Society concerning archives and old books.

It can be used by philatelic associations for a small fee per scan or, if a volunteer is provided, against some scanning for the Society's project.


I thank Chris King, past president of the RPSL, who gave me permission to publish the links to the youTube videos (here and there if you missed them during the reading), usually reserved to members. Let's enjoy French postal history and the services of the Society!

Week #2016.09 on SébPhilatélie

Two articles of the French blog weren't translated or adapted here this past week. Here are summaries.

Wednesday March 2nd: The Crawford Library soon in the comfort of your home.
The March issue of The London Philatelist was sent with a supplement on the Crawford Library wrriten by British Library retired curator David Beech. He summarized the life and bibliophile generous passion of James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford - he gave his libraries of astronomy and philately to the nation.

Ex-libris of the Bibliotheca Lindesiana, commonly known as the Crawford Library or libraries (around 1900).

But the main parts of the booklet is how the Curator worked on the preservation of the Crawford Library from 1983 when he started his career at the Philatelic Collections of the British Museum, collections later moved into a new institution and building, the British Library.

On 30 May 2016 the next stage will be launched at the International Stamp Show in New York: a large part of the Crawford Library will be available on-line through the Royal Philatelic Society London managed Global Philatelic Library.

Wait for the red "British Library" sign, but for now you can look into the catalogue. It's believed the Library contains 95% of all philatelic publications of all kind by the beginning of the 20th century... Wait...

Addendum on Thursday 24th March 2016: The London Philatelist supplement can be read as a pdf file through the Global Philatelic Library website.


Saturday March 5th 2016: The mysterious Indian Ocean Philatelic Meetings.
Always named in French it seems, the Rencontres philatéliques de l'océan Indien are largely known to French and British Commonwealth through the 2014 joint issue between six postal countries: remember the turtle?

The six stamps put together in a commemorative document by the French philatelic service (scan by timbredujura.blogspot.fr).

Host to the 6th Rencontres, the French Southern and Antarctic Territories (TAAF) managed to create this issue, sure to be available in France (that is Mayotte and Réunion in the Indian Ocean), at the TAAF postal service to the scientific bases, and the Seychelles Postal Service. Postal agencies' websites of the Comoros aimed at financial and phone services, the one of Madagascar is trying to work since its birth late 2015...

Yesterday, I decided to resolve a problem: what are these Rencontres? What happened in the first five? Was there a 7th meeting in 2015?

Read the Google-only result on the French blog: it seems the idea of a French association, Association philatélique de l'océan Indien, succeeded beyond expectation. I managed to find intelligence about the Rencontres on French overseas départements and in Mauritius: school children and the general public were invited to discover philately through other domains of knowledge on the Indian Ocean nations' cultures and history, while the postal operators discussed cooperation between them.

I hope to find or read more about these Meetings.

Week #2016.06 on SébPhilatélie

A multi-topic week on the French side of the blog.

Tuesday February 9th: Day dreaming watching Stampex flyers.

Since Autumn 2015 Stampex I decided to collect The Philatelic Traders Society's 60 year old stamp shows in London.

Not stamps, not personalised label se-tenant, but marvellous (The Philatelic Traders Society).

You can find them thrown into British philatelic monthlies (when they arrive... February issue of Gibbons Stamp Monthly still travelling).

Friday February 12th: the French postmen get a bashing through light working journalists.

On Thursday, one minority way of working in the French post centers was the center of a mediatic hate news: they were accused of "leaving as soon as finished", hence having dangerous behaviors on the roads and against the quality of service.

It was all that these journalist morons get from a full report by the French Accounting Court's annual reports on how institutions, public firms and elected politicians managed the public money... For example how former Presidents and Prime Ministers still running for offices are costly.

Hopefully an economic journalist (or an intern I bet) at conservative-liberal Le Figaro succeed to summarize the report: postmen and postwomen were acknowledged their effort facing the downsize of sent mail. What the Court wonders is if La Poste's current diversification into social services (watch elderly mainly, help with new technology) can offer enough profits to pay the current workforce anyway.

Saturday February 13th: the Adelaide continuing Emergency Issue party explained to the French.

A longer and illustrated report on the past week discoveries about the Adelaide emergency issue of early January 2016. And me impatiently waiting for the dust to settle and some writer to produce the book of it. Article in English over here or live on StampBoards.com.

Sunday February 14th: Max Stern, stamp dealer of Melbourn, passed away.

An extended biography of the Melbourne philatelic community pillar for the French readers' knowledge. Summarized here in English or read Max Stern & Compagny "About us" page and the Australian Philatelic Federation's 2001 fellowship to Mr. Stern for more.

Week #2016.05 on SébPhilatélie

An eventful philatelic week on the French side of the blog.

Monday February 1st: alternate and counterfactual history on France Culture radio.
As a fan of alternate history fictions (uchronie in French), I suggest to listen to five shows (one on literature with a radio play, and four on history) broadcast by France Inter and France Culture, two public radio channels.

Tuesday February 2nd: stampede in Adelaide after the rise of the postal rates.

What should have been the novelty of Australia Post 2016 postal rates... (Australia Post). 

Easy to follow for English readers on StampBoards forums (here and there), I summarized the new postal rates of Australia Post and an unexpected consequence in Adelaide. And there was a lot to say: a rising from 70 cents to a dollar, and even 1.50 dollar with the new priority rate and label!

All this in a context of great unpopularity of the thank-to-his-post multimilionaire President of Australia Post and an established reputation of snail mail...

... what every philatelist is going to remember of it (scan by GlobalAdministrator posted on StampBoards).

On January 5th, the South Australian main post office decided an emergency issue to face a ragional shortage of 30 cent stamps: a stock of machine stamps - kept for philatelic occasions - was printed "30c Adelaide 2016"... You imagine that now some philatelists and dealers produced covers in the very first days of their discovery and are now looking for genuine letters in every corners of Adelaide.

This week a strip of unused six could reach a thousand Australian dollars, more for twelve with the two types of these labels (change in the position of the year), and up to 1'400 dollars for a 5-8 January cover.

Friday February 5th: Britain got his national Postal Museum back... in 2017.
In preparation for its grand reopening The Postal Museum brand is relaunched by the former British Postal Museum & Archive.

The new logotype of The Postal Museum.

Next year the museum will open near Mount Pleasant mail center, in London, with the underground mail train unveiled to visitors.

Saturday February 6th: the social postman, a new speciality of France.
Since the Direction of La Poste understood they had to find new activities to avoid firing postmen by the thousands, the walking-cycling-driving postmen received new charged tasks: check if the old lady's fine, take pictures for the insurance company,... A policy branded "Cohesio" as cohesion/solidarity.

Because French terrestrial television system (TNT) is going high-definition only next April, the national wave agency is advertising people to check the HD capacity of their TV sets. La Poste appears on the side because postmen are going to help the elderly and the disabled household install their new TNT-HD adaptator if they do not wish to renew their equipment.

Know that, a few months ago, the government was thinking upgrading postmen as driving licence inspectors to resolve the long waiting list of young would-be drivers...

Other update: Timbres Magazine's Gauthier Toulemonde again on national radio.
Finally, I updated an older article because the French philatelic monthly's editor-in-chief talked at lenghth of philately, geopolitics and make other guests speak of stamp souvenirs on Europe 1 last Monday. The previous appearances were listed here in my review in English of his special issue.

Here are the links: Europe 1 Social Club, and illustrated with stamps by Timbres Magazine's team: 1, 2 et 3.

And finally a fine author starts a blog.
Starting September 2015 Laurent Veglio has been writing a series of interesting and well illustrated articles for Timbres Magazine on how French Napoléon III-stamped mail followed the British Imperial maritime roads between 1850 and 1870.

He's got a small amount of postal history articles in Italian hosted by Il Postalista portal, and is going to translate them in French on a new blog. One of them, Austrian aerophilatelicly inspired, was published in Timbres in the February issue.

Have a nice week reading all this and my sources.

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 sold it 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.

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...).

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.

Finally, got some!

A little less than one year and a half after their introduction, some British labels arrived to me thank to Julia Lee of Stamp Magazine.

5,5 per 2,5 centimeters of Royal grace... thank you, mister Machin.

With the code (and Brian Sinnott), I could retrieve where this stamp was bought.

High Street Post Office, Croydon (Google Street View).

009013 designated the three Wincor-Nixdorf machines of High Street Post Office branch in Croydon, southern London. Very logical because Stamp Magazine's editorial offices are located on the 233, five hundreds meters further on the same street.

These three machines have been in service since November 10th, 2009. For this stamp, machine #3 served for its first service provided to its 5662th client session.