Late August and early September 2017 on SébPhilatélie and in France

Tuesday 22 August: How to inkjet-print cancellations in Malaysia.
Interesting postcard received from Malaysia, sorted 29 June 2017 at the national mail center (Pusat Mel Nasional).

Stamp on fauna of the country and a cancel that be read (thank you Hasbullah and Postcrossing).

The cancel is shaped in the traditional round datestamp and can be read despite behing made of small black inkjet points. A model for British Royal Mail, the United States Postal Service and a few others.

Friday 25 August: Is electronic money the future of India?
After the harsh, surprising and - for many Indians - desperating demonetisation of the two highest banknote denomination last November by Prime Minister Modi. It was followed by weeks of daily problems for consumers, entrepreneurs, rural workers,... facing the lack of currency.

The Reserve Bank of India continues to print notes and issued new ones. Here the new 200 rupee one of late August 2017.

But among solutions found by them and encouraged by the federal government were electronic means of payment, through phones, direct from one bank account to another. To help this transition the governement proposed to use the Aadhaar, equivalent of the national social security number in many countries such as France, unique to a person from his birth onwards.

However the Supreme Court advices against this last point for fear that the right for privacy couldn't be respected: administrations being able to investigate people thank to the Aadhaar.

To be continued...

Saturday 2 September: To pay more to get the actual stamps of France?
After better looking and complete reissue of stamps at Paris-Philex exhibition in May 2016, I think the French philatelic service will again do it on the week-end of the 23rsd of September.

While the educative animated series has a lot of appeal, La Poste chose cinema pre-filming prep... (via Phil-Ouest.com).

For the 30th anniversary of the TV educative series Il était une fois... la vie (Once upon a time... was life) by Albert Barillé and, in 2018, the 40th of Il était une fois... l'homme, one stamp will be issued... not very connected to the series themselves but for three of their characters.

Entitled Hello Maestro! the stamp is in fact a commercial for the website established a few years ago from these series.

Do you wish to get stamps with the characters in action, explaining how the body works (...la vie) or the history of mankind (... l'homme)?

You'd have to buy the 9.80 euro collector (prepersonalised) booklet, meaning 2.50 euro above the postage value of the stamps.

Sunday 10 September: Initiation on recognising fraudulent stamp in Gibbons Stamp Monthly.
The September 2017 issue of Gibbons Stamp Monthly proposed three articles on false stamps: from pioneer Edward Loines Pemberton's writings told by Michael Peach to a tsunami of current Machin  definitives by Edward Klempka, through the Empire during King George V's reign with Dickon Pollard from Murray Payne dealership.

Wednesday 13 September: speaking of French reissue policy...
Finally and officially the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2024 Summer Olympic Games to Paris. The French post being a sponsor, a commemorative stamp was already issued last May 2017.

To mark the final honor around a fifth of that stamp printing was overprinted in blue with an Eiffel Tower, the cathedral of Lima (where the IOC Congress too place), the name of Lima and the date.

Hurry and dip deep: these stamps will be sold by complete sheet, only in actual places and for two weeks...

Again a speculation debate to come?

Weeks #2017.29 and 30 on SébPhilatélie

Tuesday 18 July: Latin America specialist Brian Moorhouse passed away.
On Saturday 15 July Brian Moorhouse died. He was a British dealer, expert and philatelist specialised in the Latin American continent and the Caribbean from the 19th century to the 1940s.

Christopher Colombus, the appropriate logotype of Brian Moorhouse's web shop.

Saturday 22 July: On new stamps of France: sculptures and gastron... Mediterranean nature.

A personal view on two issues - the EuroMed Postal of July and the Auguste Rodin commemorative of September - compared to former issues of France on the same topics or how Jersey Stamps treated nature through the bicentenary of the kaleidoscope.

Monday 24 July: Two articles on the economic margins of France.

Two articles in French were recently published on the web.

On Sunday 23 July, on La Marcophilie navale blog, Jean-Michel Bergougniou told the two first fishing campaigns (1981-1982) around the Kerguelen Islands, in the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, through mail and stamps.

The context was the tensions between French fishing companies, Newfoundland and Norway. The austral summer 1980-1981 campaign studied and experimented the zone. The next one brought back fish. For example the reader can follow Zélande 2 from France to the Austral Ocean via the Suez Canal.

 

A 25 rouble specimen sold in 2016 on CGB.fr website.

On Numismag, a coin and banknote collection news website, research articles are proposed too. Since Wednesday 19 July you can learn about the unissued Russian rouble banknotes of the Banque de l'Indo-Chine written after the author consulted the bank's archives, now in possession of Crédit agricole SA.

After the First World War Central and Eastern European countries were a geopolitical mess. In Siberia - the Asian parts of Russia - too: the British and French were helping the fight against the Bolcheviks... And it wasn't beautiful: French general Maurice Janin was sent to command the Czeckoslavak Legion that was in Russia at the time... and it seems it ended participating in the demise of a White Russian leader in Omsk.

Money was a problem in Civil War Russia: Imperial roubles still printed by the Bolcheviks were competing in the hands of the people with the Kerenski overturned government new roubles... In Omsk the White Russian authority was considering a sovereign issue of notes.

Like the British in Arkhangelsk, the French government wished to reassure the population with whom their military would have to trade. The Banque de l'Indo-Chine was ordered to open an agency in Vladivostock and issue banknotes in rouble, exchangeable in French francs (1 rouble for 60 centimes).

In 1919 the American Banknote Company was ordered to design and print the notes. But the military and political contingencies in Omsk delayed their issue. In the end they were destroyed in May 1920 in New York... but for specimen series that have been circulating on the market or that are stored in the Banque de l'Indo-Chine archives.

Thursday 27 July: Pre-UPU mail travel with James Van der Linden.
Thank to Vaccari bookshop I succeeded to find Belgian postal historian James Van der Linden's book - or collection - entitled Four Important Exchange Offices, published by La Marque postale in 2016.

The four main centers of the 19th century postal networks progressively established by European posts were, from West to East, Panama, Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen), Trieste and Suez.

Collectors will enjoy the 80 letters, postal historians the explanation on rates and marks, the curious one - me - the text putting all this in context.

Thanks to the author to help me on my slow way on 19th century postal history.

Weeks #2017.27 and 28 on SébPhilatélie

Saturday 8 July: Difficulties with fiscal stamps for Malians in Algeria.
On 21 April 2017 MaliActu.net news website published a plea from Malian citizens living and working in neighbouring Algeria.

A 500 CFA franc fiscal stamp of Mali (via MaliActu.net).

The Embassy in Algiers hadn't had stamps for months and its personnel refused to explain the causes, while Algiers and Bamako are weekly connected by flights.

Tuesday 11 July: A philatelic month.

With my recent dive in Tweeter to discover the social network tool, here are some news I gathered there.

In London:

At the general assembly on Thursday 22 June,  members of the Royal Philatelic Society London elected Belgian postal historian Patrick Maselis as its new President. ont élu le Belge Patrick Maselis président de l'association londonienne.

Already President of the Club of Monte Carlo which organised Monacophil and of the Royal Academy of Philately of Belgium, whose website proposed a complete biography.

Collectors of Belgian personalised stamps who are members of the RPSL will be thrilled :)

In Oaxaca, Mexico:
The MUFI (its Twitter account) celebrated its birthday at the same time as the philatelic exhibition on the seas and their fauna. Medias and institutions of Oaxaca broadcasted both events.

Saturday 1st July, Lisbeth Mejla of newspaper El Impartial reported her visit of the museum's library, rich with studies by Mexican philatelists and old editions of famous catalogues.

Presentation of the MUFI by Fundation Alfredo Harp Helú, posted Friday 7 July 2017 on youTube. 

And since Friday 7, Fundation Alfredo Harp Helú is proposing a video about the museum, its permanent collections, its activities for the children, its library.

In Algeria:
Thursday 6 July, in his weekly philatelic column in El Watan, Arslan Selmane wrote down his questions about the last commemorative minisheet by the Algerian Post. It is issued the same week end alongside its five separate stamps about Algerian battles against the French invasion, occupation and colonisation of the country from 1830 to 1962.

The questionable minisheet, issued Saturday 8 July 2017 (via the forum PhilatélieDz).

To summarize: apart from difficult-to-watch paintings on stamps, how will thematical philatelist exhibit the minisheet whereas there are events of two different periods, a variety of locations and war actors and strategies.

Selmane is continuing his enlighted criticism of Algeria's 2017 stamp program, in which minisheets are numerous.

French medias haven't seemed to notice the issue... Surely a good thing for public appeasement. Not for a serious look on French history, and for philately.

The final part of the article in French are proposition of magazines for the Summer, including for parents (and grand-parents) how to manage video games with their children.

Friday 14 July: a 12th Indonesia birthday for Postcrossing.
Bastille Day is Postcrossing Day too!

The 3 Indonesian stamps: travel through postcards with open computer windows to the world (1) of monuments (2) and cultures (3).

The written postcard exchange website is honored by the Indonesian post with a triptyc because a Postcrossing event will be organised during the international exhibition in Bandung (3-7 August).

Of course The Sebphilately Postcrossing catalogue was updated accordingly.

Saturday 15 July: a new stamp for Liverpool.
In his latest issue on contemporary architecture Royal Mail added one stamp about the city of Liverpool, one of the specialities of Séb.

The new façade of the Everyman Theater in Liverpool... If the picture went more to the left, another architecture marvel would appear, but it was already put on a stamp in 1969 (Royal Mail).

The Everyman Theater, opened 1964, was completely rebuilt between 2011 and 2014. Its new front presents pictures of Liverpuldians.

The theater is located on the northern part of Hope Street, a touristic promenade of Liverpool by itself. You will find the two cathedrals at both ends (the Anglican to the South, the Catholic next to the Everyman), sculptures and many important place of concerts and plays, including musical pubs.

Week #2007.26 on SébPhilatélie

Monday 26 June 2017: Jersey adds King George VI to the "Radiowave War" topic.
If you read French historians Alain Croix and Didier Guyvarc'h's research on stamps and the two world wars (here is a summary published on this blog), you know that some topics are philatelically more popular than others.

Concerning the role of media in these wars, they were surprised that the radio broadcasts were very rarely pictured, but for Charles de Gaulle and his Appeal of 18 June 1940.

The £2 minisheet that completes the 6 Jersey stamp series on King George VI, mostly an issue about the King of War.

That's why I consider noteworthy a recent issue of Jersey:  one stamp and the minisheet remind the role of radio broadcast during the reign of King George VI.

The movie The King's Speech popularised the story of the duke who became king against his will and speech handicap, but succeeded to dominate it. One proof was the speech the King gave on September 3rd when Britain entered in the war, whose official picture is reproduced on the minisheet.

La Guerre des ondes - the radiowave war - is the French expression for the propaganda conflict through the radio broadcast. Mainly the BBC-supported shows performed by many governments in exile facing the Nazi German allies' radio. For the French listeners it was between La France aux Français in London versus Radio Paris. A 2014 telefilm by Laurent Jaoui for France 3 told the violent words exchanged by Free French humorist Pierre Dac and Vichy Minister of Information Philippe Henriot.

Wednesday 28 June 2017: commercial designers Pieter Huveneers passed away at 92.
Born in the Netherlands in 1925, living in Australia since the sixties until he died 14 June 2017, Pieter Huveneers was important on postal matters, having worked for the British Post Office promotional campaigns in the fifties.

Internal campaign of 1952, encouraging British postmen to urgently deliver telegrams (British Postal Museum & Archive blog, archive POST 110/1611, IRP 056).

Although his posters are renowned, Huveneers thought campaigns as a whole process, encouraging the companies to send one of their employees at his studio, so that the spirit of the campaign be continued after the end of his task.

In Australia he designed the logotype of Australia Post in 1975, still in use today.

Saturday 1 July: Luxembourg forgot its identity between wish to please superpowers.
On Thurday 29 June German monthly Deutsche Briefmarken-Zeitung announced that Post Luxembourg was taking out of sale the Europa two stamps issued on 9 May.

The castle of Dommeldange, seat of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Luxembourg (Post Luxembourg).

The cause: the name of the issuing country was forgotten between designer Ben Carter, an Englishman living in the Grand-Duchy, and the Belgian Post printing plant in Malines, without the Luxembourgian philatelic service noticing...

New stamp design in the age of low mail writing...

The castle of Beggen, seat of the Embassy of the Federation of Russia in Luxembourg, rented in 1956, bought in 1973 (Post Luxembourg).

In the article in French I made fun of the wish of the fiscal paradise made in the European Union to become a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China or a subject of the Federation of Russia.

It could make sense in the world policy context of our days and that the only signs of sovereignty on the stamps were the Chinese communist and the Russian flags.

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.

Weeks #2017.17-18 on SébPhilatélie

Tuesday 25 April: A philatelist in Hôtel Matignon.
The Hôtel Matignon is the official residence of the French Prime Minister since it was confiscated and then bought to Austria after the First World War. A place in Paris that the Austrian Empire received from the Duchess of Galliera to serve as its embassy in the French capitale.

What is the connection to philately?

Ferrari on a 1968 stamp issued by  Liechtenstein (Colnect.com).

She was the mother of Philipp von Ferrary, the famous and excentric rare stamp collector who refused to inherit the title and wealth of his father.

His life and how his family perceived it (not good) is the object of an article by Jeremy Havardi, published in the May issue of Stamp Magazine.

Concerning the name of the first Prime Minister of 39 year old President Emmanuel Macron... Who knows? The answer will be given next Sunday after the presidential investiture.

Sunday 30 April: The little miseries of the British completist collectors.
The life of a British collector who wish to own a most complete collection of new issue from Royal Mail is already expensive. Lastly it's becoming quite awful.

The Guernsey philatelic service has begun to overprint its Post & Go stamps every time a cruise ship enters St. Peter's Port... but accepted with difficulties subscription to these series.

In Stamp Magazine dated May 2017 Richard West complained he received his 50 pounds worth mini-sheet of the last Her Majesty Accession Machin stamp... with two margins removed so that it could fit the Royal Mail order service's protection and envelope.

Finally, the two main blogs to be informed live on new British issues are dubitative in front of the next Mills issue next June. The stamps are focusing on England... South East England... very near London... As a caricature of the conservative don't-care of the country map. Whereas one stamp could have being a hit with Tolkien's fanatics.

English-able readers are invited to read Norvic Philatelics and The Commonwealth Stamp Opinion blogs for more details (precise links in the article in French).

Tuesday 2 May: Quick reading of the French National Exhibition palmares.
During the bank holiday week-end for Labor Day (1 May in France), the French Federation of Philatelic Associations gathered in Cholet, West of France, for Phila-France 2017 and his annual congress.

The palmares of the national exhibition is online over here.

The article in French is full of my curiosity in front of titles and topics in the list, unable I was to attend the show.

But the Grand Prix was awarded Olivier Gervais' collection on Luminescence on French definitive stamps (1959-2009), a major advancement for this speciality. Mr. Gervais is the author of an impressive website and updated blog on the topic. Now he exhibited , may his website be recognised by organised philatelic organisations...

On another philatelic specialist, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon expert Jean-Jacques Tillard got another gold medal... He is on a good way to the 200th gold with the Group series of the French territory near the Canadian coast. Note that Saint-Pierre will host a new international exhibition early June 2017.

Thursday 4 May: May the Stamp be with you.
On the Day of the Force and of Prince Philip's future retirement announcement - and anniversary week of the Penny Black issue in 1840, the Royal Philatelic Society London, the Philatelic Traders Society and many dealers, agencies, collectors join their forces for the first National Stamp Day Celebration of the United Kingdom.

The logo of the movement launched by the PTS and the RPSL (PTS website).

The monthly Stamp & Coin Mart proposed ideas to stamp collectors to get involve in this promoting effort of the hobby.

You can check two hastag words on Twitter to follow happenings and consequences: #stickastamp (thanks to Buckingham Covers' stickers) et #celebratestamps17.

Monday 8 May: French speaking Africa, a philatelic Bermuda Triangle?
On one Saturday, May 6th, three occasions show studying and collecting French speaking African recent stamps and postal history need patience and research.

This stamp of Niger is quoted 125 USD by Scott catalogue who doesn't know it uncancelled... Check low valued auctions for unused ones and your envelope shoebox... Who knows? (unused stamp via Hipstamp).

English speaking readers are invited to check the StampBoard.com's threads if they have information on the mysterious Tunisian Klussendorf-type ATM stamp (1999-2000) and Niger's Abdou Moumouni Dioffo stamp (1997) whose catalogue listings are non existent for the former, or seems to imply the greatest of scarcity unused, even rarity cancelled.

Why Ivory Coast issued a minisheet in 2001 for a Universal Postal Union Congress that never took place in Abidjan and two others in August 2015, four months after a UPU meeting in Geneva with an illustration of the post office in Grand Bassam, are the object of an article by Marc Parren in the May 2017 issue of The London Philatelist.

With historic and philatelic research, the author proposed to discover the recent political crisis in Ivory Coast, the military mail sent during the French and United Nations missions (the latter still continuing), and how the country succeeded to get the right to host the 2020 UPU Congress.

A French blog, La Poste aux armées, on military mail helps to complete Mr. Parren's paper: recently, the French field postal service was privatised into the "Service postal international pour la Défense" (SPID, Postal International Service for the Defense) and since 2012 served by a joint operation by the French post and Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company.

La Poste and Sodexo's contract with the Ministry of Defense was extended for 4 years (announced last February).

Week #2017.16 on SébPhilatélie

Monday 17 April: How to promote stamps and coins from overseas territories.
New Caledonia and Bermuda are on the media road to promote their stamps and coins.

Matrixes of the 100 Pacific Franc coins: Marianne common face (here without the engraved year) and the New Caledonian and the French Polynesian faces. Wallis-et-Futuna using both (photograph by Alain Jeannin, La 1ère, March 2017).

For the French very autonomous collectivity the Director of Calédoscope, the philatelic agency, answered questions for monthly Atout timbres. The minting of Franc Pacifique coins was reported by public local channels France 3 and La 1ère late March.

In Bermuda the Director of the philatelic bureau Stanley Taylor participated in a promotion video ordered to BermudaMedia. It was published early this April on youTube. Mr Taylor is known to Gibbons Stamp Monthly's readers: Basil Herwald reported his meeting with him in the July 2015 issue.

Tuesday 18 April: music cinderella for Arthur Russell.
Thank to French public and eclectic music radio FIP (no, not the Fédération internationale de philatélie) - a sort of almost no talk BBC 6 Music - I encounter this stamped album cover.

Arthur's Landing album cover inspired by a certain philatelic era (Band Camp website of the label Strut).

Being a moron concerning music styles, listening to FIP while streetwalking helps me forget the traffic jam noises and to discover new things. The smartphone ear allows to see the album cover on the sleepmode screen.

That's how I disover this cinderella style cover: Arthur's Landing is an hommage album by friends of New York artist Arthur Russell (1951-1992), issued 2010-2011.

Philatelist of the Interwar Period would like the design ; those into aerophilately the motto in Latin.

Thursday 20 April: Proportional cancellations for proportional rates?
For 16 months now, the French post has been carrying pricing in proportion rates: 1 stamp for the 1st weightband, 2 for the second, etc.

Corner of a large envelope 250-500 grams, hence the four adhesive stamp block from an illustrated booklet, partially cancelled 31 January 2017.

But the machine cancellation in sorting office didn't change : a line for upper stuck stamps...

Saturday 22 April: Let's vote! And stamp.
After a far too long presidential campaign - primaries... - French citizens are enjoying an almost political free week-end: the law forbid candidates, parties, television and radio channels to express political messages.

A porte-timbre cinderella booklet for the 2012 presidential election createed and sold by HistoriaPhil.com, the website of the Éditions philatéliques européennes.

The most philatelist will try to create a presidential collection: see this interesting website Les Présidents de la République par les timbres or try every electoral April issue of French philatelic magazines since the first universal suffrage presidential election in 1969.

Sunday 23 April: newsbits in Paris and London.
In Paris, Mr Macr... Sorry, too strong is the force of media hypnosis.

The FFAP's Twitter page on Sunday 24 April 2017.

In the Parisian headquarters of the French Philatelic Associations Federation, someone rediscovered the insitution's got a Twitter account that was restarted March 22nd after three years of silence.

George James, Spink's philatelic specialist presents a collection for sale, on 18 April on youTube.

Let's enjoy this moment, a philatelic collection sale by London auction house Spink was the subject of a presentation video this past week: Arthur Gray's predecimal elizabethan Australia collection, with sketches, essays, stamps, varieties,...

A nice catalogue.