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War Bonds Slogan Postmarks of World War I
During World War I, the Post Office was reluctant to use slogan postmarks on its mail in order help with the war effort, despite being in the unique position of being able to get a message to almost...
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2017: A Machin milestone I (HM The Queen Sapphire Jubilee)
2017 brings with it two very notable and celebratory occasions and with them are bound to be some stamp issues of interest to readers of this column. The first of the two is imminent, and is the 65th...
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The Centenary of the Baghdad Provisional Stamps
Spring Stampex 2017 featured a special display devoted to the stamps of the Ottoman Empire and the countries emerging from it after the end of World War I. The display had a special emphasis on Iraq...
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The Russian Revolution & Postal History
1917 marked the start of what became known as the Russian Revolution. Imperial Russia, with the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, was thrown into chaos; what followed was a long, bloody and bitter...
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Christmas Island: The 1977 Christmas Issue
The 1977 Christmas issue of Christmas Island (located in the Indian Ocean) is one of the most interesting issues to have come from this small Australian territory. On the face of it, the issue...
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Guinness World Record attempt for stamp mosaic
As 2017 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Machin we can expect to see some big celebrations of the milestone in the philatelic world; however, few will be quite as big as one event taking place in...
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Music Giants: David Bowie
On 14 March Royal Mail’s Music Giants series will make an encore with a set of ten stamps honouring one of the most influential music and cultural figures of all time – David Bowie. In July 2016 Royal...
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Luther’s German Bible
This year marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation marking the schism within the Roman Catholic Church which led to the formation of the Protestant faith. As part of the events planned for the...
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The First Stamps of Bahawalpur
A century ago, when the sun never set on the British Empire, India was its biggest and brightest jewel. Although vast areas were governed directly by the British Raj, there still remained hundreds of...
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Ascension Island: The 1975 Red Overprint
Covering just 34 square miles, Ascension Island is a small volcanic island in the South Atlantic, about 1000 miles from the coast of Africa, and 1400 miles from the coast of Brazil. It is governed as...
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Southern Lights
While those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are familiar with the Northern Lights, the Southern Hemisphere has its own fantastic light show – the Aurora Australis or Southern Lights. New Zealand,...
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Racehorse Legends
Royal Mail will release eight stamps today depicting some of Britain’s greatest Racehorse Legends. This issue will be the first commemorative stamps to be released following the 2017 Royal Mail...
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Canada’s Black History stamp
Canada’s 2017 Black History Month stamp, issued at the domestic rate, commemorates Mathieu Da Costa who is believed to be the first person of African descent to reach Canada. From the few records...
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GB Stamps Used in Morocco
It is well-known that from the late 1850s to the mid-1880s stamps of Great Britain were used in Malta, Cyprus and Gibraltar – the key coaling stations on the Mediterranean, linking the United Kingdom...
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The 1928 Airmail Overprints of Chile
With the growth of overseas airmail in 1928–29, the Chilean Post Office recognised the need for postage stamps specifically for the purpose of prepaying the airmail rate. As no international airmail...
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Humanitarian Honoured
An 85c. stamp, released by France on 27 February, honours Anne Morgan – the first woman to become Commander of the Legion of Honour due to her relief work during and after World War I. Anne Morgan...
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The Omnibus Design Issue of King George VI Coronation Commemorative Stamps
On 11 December 1936, just one day after the abdication of King Edward VIII, the four stamp printing firms (Harrison and Sons, Waterlow and Sons, Bradbury, Wilkinson and De La Rue), together with the...
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National Stamp Celebration Day
A new, annual National Stamp Celebration Day, held in association with The Philatelic Traders’ Society, is being launched this year to celebrate and promote philately. The celebration will be held on...
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New Collector: King George VI Definitives from GB & Dominions
Eighty years ago, on 12 May 1937, King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey and the first stamps of his reign went on sale in April and May 1937. George VI was ‘catapulted’ onto the throne by...
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Churches of Brazil on Stamps
Brazil offers a rich architectural history – not least the magnificent array of religious buildings that have been built since it was colonised by the Portuguese in the 1500’s. Many of these splendid...
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