четверг, 11 октября 2012 г.

Stamps On the Web

The parenthetical numerical indicator appending the title marks this as the first in what will be an ongoing feature of my blog, bringing to your attention notable philatelic missives and musings to be found elsewhere on the worldwide web. The first two sites to be covered, here, are polar opposites when it comes to their subject matter. One talks about stamps recommended for investment, while the other concerns stamp issues that can be considered anything but.
The Stampselector blog gives investment tips and buying advice on undervalued and overlooked stamps. Written by Alex Rogolsky, the blog covers stamps from all eras and countries, with catalog values running the gamut, from a couple dollars to over a thousand dollars. In each writeup, Mr. Rogolsky presents his investment thesis starting with a summary of the stamp details – the date, purpose, and quantity produced (when known) – followed by a brief  overview of the issuing country, it’s economy, population, and potential collector base.




A recent issue tipped on Stampselector.com, Kazakhstan, Scott #145.
A recurring theme of his is the recommending of recent stamps of emerging economies, such as Kazakhstan and other former Soviet republics, with printing quantities of 100,000 or less. These issues will benefit from the twin catalysts of a growing middle-class population and concomitant collector base, and the resultant increase of interest from worldwide collectors.
The Stampselector blog is not all about investment and profits, though. Interspersed among the stamp investment tips, you will find general commentary on such subjects as stamp grading, the global financial crisis as it relates to stamps, and philatelic trivia, where you can learn the stories behind the stamps.

Jamaica, Scott #28-31. Recommended by Alex Rogolsky in his Stampselector blog.
Now, nobody is maintaining that investing in stamps is the road to retirement nirvana, and there are those in the collecting community who decry even the thought of profiting from your philatelic pursuits. But, I maintain that even the most stoic of philatelic “purists” derives some pleasure from finding that the catalog value (whether said catalog comes from Messrs. Scott, Gibbons, Michel, or anyone else) of their stamps has increased over the previous year.
Whether your interest lies in stamps as investments, or you want to keep abreast of the worldwide stamp market, or, like me, you simply enjoy reading about stamps, I suggest you give Stampselector a look
If one considers the philatelic spectrum in terms of collectible integrity and respect, with investment quality stamps, such as those discussed in the aforementioned Stampselector blog, sitting near one extreme, then the other end is surely anchored by the infamous 1960s issues of the seven sisters of the Arab world known as the Trucial States – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujeira, Sharja, Ras al Khaima and Umm al Qaiwain. The stamps of these entities, also known as “sand dune countries,” became the very definition of “philatelic junk.” In the 1970s, to assure prospective customers of the quality of their offerings, dealers would include the phrase, “No trucial states,” or “No sand dunes,” in their classified ads.
Over the intervening decades, attitudes toward these issues seem to have softened a little. Though, perhaps, not commanding the respect of even such exploitative issues as those of the Gambia or Bhutan, there appear to be more than a few collector’s who seek out these issues if only for the historical philatelic aspect of their existence. And R. Howard Courtney has even made it his mission to catalogue all the issues of Dubai, prompted by the 1970’s purchase of an auction lot of stamps, proofs, and printer’s waste,  and having no references by which to make sense of his holdings.



Dubai, Scott #1
Mr Courtney’s web catalogue for Dubai starts with several introductory pages explaining his interest in these issues, and of his associations and communications with the major players involved in the production and marketing of these stamps, particularly with one Michel Stephan, owner of the Baroody Stamp Company, and the one-man “philatelic agency” for the sheikhdom of Dubai. As Mr. Courtney writes, “Mr. Stephan had had a less-than-honorable reputation as a dealer for years and was known to traffic in forged overprints,” so it comes as no surprise to learn that Stephan utilized these same traits when creating stamps for Dubai. No security printers were involved in the production of the stamps, and Stephan and his American agent, Ezzet Mosden, often operated the printing machines themselves, deliberately creating varieties and “errors” that never made their way to Dubai, but were, instead, sold directly to collectors through their own shops.
As you might imagine, in dealing with people of such disrepute, Mr. Courtney’s attempts at gathering the information necessary for his catalogue was also fraught with obfuscation and duplicity. Though Stephan was, ostensibly, open and candid about his operations, Mr. Courtney often found his inquiries answered with vagaries and (let’s call a spade a spade) lies. Mosden, himself, tells of being double-crossed by his good friend, Stephan.
Ken Lawrence is quoted from an article, saying, “…most of the Trucial States issues were chronicled as they appeared, if only to provide grist for acid commentary. But, philatelic scholars avoided gathering comprehensive information about them at the time when it would have been readily available, leaving a large void for today’s researchers,” With his web site, R. Howard Courtney is filling the void in this dark period of philatelic  history.


Martin Mörck – Tireless Champion of the Engraver’s Art


If the term “Scandinavia” hadn’t already existed, it would have had to be invented for Martin Mörck. A Norwegian of Swedish birth, and living in Denmark – how could he be characterized as anything but Scandinavian? He also spends time, each year, in Greenland and China.
China?
Yes. As in, “People’s Republic of . . .”
In a world in which autograph correspondence is all but dead, and postal administrations are struggling to maintain fiscal balance in the face of declining demand, China is bucking one unfortunate trend – the scaling back, and even elimination of the engraved postage stamp. The exquisite skill and artistry required, along with the hundreds of hours of labor involved in the process (2 to 4 weeks to create one engraving), makes the production of engraved stamps more expensive, by far, than modern automated processes for offset printing. And, so, fewer and fewer engraved stamps are produced each year.

In 1998, Mörck engraved this $2 polar bear issue, Scott #1690, for Canada’s definitive series of 1997-2005.
The United States Postal Service has likely engraved its last stamp, banking on colorful cartoon stickers for kids, to stave off foreclosure of the ranch. And worldwide, it has been estimated by the Paris-based Art du Timbre Gravé, only 10 to 15% of stamps produced these days are hand-engraved.

Two issues, Scott 2943 and 2934, engraved by Morck, for the Great Americans series issued by the United States Postal Service.
China, on the other hand, has determined that there is a need and a demand for hand-engraved stamps. However, as is the case elsewhere in the world, there is a dearth of artists skilled in the exacting and painstaking art of steel-plate line-engraving. And this is where Martin Mörck comes in.
China Post has retained the master engraver to train 10 young students in the art of engraving. With virtually all of the current working stamp engravers (by Mörck’s count, only a dozen or so, concentrated in four countries) being in their 50s and older, this group will form the vanguard of a new generation of stamp-engraving artists, charged with the task of keeping this increasingly rare art form alive.

Issued by China in December 2011, this set depicts historical astronomical instruments.
In choosing Martin Mörck to spearhead this training program, China Post could not have found a better champion. With well over 650 engraved stamp designs to his credit, over a 40 year period, Martin Mörck is rivaled, probably, only by the legendary Czesław Słania in his philatelic output. His work can be seen on the stamps of no less than 18 postal administrations, including the usual suspects (i.e. the Scandinavians), France, Austria, Latvia, Canada, and even the great underachiever of philatelic excellence, the United States Postal Service.
Befitting his role in China, Mörck has also engraved two of that country’s recent stamp issues, the Astronomical Instruments (joint issue with Denmark), and the Classical Music Composers.

An unusual issue from China, depicting western classical music composers — Bach, Haydn, Beethoven, and Mozart.
A high school dropout at the age of 16, Martin Mörck enrolled in art school, and, dissatisfied with the level of teaching there, dropped out again after 2 years. With an interest in engraving, and realizing that the only artists knowledgeable in that art were those who were producing postage stamps, he wrote a letter to the Swedish Post looking for a trainee position. He was accepted, and by the age of 20 he had become a freelance engraving artist. With a passion for the ocean, seascapes and sailing ships are particular favorite subjects of his.

One of Martin Mörck’s personal favorites, the “East Indiaman” engraved for Sweden, in 2003.

A joint-issue between France and Greenland, produced in 2007.
40 years, and almost 670 stamps later, Martin Mörck shows no signs of slowing down. His enthusiasm for life, and the joy he feels in his work, ensure that we can look forward to many more beautiful stamp designs from him. And with the foresight of China Post, we are assured of seeing his continued influence in the philatelic art of other countries.



New Issue of Note – Australian Legends of Football


As a fan of the engraved postage stamp, particularly those of Austria and those created by Czesław Słania (pronounced chess-wahv swah-nya), I have found it difficult to embrace many of the newer issues employing photographic processes in their production. Too often the stamps lack any aesthetic appeal, looking more like stickers for a child’s picture album, or like polychrome picture postcards reduced to postage stamp size. And if you collect British Commonwealth, your stamp album will look more like the Royal Photo Album.
With letter-writing virtually a relic of the pre-twitter/pre-facebook/pre-email past, the challenge is on for postal agencies of all countries to create issues that will, if not encourage placing pen to paper, at least compel one to purchase as collectible keepsakes. To that end, we increasingly find new issues depicting contemporaneous subjects with popular cultural appeal. While, in the past, this was mainly the purview of the Gambias, Ghanas, and St. Vincents of the philatelic world. Nowadays even “respectable” collectible countries have glommed onto the idea that pop culture sells. Even the United States Postal Service, with it’s current rule that a person has to be dead at least 5 years before being honored on a stamp, is considering abolishing that requirement (much to the consternation of many US collectors), in order to be able to produce issues that will appeal to a wider current generation of potential collectors.
For myself, my love for the classic look aside, this is fine, as long as the stamps don’t end up looking like Pokemon stickers or self-adhesive sportscards.

This 1986 issue from Tuvalu looks like it came out of a pack of Topps cards.
Which brings me to the subject of this post, a new issue from Australia Post, entitled Australian Legends of Football. This set, issued January 20, 2012, depicts 4 legendary players of the past (in studio portraits with an action vignette in the background), and 4 current stars (shown in game time action), of each of the 4 forms of football played in Australia.

Australian Football Legends. Issued January 20, 2012.
The stamps are colorful, and display a fresh, contemporary design aesthetic, yet maintain an unmistakable identity (and dignity, so to speak) as postage stamps. Crop the perfs from the image, and nobody is going to mistake these as pictures of football trading cards. Kudos to Australia Post in showing that pop culture and postage stamps can coexist amicably. If the United States Postal Service follows AP’s lead in design and production quality, collectors of US postage stamps will have nothing to worry about when American idol stamps start rolling off the presses.

MARKET PHILATELY

MARKET PHILATELY

The current state of philately is this bad, consider that this type of collectible, as a good investment only after a brief overview of what it is - philately XXI century.
 One hundred years of stamp collecting was competing for a mass gathering of books, coins, antiques, and suddenly, for twenty years the total loss of interest in philately. However, this is easily explained.
 First, the post office around the overdone, and released a number of brands that collectors stopped collecting what is too much. People collect usually a small, inaccessible, a limited number of some items, and postage stamps has more than river sand.
 Second, the computer has destroyed another mythical benefit from meeting marks-pictures, because earlier called philatelists albums with stamps small encyclopedia on the small images that could see the whole world. Now remember this is ridiculous, but with a deficit of books in the twentieth century - it was almost true.
 Third, philatelists philately killed themselves when, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, they released a homegrown directories that list price brands at times was more than these brands actually paid. This is easily explained by the fact that collectors, which in the last twenty years has been 100 times less, tried to somehow sell discounted treasures.
 This, of course, it was very funny to watch, as a fall in demand, reduction of stamp collectors hundreds of times, suddenly increased in catalogs price brands - a product that nobody wants. Perhaps this latest folly and destroy the future of philately - new philatelists do not come, old, of course, not eternal.

 Sometimes I still see in the media the media as one of the journalists to rank as other types of collecting and philately as a way to invest. Alas, this is nonsense, and the three main causes of which are painted above. Collecting pictures with glue, which produces almost adult uncles, can be considered only investment in an insane asylum, but there was not going to brand.

 What has remained positive in Russian Philately? This is the story itself-mail from the beginning to about the mid-twentieth century. This stamps, envelopes, cards, bearing the stamp of rare covers, picking which does not seem to dull warehousing modern brands, the old part of the history of philately will remain forever, and it will collect.

 That's why, if we consider the domestic philately in terms of market investing, it is a limited number of brands. This royal brand until 1889, but the later pre-revolutionary brand are not interesting, unless they are on letters, postcards, and do not carry on their stamps something unusual. The same thing can be said about brands RSFSR - they are valuable only to mail. Stamps USSR did not interesting from the point of view of market investments, the exception to this - a few
 series of period 1929-1935 years. I think, I hope, and watch the return of interest in philately of the Civil War, with its numerous revaluations.
 Especially promising investing money in local self brand and corporate brands to 1940.
 All other Russian philately from 1935 to date - this multi-ton mountain of unnecessary paper to anyone. The miracle did not happen, modern philately its last years, the real price of the brand in 1935 after falling, but old men who obsessively issue new catalogs, draw in their price lists, which it claims is increasing. That's only one customer brands have one hundred sellers willing to sell him something, and, in desperation, more and more collectors donate their old brand resellers not
 price catalogs, and at the price of waste paper - that is, a realistic assessment of the contemporary Russian philately.

 But what about philately in other countries? In principle, the same thing, but the more developed countries, the faster its collectors escape from modern waste mountains to true philately to 1935's, the study of the diversity of the old post, and do not pay attention to the modern, like a souvenir, philately.

 As an exception, I want to mention two of the country where philately was previously neglected, and now, on the contrary, is thriving. For example, China! The faster thriving and rich this country is, the more expensive brands are Communist China 1949-1970 period, well, of course, more contemporary brand was not listed. Second country include Mongolia, whereas in 1991, the country had five philatelists, but now there are more than 200, so the old mark of Mongolia to 1955 times more expensive, and potentially will
 go up further as old Mongolian brands almost no - no one had them there just are not collected.

 Unfortunately, in our country, millions of Soviet Army collectors entire twentieth century was collected and retained almost all the circulation of all domestic brands, forever devalued them in the eyes of collectors twenty-first century. What to do - millions of collectors of the twentieth century, and only one thousand collectors twenty-first century, and among the mountains are now unnecessary marks. And if you regularly go to a club of philatelists, it is easy to imagine that we, collectors, becoming less
 and less, but that's OK - we should not be so much as it was before, and we do not ever learn to appreciate the colorful mail boxes since 1935, but really valuable old stamps.


Philately

Philately

Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps. For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare, or reside only in museums.


Origins of the word
The word "philately" is the English version of the French word "philatélie", coined by Georges Herpin in 1864. Herpin stated that stamps had been collected and studied for the previous six or seven years and a better name was required for the new hobby than timbromanie, which was disliked. He took the Greek root word phil or philo, meaning an attraction or affinity for something, and ateleia, meaning "exempt from duties and taxes" to form "philatelie". The introduction of postage stamps meant that the receipt of letters was now free of charge, whereas before stamps it was normal for postal charges to be paid by the recipient of a letter.

The alternative terms "timbromania", "timbrophily" and "timbrology" gradually fell out of use as philately gained acceptance during the 1860s.

Origins
The origins of philately lie in the observation that in a number of apparently similar stamps, closer examination may reveal differences in the printed design, paper, watermark, colour, perforations and other areas of the stamp. Comparison with the records of postal authorities may or may not show that the variations were intentional, which leads to further inquiry as to how the changes could have happened, and why. To make things more interesting, thousands of forgeries have been produced over the years, some of them very good, and only a thorough knowledge of philately gives any hope of detecting the fakes.

Types
Traditional philately is the study of the technical aspects of stamp production and stamp identification, including:
The stamp design process;
The paper used (wove, laid, etc., and including watermarks);
The method of printing (engraving, typography, etc.);
The gum;
The method of separation (perforation, rouletting);
Any overprints on the stamp;
Any security markings, underprints or perforated initials ("perfins"); and,
The study of philatelic fakes and forgeries.

Thematic philately, also known as topical philately, is the study of what is depicted on the stamps. There are hundreds of popular subjects, such as birds on stamps, and ships, poets, presidents, monarchs, maps, aircraft, space craft, sports and insects on stamps. Interesting aspects of topical philately include design mistakes and alterations, for instance, the recent editing out of cigarettes from the pictures used for United States stamps, and the stories of how particular images came to be used.

Postal history concentrates on the use of stamps on mail. It includes the study of postmarks, post offices, postal authorities, postal rates and regulations and the process by which letters are moved from sender to recipient, including routes and choice of conveyance. A classic example is the Pony Express, which was the fastest way to send letters across the United States during the few months that it operated. Covers that can be proved to have been sent by the Pony Express are highly prized by collectors.

Aerophilately is the branch of Postal history that specializes in the study of airmail. Philatelists have observed the development of mail transport by air from its beginning, and all aspects of airmail services have been extensively studied and documented by specialists.

Postal stationery includes stamped envelopes, postal cards, letter sheets, aérogrammes (air letter sheets) and wrappers, most of which have an embossed or imprinted stamp or indicia indicating the prepayment of postage.

Cinderella philately is the study of objects that look like stamps, but aren't postal stamps. Examples include Easter Seals, Christmas Seals, propaganda labels, and so forth.

Philatelic literature documents the results of philatelic study and includes thousands of books and periodicals.

Revenue philately is the study of stamps used to collect taxes or fees on such things as, legal documents, court fees, receipts, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses and newspapers.

Maximaphily is the study of Maximum Cards. Maximum Cards can be defined as a picture post card with postage stamp on the same theme and a cancellation, with a maximum concordance between all three

Tools
Philately uses a number of tools, including stamp tongs (a specialised form of tweezers) to safely handle the stamps, a strong magnifying glass and a perforation gauge (odontometre) to measure the perforation gauge of the stamp.

The identification of watermarks is important and may be done with the naked eye by turning the stamp over or holding it up to the light. If this fails then watermark fluid may be used, which "wets" the stamp to reveal the mark.

Other common tools include stamp catalogues, stamp stockbooks and stamp hinges.

Organisations
Philatelic organisations sprang up soon after people started collecting and studying stamps. They include local, national and international clubs and societies where collectors come together to share their hobby.