eFiro'2008의 Court of Honour ; 히로시마cover, Bull's Eye

[장세영]

Court of Honour

A rare philatelic item at EFIRO 2008

The German Philatelic Federation, Germany

The German Philatelic Federation e.V. (BDPh) has confirmed that it shall present to the World Philatelic Exhibition EFIRO 2008 a rare philatelic item: a registered letter discovered after the explosion of the nuclear bomb from Hiroshima during the Second World War, still keeping today traces of radiations. The letter to be exhibited within the Court of Honour of EFIRO 2008, has been found during the cleaning works of the ruins of a bank from Hiroshima, at about two kilometers away from the epicenter of the detonation. It does not present external damages, but it has been exposed to radiations. For security reasons, there has been placed within a lead sleeve and covered with iron-cased glass, and this is how it shall be exhibited at EFIRO 2008.

The cape error of colour cover

Joseph Hacmey

Cover bearing four pence vermilion woodblock error of colour stamp, se-tenant in a block of four with 3
one penny vermilion woodblock stamps, addressed to the firm of McAllister & Trump in Grahams-Town.
The block franked the four pence inland single letter rate, and is tied by two triangular CGH grids. The
cover is oval datestamped 'CRADOCK MA 26  1861'.

Bull's Eyes

Luis Alemany Indarte, Spain

The "Bull's Eyes" Brazilian issue offers an especially interesting field of study and research, owing to the existence of several plate combinations, offering the possibility of reconstruction. The impression colours vary from intense biack to grey. Many items are blurred, owing to the of copper plates in their impression. There are many varieties of paper, with different colours: white, greyish and yellow. Postmarks applied to these stamps offer a wide and diversified field. Of course, the high value of these stamps poses a serious limitation to the collector wishing to specialize in this field. But he has the opportunity to see them in an exceptional collection like this one, which can be built by an average collector using a good selective criterion. The methods used in building up and displaying this collection may be applied to almost any other issue that the specialist might choose.

The above - mentioned reasons are not the only ones that make "Bull's Eyes" so attractive to philatelic experts. Their scarcity, the beauty and perfection of the design, the rare postmarks and the few available covers are powerful inducements to the collector. Furthermore, only a limited number of stamps, not to mention covers, have survived the adverse tropical conditions of Brazil. This is high-level philately.

The basis of this collection was built in a medium period of time, gathering and buying important items whenever and wherever they appeared on sale. The owner of such a unique collection of small part, shown at National exhibitions, where he received the highest awards.

This collection shows a truly exceptional accumulation of rare stamps, postmarks, covers and multiples. In addition to a frame of rare and important items, this collection also includes most of the stamps widely regarded as key items of Brazil's philately, among the rarest in the World. It has six out of the existing ten complete sheets of 60 reis, which is the oldest known an the most voted by Brazilian philatelists; one of the two known Xifópagos; the largest franking ever known of "Bull's Eyes" first issue, never exhibited so far. The philatelic history of Brazil has never before witnessed such a gathering of key items as this one.

Most of attraction of this "Bull's Eyes" collection is due to the careful display method. The collection extends over 128 pages, unframed and intitled. The basic idea is to place a single stamps or a pair in the upper part of the displaying sheet and below it, a strip or two and a letter. This method avoids any wear to the stamp, allowing a rearrangement of the collection whenever necessary. It is a good practice to be followed with rare stamps.

Legendary items

"Legendary items" are those items which, by themselves, might be considered unique and give a collection the necessary category to be considered important.

In our case, six items have been considered as legendary, but we can extend that figure to eight

1. The 60 reis complete sheet
2. The Pack-strip
3. The xilópago
4. The 30 reis with interpane
5. Letter of Cachoeira 60+60+60+60+30 = 270 reis
6. First day of 60 reis and 90 reis
7. The error dated 11-1-1843
8. The plate of 18 stamps of 90 reis

Items number 1,3,5,6,7 and 8 are comprised in the present collection.



THE MATRICES OF THE FIRST ROMANIAN POSTAGE STAMPS - CAP DE BOUR


National Philatelic Museum, Romania

Although the political union of the Romanian Principalities was accomplished in 1859, the Romanian society had already made important steps towards independence a long time before. In this very background, there can also be included the efforts of the Romanian authorities to obtain postal independence. One of the first measures in this respect was taken by the Directorate of Post Offices and Mail Coaches from Moldavia on 1st May 1858 requesting the fabrication of the first postage stamps, which were to be used by the postal authorities in the Principality in carrying out the transport services of the mail. After one month only, on 26th May, the Ministry of Finance decides to print the postage stamps at Atelia Timbrului in Iaşi, and, at the same time, its number and nominal values are established.

On 1st July 1858, by the address no. 5895, the Ministry of Finance announces the management of the Atelia Timbrului that there has been made four "necessary seals" with the help of which there were to be printed 24 000 postage stamps distributed "according to the set tariffs", namely: 6000 pieces of 27 PARALE ("PENNY") each, 10 000 PIECES of 54 PARALE each, 2000 pieces of 81 PARALE each and 6000 pieces of 108 PARALE each.
The clichés have a round form, they are engraved with steel and they have two wholes by means of which these were fitted in the holder of the printing machine. The printing of the machine was performed by means of a manual-driven machine for each print of the postage stamps.

The history of these clichés is not completely known. After the printing of the postage stamps, in 1858, these clichés were lost and these were to be discovered a few years later, in 1891 in the Post Office warehouse in Bucharest. The Director of the Post Office and Telegraph from that period, colonel Augustin Gorjan (26.02.1891 - 22.02.1892) ordered the manual printing of some postage stamps with these used clichés.

A philatelic surprise was the discovery, in 1944, of a new cliché, unused, of 10 PARALE, which has been fabricated for the printing of the postage stamps used in the circulation of newspapers and magazines. The reason why such postage stamps of 10 PARALE were no longer fabricated was the reduction by 5 PARALE of the taxes for mail shipment of newspapers and publications.

Nowadays, it is known the existence of approximately 1000 postage stamps Cap de Bour which are spread all over the world. They occupy an important place in famous collections and these are appreciated especially by philatelists all over the world and they are well rated at the auction houses. Each sale of the postage stamps Cap de Bour sets the entire world of philatelist in motion. Given the fact that the remaining postage stamps are still enjoying such fame and appreciation, we can only imagine the values to which these unique small steel clichés, full of history and with an age of "only" 150 years, may attain.



The Royal Philatelic Collection

A Brief History

In its present form the Royal Philatelic Collection was established by HM King George V. Whilst Duke of York and later Prince of Wales, The King had already established a major collection but in about 1906, while still Prince of Wales, he had decided to focus on Great Britain and the then Empire. From then on the extent of acquisition significantly increased with many whole collections being acquired and broken down as well as many individual purchases being made right up until The King’s death.

Initially, he collected in the "English" style on a "one of everything" basis. However he soon tired of this approach and became much more interested in the technical aspects of stamps and their production - a more Continental approach - and the Collection very much reflects that emphasis.

Since The King’s death in 1936, the Collection has continued to "live", with additions in the main through generous contributions from our own Royal Mail, the Crown Agents and the Dominions, including much essay and proof material as well as cylinder and plate blocks of issued stamps. In addition, a policy of selected purchases has been followed with the approval of Her Majesty The Queen, mostly of more modern errors and varieties of Great Britain.

Today the collection consists of The King’s Collection (known as the Red Albums) with stamps and some covers for The King’s and previous reigns. The very extensive additions of material for HM King George VI’s reign are collectively known as the Blue Albums and those for the present reign are in the Green Albums, where mounted. The Collections, collectively, are the personal property of Her Majesty The Queen.

Apart from the annual display to the Fellows and Members of the Royal Philatelic Society London in its opening meeting of the season, carrying on a tradition started by King George V, there has been a practice of showing selected material from the Collection at exhibitions at home and abroad. The display at the Convention of the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada in 2006 was an example of this and longer term exhibitions have been held recently at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington DC, Te Papa in Wellington, New Zealand. In addition exhibits have appeared at Washington 2006, Espana 2006, Torquay 2006 (UK) with further short and long term exhibitions in the planning stage, including a joint exhibition with the British Postal Museum and Archive during the London Festival of Stamps in 2010.