The Company

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Some beautiful stamps from North Borneo and some fine stamps from Spain are all I've got to show today...

North Borneo

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 [Left] 1894 "Motifs of North Borneo (Issue of 1894)" (15) [Recess (Waterlow and Sons Limited, London)] Sc(61)


[Right] 1901 "Overprint 'British Protectorate' on 'Motifs of North Borneo (issue of 1895)'" (15) [Recess (Waterlow and Sons Limited, London)] Sc(108)

We need to know that the British North Borneo Company , ruled over the state from 1881 to 1946, when it becomes a British Colony ...Then the state of North Borneo joins with Singapore and other territories to form the Federation of Malaysia in 1963..

the usual 'Tropical' Topics appear also here in North Borneo, with lots of Fauna and Flora.. In these early series from North Borneo ,we must always look if the stamp have English and Indigenous language labels or just English labels .. it is important, because some of these designs are repeated in just one or two languages..    

I like very much this great diversity in the frames used in these stamps.. they are all different in most of the series...It is a fact that most of these stamps are designed and printed by Waterlow and Sons..But it is also a fact that the final result is a Great number of Beautiful stamps..!! the 1st stamp show us a Malaysian Tapir , the 2nd the traveller's Palm and the 3rd a General Assembly of the Company with the presence of the Sultan..

1909 "Motifs of North Borneo (Issue of 1909/1923)" (13) [Recess (Waterlow and Sons Limited,London)] Sc(136,137,140)

[Left] 1931 "50th Anniversary of the British North Borneo Company" (15) [Engr (J.A.C. Harrison)][Recess (Waterlow and Sons Limited, London)] Sc(186)

[Right] 1939 "Motifs of North Borneo (Issue of 1939)" (15) [Recess (Waterlow and Sons Limited, London)] Sc(199)

SPAIN

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A very nice group of Spain's new entries to the collection... mainly from 30's and 50's..

Let us start..

Here are some stamps from one of the most famous Spanish series.. the series is designed and engraved by Bartolomé Maura...the series tell us the fantastic story of D. Quixote (5c - D. Quixote starts his journey 10c Attack to the windmills 15c Scene with some people from a small village..); The right stamp show us the numeric identifier in the back of all stamps from this series.. (common in Spain's Monarchic series...)

1905 "Tercentenary of Publication of Cervantes' "Don Quixote" (10) [Design (B. Maura)][Engr (B.Maura)][Typo] Sc(287,288,289)

  now, stamps from a beautiful series from 1936..
1936/1937 "National Defense" (12) [Litho] Sc(627,630)

[Left] Great stamp from King Alfonso XIII.. The original stamp is from a Red Cross series of 1926 ; The stamps were then Overprinted, celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Enthronement of the King.. Then the stamp was Surcharged with 10cts.. 
there are 6 different overprints, for the various designs..

 1927 "Surcharge over 'Overprint 25th Anniversary Enthronement of King Alfonso XIII' on 'Red Cross 1926'" [Recess (Waterlow and sons Limited, London)] Sc(B34)

[Right] at our right are represented stamps from two different series ; the two stamps from the top (representing Queen Isabella , The Catholic) , at a first sight , are similar , but As you became used to them you'll see they have some differences..let us keep the most important one: the background of the first stamp is solid White.... the 2nd has a 'engraved' style background.. Now I must say that the 1st stamp belongs to the same series as the two stamps below, representing "Cid, El Campeador"... the 1st of these two 'Cid' stamps is a new entry , but the 2nd is only a shade variety ( as you can see it is clearly a Rose Red , instead of the Red or Carmine Red... So we have :
1st , 3rd, 4th) 1937 "Numerals, Cid El Campeador & Elizabeth, the Catholic" (18) [Litho] Sc(644,??)[I cannot find the code for the 10c Red stamp..but it exists in the Spanish Edifil catalog..)
 2nd) 1938/1939 "Elizabeth, the Catholic" (6) [Des (Sanchez Toda)][Litho] Sc(675)

Now I must talk about the symbol presented at the right.. it will appear again in other stamps in today's post... It is the sign used by the Master Engraver/Designer Sanchez Toda to sign his works.. when the name of the Artists don't appear in the down frame he used this sign (the letter's S and T just in one..)

just the two varieties of the stamp Pegasus... they are different because of the name of the designer printed or not in the down frame...
1939 "Pegasus" (2) [Des (Sanchez Toda)][Litho] Sc(E19) 

Here we have some additions to both issues of "Juan De La Cierva" series.. If you search above the currency label, you will find again the mark of Sanchez Toda..
[Left] 1939 "Juan De La Cierva (1st Issue)" (7) [Des (Sanchez Toda)][Litho] Sc(C103,C108)
[Right] 1941/1947 "Juan De La Cierva (2nd Issue)" (8) [Des (Sanchez Toda)][Photo] Sc(C113,C115,C116)

1951 "V Centenary of the Birth of Elizabeth the Catholic" (5) [Recess] Sc(C132,C133) AIR

In the end of this post , I have some few stamps about an activity that has been generating Passion for some centuries in Spain ( and in Portugal , as well..!) .. In recent times not only is a point of discussion and division but also a reminder of the difficulty to change tradition..!. 

1960 "Bullfight" (15) [Recess] Sc(909,911,917,918,C162)

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To Mr. Heinz (II)

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This post is once again a tribute to Mr. Heinz.. I must remember that all the stamps and other Vatican items showed in this blog were in the past from this gentleman that I know nothing about , but from who I am deeply Grateful..

This first series is a 'classic' among Vatican stamps.. it is about Lourdes (France) , it's Sanctuary and the Apparitions of the Virgin Mary..

1958 "Centenary of Apparition of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes" (6) [Des (C. Dabrowska)][Engr (S. Vana - 5l,25l -)(F.Pagani - 10l,35l -)(V. Nicastro - 15l,100l -)][Intaglio] Sc(233,...,238) Wmk

1959 "Coronation of Pope John XXIII" (4) [Des (Grassellini)][Photo] Sc(250,...,253) Wmk

2 FDC from 1965 "Pope Paul's Visit to the U.N., New York" (4) [Photo] Sc(416,...,419)

FDC from 1965 " 700th Anniv of Dante's Birth" (4) [Des (C. Dabrowska)][Engr (A. Quieti)][Intaglio][Photo] Sc(410,...,413) Wmk

FDC and simple cover from 1972 "Bramante Celebrations" (3) [Des (R. Di Giuseppe)][Engr (R. Di Giuseppe)][Intaglio] Sc(515,...,517) Wmk

1973 "Millenary of Prague Diocese" (4) [Photo] Sc(541,...,544)

[Left] Cover from 1974 "The Bible" (5) [Photo] Sc(550,...,554) 

[Right] 1974 "Centenary of UPU " (2) [Litho] Sc(558,559)

1974 "700th Death Anniv of St. Bonaventura of Bagnoregio" (3) [Des (T. Mele)][Photo] Sc(558,...,560)

1983 "Holy Year" (4) [Des (G. Hajnal)][Photo] Sc(721,...,724)

As you could see , I was somehow in  'Silent mode'.. there was no talking..

Perhaps next time I'll be more 'In the mood' to talk...

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The Duck And The Pelican

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Our post today is a small one , but full with beautiful African stamps from Ethiopia, Sudan and Mauritania... Let us start with Ethiopia..

Ethiopia

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before I start to talk about the stamps , some Historical review is necessary...

The 2nd War between Italy and the Ethiopian Empire in 1935/1936 was important because it ended with Mussolini's Victory and it led to the International Isolation of Italy , with the abandon of the League of Nations in 1937... This Isolation contributed to the progressive 'Join Forces' with Hitler's Germany , first in the Spanish Civil War and them in WWII... The map above represent what we could call the Italian Ethiopia 
Why is this relevant to Our Ethiopian stamps?? let us begin by presenting the stamps..

I had these stamps already in a Stock Book for several years, but they were not classified.. At the time I bought them , I cannot find the correct data for their classification.. Two days ago, when I was preparing the Sudan stamps I will show today, Ethiopia appeared in the same equation has Sudan (as you can easily see in the map...).. So I pick Scott catalog and I found what was missing...
These stamps are 'Never Issued stamps'.. only was issued in 1945 a Overprinted Version of these stamps, after the country's Official liberation in 1944.. These stamps were send to print in Switzerland (Curvoisier SA , La Chaux de Fonds), but didn't managed to return to Addis Ababa because the country had been invaded by the Italians..so , only in 1945 , the Overprinted stamps were issued and these particular series only exists to tell us this Story.. These are in Fact Examples of Stamps with History..!
The SC codes for the Overprinted stamps are (268,...,272)....

SUDAN

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Sudan was jointly administered by Egypt and Great Britain , until 1954.. Then , Some autonomy was given and in 1956 the Country achieve it's Independence...

Now, the stamps... there is no need of talking when we are seeing this series... They are really beautiful stamps!!!

We have here 17 stamps, 17 different designs and 17 different frames ! In my opinion, these stamps had much to gain if they were printed in 'Taille Douce' (Intaglio)... 
The smaller values have smaller formats..

1951 "Various Designs , motifs and Frames" (17) [Des (Col. W.L. Atkinson - 1m,2m,3m,4m,5m,10m,3p,3.50p,20p - )(Col. E.A. Stanton - 50p -)(others from photographs)][Typo] Sc(98,...,114)

   

MAURITANIA

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just to present 3 stamps :

1963 "Birds" (16) [Des (Raoul Serres)][Engr (S. Betemps)][Intaglio] Sc(J28,J29)

1961 "Traditional Activities" (14) [Des (J. Bandes)][Engr] Sc(119)

I think some of you already noticed that the time gap between posts is increasing... Well , I've been somehow 'distracted' by another Stamp project I am starting to develop... It is a new project about stamp designers... It is yet very incomplete [it will never be complete!!!] , but if You want to see it , well it's here...

                                                                 

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The Worker

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In our hobby , something we learn to value and cherish is the fact that sometimes a little "push" is needed to light this 'collector fire'... My father was always the motor that push me to this activity , but unfortunately, only his death made me awake to this dream of 'collecting stamps...' ; Yes, it is the Dream that keep us going , always trying to get more and more of our desired stamps.. the dream of having... As a Portuguese Poet once said "By the Dream We're going...".. Being a highly organized and disciplined man , my father have almost all the attributes necessary to be a Great collector... but the Dream was missing... I am a disorganized person , always starting new things and let them die in oblivion, but I have plenty of Dream... The beginning of this post is , more them remembering, a reflection about the "myth" that there are qualities needed to be a collector... I think that only dreaming is necessary to ' ignite and keep the flame burning...' 

In today's post we have small groups of stamps from 5 countries..

CHINA

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Since my infant days in Cape Verde that China has a great influence in my imagination..I remember that I had (when I was 5 or 6 years) a gold colored silk pajama filled with beautiful Chinese drawings , that ( in that time..) was one of my favorite objects.. All of this to say that to collect Chinese stamps , was a natural thing for me and almost a necessity...

I have here three stamps from a series of 4 and I decided to present it today , even if one is missing..

As in many other Chinese series, we must first distinguish the Original and the reprinted stamps... this is one of the more famous and classic , but I present it the same..

At right we have the small picture that is important to make this distinction... if just one line is presented between the worker's legs , we have the Original.. If there are two , we have a reprinted stamp.. so I have here three reprinted stamps, of lower value in comparison to the Original stamps... 

1952 "Agrarian Reform" (4) [Des (Sun Chuanze)][Recess][Shanghai Daye Printing Company] Sc(128,129,130)

JAPAN

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Beautiful series from 1949 , representing a ferry boat to Beppu , Kyushu Island..

Japan- is one of my favorite countries , as I said before , but I'm not going to make more considerations, leaving them to future posts.

1949 "Tourist Issue (Beppu Ferry)" (2) [Engr] Sc(446,447)

NORWAY

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For some time I wanted to present these stamps, but I have always delayed the presentation , because classifying these stamps is a hard task.. not only by the similarity in the design of several series , but because I don't have stamps from the first series ... I will try to explain why I think these 13 stamps belong to the same series...

• all the stamps use the same letter for the labels
• the Oval shaped figure has Vertical lines Background
• the post horn central circle has white solid background..
• the post horn ring has no background..
• The Oval shaped figure frame has solid background.
• .the post horn ring is continuous, without no interruptions... if there is  an interruption in this ring , immediately below the crown , we have an original stamp.. in this case we know that all the stamps are redrawn's..(left picture)

However , and after the 'match' of all these aspects I still have my doubts about the 7 ore stamp.. 

I would like very much that someone with more knowledge about these stamps, could help me knowing if I'm classifying them correctly .. ( remember that if the comment is helpful for the post , I will make update's to the post with those remarks...) ; of course , I almost forget the perforation that also is the expected..(14.5 x 13.5) 

1910/1929 "Post Horn & Crown" (22) [typo] Sc(77,78,79,80,84,85,86,87,89,91,93,94,95)

MONACO

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there is nothing to say about  Monaco stamps , except the fact that the presence of so many Masters of the design and engraving in the production of their stamps was a 'bless' for this small Principality..

1926/1931 "Surcharge on stamps of 1924" (7) [Des (Henry Cheffer)][Typo] Sc(112)

Two stamps with the same design separated by 15 years!!..

[Left stamp] "Views of Monaco-New Values and Colors(1939/1946)" (35) [Des (Antonin Delzers)][Engr (Antonin Delzers)][Intaglio] Sc(168)

[Right Stamp] "Views of Monaco 1954 " (Des (Antonin Delzers)][Engr (Antonin Delzers)][Intaglio] Sc(319)

SPAIN

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Now , and to finish , I will present some parts of sheets of stamps from Spain... they are all from stamps of the Definitive series "King Juan Carlos I 1994/1995" ; I already have these stamps individually , so I will not present any data from them.. these are only extra's for the collection...

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Two Trains

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Today I will show some stamps from Canada and France.. 

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Canada

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a stamp with some rust spots and average condition.. it is a stamp from 1908 ; the stamp represents two personalities of great importance in Canada's history : Samuel De Champlain (French Explorer and Colonizer) and Jacques Cartier .

1908 "III Centenary of Quebec" (8) [Perf 12][Des (José Antonio Machado)][Engr (Robert Savage)][Recess][American Bank Note Company, Ottawa] Sc(97)

stamp from a 1938 series , representing Landscapes and historical buildings of Canadá..In this case , we have the Fort Garry Gate, Winnipeg..

1938 "Pictorial Issue" (5) [Perf 12][Des (Herman Herbert Schwartz)][Engr (William Jung (picture) Carrol Maybie (frame) Charles Kirsten (labels) Charles Lockmuller (labels))][Recess][Canadian Bank Note Company, Limited] Sc(243)

I have already presented some more stamps of George VI that were from this same series ..

The stamp (very beautiful..!) represents the Parliament Building with a British waving Flag above it , reminding us that this is a stamp of the famous "War Issue" from 1942/1943..

1942/1943 "War Issue" (14) [Perf 12][Des (Herman Herbert Schwartz)][Engr (Silas Robert Allen)][Recess][CBNC,Limited] Sc(257)

There was some indecision about showing or not the 1$ stamp.. as you can see it is severely 'damaged' by a post mark .. but in the end i decided to present it because he is also a new stamp in my collection..

the stamps represent : 1st) Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories 2nd) Agricultural Work in the Canadian Prairies 3rd) a Ferry at Prince Edward Island.. [Video]  

1946 "Peace Issue" (6) [Perf 12][Des (Herman Herbert Schwartz)][Engr (Silas Robert Allen)][Recess][CBNC,Limited] Sc(269,271,273)

[Left] stamp representing the ship "Matthew" known to be commanded by John Cabot, discover of NewFoundLand..

1949 "Entry of Newfoundland into Canadian Confederation" (1) [Perf 12][[Des (Herman Herbert Schwartz)][Engr (Silas Robert Allen)][Recess][CBNC,Limited] Sc(282)

[Right] painting by Charles William Jefferys representing the first days of Halifax...

1949 "II Centenary of Halifax" (1) [Perf 12][Des (Herman Herbert Schwartz)][Engr (Silas Robert Allen)][Recess][CBNC,Limited] Sc(283)

[Left] the picture represents the Fur drying process. 

1950 "Canada's Fur Resources" (1) [Perf 12][Des (Herman Herbert Schwartz)][Engr (Silas Robert Allen)][Recess][CBNC,Limited] Sc(301)

[Right] two trains from 1851 and 1951 are represented..(Great stamp..!!)

1951 "Centennial of British North American Postal Administration" (4) [Perf 12][Des (Herman Herbert Schwartz)][Engr (Silas Robert Allen)][Recess][CBNC,Limited] Sc(311)

I just want to make a small comment about these Canadian Stamps...As you saw until now, I have shown 10 stamps in this post, from 1908 to 1951 and they all have the same perforation, no wmk's, no hidden secret's, and they are common , but I'm very glad to have them in my collection... Beautiful stamps make me Happy..!

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France

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These are all stamps from the definitive series "Type Paix" from 1932/1941... actually, the series is issued in 6 different occasions.. 
1) 1932/1933 (11) 
2) 1934 (1) Surcharged
3) 1937 (1) Surcharged
4) 1937/1939 (9) 
5) 1940/1941 (8) Surcharged

The first two stamps , representing the 30c value , are the original (green or deep green 2nd stamp) and a color variation (yellowish green 1st stamp)

 The 40c stamp could be from two types (I and II).. this is actually from type I.. as you can see by the small picture at the Upper left ,    the small central line that unites with the big vertical line of the letter R , is thinner than all the other lines of the letter...  of course in type II  , all lines are of equal thickness.. (Down Left)[i used another stamp from a different value...)

The 50c stamp has 4 different variations depending on the small 'C' letter from the currency label and on the robe of the figure ( about the robe , I must say that it only interest us the lines that are born below the belt buckle - and only in that space - )

 As you can see Type I) has a normal small C and in the belt buckle You can see that two distinct lines are 'born'..

In this type IIA) we have a different C letter , with a small ball in the upper end, and the robe is the same as in type I

 In the Type IIB)we have the same as in IIA) with another distinctive mark.. the inferior frame line is thicker below the space between the words 'Republique' and 'Française'..

Now we have Type III) that has a normal C and in the buckle 3 lines are 'born'.. the right one is divided...

I cannot document Type IV) , because I don't have any stamp of this type.. but I can say that it is all like Type III) except the detail of the right line ... it is not divided and it turns gradually to the center...

The two 50c stamps I've got here are the 1st a type III and the 2nd a type I).. you can see now the number of possibilities of conjugation of the three factors at 'play' in this stamp... a specialized collector could have several distinct stamps of the same facial value , but all of them variations of the original...! ( for example, these two stamps I show today are a type III with the detail of the inferior frame , and a type I also with the same detail... well , these are only details..!! let's move on!...)

nothing to say about the 80c and 90c , but when We arrive at the 1F stamp, there are two possibilities :





the belt is again the main factor of differentiation between the two types..

In the 1st ( at left) we have a black belt and in the 2nd (at right) we have a black belt with parts in white...( I used images from the two 1F stamps I show today , and the orange is Type I and the Rose Lilac is Type II)

Before ending this post , I need to say that two 65c ultramarine blue stamps are present only due to color variations (different color tone's...);
the 1.25F surcharged with 50c is a stamp issued in 1934...
The 1932/1933 issue end's with the 1.75F stamp..
The others after 1.75F , with exception of the surcharged , are from the 1937/1939 issue.

I will only present now the data from the original issue (that remains unaltered...) and all the Sc codes of the stamps presented in the order they appear in the images..

1932/1941 "Type Paix" () [Perf: 14 x 13.5][Des (Paul-Albert Laurens)][Engr (Antonin Delzers)][Typo] Sc(264(2),265,267(2),270,274,277,283,271(2),273,278,299)

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