Thanks, Nelson, for that. I've looked up both Feigenbaum and Format International Security Printers (and apologist for the latter J.Lowe) and, while their activities are clearly dubious (and in the case of Feigenbaum illegal) they largely post-date the stamps shown above, which are evidently imperforate versions of genuine stamps.
Y&T do not note the printers of French colonial stamps, so I do not know which printer produced the above, but it seems possible that outfits like Waterlow, Questa and suchlike did indeed allow imperforates, etc., to permeate the stamp market. What profit there was for them to do so remains unclear to me.
So, has anyone else any more specific evidence for these Ivory Coast stamps? (Or 'stamps'?)
Michel has a note that a lot of issues exist as imperf 'Musterstücke' (commercial 'specimen' samples), and so called 'Epreuves de Luxe' (deluxe sheets of a kind).
None of them are catalogued in Michel; made purely for collectors (though I recall reading that some were used on philatelic covers as well)..
IMHO top 3 are musterstücke, and the last one is a deluxe sheet .
-k-
I have always associated the name "Fatoullah and Lazar" with the creation of this sort of thing. I am not saying they were responsible for these specific issues, nor am I suggesting they were the only ones. Sam Malamud and IGPC were another.
Here is a quote from their "History" page, available here:
Andre Lazar (Nedjet’s Son), his brother and brother-in-law were also in the business and several satellite companies branched off into different specialties. Andre specialized in imperfs, deluxe sheet and unusual items and thus named his company “Andre for the Unusualâ€.
Roy
I think I'm fairly convinced that this handful of items doesn't really belong in any collection I have, or am likely to have. Thanks for everyone's input - it now only remains to find someone who will offer them a home!
Here are three stamps from the Cote d'Ivoire, and an embossed card that has seen better days. But the stamps are imperforate, which is not mentioned in Yvert & Tellier - does that mean they are proofs or printer's waste? We are a long way here from any area of expertise I may have!
re: Ivory Coast information sought
Thanks, Nelson, for that. I've looked up both Feigenbaum and Format International Security Printers (and apologist for the latter J.Lowe) and, while their activities are clearly dubious (and in the case of Feigenbaum illegal) they largely post-date the stamps shown above, which are evidently imperforate versions of genuine stamps.
Y&T do not note the printers of French colonial stamps, so I do not know which printer produced the above, but it seems possible that outfits like Waterlow, Questa and suchlike did indeed allow imperforates, etc., to permeate the stamp market. What profit there was for them to do so remains unclear to me.
So, has anyone else any more specific evidence for these Ivory Coast stamps? (Or 'stamps'?)
re: Ivory Coast information sought
Michel has a note that a lot of issues exist as imperf 'Musterstücke' (commercial 'specimen' samples), and so called 'Epreuves de Luxe' (deluxe sheets of a kind).
None of them are catalogued in Michel; made purely for collectors (though I recall reading that some were used on philatelic covers as well)..
IMHO top 3 are musterstücke, and the last one is a deluxe sheet .
-k-
re: Ivory Coast information sought
I have always associated the name "Fatoullah and Lazar" with the creation of this sort of thing. I am not saying they were responsible for these specific issues, nor am I suggesting they were the only ones. Sam Malamud and IGPC were another.
Here is a quote from their "History" page, available here:
Andre Lazar (Nedjet’s Son), his brother and brother-in-law were also in the business and several satellite companies branched off into different specialties. Andre specialized in imperfs, deluxe sheet and unusual items and thus named his company “Andre for the Unusualâ€.
Roy
re: Ivory Coast information sought
I think I'm fairly convinced that this handful of items doesn't really belong in any collection I have, or am likely to have. Thanks for everyone's input - it now only remains to find someone who will offer them a home!