As the 2010 World Cup is about to get underway in South Africa I thought I'd look back at England's triumph back in 1966 and the first day covers produced for the England Winners overprint issued on 18th August 1966. The overprint was placed on the 4d value from the World Cup set issued earlier in the year before the tournament got underway. These covers are worth double checking as some examples can fetch amazing prices!
Britain's best known stamp dealer and philatelic publishers, Stanley Gibbons, have today announced they have sold one of the rarest of all GB stamps ever to reach the open market; The 1904 6d Pale Dull Purple with I.R. Official overprint.
Gerhard Zucker had been experimenting with powder fueled rockets in Germany during the early 1930s. It seems he funded much of his work and lifestyle by selling postal "rocket mail" covers many of which are suspected to have never flown and therefore been fraudulent. Zucker arrived in the UK during 1934 seeking to prove to the General Post Office that postal deliveries by rocket were safe and viable.
For a long time Britain's Royal Mail maintained a rigid policy of only showing images depicting the reigning monarch and members of the Royal Family (or marrying into the Royal Family) on postage stamps. Long dead historical figures such as William Shakespeare were allowed but no other living people were ever depicted on stamps.
Royal Air Force Gatow was operational in Berlin from the end of World War 2 until 1994 when Germany had been reunified. For any years an active stamp club operated on the station and they produced several limited edition covers bearing the various BFPO 45 Berlin postmarks used in Gatow's Post Office.
Whenever disruption occurs to regular postal services due to industrial action it very often results in local authorities, private companies, private individuals or even organisations like the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides offering emergency delivery services.
The Camden New Journal has published a feature about one of the recent Royal Mail London 2012 Olympic Games stamp designers David Holmes, an artist from Primrose Hill.
Stanley Gibbons has donated a pound for each of their employees to the Association of British Philatelic Societies (ABPS) to support them and their Stamp Active initiative that promotes philately to a wider audience and encourages young philatelists.
From time to time we all come across references to a term we don't recognise or understand. Therefore, over the coming weeks, I plan to post explanations for several philatelic terms starting today with an overview of line engraving.
As part of their buyout of Frank Godden at the end of 2009, Stanley Gibbons has undertaken an extensive project to source suppliers and manufacturers of the highest quality in order to bring the luxury album producer’s products back to the market.
A readers email late last night alerted us to a fantastic single word internet domain name that is available to register at a very affordable price.
It is never nice to feel the need to point fingers at one particular country but I have to wonder what percentage of online scams are being hatched in China? As a webmaster I know the proportion of bots and hacking attempts that involve chinese internet addresses is high and it seems an equally big number of online shopping scams also involve a China connection.
The former manager of London's St Paul's Cathedral gift shop has been handed eight months in jail for defrauding her employer by ordering stamps in to stock and then selling them herself privately.
February 12th was International Darwin Day and the BPMA made a great blog post highlighting Royal Mail stamps that have celebrated the life and work of Charles Darwin and, along the way, making him one of the most commemorated non-royal individuals ever on British stamps.
The 399 Strand address is known the world over as the home of Stanley Gibbons, the leading name in British and world philately. Work has now started to expand the retail space to offer better, more accessible displays with dedicated seating for stamp viewings and new interactive information points which they say will make for an exciting new shopping experience.
Jersey Post has issued a glow in the dark stamp on Febryary 9th 2010 as part of a set of stamps featuring children's books.
Paul Fraser Collectibles billed the sale of the 1976 Sweet Briar Rose with value missing as 'the most important stamp error of the 20th Century' as only three examples of the stamp displaying this amazing error are known to exist.
Philatelic Auctioneers David Feldman say they are having more auctions on more different dates than usual during 2010 in order to to accommodate many wonderful properties that have been entrusted to them. The schedule starts with an April 13th-16th sale which will feature important GB Line Engraved lots, the Severn Collection of Victorian Imprimaturs, Houses of Parliament Envelopes and Victorian Registered covers etc.
Established in February 2002, the Internet Philatelic Traders Association (IPDA) was formed by a group of like minded individuals who wanted to help stamp collectors interact with each other and online stamp dealers with an increased degree of confidence and safety. Following five years of growth, the IPDA was incorporated in the US state of Florida during February 2007.
The British Postal Museum and Archive (BPMA) website hosts a 'Wiki' that allows any user to add and edit pages to help build an extensive knowledgebase about Britain's philatelic and postal history for the benefit of all.
RMS St Helena is the last dedicated Royal Mail ship and she leaves the UK for months at a time to make her way around the South Atlantic calling at Cape Town, Tristan da Cunha, St Helena and Ascension Island. It would be an understatement to say the ship is a lifeleine to British Oceanic island communities, particularly following Gordon Brown's Government decision to shelve the building of a new airport on the island of St Helena.
The Joburg 2010 International Stamp Show is scheduled for October 27th-31st October ar the Sandton Convention Centre.
Recently catalogued artwork for many commemmorative postage stamp issues during the reign of king George VI are now available to view and research online courtesy of The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA).
A twitter by the BPMA has tipped us off about a forthcoming book being published in association with Shire Books. Simply titled Post Offices, the book will provide an historical overview of the development of British post offices, from the ‘letter receiving house’ to its modern incarnation on town high-streets.
Just before midnight on April 14th 1912, just four days in to the ill fated ship's maiden voyage, Titanic hit an iceberg causing her to sink some two hours and forty minutes later during the early hours of April 15th 1912. As the centenary of the sinking approaches we can expect many stamps and covers to be issued commemorating the event.
A new display in the London, Sugar and Slavery gallery at the Museum of London Docklands - itself a former sugar warehouse - reveals how the abolition of slavery has been documented and commemorated on everyday postage stamps from around the world.
