The Lady in The Moon

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)

Mars Exploration

There is now more and more discussion about manned missions to Mars.  Elon Musk and  his Spacex  organisation have this as their ultimate goal and indeed to build the infrastructure on the Martian surface to enable permanent colonisation.

For over 60 years satellites have been, with varying degrees of success travelling the 140 million miles to the planet. At present the only things to move on the surface have been robots.

In a series of articles kindly provided by the Astro Space Stamp Society and published in The Philatelic Register in  late 2021 / early 2022, man’s progress with Mars exploration was charted. These articles may be downloaded from the attachments below.

Mars. A Planet of Robots

Mars. First Steps Moving About

Mars. Advanced Surface Exploration

Mars. Currently Working on the Surface

Mars. Planet of Robots Conclusion

One Man’s War – Victor Broomhead

The Story of an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances.

Victor Broomhead was 20 years old and a trainee bus driver in Derbyshire in October 1939, when he received his call up for military service.

His first posting was to Palestine and although his unit was later transferrd to Cyprus, Victor himself was posted to Egypt and was consequently taken captive when the Afrika Korps over-ran Tobruk.

With the Germans preoccupied with prosecuting the war, they handed over prisoners to the Italians. After being transported across North Africa, Victor then spent time in an Italian prisoner of war camp in Tarhuna, south east of Tripoli.

As North Africa began to fall to the Allies, British prisoners of war were eventually moved and Victor arrived in a new camp in occupied Poland.

Freedom from captivity for Victor eventually came in April 1945 and he arrived home in England on 7th May, the day before Victory in Europe Day.

John Wilson from the Forces Postal History Society, in a superb article  charts, by way of letters and documents from the time, Victor’s journey.

The Forces Postal History Society kindly gave permission for the article to be published in The Philatelic Register in 2021 and it was serialised over 4 issues and can be downloaded from the attachments below.

One Man’s War. Part 1

One Man’s War. Part 2

One Man’s War. Part 3

One Man’s War. Part 4

The Republic of Venice Posts

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a sovereign state and maritime republic in parts of present-day Italy (mainly northeastern Italy) that existed for 1100 years from AD 697 until AD 1797. Centered on the lagoon communities of the prosperous city of Venice, it incorporated numerous overseas possessions in modern Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Greece, Albania and Cyprus. The republic grew into a trading power during the Middle Ages and strengthened this position during the Renaissance. Citizens spoke the Venetian language

The republic was ruled by the doge, who was elected by members of the Great Council of Venice, the city-state’s parliament, and ruled for life. The ruling class was an oligarchy of merchants and aristocrats. Venice and other Italian maritime republics played a key role in fostering capitalism.

In the article that can be downloaded from the attachment below Richard Harlow describes the complexities of and the difficulties encountered in collecting and studying the postal history of The Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice Posts

Why Collect Italy.

In the pdf issue of The Philatelic Register published in August 2021 I published on behalf of The Italy and Colonies Study Circle an obituary for Richard Harlow who was a founder member of the Society. The obituary can be read by downloading the attachment below.  I also attach Richard Harlow’s own view on why Italy and it’s stamp and postal history provide a rich field of collecting interest.

Richard Harlow Obituary

Why Collect Italy?

Got Guatemala? Maybe it’s time you should

“Guatemalan philately is a window on Latin America……..from liberal revolutions to the cold war”.

The above is taken from the opening paragraph of the article by David Lindwall of the International Society of Guatemala Collectors which can be read in full by downloading from the link below.

Maybe it will be the introduction to a rich new field of collecting for some.

Got Guatemala?

Nicolaus Copernicus – 500th Anniversary of Birth

Nicolaus Copernicus was a revolutionary Polish astronomical thinker. He promoted a different way of thinking about the relationship of the Earth to the Sun. The Quincentenary celebrations took place in 1973.

As part of these celebrations in Poland The Copernicus Trail was created. This was essentially a route map of various places associated with Copernicus running from Olsztyn in the north to Krakov in the south. Philately played a major part in the celebrations.

The Copernicus Trail