This is a 1945 advertising cover that I bought today at the Great Western Stamp Exhibition, not from a stamp dealer but Tom Watkins, a postal history dealer from Victoria. In this case, it's the back of the 1945 cover that's interesting:
I've been interested in x-rays and ionizing radiation in general ever since I read a fascinating book titled The History of Ionizing Radiation, filled with interesting facts like these:
• In the 1920s and 1930s, beauticians used x-ray machines to "cure" acne.
• Young women hired to apply radium to watch dials invariably died of mouth cancer because they moistened their brushes with saliva, dipped them into radium paint, painted a numeral or whatever, then moistened the brush again with their saliva. And repeated the process again and again, day after day. Yikes!
I've had more than my share of x-rays (I think I must glow at night, and not just in my wife's adoring eyes!). My mom used to take me to a department store to buy shoes; they had a x-ray machine that showed how much room your toes had in the new shoes. It was cool the way you could see the bones in your toes. And I still managed to father a son, who appears to be normal. Sort of.
A few years ago, from am ephemera dealer, Rein Stamm, I bought a map of Vancouver which was mailed to every household in the city in the early 1950s. It showed evacuation routes from the city in case of a nuclear attack. From our apartment in the West End, we would have gone to Coal Harbour, a five-minute walk (more likely, a run!), to board a ship which would evacuate us. Oh, wait! Our apartment, ourselves, and probably the ship would have been vaporized if the bomb hit Vancouver City Centre, which is just a half-hour walk from our apartment!
Bob
That is a great piece! I share your love of everything radioactive. I work as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist, so I get to play with isotopes all the time. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what they are trying to sell there.
Yes indeed, what are they trying to sell?! I'm not aware that x-radiation leaves any residual radiation. At least I hope not! I know so little about radiation that I could not even write a book about what I don't know about radiation, but I still find it very interesting.
I've learned to be more than a little leery of the claims of nuclear-power advocates. When I was a journalism student at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, I interviewed the head of the university's small nuclear reactor. He told me unequivocally that there were so many safeguards in place a radiation leak, much less a meltdown, was simply impossible. I've always wondered what he thought in the wake of Chernobyl, Three-Mile Island, and Fukushima.
This is a huge topic. If it continues, which I hope it will, we should probably start a new thread. But now to bed, perchance to dream of stamp shows and the cover that got away because it was too damn expensive!
Bob
My guess is that they are simply selling furniture through the use of a terrific advertising ploy. I'll wager "X-Rayed" is just a catch phrase meant to entice and convince prospective buyers that, yes indeed, "our furniture is different inside - look, we'll run it through the X-Ray machine and show you." I'll bet the closest any of this furniture got to an actual X-Ray machine was in the form of a couch or chair in a doctor's waiting room. Nice gimmick, though.
Definitely a great gimmick. It sure made us all curious.
"Young women hired to apply radium to watch dials invariably died of mouth cancer because they moistened their brushes with saliva, dipped them into radium paint, painted a numeral or whatever, then moistened the brush again with their saliva. And repeated the process again and again, day after day. Yikes!"
Just added a few Expo cancels to my Franklin collection. The Portland card is how I like my covers, very nice clean strike on the cancels, including a nice receiving one. The Jamestown card isn't the greatest with water staining and other yellowing. I do like the receiving cancel, but I will eventually replace it when I see a better one.
I finally dipped my toe in the deep end of the pool.
Wow! Those are beautiful, Sean!
Thanks. They are not perfect, but I don't try to collect perfect. The most important thing is that they make me happy.
Very cool Zeps! About two weeks ago I was window shopping on eBay for a set. I figured that if I found a nice set at a good price, I should get it.
Then my daughter got engaged last Sunday! So you know where my money will be going instead!
Gorgeous set Sean..I am envious!
Happy is the right word!
rrr..
Just arrived: a miniature sheet commemorating one of the saddest events of WW2 - the Uprising which saw Polish citizens of Warsaw attempt to oust the Nazis from their city. They nearly succeeded. They were hoping for assistance from the Red Army, which had arrived on the other side of the Vistula and could have pitched in, but declined to do so. They were hoping, too, for assistance from the Polish communist government in Lublin, but they ordered the resisters to disband. The Germans regained control of the city. In due course, the Red Army drove them out. The Lublin government remained, for the time being.
The words read "70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising". The man facing us wears a red and white band of the AK ('Home Army') on his helmet. What would you call the expression on his face? Is it really a smile of joy or recognition? I think there is some desperation or exhaustion in there somewhere.
Hey guthrum, thanks for posting that. That's a powerful story and image on that stamp. I see the look of tired man that is also thrilled to finally be saying "H@|L No!"
Mama's got a new pair! (Certified)
ooooh, Mamma done good
Hope I am in the right thread.
I picked up this GB 1939(SG478b) KGVI £1 last week :
Oh wow! Just WOW!
Hey telle, congrats on your new acquisition. I'm unschooled on GB stamps but two things jump out at me:
1. You've changed your avatar image to this stamp and...
2. A knowledgeable stamp collector has remarked "ooh, wow"
What's special about this stamp?
-Ernie
Ernie to be honest being a newbie I just loved the look of the stamp. The guy I purchased it off (I paid £10 I think), said it was something special.
Bobstamp, I am pleased you like it. That means a lot to me.
Hey Tele,
That's awesome. It's a great looking stamp. I thought I missed something. You might be like me. Some of my favorite stamps are some of the the most common. I see you're fairly new to the club. Hope you post often. Best wishes from Jacksonville, Florida.
Ernie
I think it is the bulls eye exceptional cancel that sets it off.
Baz.
@Baz,
I didn't know that my opinion meant that much to...anyone! I'll have to tell my wife...
I snap up Bullseye cancellations, which are also known as SON or SOTN cancellations (Sock on the Nose), whenever I can, especially when they complement the design of the stamp as in your SG478b/Scott 275. I think that that was a reasonable price, too, considering that such cancellations are nothing if not rare. ("Wavy-line cancellations and the abominable "ink-jet" cancellations simply destroy stamps in my opinion.)
In addition to the bullseye cancellation, the stamp itself is nice, too — quite well centred, very fresh appearing, with full perfs. If I'd seen it ahead of you, it would be in my collection, not yours!
One interesting aspect of the stamp is that of the colour, which Scott indicates is "red brown". The 2sh6p issue of 1939-42 of similar design and size, Scott 249, was issued in what Scott calls "chestnut," which certainly seems similar to "red brown" to me. In 1942, because of a shortage of "chestnut" ink resulting from the blockade of Great Britain by German U-boats, the stamp was re-issued in "yellow-green" (Scott's description for #249A). I'm guessing that by 1948 when your stamp was issued, supplies of "brown" ink were once again available.
Below is the sheet from my British wartime economy exhibit concerning Scott 249 and 249A:
Bob
Bob to a newbie like me, expert opinion goes a long way.
That information is excellent and something I had never heard of. Thank you.
Just to add to what has already been said, the cancel is from a small town which didn't see a lot of mail. That adds to the stamp's allure.
Sorry about the poor quality of the scan, but this is one of my recent acquisitions. The stamp in the centre (top row) was first issued in 1947. It has now been re-issued in its original form (although with a revised value of course) and with 4 colour varieties.
That is one very nice issue.
YEMEN – 1948 Scarce Unissued UN Admission Full Postage Set (Michel 99-108), footnote in Scott. (It apparently exists imperforated as well). I finally got good Postage due stamps to complete the series in my album.
The complete set consists of 10-value POSTAGE plus the 5 AIRMAILS and 5 POSTAGE DUES. This is a relatively scarce and notorious 1948 issue celebrating Yemen's admission to the United Nations. Created by the famous New York stamp wholesaler J. & H. Stolow in a special arrangement with Prince Abdullah (pictured on 3 of these values), who was Yemen's first ambassador to the UN, and who was eventually beheaded for conspiring against Imam Ahmed. Abdullah needed a source of revenue so he struck a private deal with the American Stamp company. They would help get several series of stamps printed for Abdullah and be allowed to sell the stamps to collectors and the trade, in order to recover their costs. The other part of the money went to Abdullah to support him in a style that befitted him, and the Yemen delegation while living in New York. For all his efforts to "help stamp collectors", Abdullah was recalled to Yemen, accused of treason, and beheaded.
The issue was never officially accepted and released in Yemen, even though many of these stamps were used on legitimate covers coming from the country (all arranged through the stamp dealer, through local post offices and their connections with the prince). Covers are still quite rare and sought by collectors. They were only used on international mail.
It was a very controversial issue at the time because of the large number of elaborate stamps (20 in the complete unit, which is a huge series 65+ years ago!) and because of its numerous "topical" themes: Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, Statue of Liberty, UN, flags, Royalty, aircraft, etc. The entire unit is supposedly getting more and more difficult to find, but I often see it on ebay, and other auctions or stores. Difficult principally because of the less common Postage Due stamps (same denomination by different colors as the other stamps).
It is said that the Emir Ahmed (a devout Muslim), was shocked that pictures of him were put on other stamps in Yemen, and objected to the practice, as this was against his religious beliefs.
But it did not prevent Abdullah from putting his own picture on the UN stamps and from benefiting privately from their sale.
As a side note, it got into wider circulation because of the Yemen civil war. The Central Post office and storage facility were raided and occupied by the "rebels", and quantities of this series which was never officially released, were found and made their way privately into the collectors market. (C.R. Chambliss had an article about these stamps entitled: "Yemen U.N. Admission Anniversary Set Saw Little Postal Use " in Linn's Stamp News, August 17, 2009, p. 48, (which I would love to get a copy of, should anyone have it).
Aaaahhh the convoluted history of this dysfunctional part of the world!
rrr.
.
(Now scanned for a better image in the post)
Not the best example (damage to front of stamp) but here is my QV 1841 1d Red Ivory Head:
Today, I received the top 3 mint Israeli stamps shown below. The 1000m completes my collection of Israel through my end date of 1980. I'm not concerned with getting the early stamps with tabs but have most all of them with tabs, both mint and used, from 1953 on.
Now that I have mint copies of the 250 and 500m, I'm going to list my used ones for sale.
I don't have a very recent catalog for Israel so would appreciate if someone could give me a recent Scott catalog value for the two used stamps. TIA
Scott 2015 values:
#7 = $9.00
#8 = $50.00
Michael, Thanks for the cat values. Looks like they haven't changed since my 2008 catalog.
MDROTH, CYE
tele1962, perfect CDS on the 1939 £1 George VI, quite impressive.
I went to a stamp club meeting in New Jersey this week and upon browsing through a dealers cover box, I found this. Not exactly the New Jersey postmarks that I was looking for but pretty darn cool! So I grabbed it. I guess I now have a car topical collection.... hmmm.
(note that the scanner cut the top off, the cover is intact)
Neat tom, is the orange car a Volkswagen too?
It's an Isetta.
Correct, it's an Isetta, which is a prehistoric BMW. The door is on the front of the car. German made, well known collectors car today.
if I read the corner card correctly, you have an AutoBohm cover. vrooom
On Friday, I received a thick package of philatelic and collateral items sent by an Australian collector as a gift. Among them were 25 or so WWI tobacco cards. Most are "War Incidents" cards, but four are "Victoria Cross Heroes" cards, including this one:
Susan and I are almost finished reading The Raj Quartette, by Paul Scott, upon which the BBC mini-series The Jewel in the Crown was based. One of the minor but important characters is Havildar (Sergeant) Karim Muzzafir Khan, son of an important Muslim leader. While serving in the British Indian Army during the Second World War, Khan is captured by the Germans in North Africa, eventually joins the Nazi's Azad Hind Indian Legion, fights with the Japanese in their 1945 invasion of eastern India, and is captured by the British Indian Army (which also defeats the combined Japanese/Indian National Army at the Battle of Imphal).
We haven't finished the book yet, so we don't know what happens to Halvidar Khan, but it's probably not good, and no doubt reflects this history accurately. Anyway, this cigarette card seems to bring Halvidar Khan to life for me. And it makes a nice collateral item to my set of Azad Hind stamps:
The Azad Hind stamps were printed in Germany with the intention of using them in India after the British were defeated. The funds raised with the semi-postal stamps was intended to be used for the administration of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
I don't know much about tobacco cards generally, except that to me they have much of the same appeal as postcards, and apparently cover a wide variety of subjects.
Bob
Here's a cover I picked up at a local auction. I purchased it with the knowledge that other than the blank envelope used, the cover is a COMPLETE forgery!! A real cover would be valued at $600 or more, but I got this one for a song! And I cannot sing at all!
ALL covers like this addressed to "Carilao Longakis" in French, English, Greek or any language are forgeries.
EPIRUS 1 - 4 used on cover.
George
Nothing old- just great looking with a touch of classic
GB has been bee-busy as well - their latest issue looks like this:
I've not recently acquired it, but it makes a nice contrast to the Ukrainians, who, you might think, will have more on their minds at present than bee preservation.
But then, the average Ukrainian might see as little of that spectacular sheet as the average Briton will of these six stamps (which come with MS, special extra stamp, presentation pack, prestige booklet and all the trimmings unknown to anyone except the likes of us.)
Thanks for the bee stamp post, Guthrum. Very timely. I'm preparing a talk about stamp collecting to be presented at our local library in October. One of the points I'm planning to make is that the postal corporations of most countries are now shooting themselves in the foot by producing too many high-priced collectibles. The "Bee Issue" is a good case in point. Nice stamps, and "stamps," which according to the Royal Mail web site would cost Brits £31.62 and Canadians $65.05, based on the current exchange rate. I'll be using the images from the Royal Post web site in my presentation. Here are the other items that you members of Stamporama — yes, you! — can buy right now!
Bees Miniature Sheet:
Bees Presentation Pack:
Bees Retail Stamp Book:
Bees Stamp Cards:
Bob
I love the Fry and Blackwell cover, becaue of the address it was sent to. Robinson's Department Store was great. It was built in the late 1800's, and closed in 1989 and demolished soon after that. It was a lovely building.
I didn't go there that often because there were so many other department stores closer, and then the shopping malls came along, but I still enjoyed going there when I went downtown.
Very nice stamp.
Doug
Lots of languages on it - French, Arabic, Greek, Bulgarian
Question? - are perforations the only feature that distinguishes them from remainders?
Michael, Nice stamp, I have not been able to find one of those. A long time ago I bought a dealers stock of Eastern Rumelia but they were all the Lion overprint varieties. I was surprised how easy it was to sell the duplicates as most collectors have never even heard of it, neither has the spell checker for that matter. Every once in awhile I will see some of the earlier ones come up for auction but they always seem to have many interested bidders. I usually see them mis-identified in Turkish collections. The ER's have an extra line of inscription at the sides and above EMP: OTTOMAN
Today I received this beautiful NH 1933 Austrian Wipa. The key stamp for Austrian semi postals it is easy to see why this beautifully engraved stamp is in such high demand. It has been on my radar for over 25 years but is one of those stamps that you can rarely get a bargain on. It leaves me with only two less expensive stamps to complete my Austrian semi postals. Ended up paying 26% of cat which is as low as I have seen them go.
I also received a mystery envelope of modern French and Brazilian NH stamps from Canada today. No return name or address, all it said was welcome to Stamporama, so I'd like to thank to who ever sent it.
Just got these 2,they havn't arrived yet but should within the next 2 or 3 days.
I started this thread because the first "Show your most recent acquisitions" thread was really slowing down with all of the images that have been uploaded. I've got a high-speed internet connection and a very fast hybrid computer (regular hard drive plus solid state hard drive), but it was taking eight or 10 seconds for the last post to appear. So….
I attended the Great Western Stamp Exhibition today in Vancouver; it's not really an exhibition but a bourse, and it was in a hotel banquet room that was about half the size it should have been for the number of dealers. However, I did find some nice items, including these British postcards from the First World War. Ah, Love….
Bob
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
This is a 1945 advertising cover that I bought today at the Great Western Stamp Exhibition, not from a stamp dealer but Tom Watkins, a postal history dealer from Victoria. In this case, it's the back of the 1945 cover that's interesting:
I've been interested in x-rays and ionizing radiation in general ever since I read a fascinating book titled The History of Ionizing Radiation, filled with interesting facts like these:
• In the 1920s and 1930s, beauticians used x-ray machines to "cure" acne.
• Young women hired to apply radium to watch dials invariably died of mouth cancer because they moistened their brushes with saliva, dipped them into radium paint, painted a numeral or whatever, then moistened the brush again with their saliva. And repeated the process again and again, day after day. Yikes!
I've had more than my share of x-rays (I think I must glow at night, and not just in my wife's adoring eyes!). My mom used to take me to a department store to buy shoes; they had a x-ray machine that showed how much room your toes had in the new shoes. It was cool the way you could see the bones in your toes. And I still managed to father a son, who appears to be normal. Sort of.
A few years ago, from am ephemera dealer, Rein Stamm, I bought a map of Vancouver which was mailed to every household in the city in the early 1950s. It showed evacuation routes from the city in case of a nuclear attack. From our apartment in the West End, we would have gone to Coal Harbour, a five-minute walk (more likely, a run!), to board a ship which would evacuate us. Oh, wait! Our apartment, ourselves, and probably the ship would have been vaporized if the bomb hit Vancouver City Centre, which is just a half-hour walk from our apartment!
Bob
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
That is a great piece! I share your love of everything radioactive. I work as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist, so I get to play with isotopes all the time. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what they are trying to sell there.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Yes indeed, what are they trying to sell?! I'm not aware that x-radiation leaves any residual radiation. At least I hope not! I know so little about radiation that I could not even write a book about what I don't know about radiation, but I still find it very interesting.
I've learned to be more than a little leery of the claims of nuclear-power advocates. When I was a journalism student at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, I interviewed the head of the university's small nuclear reactor. He told me unequivocally that there were so many safeguards in place a radiation leak, much less a meltdown, was simply impossible. I've always wondered what he thought in the wake of Chernobyl, Three-Mile Island, and Fukushima.
This is a huge topic. If it continues, which I hope it will, we should probably start a new thread. But now to bed, perchance to dream of stamp shows and the cover that got away because it was too damn expensive!
Bob
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
My guess is that they are simply selling furniture through the use of a terrific advertising ploy. I'll wager "X-Rayed" is just a catch phrase meant to entice and convince prospective buyers that, yes indeed, "our furniture is different inside - look, we'll run it through the X-Ray machine and show you." I'll bet the closest any of this furniture got to an actual X-Ray machine was in the form of a couch or chair in a doctor's waiting room. Nice gimmick, though.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Definitely a great gimmick. It sure made us all curious.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
"Young women hired to apply radium to watch dials invariably died of mouth cancer because they moistened their brushes with saliva, dipped them into radium paint, painted a numeral or whatever, then moistened the brush again with their saliva. And repeated the process again and again, day after day. Yikes!"
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Just added a few Expo cancels to my Franklin collection. The Portland card is how I like my covers, very nice clean strike on the cancels, including a nice receiving one. The Jamestown card isn't the greatest with water staining and other yellowing. I do like the receiving cancel, but I will eventually replace it when I see a better one.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
I finally dipped my toe in the deep end of the pool.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Wow! Those are beautiful, Sean!
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Thanks. They are not perfect, but I don't try to collect perfect. The most important thing is that they make me happy.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Very cool Zeps! About two weeks ago I was window shopping on eBay for a set. I figured that if I found a nice set at a good price, I should get it.
Then my daughter got engaged last Sunday! So you know where my money will be going instead!
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Gorgeous set Sean..I am envious!
Happy is the right word!
rrr..
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Just arrived: a miniature sheet commemorating one of the saddest events of WW2 - the Uprising which saw Polish citizens of Warsaw attempt to oust the Nazis from their city. They nearly succeeded. They were hoping for assistance from the Red Army, which had arrived on the other side of the Vistula and could have pitched in, but declined to do so. They were hoping, too, for assistance from the Polish communist government in Lublin, but they ordered the resisters to disband. The Germans regained control of the city. In due course, the Red Army drove them out. The Lublin government remained, for the time being.
The words read "70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising". The man facing us wears a red and white band of the AK ('Home Army') on his helmet. What would you call the expression on his face? Is it really a smile of joy or recognition? I think there is some desperation or exhaustion in there somewhere.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Hey guthrum, thanks for posting that. That's a powerful story and image on that stamp. I see the look of tired man that is also thrilled to finally be saying "H@|L No!"
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Mama's got a new pair! (Certified)
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
ooooh, Mamma done good
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Hope I am in the right thread.
I picked up this GB 1939(SG478b) KGVI £1 last week :
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Oh wow! Just WOW!
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Hey telle, congrats on your new acquisition. I'm unschooled on GB stamps but two things jump out at me:
1. You've changed your avatar image to this stamp and...
2. A knowledgeable stamp collector has remarked "ooh, wow"
What's special about this stamp?
-Ernie
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Ernie to be honest being a newbie I just loved the look of the stamp. The guy I purchased it off (I paid £10 I think), said it was something special.
Bobstamp, I am pleased you like it. That means a lot to me.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Hey Tele,
That's awesome. It's a great looking stamp. I thought I missed something. You might be like me. Some of my favorite stamps are some of the the most common. I see you're fairly new to the club. Hope you post often. Best wishes from Jacksonville, Florida.
Ernie
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
I think it is the bulls eye exceptional cancel that sets it off.
Baz.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
@Baz,
I didn't know that my opinion meant that much to...anyone! I'll have to tell my wife...
I snap up Bullseye cancellations, which are also known as SON or SOTN cancellations (Sock on the Nose), whenever I can, especially when they complement the design of the stamp as in your SG478b/Scott 275. I think that that was a reasonable price, too, considering that such cancellations are nothing if not rare. ("Wavy-line cancellations and the abominable "ink-jet" cancellations simply destroy stamps in my opinion.)
In addition to the bullseye cancellation, the stamp itself is nice, too — quite well centred, very fresh appearing, with full perfs. If I'd seen it ahead of you, it would be in my collection, not yours!
One interesting aspect of the stamp is that of the colour, which Scott indicates is "red brown". The 2sh6p issue of 1939-42 of similar design and size, Scott 249, was issued in what Scott calls "chestnut," which certainly seems similar to "red brown" to me. In 1942, because of a shortage of "chestnut" ink resulting from the blockade of Great Britain by German U-boats, the stamp was re-issued in "yellow-green" (Scott's description for #249A). I'm guessing that by 1948 when your stamp was issued, supplies of "brown" ink were once again available.
Below is the sheet from my British wartime economy exhibit concerning Scott 249 and 249A:
Bob
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Bob to a newbie like me, expert opinion goes a long way.
That information is excellent and something I had never heard of. Thank you.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Just to add to what has already been said, the cancel is from a small town which didn't see a lot of mail. That adds to the stamp's allure.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Sorry about the poor quality of the scan, but this is one of my recent acquisitions. The stamp in the centre (top row) was first issued in 1947. It has now been re-issued in its original form (although with a revised value of course) and with 4 colour varieties.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
That is one very nice issue.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
YEMEN – 1948 Scarce Unissued UN Admission Full Postage Set (Michel 99-108), footnote in Scott. (It apparently exists imperforated as well). I finally got good Postage due stamps to complete the series in my album.
The complete set consists of 10-value POSTAGE plus the 5 AIRMAILS and 5 POSTAGE DUES. This is a relatively scarce and notorious 1948 issue celebrating Yemen's admission to the United Nations. Created by the famous New York stamp wholesaler J. & H. Stolow in a special arrangement with Prince Abdullah (pictured on 3 of these values), who was Yemen's first ambassador to the UN, and who was eventually beheaded for conspiring against Imam Ahmed. Abdullah needed a source of revenue so he struck a private deal with the American Stamp company. They would help get several series of stamps printed for Abdullah and be allowed to sell the stamps to collectors and the trade, in order to recover their costs. The other part of the money went to Abdullah to support him in a style that befitted him, and the Yemen delegation while living in New York. For all his efforts to "help stamp collectors", Abdullah was recalled to Yemen, accused of treason, and beheaded.
The issue was never officially accepted and released in Yemen, even though many of these stamps were used on legitimate covers coming from the country (all arranged through the stamp dealer, through local post offices and their connections with the prince). Covers are still quite rare and sought by collectors. They were only used on international mail.
It was a very controversial issue at the time because of the large number of elaborate stamps (20 in the complete unit, which is a huge series 65+ years ago!) and because of its numerous "topical" themes: Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, Statue of Liberty, UN, flags, Royalty, aircraft, etc. The entire unit is supposedly getting more and more difficult to find, but I often see it on ebay, and other auctions or stores. Difficult principally because of the less common Postage Due stamps (same denomination by different colors as the other stamps).
It is said that the Emir Ahmed (a devout Muslim), was shocked that pictures of him were put on other stamps in Yemen, and objected to the practice, as this was against his religious beliefs.
But it did not prevent Abdullah from putting his own picture on the UN stamps and from benefiting privately from their sale.
As a side note, it got into wider circulation because of the Yemen civil war. The Central Post office and storage facility were raided and occupied by the "rebels", and quantities of this series which was never officially released, were found and made their way privately into the collectors market. (C.R. Chambliss had an article about these stamps entitled: "Yemen U.N. Admission Anniversary Set Saw Little Postal Use " in Linn's Stamp News, August 17, 2009, p. 48, (which I would love to get a copy of, should anyone have it).
Aaaahhh the convoluted history of this dysfunctional part of the world!
rrr.
.
(Now scanned for a better image in the post)
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Not the best example (damage to front of stamp) but here is my QV 1841 1d Red Ivory Head:
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Today, I received the top 3 mint Israeli stamps shown below. The 1000m completes my collection of Israel through my end date of 1980. I'm not concerned with getting the early stamps with tabs but have most all of them with tabs, both mint and used, from 1953 on.
Now that I have mint copies of the 250 and 500m, I'm going to list my used ones for sale.
I don't have a very recent catalog for Israel so would appreciate if someone could give me a recent Scott catalog value for the two used stamps. TIA
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Scott 2015 values:
#7 = $9.00
#8 = $50.00
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Michael, Thanks for the cat values. Looks like they haven't changed since my 2008 catalog.
MDROTH, CYE
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
tele1962, perfect CDS on the 1939 £1 George VI, quite impressive.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
I went to a stamp club meeting in New Jersey this week and upon browsing through a dealers cover box, I found this. Not exactly the New Jersey postmarks that I was looking for but pretty darn cool! So I grabbed it. I guess I now have a car topical collection.... hmmm.
(note that the scanner cut the top off, the cover is intact)
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Neat tom, is the orange car a Volkswagen too?
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
It's an Isetta.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Correct, it's an Isetta, which is a prehistoric BMW. The door is on the front of the car. German made, well known collectors car today.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
if I read the corner card correctly, you have an AutoBohm cover. vrooom
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
On Friday, I received a thick package of philatelic and collateral items sent by an Australian collector as a gift. Among them were 25 or so WWI tobacco cards. Most are "War Incidents" cards, but four are "Victoria Cross Heroes" cards, including this one:
Susan and I are almost finished reading The Raj Quartette, by Paul Scott, upon which the BBC mini-series The Jewel in the Crown was based. One of the minor but important characters is Havildar (Sergeant) Karim Muzzafir Khan, son of an important Muslim leader. While serving in the British Indian Army during the Second World War, Khan is captured by the Germans in North Africa, eventually joins the Nazi's Azad Hind Indian Legion, fights with the Japanese in their 1945 invasion of eastern India, and is captured by the British Indian Army (which also defeats the combined Japanese/Indian National Army at the Battle of Imphal).
We haven't finished the book yet, so we don't know what happens to Halvidar Khan, but it's probably not good, and no doubt reflects this history accurately. Anyway, this cigarette card seems to bring Halvidar Khan to life for me. And it makes a nice collateral item to my set of Azad Hind stamps:
The Azad Hind stamps were printed in Germany with the intention of using them in India after the British were defeated. The funds raised with the semi-postal stamps was intended to be used for the administration of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
I don't know much about tobacco cards generally, except that to me they have much of the same appeal as postcards, and apparently cover a wide variety of subjects.
Bob
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Here's a cover I picked up at a local auction. I purchased it with the knowledge that other than the blank envelope used, the cover is a COMPLETE forgery!! A real cover would be valued at $600 or more, but I got this one for a song! And I cannot sing at all!
ALL covers like this addressed to "Carilao Longakis" in French, English, Greek or any language are forgeries.
EPIRUS 1 - 4 used on cover.
George
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Nothing old- just great looking with a touch of classic
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
GB has been bee-busy as well - their latest issue looks like this:
I've not recently acquired it, but it makes a nice contrast to the Ukrainians, who, you might think, will have more on their minds at present than bee preservation.
But then, the average Ukrainian might see as little of that spectacular sheet as the average Briton will of these six stamps (which come with MS, special extra stamp, presentation pack, prestige booklet and all the trimmings unknown to anyone except the likes of us.)
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Thanks for the bee stamp post, Guthrum. Very timely. I'm preparing a talk about stamp collecting to be presented at our local library in October. One of the points I'm planning to make is that the postal corporations of most countries are now shooting themselves in the foot by producing too many high-priced collectibles. The "Bee Issue" is a good case in point. Nice stamps, and "stamps," which according to the Royal Mail web site would cost Brits £31.62 and Canadians $65.05, based on the current exchange rate. I'll be using the images from the Royal Post web site in my presentation. Here are the other items that you members of Stamporama — yes, you! — can buy right now!
Bees Miniature Sheet:
Bees Presentation Pack:
Bees Retail Stamp Book:
Bees Stamp Cards:
Bob
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
I love the Fry and Blackwell cover, becaue of the address it was sent to. Robinson's Department Store was great. It was built in the late 1800's, and closed in 1989 and demolished soon after that. It was a lovely building.
I didn't go there that often because there were so many other department stores closer, and then the shopping malls came along, but I still enjoyed going there when I went downtown.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Very nice stamp.
Doug
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Lots of languages on it - French, Arabic, Greek, Bulgarian
Question? - are perforations the only feature that distinguishes them from remainders?
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Michael, Nice stamp, I have not been able to find one of those. A long time ago I bought a dealers stock of Eastern Rumelia but they were all the Lion overprint varieties. I was surprised how easy it was to sell the duplicates as most collectors have never even heard of it, neither has the spell checker for that matter. Every once in awhile I will see some of the earlier ones come up for auction but they always seem to have many interested bidders. I usually see them mis-identified in Turkish collections. The ER's have an extra line of inscription at the sides and above EMP: OTTOMAN
Today I received this beautiful NH 1933 Austrian Wipa. The key stamp for Austrian semi postals it is easy to see why this beautifully engraved stamp is in such high demand. It has been on my radar for over 25 years but is one of those stamps that you can rarely get a bargain on. It leaves me with only two less expensive stamps to complete my Austrian semi postals. Ended up paying 26% of cat which is as low as I have seen them go.
I also received a mystery envelope of modern French and Brazilian NH stamps from Canada today. No return name or address, all it said was welcome to Stamporama, so I'd like to thank to who ever sent it.
re: Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 2
Just got these 2,they havn't arrived yet but should within the next 2 or 3 days.