The Global Philately Website is Live!

I'm absolutely delighted to announce that my website, Global Philately, is now live.

After many years of trading on Ebay and other sites, I'm now only listing new items on the website. I cater to all levels of collector, from novice to specialist, and offer quality stamps and superior service.

Please pop in for a look, I look forward to your seeing you there!

Rust on Stamps - New Testing of an Old Recipe!

Initial Results Are Staggering

All collectors face the challenge of dealing with rust (known as "rust" when a dealer buys a stamp, and "toning" when a dealer sells a stamp!) on stamps at some stage. 

The preferred, and usually recommended, method of dealing with rust is to throw the stamps away! Almost every blog, forum and dealer site has a discussion how to deal with this problem, and I don't intend to re-hash what has been said hundreds of times and can be found by Googling.

What I do want to do is to present a "teaser" of some current tests using a method described by a gentleman of very senior years. Preliminary tests conducted by a member of the Grumpy Old Men's Club forum (here), have shown remarkable results.

Further testing with modern and multicoloured stamps will be of interest to see if the process works on all issues. It is a wet process, so won't work on mint stamps unless Mint No Gum is an acceptable outcome.

This is Hyderabad SG 43, a very common stamp that is usually found in a poor state

This is the back of the stamp showing rust, and a marker pen addition, which was meant to prove, after testing, that this was the same stamp!

Here is the front of the stamp after testing

....and the back, minus the marker-pen arrow!

At this early stage, I'm wondering if a bleaching process is evident, but as I don't yet know the "recipe", I'm keeping an open mind.

I'll post updates as and when they come to hand

The Internet and Philately - Part 2

My Ten Favourite Online Resources

One of the joys of the internet is finding out that someone else has done the research and put it online for all to see. I especially enjoy websites that go beyond the standard references and broaden a subject.

My list of bookmarks runs into the hundreds, but these are my Top 10. Needless to say, but I will anyway, my collecting habits are reflected in the sites I've selected

1. King George V Silver Jubilee - without doubt the best online reference for the 1935 Jubilee issues. It includes the omnibus series issued by 44 colonies and territories, and the separate issues of 10 that didn't hop aboard. The listings, and illustrations, of the multitude of varieties is superb. To aid the postal historian, there are also details of the postal rates for each territory.

2. The Philatelic Database - definitely the place to go when you don't know where to start, the Philatelic Database contains a host of articles on all things philatelic, and they're archived

3. Philatelics.Org - a brilliant site for collectors of Great Britain. It has numerous downloadable PDF's on a range of subjects, and an excellent postmark database

4. The TPO and Seapost Society - another fantastic site for postal historians, covering Travelling Post Offices and maritime mail

The Internet and Philately - Part 1

If you became involved in philately before the advent of the internet (and I guess that's most of us), the reinvention of our hobby is comparable to the change from gas-lamps to electricity.

The accessibility of information, the ability to view and purchase millions of stamps without leaving your home and the development of online "stamp clubs" (better known as forums), has lead to a sea-change in how we enjoy our hobby.

Forums are a subject dear to my heart. Having never been a member of a stamp club, apart from a couple of visits to a suburban club in Melbourne when I was a young teenager, I was delighted to "meet" so many like-minded people when I joined my first forum in 2007.

Like most things in life, I spread myself thinly for a while, and joined more online communities than my time could deal with, meaning I became overwhelmed with information that actually stopped me from my collecting!

GB Victorian Perfin - Can You Help?

I recently came across these two GB SG71 ½d vermilions, which were obviously a separated pair.

They are perfinned with the word "INVENTION" in an arc similar to the perforated Specimens. 

Can anyone assist with identification of this perfin? Was it a test (if so, they were postally used), or was there a business with this unusual name?

The GB Perfin Society website hasn't shed any light on this one, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

A Fantastic Idea For All Collectors

I was put onto this fantastic album the other day, and had to buy one.

It's a Single Stamp Gazetteer Album. It's really easy, all you need to do is to collect one stamp from every stamp issuing country/entity. 

Easy? Not really, as it includes all the "dead" ones as well. Whilst it may be easy to collect the current countries (under 200) there are spaces for 612 stamps in this album! When was the last time a stamp from Romagna (Italian state, with one issue in 1859), Tete (Portuguese African colony with issues from 1913-14) or Ile Rouad (French Mandate in Syria issued in 1916) turned up in your spares?

This is, perhaps, a lifelong quest that may get expensive. Do you choose a "pretty" stamp from each one (or the prettiest they ever issued!), or the oldest, or something representative that makes you think of the source?

Here's a sample page. A short bio, a map and space for a single stamp. "Live" countries are headed in black, "dead" in grey

This is the type of thing that will invigorate flagging philatelists and act as a learning tool for any child or group. If I had my way, it would be a compulsory part of the Social Science curriculum!

I have NO affiliation with the publishers of this fantastic album, Terranova Publishing, other than being their customer.

Visit their website and check it out. US$65 + postage, or bid for one one Ebay

Highly recommended

1935 Silver Jubilee Omnibus Issue

The stamps and postal history of King George V (1910-1936) are my major areas of interest. The classic designs have never been matched in my view.

The 1935 Silver Jubilee series, and the numerous varieties to be found, are my favourite issues and a particular focus of study.

A total of 44 colonies subscribed to this issue, (creating the first Empire/Commonwealth Omnibus issue) with all except Newfoundland printing in two colours with a central vignette.

Three printers were employed for the task, Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co, De la Rue & Co and Waterlow & Sons. The stamps were recess-printed, and although a common design was used, the varieties are particular to the relevant printer's plates