Author: lasoksmith

Part-Perforated Southern Rhodesian “Admirals”

THE PHILATELIC REGISTER is owned, published and edited by Ian Lasok-Smith

Contact Address: 6 Hough Green, Chester, CH4 8JG.  Email: [email protected]

ThePhilatelicRegister.com has replaced the montly issue of The Philatelic Register. The change in format has been dictated by the need to have a format that is more sustainable with regards the time required to keep it updated. As was The Philatelic Register, this evolving resource is FREE, users just need to register (only name and email address required) on the site to gain full access to article content.  All articles may be downloaded and printed or saved to PC. The site has been constructed on a WordPress platform and as such  has afforded much more versatility and new opportunites compared with original format.

I hope that as it evolves this new format will make it easier to fulfill the “Mission Statement” that encompasses the inspiration behind the original idea.

REGISTRATION:  The registration process on this site has default email verification, this cannot be bypassed.  Please check your spam folder if not received. If not in spam folder please advise me on  [email protected] using the email address you used at registration. I will then manually validate your account ASAP.  Please allow at least 48 hours for manual registration before contacting again.

(you may see reference to your profile at times when logging in or out. This has no effective relevance as the only details that those registering are able to enter are their name and email address. I have intentionally kept personal details to the practical minimum)

LOGIN:  This website has a default plugin to prevent malware or Distributed Denial of Service attacks. This security measure cannot be removed or deactivated. If subscribers make too many logins in a short period of time they may receive an “Access Denied” message. To try and mitigate subscribers inadvertently falling victim of this, I have set the inactivity logout at 60 minutes. Therefore if you need to leave the site for a short period of time you should likely not need to login again on your return.

If it so happens that you do receive an “Access Denied” message you will need to wait 30 minutes or so before attempting to log in again.

If you receive such a message on your first attempted login during a session it is likely to reflect the number of others logging in around the same time.

There will be an option to post comments on selected postings. It is hoped that by requiring registration it will discourage the leaving of inappropriate comments and mitigate the need for moderation of posts prior to publication. This would delay the publication and potentially devalue the facility if a posting would benefit from an early response (at times the facility to moderate comments may be activated if it is likely I will not be able to monitor for a while). As administrator I reserve the right to remove any post without need to give reason. Those deemed to be “abusing” the facility will have their registration revoked.

The most important purpose of the site is to provide a varied and expanding repository of knowledge and in doing so also try to recognise and preserve the work of many dedicated philatelists over the years. There will be regular postings but not at any specified times. The most recent postings appearing in “Latest Postings” in the sidebar.

The content of the site will be fully searchable using the search engine on the site.

Ian Lasok-Smith.  Owner, Publisher and Editor “The Philatelic Register”

Philatelic Traders Society (Gold Membership)

Mauritius Packet Services

Mauritius was seized from France by Britain in 1810. The early postal history of the island group in the southern Indian Ocean has an almost mythological status.

The links below contain a few articles relating to the Packet Services running from the 1840s to the 1860s. By James Ruffle and C. Tabeart they  were published in Stamp Collecting Weekly in 1975

Maritius- The Early Packet Services

Mauritius – UK Mail and the P & O: 1857-1866

GB ½d Vermilion: Junk and Non-Junk

From its issue on 1st January 1887 up until 1900 a total of 56,225,900 sheets each of 240 stamps of the ½d vermilion of the Victoria  “Jubilee” issue were printed. This providing a total of 13,494,216,700 stamps.

The enormous number produced provides a clue to the “Junk” part of the title of an article on the issue, written by Frank Walsham and published in the August 21st 1975 issue of Stamp Collecting Weekly. However the article seeks to provide inspiration (and encouragement for those on a budget) for those looking for an area of interest to develop. Mr Walsham outlines a number of the opportunities provided by the issue, the “Non-Junk” part of the title. These include; Marginal rules, plate flaws, controls, cancellations, underprints, overprints, used abroad and Perfins.

The complete article and some coments generated and published in the “Quoting You” sections of Stamp Collecting Weekly can be downloaded from the link below.

GB ½d Vermilion: Junk and Non-Junk

Letters in All Four Corners

Why are there letters in all four corners of the stamp?

I include this article in the archive not so much due to its “enlightening” content but more so to illustrate the enthusiasm and participation that was evident amongst collectors in past years, and which is a core aim of The Philatelic Register.

The article by W. V. Evans in Stamp Collecting Weekly August 21st 1975 and some of the responses it generated can be downloaded from the link below.

Letters in All Four Corners

 

Peculiar Postmarks

Some may have it that the first cancellation used in Britain, the “Maltese Cross” was unusual. Although over the course of time there have been many different cancellations most have in the main been standardised.

In an article published in the April 9th 1965 issue of Stamp Collecting Weekly, D. R. Atkinson describes and illustrates a multitude of “Peculiar Postmarks” that have appeared. An attempt is made to describe and group the reasons why such postmarks appeared and suggests that many more may be hiding in plain sight.

The article can be downloaded from the link below.

Peculiar Postmarks

Varieties on King Edward VII Great Britain

An article by K. S. Dent in the December 28th issue of Stamp Collecting Weekly provides a fine example of the effort that many contributors in this era (mid 20th century) made to disemminate the findings of their labours.

In the article that discusses and describes value by value and printer to printer, varieties found on the Edward VII low value definitives the hand drawn illustrations just have to be admired.

The article can be downloaded from the link below

Varieties on King Edward VII Great Britain

France. The Inspiration of a Design.

A couple of articles written by Patience and Ian T. Hamilton, published in the July 22nd and December 2nd issues of Stamp Collecting Weekly provide  an insight in to a stamp collector’s approach resolving a travel dilemma.

Apparently having decided to again holiday in France our collectors were undecided as to precisely where they should journey. Therefore they turned to the stamp album for inspiration. Coming across the 5 Franc blue of the 1938-39 pictorial set and being taken by its design, Carcassone became the destination. The first article details the planning and experience of the Carcassone expedition. The second article describes the recording of holiday memories by way of assembling postmarks and cancellations from key places of interest.

The articles can be downloaded from the link below.

France. The Inspiration of a Design.

New Zealand Marine Post Office Markings

Between 1850 and 1860 the amount of mail arriving in New Zealand increased markedly. Up until then all post arriving and sent from New Zealand passed via Australia. Postal rates were high and a journey to and from Great Britain could take up to five months. In 1862 the Marine Post Office was opened in Auckland, tasked to deal with all matters of marine mail.

In a series of articles published in Stamp Collecting Weekly between January 7th and February 18th 1966, J. D. Riddell discusses in significant detail the ships, deatinations, postal rates and postal markings pertaining to the New Zealand Marine Post Office.

The articles can be downloaded from the link below.

New Zealand Marine Post Office Markings

The (New Zealand) Halfpenny Green Mount Cook: 1900-1909

Mount Cook (in Maori -“Aorangi” meaning “the cloud piercer”) is New Zealand’s highest mountain. It first appeared on the stamps of New Zealand on the ½d purple-brown of 1898.

In 1900 an anticpated increase in demand for the ½d value led to Waterlow & Sons being engaged to prepare four new plates adapted from the 1898 design. Printed in green, these Waterlow plates were in continuous use until 1907 and consequently were showing signs of wear. Perkins Bacon & Co were then commissioned to prepare a further four plates which were in use until stamps with the portrait of Edvard VII were issued in 1909.

A.B Johnstone in an article published in the February 24th issue of Stamp Collecting Weekly discusses in detail the production of the “Halfpenny Green Mount Cook” and describes with reference to watermarks, paper. mesh and plate flaws how each stamp can be placed in to one of 5 distinct groups.

The article can be downloaded from the link below

The Halfpenny Green Mount Cook: 1900-1909

 

Posts of the Concentration Camps and Ghettos

When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933 an essential task was to eliminate all political opponents. Jews were seen not only as opponents but also enemies and as such were arrested in such large numbers that existing prisons could not accomodate them. The “concentration” camp came to be. With the wartime extension of the Reich more and more camps were needed not only in Germany but also in countries that came under Germanm rule. Poland provided a particular problem as the number of Jews was such that transportation to camps was not practical. They were therefore concentrated in Ghettos.

In two articles published in the March 10th and March 17th issues of Stamp Collecting Weekly in 1967 Leonard Rickard provides some detail pertaining to postal regulations operating in these concentration camps and ghettos.

The articles can be downloaded from the link below.

Posts of the Concentration Camps and Ghettos