Author: lasoksmith

The First Underground Railway

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)

The Faroe Islands and their Posts

Located 320 kilometres north-northwest of the United Kingdom, the Faroe Islands have a total area of around 1,400 square kilometres, and as of 2023 a population of 54,676. Whilst part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Islands have extensive autonomy apart from matters of defence, justice, currency and some aspects of foreign affairs. The official language is Faroese, closely related to Icelandic.

Until 1870 the Denmark-Icelandic packet used to stop once or twice a year at the harbour in Torshavn the capital city.  In 1870 regular sailings between Copenhagen and the Faroe Islands commenced. With these sailings a charge began to be made for carrying mail and this therefore is reasonably the start of Faroe Islands postal history.

In articles published in August 7th and 2oth issues of Stamp Collecting Weekly in 1965, Ernest H. Wise provides a detailed account of the postal history of the Faroe Islands. In a further article published in the August 27th issue and following a holiday he had had on the Islands he describes the Postal Service as it was in 1965.

Both articles can be downloaded from the links below

The Faroe Islands and their Posts

The Faroe Islands and their Posts in 1965

 

India Used in Burma, 1825-1900

Burma was created as a province of British India in 1824. The articles published in Stamp Collecting Weekly February 11th and 18th 1950 by authors J.W. Halstead and V. A. Rowe cover the Postal History during one of the most turbulent periods of this outpost of the Empire, in which there were no less than three Anglo-Burmese wars.

The articles can be downloaded from the link below

India Used in Burma, 1825-1900

India Used in Burma additional information

Some more detail on history of the wars can be found from links in the Wikipedia attachment below.

The British colonial rule in Burma lasted from 1824 to 1948, from the successive three Anglo-Burmese wars through the creation of Burma as a province of British India to the establishment of an independently administered colony, and finally independence. The region under British control was known as British Burma, and officially known as Burma  from 1886. Various portions of Burmese territories, including Arakan and Tenasserim, were annexed by the British after their victory in the First Anglo-Burmese War; Lower Burma was annexed in 1852 after the Second Anglo-Burmese War. The annexed territories were designated the minor province (a chief commissionership) of British Burma in 1862.

After the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, Upper Burma was annexed, and the following year, the province of Burma in British India was created, becoming a major province (a lieutenant-governorship) in 1897. This arrangement lasted until 1937, when Burma began to be administered separately by the Burma Office under the Secretary of State for India and Burma. British rule was disrupted during the Japanese occupation of much of the country during World War II. Burma achieved independence from British rule on 4 January 1948

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_rule_in_Burma

 

 

1940 Australian Imperial Forces. 1d “Die Types”

Browsing Stamp Collecting Weekly February 18th issue from 1950 I came across just a half page article by H.S. Hughes:

“The Types of Penny Value of the War Effort Issue”

In this article 4 readily identifiable  “types” of the 1d value are described. The differences relating to appearance of the outer frame line. Hughes wonders whether these features represent 4 distinct Die types or whether they are the result of progressive wear of one original Die.

Having undertaken my own brief “research” I find no reference to the features described by Hughes in established and common reference works (SG Specialised Commonwealth Catalogue, Brusden & White Specialised George VI catalogue and the Murray Payne specialised George VI catalogue).

Having also browsed through listings of the Imperial Forces Issue on eBay I have found examples of 3 of the types described by Hughes and also found the Type 4 to be easily the commonest and saw no examples of Type 2.

I may well just be advertising my ignorance of the topic to Australia specialists. None the less even though only half a page I feel very worthy of being archived.

The article can be downloaded from link below.

The Types of the Penny Value of the War Effort Issue

The Ionian Islands in Philatelic Retrospect

Due to their geographical implications, with Corfu effectively guarding entrance to the Adriatic, the history of ownership of this relatively small group of islands has been volatile over the centuries. Initially settled by Greeks in 1200 BC, over the centuries; Romans, Venetians, the French, the British (the United Statews of the Ionian Islands), Italians (WWII occupation) and Germans (WWII occupation) have variously laid claim.

In a short series of articles published in Stamp Collecting Weekly in 1949 in the August 6th,13th and 20th issues “Philhellene” detailed some of the philatelic ramifications as they related to various powers.

The articles may be downloaded from the link below

The Ionian Islands in Philatelic Retrospect

Rare Yemen & Sudan Cancellations and Forgeries

Major T.L.C. Tomkins was a prolific writer on matters relating to Arabian Postal History. His epic article “The Postal History of the Persian Gulf” is already in The Philatelic Record archive.

Two small pieces he wrote, appearing in the July 9th and July 23rd issues of Stamp Collecting Weekly from 1949 describe and discuss some cancellation discoveries and possible “Camel” forgeries.  A small supplementary entry in the September 3rd issue of Stamp Collecting Weekly that year resolves the situation regarding the forgeries.

The articles can be downloaded from the links below.

The Story of D’Thala

Some Sudan Mysteries

An article published in the March 18th issue of Stamp Collecting Weekly by Harold G.D. Gisburn discussed the forgeries of the first definitive issue of Sudan with advice on how many of these may be readily detected.

This article can be downloaded from the link below

Forgeries of the First Sudanese Issue

Great Britain “Officials”

The origins of the need for a means of accounting for increasing volumes of mail that the Post Office handled on behalf of govenrnment departments (a service that had historically been provided free) is outlined in a short series of articles by A.M. Beatson published in Stamp Collecting Weekly between July 9th and August 6th 1949. An account is then provided for each of the 85 stamps that were overprinted during the Victorian and Edwardian era for eight departments; Inland Revenue, Office of Works, War Office, Board of Education, Royal Household, Admiralty, Board of Trade, and Stationery Office. There was also a Government Parcels overprint that was used by all departments for packages over 3 lbs in weight.

The series of articles can be downloaded from the link below.

Great Britain “Officials”

 

 

The Collectability of South Africa & The South African Halfpenny Springbok

In the January 29th issue of Stamp Collecting Weekly in 1965 , R.D. Allen the then Honorary Editor of “The Springbok”, the Journal of the South African Collectors’ Society wrote a short article  The Collectability of South Africa. The first paragraph seemingly a   lament for the paucity of items listed in readily  available literature and the lack of interest this was likely to engender for South African philately.  He then tried to reassure and give hope that despite this apparent paucity there was actually sufficient material to entertain serious study.

In the January 11th issue of Stamp Collectiung Weekly, 1968 an article The South African Halfpenny Springbok by A. Sterckx, provided further reassurance if it were needed that South Africa did indeed provide much to allow serious study.

Both articles can be downloaded from the links below

The Collectability of South Africa

The South African Halfpenny Springbok

 

The Influence of the Variety

This article from the December 23rd 1950 issue of Stamp Collecting Weekly is thought provoking and perhaps strangely enlightening. Although the content is entirely related to the title of the work, many, as I was, may be suprised at the directiion in which it travels. Rather than it being some “academic” study, the author Dr J. L. Grumbridge O.B.E. has adopted an overtly “philosphical” approach to the subject.

An article worthy of a “must read” recommendation it can be downloaded from the link below.

The Influence of the Variety

 

Postal Markings of Normandy

The province of Normandy has a distinct history and perhaps more connection with Britain than the rest of France. Most of this history predates any formal postal service. In an article published in Philatelic Magazine December 23rd 1965 by William Piggott, the author provides a brief account of the history of the province and then provides some detail with regards the early postal history from 1792.

The article can be downloaded from the link below

Postal Markings of Normandy