THE LIGHTHOUSE
The Newsletter of the Eastbourne & South Downs Philatelic Society
Editor: John Wright, 12 Milchester House, Staveley Road, Meads, Eastbourne, BN20 7JX.
No. 15 February 2004
Views expressed in this Newsletter are not necessarily those of the Officers or Committee
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SECRETARY URGENTLY WANTED !
Copy for "The Lighthouse", issue #14, was taken to the Society Meeting on 18th October so that the Newsletter could be available for distribution on 1st November (the first Meeting of that month, as usual). Not until I arrived at that Meeting did I learn the disturbing news that Secretary Jeff Jewson Fleming had, a few days earlier, resigned, that resignation taking immediate effect This is why there was no reporting of that event in #14
I do not know the reasons behind Jeff's sudden departure, but it might be that he was having to do too much (I was surprised that, at the AGM, he had volunteered to succeed Frank Blincow as Programme Secretary - a vital task but not necessarily one which should be done by the Secretary). Some of the many jobs Jeff did have been, or are being, taken over by other members of the Society - Graham Little as Acting Secretary, for example, is dealing with the "day-to-day" business and is fielding correspondence, but Graham has a move in the offing which will take him away from the area so this is a gap plugged for a very short time.
What can you do to help? Please consider your own commitments carefully to see what you can do. It would be a dreadful state of affairs should positions in this 130+ strong Society be unfilled at the AGM and winding-up result. Sarah Griffin (01323 485 813) awaits your call.
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TWO SIMILAR CANADA - UNITED STATES ENTIRES. 1844 and 1845
The first of the two entires illustrated was purchased in the December '07 Longley Auction. To New York, it bears the red, #J 236, datestamp of Quebec, October 7 1844; the red crowned "PAID AT QUEBEC", #J525; red #J587 "PAID"; red m/s "3/10" and "75"; and black m/s "paid", "Due 56¼ and a scrawl.
At this time, postage on a letter from Canada to the U.S. was made up of two parts: the Canadian (strictly speaking "British") postage to the Border, and the U.S. postage from there to destination. Canada adopted a simplified charging system on January 5 1844: a letter of not more than ½ oz became 1 rate; ½ - 1 oz, 2 rates; 1 - 2 oz, 4 rates; and so on, with no 3x, 5x,.., rates. For 201 - 300 miles, the distance from Quebec to the Border, 1 rate was 10d sterling, 11½d currency, so the red "3/10" indicates prepayment for a 1 - 2 oz (i.e. a 4x rate) letter (4xll½d = 46d = 3/10d).
The U.S. did not introduce its simplified system until July 1 1845 and was still working on 4 rates for not more than 1 oz with each additional ¼ oz being an extra rate. The Post Office clerk at Quebec wrongly thought "Canadian postage is 4 x rate, so U.S. postage is also 4 x rate: Border to New York is 150 - 400 miles, so 1 rate is 18¾c, 4 x 18¾ = 75" and the red "75" represents this postage, which was prepaid. At either the Exchange Office, or New York, the letter was seen to be in the 1½ - 1¾ oz range and so should have been 7 x rate; i.e. was 3 rates underpaid. "1¾ oz" was scrawled, and "Due 56¼ added, being 3 x 18¾ = 56¼c, the amount to be collected from the addressee. I will freely admit that it takes imagination to read the scrawl as "1¾ oz", but on the reasonable assumption that it is a postal marking, and means something, what else could it be?
The second entire, from a Maresch sale of November '99, bears similar marks and is also from Quebec (April 16 1845) to New York. Again rated 3/10 to the Border, it was in the 1 - 2 ounce range, and so must be underpaid - it should have been in at least the 1 - 1¼ ounce (i.e. 5 x rate) range, so at least 1 rate (18¾c) underpaid on the U.S. postage: it was, however, unpenalised. Perhaps it was so slightly over the 1 ounce mark that it did not feel as obviously "heavy" in the way that the earlier did, and so escaped checking. Interesting to note that the clerk at Quebec was, 6 months after the 0ctober error, still not aware of the correct way of assessing U.S. postage!
A NEW POLICY FOR ROYAL MAIL ?
Those members who were at Peter Burridge's display of G. B. Post Decimal Commemoratives will have seen a very large number of stamps - in some cases seeing stamps (and perhaps even issues) of which they were unaware. I will not deny that many of our more recent issues are attractively designed, but I do feel most strongly that there are far too many in each year, that some issues can't be justified, and that most sets contain too many values (and that these values are not always relevant).
Consider, as a possibly extreme example, Christmas 2007. Why was it necessary to have two 2nd class stamps? Why two 1st class? Why "special" values for "large" letters? Why no value for mail to Europe? Or for 1st stage World zones 1 and 2 when there was (78p) a value for 2nd stage? And why, in the name of Rowland Hill, was there a £1•24 value for 3rd step to world zone 2 (one might also ask why (above 20g) do rates for world zones 1 and 2 differ)? The answer could well be "cynical exploitation of collectors".
The schedule for 2008 includes no fewer than 15 commemorative issues, which might be about 3 times too many, and includes "James Bond", "The Houses of Lancaster and York", and "Classic Carry On and Hammer Films".
James Bond stamps are 2 x 1st class, 2 x 54p (world rate to 10 gm), 2 x 78p (world rate to 20gm). Although "Stamp Guide 2008" appears to show all 3 values in se tenant pairs, this is not the case. Small boys (and girls) used to boost stamp collections with material removed from envelopes (see Chatterbox article) - what chance have they of getting a decent used single considering the length of the stamps? Why not a stamp with the rate to Europe? And there is a "Press Sheet" as well, what will be an undoubtedly very large sheet with a number (probably 12) of miniature sheets. Far too big to have in an album: presumably meant only for investment (!) purposes. It is, incidentally, good to see their statement "To ensure authenticity, First Day covers cannot be ordered after the issue date" - possibly because of the farce with the Harry Potter issue when they could be ordered (for a couple of weeks?) after issue date.
Mention of Harry Potter leads to the question "Was this the most exploitative issue of 2007?". 12 different 1st class stamps! And a Generic Sheet! I never saw one on my mail. I admire J.K. Rowling, but did the author really need what amounted to little more than a free advert for her books?
In my opinion, Royal Mail should have many fewer issues each year - they are not doing the hobby any favours with their present policy. Each issue should contain a 1st class value: if there are other values, these should be Europe to 20g, and International to 10g (and 2nd class in the Christmas issue). The stamps should be available at Post Offices for longer, with counter staff urged to encourage their use rather than printed labels.
In The Working Dogs issue of 6 is a 46p - 20g surface mail, outside Europe - does anybody use this? And 69p, 78p are respectively 2nd stage for Europe and World. Compare the Royal Mail policy with that of Canada, which also has too many issues. But several are 1-value only (domestic rate, admittedly self-adhesive - ugh! - in booklets) and possibly 2, or 4, designs). Multi-value issues (also, probably, s/a in booklets) will have a US - rate, and International-rate. They have a strange, but not unattractive, idea now for their new low and medium value definitives, with each group available also in a miniature sheet. Still, nobody's perfect. Shown are two sheets, as usual, black & white does not do justice.
What do you think? Does Royal Mail have too many commemorative issues, with too many, too high, values? Please let me know your views on this -1 will be happy to print some.
A YOUNG STAMP COLLECTOR
The following appeared in the "CHATTERBOX19 children's annual of 1892. How things have changed since then!
Before the days of cheap postage the charge was paid by the receiver of the letter, and sometimes the postman demanded so many shillings for a single letter that poor folk could not pay it and had to go without their letter. When postage was made cheap it had to be prepaid and stamps were provided. At first the English penny postage was a black 'Queen's head' as it was commonly called. As other countries adopted cheap postage they had their various stamps with portraits of their sovereigns, coats-of-arms, national symbols, or the like on them.
Boys are fond of 'collecting', and it became a fashion with them to collect the stamps of different countries, and as they learned, without knowing it, a good deal of geography, their parents and teachers wisely encouraged the taste, After a time, stamp-albums were published, with a page or two for each country, and suitable divisions for the various kinds of stamps, with some useful information about the country itself.
As boys can seldom buy unused stamps, they have to look out for foreign letters and get the stamps off them. These stamps are often thin and gummed on to thin paper, so that it is hard to separate one from the other. A young collector in the picture is using the steam from the kettle to help him. If any boy can afford to buy unused stamps, they look better than those which have been cancelled, though it is curious to see how this cancelling is done in different ways in different parts of the globe.
It is said that some keen boy collectors have been known to ransack the rubbish put out for the dustman in the city streets, in the hope of finding envelopes or wrappers which have come by post from foreign parts. Some postage stamps, which were perhaps only in use for a short time, are very rare and fetch large prices. This has led some rogues even to forge and sell imitations of these stamps. A fairly complete collection of the postage stamps of the world, arranged in an album, is a very interesting study and is often sold for a large sum. Even an imperfect collection will give a great deal of pleasure and instruction, and boys are well advised who take up this 'hobby', The rather grand name of 'philatelist' is sometimes given to stamp-collectors, and their very harmless taste is called 'philately'.
CYPRUS - MALTA JOINT ISSUE By Graham Little
I reported in "The Lighthouse" #14 that Cyprus was due to convert to the euro in January: that did, on 1st January, take place. The George Cross Island of Malta also joined the Eurozone on that day and to mark the occasion Cyprus and Malta have jointly issued a two-value miniature sheet, an illustration of which is shown. The actual measurements of the sheet are 100 mm x 62 mm, with each stamp 38 mm x 38 mm. Face value of the sheet is 2 euro.
One design represents Aphrodite, the Cypriot Goddess of Love, while the other shows the statuette of Malta known as the Sleeping Lady or Fat Lady. A Press release is posted on the Society Notice Board for the benefit of any member wishing to purchase the sheet.
REVIEW ....
October llth A slightly disappointing attendance of fewer than 20 for My Favourite Definitives which Betty Blincow opened with Wartime France including PS, Red Cross Mail, censored; Mercury, Iris, Sowers, Marshall Petain, various Marianne issues, Provisional Govt 1940-41, a POW propaganda card, and going up to 1951. Evelyn Hutchins was next with China: Empire 1878-83, Imperial Post set (1897) and with colour changes, Republic 1911 opts, then "Junk" sets, first printed London, then Peking; she then showed Persia with 1881 - 1922 sets showing Lion or Shah, and the 1929 set (possibly the reprint). Robin Beadle had Guernsey 1992 - 97 Flowers, 1999 - 2000 Ships; Alderney 1983 Island Scenes, 1994 Flora & Fauna; Jersey 1976 Parish Arms & Views, 1988 Arms, 1989 - 90 Scenes, 1997 - 99 Seabirds, 2005 - 06 Flowers; and Isle of Man 1983 Seabirds, 1988 - 92 Railways and Tramways, 1993 Ships. Nigel Steer showed GB Wildings (wmk and graphites), booklets, phosphors, and some Machins and Castles. The first half was closed by Geoff Gordon who had a great amount of material from his time in the Leeward Islands, with 3 sets from each of Antigua (1960, 1966 and 1978), Montserrat (1953, 1984, 1992), St. Kitts Nevis & Anguilla (1954, 1963, 1970), British Virgin Islands (1956, 1979, 1985), and Dominica (1954, 1963,1969, this last set having the design contained within a large "D").