Updated 30th January 2012   

"An Appraisal of Cinderella Collecting"

      - An afternoon philatelic seminar on Friday 9th March 2012
                                 by Francis Kiddle R.D.P., Hon. F.R.P.S.L. and Charles Kiddle.

Francis and Charles Kiddle are well known as collectors and writers on Cinderella Collecting. We are pleased that they have agreed to lead the seminar on starting and collating such collections for us. They will give an overview of collecting topics, why they collect this material and, after refreshments, will ask attendees for their views and attempt to answer any queries that may be raised.

The meeting is open to members and non-members of the National Philatelic Society. The Venue is the Phoenix Centre, Phoenix Place, London WC1X 0DL and the seminar has been organised through the British Postal Museum & Archive in the adjoining Phoenix Centre, where Royal Mail are kindly providing a meeting room.

There is a charge of £5 (£3 for members of the National Philatelic Society).   Places are limited and the deadline for applications is Tuesday 5^th March 2012.

Click here for a booking form. If you require further information please email Christopher Oliver, National Philatelic Society, c/o The British Postal Museum & Archive, Freeling House, Phoenix Place, London WC1X 0DL on npspresident@ukphilately.org.uk  

Please note that the date for this Seminar has been changed from that originally shown in the National Philatelic Society programme for 2011-12. 

The current issue of Stamp Lover -  February 2012                     

• Habria in Hannover - Simon Richards reports on the Habria International Exhibition held on 19 -25 November 2011.
  
  

• Cuba's International medical aid programme - some Postal History - Most stamps  issues from Cuba under Fidel Castro are common and colourful but as Mark Piper explains postal history reflecting Cuba's relations with other countries can be both interesting and rare.
  
  

• Was the "Junior" older than we thought...? The records state that the National Philatelic Society was founded as the Junior Philatelic Society in 1899. Glenn Morgan has however now found an item in the Daily News of 3rd November 1891which says that a group of philatelists were already thinking of setting up a Junior Philatelic Society.
   

• Collecting Netherlands Children stamps 1922-1999 - Each year since 1922, apart from the war years 1942-44 the Netherlands has issued stamps to raise money for children's charities. Michael F Griffiths tells bout these issues and the way in which the system under which they are issued operates.
  
  

• Johnson Benson Gilder, writer and editor turned despatch agent - an 1903 underpaid card bearing the mauve handstamp of London-based United States Despatch Agent J B Gilder has prompted Michael L Goodman to research Johnson Benson Gilder and one-time literary adviser and editor became a Despatch Agent.
  
  

• Hungary - the Mega-inflation Issues -  The 1945-46 inflation issues from Hungary may be dismissed as common stamps found in cheap stamp packets but their history is nonetheless worth recording as shown here by Dave Hill.
  
  

• New Issues - 

  • 150th Anniversary of Postal Services in the Seychelles

  • Argentine Sports Idols -  Although chess is not perhaps thought of as a sport, its inclusion in the recent Sports Idols III issue from Argentina prompts a look at this and the two previous releases in this series. 

  • Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Centenary - two of the more remote branches of the Association - St Helena and the Falkland Islands - have commemorated the centenary of the founding of the body in 1911.

  • The Unification of Italy - an update to the listing that appeared in August 2011 Stamp Lover describes eight "art on stamps" showing battles in the long struggle for unification between 1848 and 1917. 
    
    

• Recent Displays - Reports on the National PS Annual Competitions  which took place on Saturday 10th December and on the 1936 Berlin Olympics  given by Tony Bosworth FRPSL on Saturday 14th January 2012.
  
  

• Book Reviews - This popular feature this month takes in Naval Cover fakes and forgeries, mail robberies in Australia, the 1916-17 Bahamas Local Special delivery stamps and the life of Charles Darwin.
  

• A five day learning experience - the lessons to be learned for the National Philatelic Society's presence at the Ideal Home Exhibition.

  
   PLUS -  Other Regular Features - 

  • The President's Piece, National PS News

  • Letters to the Editor

  • Other Philatelic News 

  • Stamp Fairs Listing - February, March and April 2012.

MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY RECEIVE SIX ISSUES OF "STAMP LOVER" A YEAR 

For 5 days in November, as a leading British stamp club, the National Philatelic took a stand at the Ideal Home at Christmas, where an estimated 85,000 people passed through the doors of the famous Earls Court Exhibition Centre. The aim was to promote stamps and stamp collecting. Click here to read more.

Annual Competitions, December 2010 

The National's Annual Competitions took place at the December Meeting and as usual were preceded by the monthly auction and traditional sherry and mince pies.

A high standard of entries saw John Davies taking first place in the Traditional Class with a well written study of these issues, starting with the hybrid revenue postal overprints, and including good specimens of these stamps plus blocks and covers of later ones,. The close runner up was Simon Richards with the early stamps of Dominica, including some classics used on cover . Third place was Dr John Marks with GB Queen Elizabeth the Second , errors, flaws, and fakes, the sort of material that could go undetected without  magnifying glasses or a little bit of observation.

The Postal History Class was won by Simon Richards  with early British West Indies stamp less  maritime covers, unusual material,  and well researched and written up .The writer was the runner up with a study of  underpaid mail sent from the USA during the  19^th century and early 20^th centuries . Alan Randall Jones  came third with a study of mail from the USS Tillman, including a profusion of postcards.

Chris Oliver won the Social/Open Class with a study of the South African Voortrekker Celebration issue  while Stuart Henderson won the Thematic Class with the First  World War and its consequences, an opportunity to include a diversity of world wide material and show off his historical knowledge. 

The judges were Christine Earle and Brian Asquith . Christine stayed to comment on the overall competition and to discuss points with competitors after. She said she had spent a “very entertaining morning “ judging the entries and that “ a lot of people had taken time and trouble and thought about their entries.” She added”  I like the way more and more competitors are telling a story with their entries and explaining on the front page what their entry is about”.
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As is usual Competitions Day saw the announcement of the winner of the Johnson Award for philatelic writing in Stamp Lover during 2009 the winner of which was Ramon Goodey for his article “How I studied UN issues” which appeared in the October 2009 edition of Stamp Lover. 

“STAMP LOVER” Celebrates 100 years of enthusiasm

“The keynote of the STAMP LOVER will be enthusiasm” wrote Fred Melville founder of the Junior Philatelic Society in the very first edition of the journal in June 1908.  A century later, the Junior’s successor, the National Philatelic Society, celebrates the centenary of the Stamp Lover with a bumper edition. 

The special 100-page issue features a re-design, with full colour illustrations and articles which reflect the diversity of philatelic interests and which also review the development of philately during the past century.

The issue is prefaced with an extract from the very first issue, including the editorial where Fred Melville expresses his views about enthusiasm for stamps, stamp collecting and the Junior Philatelic Society. That enthusiasm has been reflected ever since in the pages of subsequent issues of the Stamp Lover. 

Articles by expert contributors not only mark the Centenary but also inform and educate on philatelic issues today. As will be seen below, subjects include research, social philately, aerophilately, Machins, thematics, postal stationery and computers in philately. There is also a look back to 1908 and the issues current then, as well as a philatelic history of the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition.   

Click here For full details of the contents of this special issue.

Accordingly, the British Philatelic Trust, has provided financial support for which we are grateful, to enable local philatelic societies in the UK to receive copies. This will allow their members to benefit from the research provided by our contributors.   

Copies of the Centenary issue may also be obtained from the Hon Secretary at National Philatelic Society, c/o The British Postal Museum & Archive, Freeling House, Phoenix Place, London WC1X 0DL, for £3 each) including postage. Cheques should be payable to National Philatelic Society.