The ‘Gray’ Kangaroos, of Course!
A collection of mostly mint Kangaroos does not readily fit the profile of a column largely devoted to stamp usage on cover.
Sweden’s First Air Mail Stamp
Today most mail is routinely being sent by air, as this is the fastest way of transporting it from one place to another. However, it did take quite some time for airmail to be generally accepted. In the early days of aviation, the flying machines often met with accidents that consequently made them very unreliable as far as regular postal communications are concerned.
Philatelist H.A. Slade (1910)
The following was first published in the “The Stamp Collectors’ Fortnightly”, September, 1910.
The Hon. Secretary of the Herts Philatelic Society, Mr. H. A. Slade, is every inch a Hertfordshire man. He was born at St. Albans in 1865, was educated mainly at St. Alban’s Grammar School (though Thanet College, Margate, also had something to do with that part of his career) and for the greater part of his forty years he has lived in the pleasant, old-world Hertfordshire town which was his birthplace.
Australian Stamp Varieties: Rock Posters and Dangerous Australians (2006)
Only one Rock Posters issue in September but plenty of variations and other poster paraphernalia. Then came the Dangerous Australians on 3rd October and the infamous $1 Red-back Spider stamp.
The British Solomon Islands: A Small Group for the Moderate Specialist (1910)
This article was originally published in “The Postage Stamp”, 15 October 1910.
For the collector who, whilst maintaining his interest in his general collection, is desirous of indulging his specialistic tendencies to a moderate extent, there are a number of small and straightforward issuing countries, which have sprung into being during the past decade and offer admirable opportunities for activity in this direction.
Straits Settlements Centenary (1967)
The former British Colony in the Malay Peninsula known as “The Straits Settlements” consisted of Singapore (with which were included the Cocos or Keeling Islands and Christmas Island), Penang (including the Province of Wellesley and a strip of land known as ‘The Dindings”), Malacca and in 1907, Labuan.
Sir Edmund Hillary: A Retrospective
Sir Edmund Hillary, Mountaineer, Explorer, Statesman, Philanthropist died on 11th January 2008 aged 88. This New Zealand mint pair of stamps was issued in 2003 for the 50th anniversary of the Conquest of Everest.
The First U.S. Stamp Booklet
Hank was in my dreams the other night. Why would I dream about him now? Ten years ago we were inseparable. We studied physics, debated philosophical concepts, played on the football team, devoured the same food, then, after college, drifted apart. Before we pursued our own careers, nothing held us together more than our love of stamps. We were especially enamored with stamp booklets. Perhaps it’s my new interest in them that wakens him from my subconscious mind.
Back then I was only interested in booklets that contained valid postage stamps. Hank collected anything that resembled a stamp booklet.
Between the Wars: Interesting Stamp Issues of 1919-1939 (Part One)
I am have always been quite interested in World history between the First and Second World Wars. This turbulent period saw the end of many monarchies, the rise of communism and fascism, a period of hyperinflation, wealth and the Great Depression. It was probably the golden age of philately. Virtually every schoolboy had a stamp collection of some sort.
Australian Stamp Variations: 2006 Commonwealth Games
The stamps associated with the Commonwealth Games came in many varieties. Some were very hard to get. The 50c Logo stamp was issued in 6 different varieties: Gummed perforated, gummed imperf, self-adhesive perf (with and without a border), self-adhesive imperf (with and without the photo tab). The self-adhesive stamps have simulated perforations and the imperf variety has a printed simulated perf on the right of the stamp image and is imperf on the right.
Dr. Lowell Joseph Ragatz, Professor of American History and Philatelist
This possibly unique cut-down cover was sent from the Australian National University, Canberra (pen-deleted) airmail with 26 all coil stamps (block 12 of orange ½d roo, plus blocks of 8 and 6 of the green 3d QE II) were postmarked with 7 copies of the AIR MAIL/ 1-P-5AP56/ CANBERRA A.C.T. postmark, the total postage being 4/- (shillings). The cover was addressed to Dr. Lowell Ragatz, Box 146, Worthington, Ohio, USA. The reverse had no postall markings (Figure 1).
