BACK TO SCHOOL
Ah, the greatest days of our lives… a throng of disparate characters brought together in blazer and tie, some the instigators of high-jinks in the playground, others bearing the brunt of bad jokes. The daring launch of paper aeroplanes when Sir or Miss wasn’t looking, the clatter and chatter of school dinners, assemblies, hymns, and detention, and the ringing of the bell to signal home time.
Amongst all this frivolity and routine, we managed to learn a thing or two, leaving with our exam results under our arm and the world at our feet. But whilst the camaraderie (and sometimes malaise) of the classroom is for most of us a distant memory, we continue to learn. As we’ve said many times on the pages of this educational guide (or as some say, magazine), knowledge is power, especially when it comes to our challenging, diverse hobby.
With this spirit of discovery and lifelong learning in mind, we present our ‘Back to School’ special issue, a stamp-inspired syllabus designed to give you the general know-how you need to take your collecting to the next level. So no talking at the back. The bell has rung and the lesson begins…
A is for Abnormals
Just as it sounds, an abnormal is a stamp that isn’t quite as it should be. For collectors of GB, the term refers to a stamp printed from a plate in colour, or on paper with a watermark, differing from that in which the plate was normally printed, or a stamp printed from a plate that was never put to press, and therefore not printed in the normal way.
De la Rue’s surface printing plates wore out at more or less predictable intervals, typically after 35,000 sheets. So they made sure that replacement plates were always available. As each new plate was made, six sheets were printed on gummed, imperforate paper and submitted to Somerset House for approval. These were called ‘imprimaturs’ from the Latin word meaning ‘let it be printed’; a more accurate term would be ‘registration sheets’.
Of the six sheets, one was retained by Somerset House, while the others were perforated and distributed for circulation as normal. In most cases this went unnoticed, as the new plate was put to press soon afterwards. But in a few rare instances, something changed: a design, a colour, a watermark or postal rate. So the new plate was never used and the stamps from those five sheets became the only copies in existence. And there can only be 1,200 of them.
The abnormals appeared from 1862 to 1880 and collectors have been on the lookout for them ever since. But many surface prints went abroad, not everybody knows about them and the vast numbers of surface prints produced makes them very much the needles in a philatelic haystack. So there is a distinct possibility that more examples might turn up.
Everything changed from 1880. British stamps would be designed and printed in sets, on the same paper and by the same process. Stamps also lost their visible plate numbers and (eventually) the check letters too.
APPROVALS: Priced collections of stamps sent to on request to collectors by dealers. Collectors select which stamps they wish to buy and then return the rest of the selection to the dealer with payment.
ADMIRALS: The ‘admirals’ is the name given to three British Commonwealth series of stamps that depict King George V in a naval uniform.
AEROGRAM: This is a pre-paid airmail letter which can be folded to form an envelope. These are usually lower cost than regular airmail.
ALBINO: A completely un-inked stamp design with no colour. This can occur if two sheets of paper are fed through the press at the same time, or if no ink is applied. Such errors are more common on postal stationary than stamps.
ALBUM WEED: An album weed refers to either a counterfeit stamp or an item which mimics a stamp. These are not accepted to pay postage.
ARROW: A V-shaped marking applied to stamp sheet margins which serves as a guide for cutting.
BISECT: To bisect is the process in which a stamp is physically halved, whilst also keeping its original full value (see below). Therefore, each half will be worth half the stamp’s original price. This method has been used during times of common stamp shortages.
BOURSE: A conference in which stamps and covers are sold or traded, typically without competitive exhibits. Most stamp exhibitions have a dealer bourse, but most bourses occur without an exhibition.
B is for Bishop Marks
These are the first known postmarks to be handstruck rather than handwritten, and were introduced in 1661 in the General Post Office in London, to counter complaints about delays in the post.
The name ‘Bishop Mark’ used by collectors refers to Colonel Sir Henry Bishop, Postmaster General from 1660-63, who described them as follows: ‘A stamp is invented, that is putt upon every letter shewing the day of the moneth that every letter comes to this office, so that no letter Carryer may dare to detayne a letter from post to post; which before was usual’.
The earliest recorded date of use is 19 April. Early Bishop Marks are however very rare as, until 1663, they were used only on letters incoming to London, many of which were subsequently filed away in business houses in the City, and thus burnt up in the Great Fire of London in 1666. After this they were struck on mail posted in London as well, and are thus seen on a large number of pre-stamp letters.
The handstamps themselves were made of hardwood and had a very simple design – a circle divided in half, with a two-letter abbreviation for the month in the top part and the day below (the positions were switched in 1713). They were almost always struck in black ink, although this tends to turn brownish with age. Many different stamps were used, but as the year was not included, it is not possible to be precise about the date they were struck unless the letter itself is dated. Bishop Marks were later extended to Dublin in 1670, Edinburgh in 1693, and even North America before the American Revolution.
The London Bishop Marks were replaced in 1787 with new handstamps that included the year, although use continued to 1795 in Dublin and 1806 in Edinburgh.
C is for Cinderellas
For decades Cinderellas have been considered the poorer cousin of the postage stamp, but they offer just as much intrigue to the collector.
The term ‘Cinderella’ does not just refer to the popular fairytale. For philatelists it is the catch-all word to describe any stamp which has no postal validity. Given their enchanting name since they were ‘not invited to the ball’, these curious stamps are often excluded from stamp collections, which are limited to material used for postal purposes. Yet Cinderellas often boast equally impressive designs, reveal fascinating stories, and provide collectors with numerous variations to contend with.
Since the term defines the material in terms of what is is not, there are many different types of Cinderella. According to the Cinderella Stamp Club, the term encompasses an array of ephemera, including ‘Local stamps, telegraph stamps, railway stamps, revenues/fiscals, forgeries, bogus and phantom issues. Christmas, Red Cross, TB and other charity seals, registration labels, advertisement and exhibition labels and many other items…’ In short, any form of ephemera which resembles a stamp.
Perhaps the most interesting form of Cinderella is the protest stamp, often issued during times of conflict and placed alongside postage stamps to make a political statement. Many took on the appearance of existing postage stamps, but with subtle changes made, such as the German stamp altered to show Hitler’s face as a skull, which was prepared by the American Secret Service in Rome during World War Two. Other notable political stamps include the subtle French forgeries used by British and French intelligence during the war, to allow them to differentiate between letters from the Allies – with the fake stamps – and those produced by Germans to set traps.
Political stamps do not always mimick the postal equivalent, with many expressing a group’s ideologies through new and eye-catching designs. An array of unique stamps were produced during the Spanish Civil War, for example, in a bid to express both Nationalist and Republican ideals. Many would have been sold to raise money for the cause. Meanwhile, more modern protest stamps have been created to take a stand against politicians or policies – a memorable stamp showing a cartoon of former President Bill Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky side by side reminded Americans of the scandal.
Poster stamps are another branch of this
