Kings of the Belgians

On the cover of Patrick Roegiers' The Spectacular History of the Kings of the Belgians, postage stamps were used : definitives and - at least - one commemorative (the second one picturing Leopold II).

(amazon.fr)

History of philately

Three reading advices about philately telling herself's history:

* Christian Boyer proposed, with scans of 19th century specialized papers, the origin of the word "philately" and the writings of the first philatelic authors, either in French or in English tongue. The website is looking for a translator to expand its part in English.

* Helen Morgan, wife of a Mauritian man, studied the history of the first stamps of Mauritius, late discovered by European collectors, so late that they thought the legend "Post Office" was their designer Barnard's mistake.

Blue Mauritius cover (amazon.co.uk)

Like the subtitle explains, she hunted these stamps through the 19th and 20th century references : quotations in philatelic papers, miraculous findings and disappearings, rumors of falsification, record bidings, etc. She painted, little by little, the pantheon of classic philately.

Adding to the sources and references (readable in text and at the end of the book), the author let her working sheets on a website, my third reading advice.

Have nice evenings near the fire.

To read again :
I discovered Helen Morgan's book at the same time as Nicholas Courtney's history of the Royal Philatelic Collection, I wrote about here.

Art of the engraved stamp: a blog

Since last December, the French association Art du timbre gravé (which promotes the issue of engraved/intaglio stamps by postal administrations) opens a blog to prepare the "états généraux de la philatélie". The latest is some sort of big forum, show and meeting in April 2008 to save French philately... or is it to protect French collectors from La Poste profits... or for some to shake hands with our president...

Whatever, I hope that the association's blog will go out of this first goal and speak about their goal: art of engraving, engraved stamps, etc.

Eat right for health

Previously, the pictorial cancellations of Canada I showed you were incitation to donate to the Red Cross, respect Sunday (either to rest or to pray). As soon as the 1950s, eating was an important step in the well-living that need to be recalled on mail:


The royal effigy changed around the 1950s: King George VI in uniform during the World War 2 (1942-1943 series) found a civil suit in 1949-1951 and a cameo on this 4 cents red. The series is issued again in 1950 with the words "POSTAGE - POSTES" erased.

The five portraits were inspired by Dorothy Wilding's pictures. She was a regular portraitist to the Royal Court. Her photographs appeared on many definitive and commemorative stamps in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

Fractions

Editorial coincidences, the two British philatelic magazines published articles about fractional face value stamps.

In December 2007 issue (obviously published mid-November 2007), Gibbons Stamp Monthly let three pages to Noel Davenhill to present the very low values of the Commonwealth since 1937. He did so in an historical and geographical manner. The title is the proverbial expression "A Farthing for Your Thoughts!"

The next month, in Stamp Magazine, David Wright wrote three pages on the fractional values of the United Kingdom, following a historical and numeral path: 1/2 d, 1 1/2 d, etc. The fourth page illustrated the Commonwealth's fractionals with others stamps than the competitor's article.

Have a good moment with these.

Note: in Paris, you find the two magazines around the 18-20th of each month at the WHSmith bookshop, Rivoli street, near the place de la Concorde.

Religious cancellation in Canada?

Unusual for a Frenchman used to laïcité, this pictorial cancellation want people to observe Sunday. Is it a religious or a social message? Go to church or do not be forced to work on Sunday?


Rimouski, where the cover was cancelled in 1950, can be found on the southern side of the Saint-Laurent estuary.

Pictorial cancellation of Canada: Red Cross

To look at other things than pictorial cancellations of France (an extinct race by now), let's see at a Canadian flamme :



made on the 3 March 1949 in Quebec city on a George VI stamp, it called to help the Canadian Red Cross. The adresses on the cover told us it was sent to an art school in Paris (whose covers seemed to fall into the stamp dealer's stock at the Carré Marigny, near the Champs-Élysées).

This cover was sent to a friend of mine by an association of veterans. It was franked with a precancel stamp, one of the orchid series. It is only the second one I achieve to get through relatives.

Orchids are à la mode in philately : outside precancels of France, Taiwan Post and Canada Post issued definitives series and commemoratives stamps about these flowers.

Philatelic postcard from Finland

Sent by a Postcrossing user, this philatelic postcard of 1987 reproduced, believing the sender, the most beautiful stamps of Finland and Åland designated by the public.

French games : which cancellation will you got?

Post a letter in France and imagine which cancellation you can obtain. Play lottery :)

From top to bottom:
* posted in the annex office of Maurin (commune of Lattes) and Toshiba coded cancellation #38395A (rappel) [19 January 2008: Claude Jamet wrote me that this code is for the Preparation and Distribution of the Mail Plateform (PPDC in French) of Saint-Jean-de-Védas, city that is very near of Maurin village. Geographically, these places and Montpellier are in a little area.];
* posted two days earlier at the prefecture post office, in Montpellier city center and non coded cancellation from the mail center [Montpellier mail center (the late 20th century historic one I would say) is in the South of this town territory] ;
* in Paris, cancellations remain very constant throughout the last years (NEC if I don't fail) whatever the mail center.

With these four examples, you have examples of stamps extract from three of the adhesive booklets issued in France in 2007.