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Display By
The Thames Valley Region
of
The Royal Philatelic Society London

January 24, 2008

Introduction

The collecting interests of the Members and Fellows of the Royal in the Thames Valley Region are many and varied. Today's display has been chosen to provide a broad scan across the Philatelic spectrum, with some continuity, albeit the connection may on occasions be tenuous from one exhibit to the next.

Frames	Title	Contributor
1-2	Your very loving Madeline	Dane Garrod
3	Michele Galea di Daniele of Malta	'Pat' Patrick
4-5	Oxford and Cambridge College Stamps	Vincent West
6	The CTMS/T Tax marks of Tasmania	Patrick Reid
7-8	German Illustrated Postal Stationery 1925-35	Anthony Lane
9-10	German Catapult Mail of the North Atlantic	Eddie Spicer
11-12	Increase in Landing Charges of Mail at Madeira from 1838	Maurice Taylor
13-14	Great Britain: the Twopenny Embossed Envelopes	Alan Huggins
15-16	Dutch Pictorial Advertising Envelopes 1890-1950	Robert Macmillan
17-18	Censorship of Cyprus Civil Mails in times of Crisis 1914-59	Robin Davis
19-20	Plymouth Postal History	Charles Goodwyn
21-22	The Maltese Cross and its Variations	Alan Holyoake
23-24	Great Britain: Victorian Correspondence to the Far East	Gilbert Wheat
25-26	The First Surface-printed Stamps of Great Britain: Low Values 1855-83	Robin Galland
27-28	Unpaid and Underpaid Postcards	Michael Pitt-Payne
29-30	Ireland: The 1922 Overprints	Tony Stanford
31-32	British Occupation of the Italian Colonies: Beyond the Catalogue	Mike Sanders
33-34	The Railway Letter Post	Gordon Stephenson
35-36	The Bahamas Queen's Staircase Issue 1900-1930	Peter Fernbank
37-38	The Postal History of the German Delegation to Versailles 1919	David Trapnell
39-40	German Exchange Controls 1918-24	Robin Pizer
41	Japanese Occupation of Malaya and Brunei 1942-5	Frank Onians
42	Korean War: Korean and Allied Forces Mail	Edmund Hall
43-44	Germany: Annual Charity issues from 1924	Rex Dixon
45-46	Queen Victoria Stamps as used in Bechuanaland	Gordon Jeffreys
47-48	Trinidad: From Lady McLeod to the Lithographs	Michael Medlicott
49-50	Early Revenue Stamps of Peru	Clive Akerman
51-52	From Propaganda to Cultural Pride	Alun Hughes

RPSL County/ Region Contacts:
Oxfordshire: Frank Onians; Dudley Ingoldby-Williams.
Berkshire: Patrick Reid.
Gloucestershire: Robin Pizer; David Trapnell.
Buckinghamshire: Maurice Taylor

From Propaganda to Cultural Pride by Alun Hughes

Art was initially thought degenerate; only themes/topics glorifying the Party were acceptable.

Portraits of Party leaders, particularly Lenin, appear on stamps after Stalin's death.

Gradually, through the 1970s a broader-minded approach to culture becomes noticeable. Appreciation is shown of the influential group of late 19th Century painters labelled the Itinerants. Several sets of stamps were issued depicting the History of Russian Art. Birth and death anniversaries of artists are commemorated.

Masterpieces by Russian artists hanging in Russian galleries are revealed on stamps, as are, curiously, paintings by foreign artists with religious themes.

Finally, with Glasnost in the mid-1980s, an explosion of sets was issued showing Western paintings from the Hermitage.

Early Revenue Stamps of Peru by Clive Akerman FRPSL

For two centuries Peru was the centre of Spanish dominance in South America - Lima was the seat of the Viceroy - and stamp duties were exacted by sheets of stamped paper from the 1640s until the Empire collapsed in the early 188s. Peru declared independence in 1821, but continued to use Spanish Empire paper, variously overprinted, until supplies were exhausted and new paper was sourced locally. A specific feature of the stamped papers was that they were valid for two successive years, although 'left-overs' were revalidated for later years or biennia.

This habit of biennial dating was transferred to Peruvian adhesive revenue stamps, beginning in 1866- 7 when the American Bank Note Company provided a set of six beautifully engraved stamps, re-issued for 1868-9. This was clearly an expensive procedure, so the 1870-1 issue was undated bit with dated overprints which also indicated the Department/County where the stamps were to be used. But, rather than continuing to use these stamps, the printing Contract was shifted to Charles Skipper and East of London for the 1872-3 issue .which has undated underlying stamps with dated Departmental overprints. Similar stamps were produced for 1874/5. Similar stamps were produced for 1874/5. The 1876/7, 1878/9 and 1880/1 series reverted to in-design dates and the overprints were abandoned. It is said that these are the only stamps printed by this company.

A war with Chile over guano broke out in 1879. Old stamps were overprinted in various ways and various locally printed stamps were used until normal service was resumed in 1885.

Your Very Loving Madeline by Dane Garrod

With the death in January 1970 of the only son of Sir James (Joe) Drummond and his wife, Madeline, their line became extinct and their Carmarthenshire mansion, Edwinsford, fell further into decay. An immense cache of the correspondence between Madeline and Joe, and from their relatives and friends for the period 1872 to 1913 was allegedly discovered in an attic, and soon dispersed through the philatelic market.

This display is a small part of the reassembly of this correspondence and other relevant material, enabling an evaluation of Joe and Madeline's place in British society, and family involvement with military service in India and in the South African War.

The two frames begin with letters to the teenage Sir James Drummond and progress through letters to and from his wife, Madeline, as well as correspondence from Simla, India, and outside Ladysmith, Natal. There is correspondence from Madeline's close friends, Princess Helena, and Constance, Countess of Derby, and concludes with her unexpected death, and beyond.

These all show various facets of mail transmission, including travel in a Diplomatic Bag, sorting in a GNR train and unusual and rarely found village postmarks.

Perhaps more importantly, there is a Victorian/Edwardian period love story to be told, of a 41-year old widow with seven children marrying a man nearly ten years younger for love, all to be covered in depth in the forthcoming book of the same name.

Trinidad: From Lady Mcleod To The Lithographs by Michael Medlicott

Although it is a local, the Lady McLeod, issued in April 1847 (Trinidad SG1) is generally acknowledged as the first adhesive stamp issued in the British Empire. It was used for mail on the Lady McLeod which plied between the capital, Port of Spain, and the second town, San Fernando; an example on cover and an unused example commence the display.

After four years of recriminatory negotiation, the Inland Postal Service was inaugurated on 14 August, 1851, with the issue of a (1d) stamp in a purple- brown colour, to a design of Britannia seated, together with what remained intact of a previous consignment of stamps in a blue colour, which had largely been ruined by two and a half years' storage in tropical conditions. Unused and used multiples, and examples on cover drawn from the first 14 consignments printed by Perkins Bacon on blued paper and invoiced 1848- 1856 are shown, together with examples drawn from the later consignments on white paper; all are imperforate and unwatermarked.

The advent of compulsory pre-payment of letters to the United Kingdom in 1858 necessitated the issue of higher values (4d lilac; 6d green; 1/- purple). In the interregnum between the start of compulsory prepayment (9 October 1858) and the issue of higher values (9May 1859), overseas letters were cancelled with the PAID AT TRINIDAD crowned circle handstamp to denote prepayment in cash. A crowned circle cover from this seven-month period is shown, together with examples of normal usage from the periods 1854-58 and after 9 May 1859; the only known strike in black (on piece with a correcting strike in red) is also included.

From time to time between 1852 and 1860, supplies of the Perkins Bacon stamps ran short and improvisation became necessary. A lithographic stone, imitating the Britannia design, was produced locally by Charles Petit. The stone was used in five periods of shortage between September 1852 and June 1860. Petit supervised the first two productions, but the last three productions, by an inexpert understudy in Petit's absence, provoked the footnote in Dr. Gray's Illustrated Catalogue of Postage Stamps (6th edition 1875) "They are the worst executed stamps in existence".

Aesthetics notwithstanding, the display concludes with used examples of the four blue issues, loose, on cover and on piece with a single exceedingly rare unused example, and with a complete sheet of the final issue in red.

Queen Victoria Stamps As Used In Bechuanaland by Gordon Jeffreys

The display starts with the Military Telegraph stamps, used by the Warren Expedition which were originally intended for the Egyptian campaign, printed from the "Unappropriated Dies" series. These were first used in late 1884 or early 1885.

The next section consists of the "Unappropriated Dies" used both in British Bechuanaland (from 1st November 1884) (12 values 1d to £5) and then overprinted for use in the Bechuanaland Protectorate (from 7th August 1888) (11 values ½d to 10/-)

Subsequently the British stamps of Queen Victoria were used, overprinted either British Bechuanaland (1891-4) or Bechuanaland Protectorate (1897-1902).

The display includes trials, proofs, specimens, mint and used stamps and covers, varieties, postmarks.

The £5 on one shilling grey and black postally used at Gaberones (ex-Holmes).

Michele Galea Di Daniele Of Malta by B. D (Pat) Patrick

Some years ago a large collection of commercial documentation came on the philatelic market, representing the contents of the filing system of a Maltese import/export firm founded in the 19th Century. Because of the volume of material, it was split up and dispersed world wide. In more recent times I have managed to re-assemble some of this correspondence, adding to it details of the Galea family who were involved in running the company.

In nine sheets it is impossible to provide a comprehensive picture of trading in those times, but I hope you will get a small feeling for early Maltese commercial life.

Oxford And Cambridge College Stamps by Vincent West FRPSL

The first Oxford College to issue stamps for letters delivered by college messengers was the newly founded Keble in 1871. Other Oxford colleges then followed suit: Hertford (1875), Merton (1876), Lincoln (1877), Exeter (1882), St John's (1884) and All Souls (1884). Due to the suppression of the issues by the Post Office, stamps prepared fro Balliol in 1885 were never issued. Keble, Hertford, Merton and Exeter also issue prepaid envelopes or postcards. The designs are based on the college arms. The suppliers were local stationers, Emberlin and Son and Spiers and Son. Early Keble and Merton stamps and all postal stationery were embossed. The remaining stamps were lithographed, except the Lincoln issue (designed by Allan Wyon) which was recess-printed.

The first Cambridge College to issue stamps was Selwyn (1882). Only two other colleges issued stamps: Queens' (1883) and St John's (1884). All were supplied by a local stationer, W P Spalding and were lithographed.

Stamps and postal stationery of all these colleges are shown, including complete sheets from Keble (imperforate and perforate) and St John's Oxford. Though stamps were often cancelled by a pen mark or left uncancelled, Keble initially used a five dots obliteration and Hertford a cross (some trials are shown). Covers are rare (two are shown, one with the letter it contained).

On its centenary in 1970, Keble issued a stamp "for use by resident members in prepayment for letters conveyed by college messenger". Examples are shown including a cover and an imperforate proof.

Germany: Annual Charity Issues From 1924 by Rex Dixon FRPSL

From 1924 to 1940 Germany issued an annual series of postage stamps bearing a charity surcharge. For the first twelve years they raised funds for the Deutsche Nothilfe (German Emergency Aid), thereafter for the National Socialists' Winterhilfswerk (WHW, or Winter Relief Fund), though the two became largely indistinguishable. The Deutsche Nothilfe had been launched in 1923 as a fund for national disasters such as floods, only later concentrating on the welfare of the individual, initially for children, but during the Depression also helping the poor and unemployed against the ravages of winter.

Stamp booklets were issued every year from 1925 and postal stationery cards from 1927. The complete booklet sheets from which the booklets were manufactured were sold by the Reichspost from 1928, though a few for 1925 and 1926 seem to have been sold at the Nothilfe's national office. Watermark varieties occur in 1926 and 1928, when it appears that the paper manufacturer supplied narrower rolls than normal.

Today's exhibit is limited to the first few years. It includes colour trials for the 1925 issue, promotional material issued by the Reichspost, the issued stamps and postal cards, and booklets and items taken from the booklet sheets. The scarce 5 Pfg of 1928 with vertical watermark (Michel #425 X) is shown as corner marginal copies, both mint with plate number and on registered cover.

Korean War - Korean And Allied Forces Mail Mail by Edmund Hall

At 4a.m. local time on 25th June 1950, artillery and mortars of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK North Korea) opened fire with a massive barrage on unsuspecting military forces of the Republic of South Korea (ROK South Korea). Thus began the 3 year one month long Korean War.

The North Koreans took encouragement from the U.S. policy, the "Acheson Declaration" of January 1950 which left Korea outside the U.S. defence line in Asia. Discounting the probability of American counteraction, Joseph Stalin agreed to underwrite Beijing's assigned role in directing the eastern extension of communism. He believed the risk was worth taking that there would not be any U.S. intervention. However the U.S. persuaded the United Nations to take action.

Mail from the twenty plus participants of the forces and medical units attached to the U.N. is not plentiful, and that from the communist forces is rarely encountered. Illustrated is a Military Post Card from a lance corporal of the North Korean Peoples Army to a Hero of the Russian Army. The left hand circle top line reads Chosan - Last Kingdom, the middle line Kuasa Xupunk - military letter, and the lower line Yin Min Gun - People's Army. The two straight lines either side of the star and wheat sheaves read Ya Zhen - outpost (Field PO) and Yup Se - postcard. The rest of the card provides for the name and address of the recipient, Comrade Pavlov, and the sender, Lance-Corporal Jaehe Park.

Tasmania - The Ctms/T Tax Marks To 1939 by Dr. Patrick Reid FRPSL

Tasmania joined the UPU in 1891, and introduced a set of unframed 'T' Taxe marks for use on underpaid overseas mail. In the early 1900s, the volume of such mail was deemed sufficient for special handstamps to be provided at Hobart to cater for the most common deficiency rates. After 1st October 1907, when the UPU regulations were amended to require double the deficiency to be marked, the values equivalent to the ½d multiples were no longer required. However, they were not disposed of. The 25/CTMS/T handstamp was reused when the exchange rate became 81/3 centimes to 1d, to signify 1½d deficiency, and the 5/CTMS/T had the 5 excised so that any value could be inserted in manuscript.

After 1913, separate handstamps for certain values were issued to Launceston.

This single-frame exhibit shows all the handstamps in use up to 1939, including recent discoveries. At that date they were evidently reviewed and only an undenominated handstamp was retained at Hobart and Launceston.

German Illustrated Postal Stationery 1925-35 by Anthony Lane

Germany was not the first country to issue postal stationery "viewcards" but it was almost certainly the most prolific. Over 8,400 different "Get to know Germany" cards were issued between 1925 and 1999 when the product was discontinued.

Starting with essays for the first, experimental issue in 1925, the display traces developments in design, print process and quality during the early years. Examples are included showing some of the postal uses of the cards.

Japanese Occupation Of Malaya And Brunei 1942-5 by Frank Onians FRPSL

In December 1941 Japanese forces invaded Malaya, a British colony and Brunei as part of their Pacific region expansionist policy. Within weeks the British forces had either left or become prisoners of war and Japan took over the administration of all Malaya, Brunei and other territories in the area.

Initially in Malaya the postal service continued under Japanese rule using British Malaya stamps without any Japanese overprints. However, between the end of March 1942 and well into 1943, stamps for the different states, left over from British rule, were overprinted with various Japanese and English characters. During 1943 a complete set of specially printed stamps was issued for use throughout Malaya, intended to replace the overprinted British stamps, except for the states ceded to Thailand in October 1943. The Brunei stamps were not overprinted until October 1942 and even later for some values.

This display is a sample of the British Malayan stamps and some Brunei stamps overprinted during this period.

German Exchange Tools 1918-24 by Robin Pizer FRPSL

The display shows a selection of items that were returned to sender. Following the Armistice on 11 November 1918, military censorship was revoked. In its place they authorised the examination of postal items to and from Germany for tax purposes and economic reasons under the control of the Ministry of Finance. The decree authorising this was dated 15 November 1918.

Many laws were introduced to control imports and exports on 31 July 1914 and at other dates during WWI. The Imperial Commissioner for Import and Export Licences was created in February 1916. The table below summarises the restrictions for cash payments.

	Limit	Payments to foreign countries without permits
8/2/1917	500M	By insured letters and parcels in foreign currency.
	100M per day 3000M per month	By insured letters and parcels in German currency.
18/12/1918	50M per day, 150M per month	By insured letters and parcels in German currency.
8/9/1919	1000M per day, 3000M per month.	By insured letters and parcels in German or foreign currency
24/12/1920	3000M
16/6/1923	20000M

Higher payments, interest payments, dividend warrants, savings and bank deposit books, share certificates etc. could only be sent via a bank. By 23 August 1923, 20000M was the cost of an inland letter so that effectively all payments needed bank permission.

Postage stamps were singled out for special treatment as early as January 1916 and this was confirmed in December 1919 when it was stated that the import of postage stamps and their exchange was, in principle, forbidden. This included overfranked letters. The Minister of Trade relaxed the ban in October 1931 to permit the import of cancelled stamps without a licence.

German Catapult Mail Of The North Atlantic by Eddie Spicer

In the late 1920s and early 30s Airmail was becoming increasingly important in Europe as well as in the United States, but the North Atlantic remained a barrier. However, in order to accelerate the transatlantic mail service, several ships were equipped with a 'catapult' so that a seaplane could be launched from on board some distance from its destination.

In 1928 and 1929 several experiments were made, mainly from the French liner Ile de France. A regular and reliable service was not achieved until 1929 when the North German Lloyd liner SS Bremen and in 1930 its sister ship SS Europa were equipped with catapults.

The seaplanes were launched up to 700 miles from the destination, thus up to 45 hours could be saved in a west- east direction and 35 hours in an east- west direction. This service could not operate during the winter months due to adverse weather conditions.

The service from the German liners continued until the end of the 1935 season. The catapult service was discontinued with the introduction of a regular transatlantic service by the German airship LZ129 Hindenburg in 1936.

All the mail flown from these liners was charged a premium for the service and each item received a special cachet, which varied for each voyage. Several other countries held agreements with Germany to allow them to use this service and these were known as 'Treaty States'.

This display is designed to give an insight in to the ships, the postal rates and the special cachets that were used.

Increase In Landing Charges Of Mail At Madeira From 1838 by Maurice Taylor, FRPSL

A landing charge had been levied by the Portuguese Authorities on incoming mail from 1807, which by 1809 came in line with the charges that the 'Correio Maritimo' (Maritime Post) had levied on mail carried by them between Lisbon and Madeira.

In 1838 this charge went up fourfold and was greatly resented by the recipients on the Island. This display gives the story.

The Postal History Of The German Delegation To Versailles, 1919 by David Trapnell, FRPSL

The postal history of this world-changing drama first developed on two different sites almost simultaneously - in Versailles and (later) in Paris itself and in Spa (Belgium) and (later) Dusseldorf.

In Versailles there was "Phase 1" - formulation and signing of the Treaty and dispersal afterwards (January 1919- September 1919) and in Paris the making of several lesser Treaties with the former allies of Germany (July 1919 - July 1920). Meanwhile "Phase 2" was proceeding - supervision of the application of the terms of the surrender began in Spa (November 1918 - June 1919) and continued later in Dusseldorf (June 1919 - 1st October 1920) (Ref. 1). After these two phases, a third followed - supervision of the implementation of the disarmament and reparation requirements of the treaty, which took place in Army Peace Commission Liaison offices in several German cities under a head office in Berlin (1920-9).

Ref. 1: The London Philatelist, November 2006, 115, 363-374.

The only known example of the very scarce adhesive paper seal of the German Peace Delegation to Versailles used on a postcard inthe position of a postage stamp. Here it is "cancelled" and tied by the rubber handstamp of the Security Pass Department.

The Bahamas Queen's Staircase Issue 1900- 1930 by Peter Fernbank FRPSL

The Queen's Staircase is a flight of 65 steps descending from Fort Fincastle to a path leading to Union Street in Nassau, and a depiction of it was incorporated in the design of the stamp. A Master vignette plate was made and used to produce a series of working plates, plates 1 - 5. Similarly a master frame plate was made with a blank value tablet, from which a series of plates were produced for each value, each value being engraved separately. Two frame plates, 1 and 2, were made for the 1d value, but one each for the remaining values, which were not numbered.

Two well known varieties were present on the master vignette plate, the 'extra tree trunk' on stamp 56 and the 'half extra tree trunk' variety on stamp 12, both the result of fresh entries on the master plate during manufacture. These are present on every value printed from plates 1 - 5. When plate 6 was to be made it was decided that the master plate was too badly worn and a new plate made directly from the die. The two 'tree trunk' varieties do not appear on plate 6.

Plate numbers on plates 1 & 2 appear in the SW corner of the sheet, about 6mm from the frame. Those for plates 3 & 4 were half-way up the LH margin, approximately 21mm from the frame of the adjacent stamp. Sheet margins were trimmed and in the process the plate numbers for 3 & 4 usually were cut off. Plate number examples from 1 & 2 are uncommon, but obtainable. Those from 3 & 4 are rare (one of the two known examples from Vig.3 is displayed), whilst there are no known surviving examples from plates 5 & 6.

The display shows the progression of the issue through the three watermarks employed, commencing with plate proofs of the vignette and the 1d value, and including many plate number examples from Plates 1 & 2, together with the 'tree trunk' varieties.

During World War I overprints were made on the issue for the Special Delivery, Red Cross and War Tax series. An agreement was reached between Canada and the Bahamas for the Special Delivery of mail between the two countries, and Bahamas stamps of the first series (S.1.) were on sale at four post offices in Canada.

Great Britain - The Twopenny Embossed Envelopes by Dr Alan Huggins, RDP, FRPSL

Following the criticism levelled at the Mulready design on the 1d and 2d envelopes and letter sheets issued in May 1840, Rowland Hill acknowledged as early as June 1840 that a replacement would be necessary.

Already to hand was the oval embossed design intended for stamping paper supplied by the public and this was adapted to form the stamps on the 1d pink and 2d blue embossed envelopes that were issued in 1841 and that formed the basis for the postal stationery subsequently issued by many other countries.

The exhibit, which is confined to the 2d value, shows examples of the four different Dickinson 'silk' thread papers used, two being the residue of paper prepared for the Mulready stationery, and two developed specifically for the embossed envelopes. These envelopes remained on sale until well in to the 1880s although none were produced after the introduction of the stamping to order service in 1855, when, as a security measure, the dies were drilled to take moveable date plugs.

These dated 2d dies were also employed on the first registration envelopes issued in 1878 with the addition of a semi- circular collar inscribed 'FOR REGISTRATION ONLY', prior to the introduction of 2d dies inscribed 'REGISTRATION'. In 1892 the colour was changed to lake for stamped to order work.

Dutch Pictorial Advertising Envelopes 1890-1950 by Robert Macmillan FRPSL

Pictorial envelopes for advertising the vendor's business were first used in Holland in the 1880s. Since these were for purely commercial and ephemeral mail, relatively few have survived and they are interesting to collect, as are those of any other country.

The illustrations on the earlier covers are mostly delightful line engravings portraying machinery, farm implements, scientific instruments, Dutch bulbs, foodstuffs and so forth. One hotel envelope shows an early example of the use of photogravure and another, advertising house property in Australia, was lithographed.

The Railway Letter Post by Gordon Stephenson FRPSL

The Postal Reforms that accompanied the introduction of the Penny Post in 1841 gave the Post Office a monopoly in the carriage of mail. Postal usage increased considerably in the ensuing decades and there were occasions when the last postal collection of the day proved to be too early for urgent business (or other) communication. By the 1880s the practice of handing such correspondence to train guards on later trains for collection at a named station was beginning to grow. Parcel stamps were used to cover the fee. The Post Office, however, took exception to this practice which they saw as a breach of their monopoly.

Eventually, after much pressure from business and newspaper groups, the Post Office relented and in 1891 the Railway Letter Post was launched. This permitted letters that had missed the last collection to be handed in to a railway office for carriage on a later train, either for collection by hand or to be placed in the postal system at the destination station. A fee of 2d was to be paid to the railway company by way of a special label, plus the appropriate postage.

At that time there were 150 different railway companies operating in the UK and 90 of them participated in the new arrangements. They were to be responsible for printing their own letter stamps to a design specified by the Post Office.

The display illustrates the individual stamps of each Railway Company, the rate changes and the surcharges which resulted, as well as handstamp, guard mark and manuscript cancellations and examples of railway letter stamps on cover. The merging of the railway companies into four large regional groups in 1923 (the Grouping) signalled the beginning of the end of Railway Letter stamps - though not the Letter Post - as parcel labels began to be used in their place as stocks were used up.

The growing development of electronic communication removed the need for the Railway Letter Post and the service was ended in 1971.

British Occupation Of The Italian Colonies Beyond The Catalogue by Mike Sanders

Gibbons list 144 basic King George VI overprinted G.B. stamps (all definitives and postage dues) issued for use in five Italian colonies occupied during and post-WW11. Behind the austere listing lies a wide variety of interesting material using these stamps, and this display illustrates some examples.

Issued to satisfy civilian domestic and overseas postal needs, examples of local, surface and airmail rates are shown including mail from some of the scarcer small town post offices together with a few examples of military usage. Of particular note is the range of censor material (until 1947 in the case of Tripolitania) and the extent to which captured Italian stores were utilised. More unusual are the parcel post labels from Eritrea and Tripolitania and receipted telegrams (which consumed the vast majority of High Values) from Eritrea. Not catalogued by Gibbons are the overprinted Registered Letters issued specifically for Somalia only, and a Philatelic Society arranged 'Stamp Day' in 1950 when the Post Office authorised the use of a special "one-day only" cancel with a commemorative cachet and hand stamp!

The HOMS office in Tripolitania was re- opened by the British on 1.6.43. This internal registered cover to TRIPOLI is franked with a 2½d M.E.F. light ultramarine stamp for the basic inland letter rate and 5d brown M.E.F. stamp for the registration fee. Both were cancelled on 13.9.43 with the ex- Italian hand stamp of HOMS/MISURATA; the provisional registration etiquette with black HOMS hand stamp is also Italian. The cover is censored in Tripoli and a feint violet PASSED/ZA/41 cachet applied. There is a TRIPOLI arrival date stamp of 16.9.43 on the reverse.

Censorship Of Cyprus Civil Mails In Time Of Crisis 1914-1959 by Robin Davis

Between 1914 and 1959 there are five periods when the censorship of civil mail in Cyprus was imposed and these are as follows:

1. WWI 1914-18: With the outbreak of WWI Martial Law was imposed which included civil censorship. At first Martial Law handstamps and reseal labels were used that included the word 'Cyprus'. These continued in use until mid-1917 when they were replaced by a new style handstamp and reseal label that did not include 'Cyprus'. The civil censorship appears to have ceased at the end of the War in 1918 even though Martial Law was not lifted until midnight on 31st August 1921.

2. The 1931 Riots: In October 1931 riots took place that resulted in the Governor's House at Nicosia being burnt down. Rioting spread to other locations around the island including Limassol where the Commissioner's House was also burnt. As a result, censorship of the civil mails was imposed. Reseal labels and censor handstamps were used. Censorship was slowly reduced and the use of the handstamps and reseal labels ceased in late 1936 although the censorship office was still in operation in 1939 at the outbreak of WWII.

3. WWII 1939-45: The regulations that had been introduced after the 1931 riots had never been withdrawn, so civil censorship was quickly and easily re-imposed. The reseal labels used at the beginning were the remaining stocks from the 1931 riots which were then followed by the PC90 series of M/reseal labels.

4. Suez 1956: Cyprus was the main military location involved in the Suez Canal emergency and censorship of outgoing civil foreign mails was imposed for a nine day period: 31 October - 8 November 1956.

5. The EOKA Campaign 1956-9: There were two areas of civil censorship during the EOKA campaign: (a) censorship of incoming foreign mails to check for propaganda leaflets. (b) censorship of civil mails addressed to Detained Persons/Internees.

Plymouth Postal History by Charles Goodwyn, LVO, RDP Hon.FRPSL

This is a general display of Plymouth Postal History, concentrating on letters relating to the Lost Garden of Heligan. These include two letters to Rev. Henry Tremayne of Heligan, and letters and accounts referring to materials ordered for the glasshouses. Other items relate to the various markings used in Plymouth up until the early 20th Century.

Heligan, seat of the Tremayne family for more than 400 years, is one of the most mysterious estates in England. At the end of the nineteenth century its thousand acres were at their zenith, but only a few years later bramble and ivy were already drawing a green veil over this "Sleeping Beauty"

Ireland - The 1922 GB Overprints by Tony Stanford FRPSL

Following elections at the end of 1921 and establishment of the Provisional Government a decision was made to overprint the contemporary British stamps which had been used for postage, awarding contracts to two Dublin printing firms, The Dollard Printing House and Alex Thom & Co. Ltd. Thom overprinted four low values and Dollard overprinted the rest and the Seahorse high values, each printer using different types for the five line Gaelic overprint 'Provisional Government of Ireland 1922'. The stamps were issued on 17th February 1922 and for a Transitional Period the original British stamps were also accepted. The first part of the display features these stamps and their usage.

The Irish Free State came into being on 6th December 1922, when the 'Irish Free State 1922' 3-line overprint produced by Thom was introduced. These are featured in the second part as are the Free State coil stamps produced by Harrison and Sons and issued in March 1923.

The lower value definitives were superseded by new Eire issues by the end of 1923, but the Irish Seahorse overprints remained in use until after the Eire 'St Patrick' high values were issued in 1937, with the Government Printers in Dublin Castle taking over overprinting from June 1925. The third part of this display comprises the principal issues of the Seahorse overprints.

Unpaid And Underpaid Postcards by Michael Pitt-Payne FRPSL

This is a display of Post Cards which have been surcharged either because they were underpaid or because they were "contrary to regulations" and it covers the period from 1870 to 1924. The first official post cards were issued in the UK on 1st October 1870 and they were subject to regulations regarding the use of the front of the card, the attachment of labels and redirection. If the regulations were not complied with, the post card became liable to the letter rate and was surcharged as is demonstrated in the display.

As from 1st September 1894 the public were allowed to send Private Cards bearing adhesive stamps through the post and these were subject to regulations, which are set out in the display together with examples of how they were applied in respect of size, attachments and the materials used.

The second frame shows examples of international post cards which have been surcharged for failing to comply with regulations or because they were posted underpaid. The use of the address side of post cards for messages is of particular interest as this was permitted on UK inland cards from 1902, but was not accepted internationally until 1907 and led to misunderstandings and surcharges. The use of prohibited materials is illustrated by a pair of leather cards from the USA and a lump of granite attached to a post card sent from Aberdeen to Australia.

The Maltese Cross And Its Variations by Alan Holyoake FRPSL

As the first 'obliterator' it is not surprising that many errors and variations of its use occurred. Indeed the Post Office circular issued by Col. Maberly on 25th April 1840 gave no detailed instructions on use and only simple directions as to how the 'red stamping composition' should be mixed, leaving each Postmaster to obtain the ingredients locally.

From the outset variations in colour occurred and as the Maltese Cross was made from brass, a very malleable material so that it could be formed easily, it also meant that it could easily be worn, damaged and distorted. All of these factors result in the wonderful array of cancellations that this display endeavours to demonstrate.

In particular the Mulready is thought to provide the best examples of the Maltese Cross because the obliteration was placed upon a more even surface. No doubt a contentious point!

This display includes examples of some of the most famous cancellations known and of the colour variations used representing one of the most attractive aspects of philately that will hopefully encourage others to collect.

Great Britain: Victorian Correspondence To The Far East by Gilbert Wheat FRPSL

This small display of two frames shows covers with destinations that are not easy to find and therefore seldom exhibited. It may be fair to say that Singapore, Hong Kong. Shanghai and Yokohama are relatively plentiful, but all other destinations are difficult or very difficult to find.

The last six sheets of frame two however contain covers from these 'common' destinations, but they have points of interest other than the destination.

Interest may also be found in the Routes, Rates and post-marks; also the social, political and historical features seen from the addressees and their professions.

It should be noted that correspondence from the Far East to GB is much more plentiful and generally better preserved than that going from GB to the Far East.

The First Surface Printed Stamps Of Great Britain: Low Values 1855-1883 by Robin Galland FRPSL.

All stamps were designed, engraved and printed by Thomas de la Rue and Company under the supervision and instruction of the Inland Revenue. Embossed stamps were cumbersome to produce and unsuited for perforating. The decision to replace embossing by surface printing for postage stamps was made in January 1855. There seemed to have been two main reasons why surface printing (typography, letterpress) was chosen over the line-engraved process with which Perkins, Bacon & Co. were already printing the 1d and 2d stamps. First, de la Rue claimed that their special fugitive inks would reduce the risk of cancellations being removed from used stamps and stamps being re-used. The second reason relates to the difficulty experienced in perforating line-engraved stamps. These difficulties were largely due to the fact that paper was damped for line-engraved printing. Following damping, variation in degrees of shrinking resulted in difficulty in perforating the sheets. De la Rue did not need to dampen the paper before surface printing.

The Board of the Inland Revenue (not de la Rue) paid Jean Ferdinand Joubert de la Ferté 100 guineas for engraving the queen's head used for surface printed stamps. The engraving was based upon a drawing by Henry Corbould.

This display shows development from their introduction with No Corner Letters, through Small and Large White Corner Letters to Large Coloured Corner Letters. Some designs were ultimately used in the 'Provisional' issue of 1880 and the 'Unified' issue of 1883. Included are essays, adopted and rejected die proofs, specimen stamps, forgeries, mint and used multiples and examples of used abroad.

 

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