I stumbled across the following in Scott’s Monthly Journal, June 1921, p.18 and thought it might give some pleasure. Incidentally, if you haven’t browsed old philatelic journals via Google Books, it is a pleasant way to spend an hour.
The author Mr. Hill writes that he has been a collector for 47 years, which means he began in 1874. About when the first International appeared!
Albums PLUS Albums
By Edwin B Hill
It is now quite the fashion to ridicule the printed album, so called, and to praise the blank receptacle for our treasures. It has remained then for the publishers to supply both styles; and, to encourage the sales the vendors assume chamaleon-like changes to suit the prospective customer.
I love the old International with its printed spaces, many of which it is impossible to fill. I adore the linen-hinged loose leaf album with its stately binding and its beautiful pages. And then I proceed to use both—the International for aid in placing my stamps for artistic arrangement, and, for general utility. I work with it and my catalogue together and the results are always correct. But my loose leaf albums are my real treasures, for I am one of those collectors who loves the blank pages and the open spaces,—so much has the free life in the southwest done to visualize the breadth and sweep of general collecting. My tastes are catholic.
I see no reason for the beginner starting without a catalogue or minus the printed album. He needs both. There is a joy in filling the blank spaces in the printed album that never comes to the elder collector who merely hinges newly acquired treasure into his protected blank page. The old thrill seem to have lost much of inspiration as the collector grows older and discards his ancient treasure house. I am for the International, and for the Ne Plus Ultra—for the Catalogue with a large “C”),—for all that makes the collector love his stamps. And most all I am for the publishers who, alas!, are held accountable for every trifle that is against the desires of the specialist, but who, it seems to me, have done their best to aid the joy of collecting as we as the science of philately.
This is the belated tribute I pay them after forty seven years a stamp collector.
The famous stamp collector Josiah Lilly said that there were 100,000 postage stamps he wanted for his collection and he succeeded in acquiring 77,000. My considerably easier target is 35,000 of the more common stamps from 1840-1940 contained in the Scott Blue International Album Volume 1. This blog will record my progress, provide general information about Classic era philately and hopefully encourage other "Blue" collectors.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Large SG Ideal Album At Auction
While my attention has been fixed on a 30K Blue Volume One being sold by country on eBay over the past few months, Somerset Stamp Auctions has slipped into their Sale 285 (5 December 2015) a 97% complete Stanley Gibbons Ideal Album covering the British Empire. Estimate is a healthy £38000. Unfortunately, there are no pictures.
I'm a tad skeptical of their count of missing issues, though. Surely, British Guiana isn't complete unless this is a more adbridged edition of the Ideal album that I haven't seen.
I've written about the Ideal Albums in the past, most recently with the hope that Gibbons will reprint both the British Empire and rest of the world volumes in looseleaf format.
Here is the lot description:
Red Ideal album for British Empire to 1936 containing a comprehensive mint and used collection formed over the past 50 years containing over 11,000 stamps with less than 300 spaces remaining. Condition a little mixed in places but much fine. Needs careful viewing as some mis-identification in places especially of watermarks. The following larger scale countries are completely filled except for any negative numbers in brackets. Antigua, Ascension Is., Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Basutoland, Bechuanaland (-4), Bermuda, British East Africa (-2), British Guiana, British Honduras (-1), British Solomon Is., Brunei (-1), Canada (-7 earlies), Cape of Good Hope, Cayman Is., Ceylon (-3), Cook Is., Cyprus, Dominica, Egypt (-1), Falkland Is. (lacks only the 1928 2½d on 2d), F.M.S (-2), Gambia, Gibraltar (-1). Gold Coast (-1), Great Britain, Grenada (-1), Hong Kong (-5), India, Ireland, Jamaica, Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Leeward Is., Malta, Mauritius (-7 earlies), Montserrat, Morocco Agencies, Nauru, Negri Sembilan, Newfoundland (-4), New Guinea (-1), New Hebrides, New South Wales, New Zealand, Niger Coast, Nigeria, Niue, North Borneo (-6), Northern Nigeria, Nyasaland (-4 earlies), Palestine, Papua, Perak (-2), Queensland (-1), Rhodesia (-2), St. Kitts, St. Helena (-2), St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Sarawak, Seychelles, South Africa, South Australia, Southern Rhodesia, South West Africa, Straits (-3), Sudan, Tanganyika, Tasmania (-2), Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Is., Virgin Is., Western Australia (1-) and Zululand (-1). Many other smaller country ranges near complete and an extensive range of Indian States. An extremely comprehensive collection overall and estimate allows for fiscal use, poor condition and mis-indentifications.
I'm a tad skeptical of their count of missing issues, though. Surely, British Guiana isn't complete unless this is a more adbridged edition of the Ideal album that I haven't seen.
I've written about the Ideal Albums in the past, most recently with the hope that Gibbons will reprint both the British Empire and rest of the world volumes in looseleaf format.
Here is the lot description:
Red Ideal album for British Empire to 1936 containing a comprehensive mint and used collection formed over the past 50 years containing over 11,000 stamps with less than 300 spaces remaining. Condition a little mixed in places but much fine. Needs careful viewing as some mis-identification in places especially of watermarks. The following larger scale countries are completely filled except for any negative numbers in brackets. Antigua, Ascension Is., Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Basutoland, Bechuanaland (-4), Bermuda, British East Africa (-2), British Guiana, British Honduras (-1), British Solomon Is., Brunei (-1), Canada (-7 earlies), Cape of Good Hope, Cayman Is., Ceylon (-3), Cook Is., Cyprus, Dominica, Egypt (-1), Falkland Is. (lacks only the 1928 2½d on 2d), F.M.S (-2), Gambia, Gibraltar (-1). Gold Coast (-1), Great Britain, Grenada (-1), Hong Kong (-5), India, Ireland, Jamaica, Johore, Kedah, Kelantan, Leeward Is., Malta, Mauritius (-7 earlies), Montserrat, Morocco Agencies, Nauru, Negri Sembilan, Newfoundland (-4), New Guinea (-1), New Hebrides, New South Wales, New Zealand, Niger Coast, Nigeria, Niue, North Borneo (-6), Northern Nigeria, Nyasaland (-4 earlies), Palestine, Papua, Perak (-2), Queensland (-1), Rhodesia (-2), St. Kitts, St. Helena (-2), St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Sarawak, Seychelles, South Africa, South Australia, Southern Rhodesia, South West Africa, Straits (-3), Sudan, Tanganyika, Tasmania (-2), Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Is., Virgin Is., Western Australia (1-) and Zululand (-1). Many other smaller country ranges near complete and an extensive range of Indian States. An extremely comprehensive collection overall and estimate allows for fiscal use, poor condition and mis-indentifications.
Thursday, November 12, 2015
What's New in the 2016 Edition of the Scott Classic Catalogue
[Typically, I post a summary of changes to the latest edition of the Scott Classic Catalogue within a few days of the press release. This year, there seem to be mostly minor changes so I’ve been in a quandary about writing anything useful.
If you want an overview of changes in all the editions since 1995, type the words "classic catalogue" into the search field in the upper left corner of the screen.]
The 22nd edition of Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940 will soon be available. According to the editors, there are more than 35,000 value changes of which 15,850 are for stamps not found in Scott’s other worldwide catalogs.
Russia has had an extensive review. Imperforate between pairs have been added to 1939 and 1940 sets. "Back-of-the-book listings have been reorganized by perforation where applicable. Dozens of never-hinged listings have been added.”
Cuba also received what Scott calls “editorial enhancements.”Other improvements “are substantially revised listings for the 1911-21 Iran Ahmad Shah First Portrait issue (Scott 481-500), along with updated values. Postal fiscal stamps for Chile (Scott AR1-AR12) are listed for the first time.
On-cover listings have been added to Afghanistan for the first time. A new Afghanistan No. 1, the 1-shahi black with the outer circle measuring 30 millimeters in diameter, was added (what originally was #1 was deleted from Scott many years ago as bogus). The new number 1 was first introduced in Vol. 1 of the 2016 Scott Standard catalog, and is a reminder that not every new variety appears in the Classic Catalogue first.
More minor changes/additions include Cape of Good Hope Vryburg under Boer Occupation, French Equatorial Africa, Traavancore officials, Southern Nigeria’s 1904-07 Edward VII set ordinary and chalky papers, and perforation varieties for Gold Coast 1938-41 George VI and Christiansborg Castle set.
New color images have been added to Armenia handstamps and surcharges that will make the stamps easier to identify.
Numerous color varieties and perforation varieties have been added to the listings for the Falkland Islands, e.g., the King George V issues and the War Tax stamps.
A much fuller list of changes can be found in the Catalogue itself.
If you want an overview of changes in all the editions since 1995, type the words "classic catalogue" into the search field in the upper left corner of the screen.]
The 22nd edition of Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940 will soon be available. According to the editors, there are more than 35,000 value changes of which 15,850 are for stamps not found in Scott’s other worldwide catalogs.
Russia has had an extensive review. Imperforate between pairs have been added to 1939 and 1940 sets. "Back-of-the-book listings have been reorganized by perforation where applicable. Dozens of never-hinged listings have been added.”
Cuba also received what Scott calls “editorial enhancements.”Other improvements “are substantially revised listings for the 1911-21 Iran Ahmad Shah First Portrait issue (Scott 481-500), along with updated values. Postal fiscal stamps for Chile (Scott AR1-AR12) are listed for the first time.
On-cover listings have been added to Afghanistan for the first time. A new Afghanistan No. 1, the 1-shahi black with the outer circle measuring 30 millimeters in diameter, was added (what originally was #1 was deleted from Scott many years ago as bogus). The new number 1 was first introduced in Vol. 1 of the 2016 Scott Standard catalog, and is a reminder that not every new variety appears in the Classic Catalogue first.
More minor changes/additions include Cape of Good Hope Vryburg under Boer Occupation, French Equatorial Africa, Traavancore officials, Southern Nigeria’s 1904-07 Edward VII set ordinary and chalky papers, and perforation varieties for Gold Coast 1938-41 George VI and Christiansborg Castle set.
New color images have been added to Armenia handstamps and surcharges that will make the stamps easier to identify.
Numerous color varieties and perforation varieties have been added to the listings for the Falkland Islands, e.g., the King George V issues and the War Tax stamps.
A much fuller list of changes can be found in the Catalogue itself.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Brown versus Brown
[As background for the following, the Scott International Postage Stamp Album was first published in 1875/76. All editions published before 1900 were titled simply the "International." But once it was the 20th century and there was the need for a second volume, Scott referred to the album covering 1840-1900 as the “19th Century Edition.” Both of these are part of what are informally referred to as the “Brown” albums.]
I’ve commented on several occasions about Scott’s inexplicable decision to omit spaces for early Afghanistan from their otherwise estimable Brown International “19th Century Edition.” I was also aware that these same later versions of the Brown omit the worldwide postal stationary that was in the Internationals published before 1900. I assume this was because collecting cut squares fell out of favor as well as a desire to control the size of the albums as the number of new stamps dramatically increased.
All of this got me to wondering whether there were any other obvious differences between the Internationals published before 1900 and the ones you encounter today on eBay and other venues (or through the Vintage Reproductions edition). As I own a copy of the 1896 edition of the International as well as the 1930 printing of the Brown titled “19th Century Edition,” I decided to stop wondering and start comparing.
The bad news, as it turns out, my “19th Century Edition” is missing some pages. The good news is, when I checked my 1930 copy against the 1902 pdf copy available online via Google books, I discovered the answer to a question that I’ve wondered about: namely, did Scott’s editors make any changes in the Browns over the years? The answer, in the case of the “19th Century Edition” is yes. In general, the “19 Century Edition” albums published in the early 20th century are reasonably close to those published in the 19th century, except for the deletion of cut squares. Most of the other changes for editions published later represent stamps being removed that were in earlier catalogs as major numbers but subsequently were demoted to minor status or removed entirely (e.g., stamps determined to be essays, locals, etc.). Additions to the album in later editions were much rarer. My favorite is one that would make any Blue International collector proud: the decision to add the Swedish tre skilling yellow rarity which wasn’t in early versions. I guess too many collectors were completing the album and Scott thought it should add an additional degree of difficulty.
Below is a summary of what I’ve found, starting with some general observations. You can be certain that this is not complete; these are just what stood out as I was flipping synchronously through each album.
I think there may be a few more illustrations percentage-wise in the 1896 volume, although this isn’t always more helpful to collectors. I.e., sometimes a description is of more value than a small picture. Or a cut of an overprint sans stamp.
The cuts in the 19th century edition have a white line through them as did the illustrations in some Scott catalogs. I can guess why this was, but does anyone know for certain?
Some countries are out of order in the 1896 album and even in some of the earlier “19th Century Edition” versions, shades of the pre-1994 editions of the Scott Blue. And, of course, you are dealing with a fair number of country name changes, e.g., Haiti versus Hayti.
The 1896 edition includes postage stamps used as revenues, but these are omitted for most countries in the “19th Century Edition.” But not all. I assume that there is a justification for the “19th Century Edition” including those for Hong Kong, New Zealand, Queensland, Venezuela, and Victoria, but I haven’t investigated.
To reiterate, worldwide postal stationary is in the 1896 but not in the “19th Century Edition” except for the United States.
To save on space, I’m using these abbreviations in the following:
1896 - my pre-1900 edition of the Brown
19th - my post-1900 edition of the Brown
E - envelope cut squares
RE - registration envelope cut squares
W - wrapper cut squares.
Countries not listed below appear to include the same stamps for the period the two albums cover or they aren’t in the 1896 edition because the countries first issued stamps after 1895’ish.
OK, let’s dig in:
United States. Postmaster Provisionals. 1896 is missing a number of provisionals such as the Alexandria and Annapolis stamps. Especially peculiar is the 1896 includes only the five cent Providence provisional, and illustrates that with a sheet of 12 rather than a single stamp.
US Carrier stamps. 1896 provides two pages versus one in the 19th Century edition.
US Confederate States. Provisionals. Two and a half pages with cuts and descriptions in the 1896, just a blank page in the 19th.
Afghanistan. Six pages with cuts and descriptions in the 1896, one blank page in the 19th.
Angra. 1896 includes E.
Argentina. 1896 includes E and W.
Argentina. Buenos Aires. 1896 edition includes 3 more stamps than the 19th.
Austria. 1896 includes Pneumatic envelopes, E, and W.
Austria. Levant/Turkey. 1896 includes E.
Austria. Lombardy-Venice. 1896 includes envelopes, 1850 and 1858 revenues used for postage, and the Danube Steam Navigation Company which is some earlier versions of the 19th but missing from my 1930 edition.
Baden. 1896 includes E.
Bahamas. 1896 includes E and RE.
Barbados. 1896 in includes E, RE, and W.
Bavaria. 1896 includes 1865 and 1869-84 return letter stamps, E, and W.
Bechuanaland/British Bechuanaland. 1896 includes RE and W.
Belgium. 1896 edition includes newspaper stamps, E, and letter sheets.
Benin. 1896 edition includes E and thirteen postage due stamps versus four in the 19th Century Edition. According to the current catalog, “Nos. J1-J4 exist with overprint in various positions” which account for the extra spaces.
Bermuda. 1896 missing 1849 Hamilton stamps. Neither include X4-X6. 1896 includes RE.
Bolivia. 1896 includes fifteen spaces for revenues used for postage and E.
Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1896 includes E.
Brazil. 1896 includes E.
British Central Africa. 1896 includes RE.
British East Africa. 1896 includes E and RE.
British Guiana. 1896 includes 3 more official stamps than the 19th. 1896 also includes E, RE and W.
British South Africa 1896 (Rhodesia in 19th). 1896 includes RE.
Brunswick. 1896 includes E.
Canada. 1896 has spaces for a few stamps not in the 19th, e.g., Scott #1 3p red on laid and ribbed (as opposed to wove?). And Scott #2 and #3, the 6p and 12 p black, on laid. 1896 also has the 1879 officially sealed stamp and E, W.
Cape of Good Hope. 1896 has E, RE, and W.
Central American Steamship Co. In 1896. Lost Scott catalog status sometime after that.
Ceylon. 19th has 131 spaces for regular issues compared to 126 in the 1896 for the same years. 1896 has E, RE, and W.
Chile. 1896 has Official seals, Revenues used for postage, Telegraph stamps used for postage, and E.
Chinese Treaty Ports. Chefoo, Chinkiang, Chungking, Hankow, Ichang, Kewkiang, and Wuhu have separate pages in the 1896. The 19th provides three blank pages.
Colombian Republic. There are a number of differences between the two albums, e.g., the 1863 “Same, Star after Cent” spaces which are in the 1896, but not in the 19th having been relegated to minor number status in later editions of the Scott Catalog. The 1879 set of Cali Provisionals that are no longer in Scott are in both editions, six spaces in the 1896 within Colombia proper, and eighteen spaces in the 19th Century edition along with other States. One weird difference is the cut for the 1863 bisect surcharged “Bueno por Cinco Pesos” on Scott #65 (69?). The cut is flipped for no apparent reason between the two albums. Probably a moot point as this appears to be a fantasy issue (described in Earee’s Album Weeds.) 1896 has Railroad Postal Service and River Postal Service envelopes.
Cook Islands. 1896 provides 4 spaces for the 1896 stamps where the 19th has 8 spaces, one set for toned paper the other for white.
Costa Rica. 1896 has spaces for Revenues Used for Postage as well as E and W.
Costa Rica. Guanteaste. 1896 has spaces for Revenues Used for Postage.
Cuba. 1896 has space for an 1871 ten centavo Republic of Cuba stamp. By the 1930 edition, it had disappeared from the 19th. It appears that this is an essay and there was also a five centavo.
Cyprus. 1896 has RE and W.
Danish West Indies. 1896 has E.
Denmark. 1896 has spaces for Official Seals and E and W.
Diego Suarez. 1896 has E.
Dominica. 1896 has Revenues Used for Postage.
Dominican Republic. 1896 has W.
Dutch Indies. 1896 has E. 19th has two spaces for 1845-46 Postage Dues, Scott J1-2. Are these the first postage due stamps? Most sources say France but these are over a decade earlier.
Ecuador. 1896 has Revenues Used for Postage, and E and W.
Egypt. 1896 has a page of Official stamps 1864-1872 that are not in the 19th. (See http://www.interpostalseals.com/) The 1896 also has E, letter sheets, and W.
Fiji Islands. 1896 has an official stamp from 1888.
Finland. 1896 has E and W.
Formosa. 1896 has 2 stamps from 1888. I don’t find Formosa in the 19th.
France. 1896 has E, W and Pneumatic Envelopes.
French Colonies. 1896 has E and W.
French Guiana. 1896 has E.
French Guinea. 1896 has E.
French India. 1896 has E.
French Oceanica. 1896 has E.
French Sudan. 1896 has E.
Funchal. 1896 has E.
Germany. Postal Services of Princes of Thurn and Taxis. Northern States. 1896 has E.
Germany. Postal Services of Princes of Thurn and Taxis. Southern States. 1896 has E.
Germany. North German Postal District. 1896 has three pages of E, W and Provisional Envelopes.
Germany. Empire. 1896 has E and W.
Gibralter. 1896 has RE and W.
Gold Cost. 1896 has RE and W.
Great Britain. Offices in the Levant. 1896 has E.
Great Britain. 1896 has four spaces for Mulready Envelopes, the 19th, two. The 1896 has six pages for E, RE, W, and Compound Envelopes.
Greece. 1896 has E.
Grenada. 1896 has Revenue Used for Postage, RE, and W.
Griqualand West. 19th has blank page for “Cape of Good Hope Stamps Surcharged.” 1896 has three pages with cuts and descriptions.
Guadeloupe. 1896 has E.
Guatemala. 1896 has E and W.
Hamburg. 1896 has E.
Hamburg American Mail Company. 1 space in 1896.
Hanover. 1896 has E and Local Envelopes.
Hawaii. 1896 has E.
Heligoland. 1896 has E and W.
Honduras. 1896 has E and W.
Hong Kong. 1896 and 19th have spaces for Revenues Used for Postage/Postal-Fiscal Stamps. 1896 has Official Seal.
Hungary. 1896 has spaces for E and W.
India. My 1930 edition of the 19th starts India with three spaces for the Scinde District Posts which the 1896 has with its Protected States pages. 1896 has E and RE.
India. Protected States. 1896 has 27 pages with separate spaces, 19th has five blank pages. 1896 includes cut squares as applicable.
Ivory Coast. 1896 includes E.
Jamaica. 1896 includes Revenues used for postage and W.
Japan. 1896 includes Officially Sealed, and E, W, and Official Wrapper.
Lagos. 1896 includes RE.
Leeward Islands. 1896 includes E, RE, and W.
Liberia. 1896 includes E, RE, W.
Lubbock. 1896 includes E.
Madagascar (British). 19th has 10 pages versus six and a half in 1896.
Madeira. 1896 has E.
Malta. 1896 has RE and W.
Mauritius. 1896 has E and RE.
Mayotte. 1896 has E.
Mecklenburg Schwerin. 1896 has spaces for both Scott 6 and 6a.
Mecklenburg Strelitz. 1896 has E.
Mexico. 1896 has official seals, E, official envelopes, and W.
Mexico. Campeche. 1896 has space for imperforate 25 centavo.
Mexico. Morelia. 19th has 1 space, not in 1896.
Mexico. Zactecas. 1896 has 2 spaces, not in 19th.
Monoco. 1896 has E, W.
Montenegro. 1896 has E, W.
Montserrat. 1896 has 1884 revenue used for postage.
Morocco. 1896 has a page with spaces for Mazagan-Morocco, Mazagan-Marakech, Mogador-Morocco, and Tanger-Fez. 19th has one blank page for “Stamps used for service between various cities in Morocco.”
Mozambique Company. 1896 has spaces for two newspaper stamps versus one in the 19th.
Natal. 1896 has W.
Nepal. Missing in 1896.
Netherlands. 1896 has E.
Nevis. 1896 has revenues used for postage.
New Caledonia. 1896 has spaces for seven 1893 military stamps and E.
Newfoundland. 1896 has E, W.
New Republic. There appears to be some differences in coverage between the two albums but I was too lazy to figure out the differences (i.e., same yellow paper, same gray paper, etc.). 1896 has E.
New South Wales. 1896 has E, official envelopes, official registration envelopes, RE, and W.
New Zealand. 1896 has space for 1896 newspaper stamp as well as spaces for the 1890 railway newspaper stamps. 1896 has three pages for revenues used for postage. The 19th, which mostly ignores this type of stamp, has one page for postal-fiscal stamps.
Nicaragua. 1896 has three pages for E, an official envelope, and W.
Niger Coast Protectorate. 1896 has RE.
North Borneo. 1896 includes revenues used as postage.
Norway. 1896 includes return letter stamps and E.
Nossi Bé. 1896 has E.
Oldenburg. 1896 has E.
Orange Free State. 1896 includes nine 1892 telegraph stamps used for postage.
Pacific Steam Navigation Company. 1896 has spaces for 11 stamps. Not in 19th or current Scott catalog.
Panama. I didn’t find in the 1896 so I assume my copy is missing these pages.
Paraguay. 1896 has E and W.
Persia. 1896 starts with space for 1868 Coat of Arms stamp which is not in the current catalog. 1896 has W.
Peru. 1896 has a page of E.
Peru. Provisional Issues. 19th century edition has one blank page for Provisional issues. 1896 has three pages with spaces for Arequipa, Ancash, Apurimac, Ayacucho, Chala, Chiclayo, Cuzco, Huacho, Paita, Moquega, Pasco, Pisco, Piura, Puno, and Yca.
Philippines. 1896 separates out the provisional issues, 19th integrates in one sequence.
Poland. 1896 has E.
Ponta Delgada. 1896 has E.
Portugal. 1896 has E.
Prince Edward Island. 1896 includes space for 1b (catalog $17K versus $250 for the major number in the 2007 catalog).
Prussia. 1896 has a page of E including the 1867 Victoria National Invalided Stiftung.
Queensland. 1896 has space for 1894 Newspaper stamps and W. 19th has spaces for three registration stamps versus only one in the 19th. 19th inexplicably provides a blank page for revenues used for postage.
Reunion. 1896 has E.
Romania. 1896 includes W.
Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. In 1896, not in 19th.
Russia. 1896 includes 2 pages of E and W.
St. Christopher. 1896 includes revenues used for postage.
St. Lucia. 1896 includes revenues used for postage, RE and W.
St. Marie de Madagascar. 1896 includes E.
St. Pierre Miquelon. 1896 includes E.
St. Vincent. 1896 includes RE and W.
Salvador. 1896 includes five pages for E and W.
Saxony. 1896 includes E.
Seychelles. 1896 has E.
Shanghai. There may be some differences between the two editions but I didn’t pursue. 1896 has E and W.
Sierra Leone. 1896 has RE.
South African Republic/Transvaal. 1896 and 19th differ in coverage of pre-1877/78 issues. 1896 has E.
South Australia. 1896 has W and official wrappers. Both have a blank page for official stamps. The 19th century qualifies this is “Stamps of regular issues surcharged with the initial letters of various departments” and then provides two pages with spaces for stamps overprinted O.S.
South Bulgaria. Another cut example.
Straits Settlements. 1896 includes RE.
Straits Settlements. Johore. 1896 missing Scott #1.
Suez Canal Co. Not in my 1930 version of the 19th but was in some earlier.
Sweden. My edition of the 19th includes 3 skilling error but it wasn’t in some earlier. 1896 has E.
Switzerland. 1896 has E and W.
Terra del Fuego. This private post is in the 1896.
Tasmania. 1896 has revenues used for postage, E, RE and W.
Timor. 1896 missing Scott #21. 1896 has space for 1883 10 R free surcharged on Mozambique. 19th also has this stamp and same on Portuguese India stamp. Both are given minor numbers today, Scott 2a and 2b.
Tobago. 1896 has RE.
Tonga. 1896 has E and RE.
Trinidad. 1896 has RE and W as well as space for the Lady McLeod Steam Navigation Company stamp. The Lady McLeod was in some earlier editions of the 19th.
Tunis. 1896 has space for E.
Turkey. 1896 has six spaces for 1887 privately produced surcharged bisects. Was in some earlier editions of 19th. 1896 has spaces for E.
Uruguay. 1896 missing Scott 3B. 1896 has E and W.
Venezuela. 1896 has ten spaces for Scott 1-6 versus three in the 19th. 1896 has spaces for revenues used for postage, blank half page in 19th.
Victoria. Both 1896 and 19th have spaces for revenues used for postage. 1896 has three pages for E, RE, and W.
Western Australia. 1896 has space for the inverted Swan error 3a.
Wurttemberg. 1896 has space for postage dues. Missing in the 19th. 1896 has E and official envelopes.
United States [BOB]. 1896 has telegraph stamps, revenue stamps, playing card stamps, and proprietary stamps. 19th has official seals, E, official envelopes, telegraph stamps, revenue stamps, proprietary stamps, and documentary stamps.
I’ve commented on several occasions about Scott’s inexplicable decision to omit spaces for early Afghanistan from their otherwise estimable Brown International “19th Century Edition.” I was also aware that these same later versions of the Brown omit the worldwide postal stationary that was in the Internationals published before 1900. I assume this was because collecting cut squares fell out of favor as well as a desire to control the size of the albums as the number of new stamps dramatically increased.
All of this got me to wondering whether there were any other obvious differences between the Internationals published before 1900 and the ones you encounter today on eBay and other venues (or through the Vintage Reproductions edition). As I own a copy of the 1896 edition of the International as well as the 1930 printing of the Brown titled “19th Century Edition,” I decided to stop wondering and start comparing.
The bad news, as it turns out, my “19th Century Edition” is missing some pages. The good news is, when I checked my 1930 copy against the 1902 pdf copy available online via Google books, I discovered the answer to a question that I’ve wondered about: namely, did Scott’s editors make any changes in the Browns over the years? The answer, in the case of the “19th Century Edition” is yes. In general, the “19 Century Edition” albums published in the early 20th century are reasonably close to those published in the 19th century, except for the deletion of cut squares. Most of the other changes for editions published later represent stamps being removed that were in earlier catalogs as major numbers but subsequently were demoted to minor status or removed entirely (e.g., stamps determined to be essays, locals, etc.). Additions to the album in later editions were much rarer. My favorite is one that would make any Blue International collector proud: the decision to add the Swedish tre skilling yellow rarity which wasn’t in early versions. I guess too many collectors were completing the album and Scott thought it should add an additional degree of difficulty.
Below is a summary of what I’ve found, starting with some general observations. You can be certain that this is not complete; these are just what stood out as I was flipping synchronously through each album.
I think there may be a few more illustrations percentage-wise in the 1896 volume, although this isn’t always more helpful to collectors. I.e., sometimes a description is of more value than a small picture. Or a cut of an overprint sans stamp.
The cuts in the 19th century edition have a white line through them as did the illustrations in some Scott catalogs. I can guess why this was, but does anyone know for certain?
Some countries are out of order in the 1896 album and even in some of the earlier “19th Century Edition” versions, shades of the pre-1994 editions of the Scott Blue. And, of course, you are dealing with a fair number of country name changes, e.g., Haiti versus Hayti.
The 1896 edition includes postage stamps used as revenues, but these are omitted for most countries in the “19th Century Edition.” But not all. I assume that there is a justification for the “19th Century Edition” including those for Hong Kong, New Zealand, Queensland, Venezuela, and Victoria, but I haven’t investigated.
To reiterate, worldwide postal stationary is in the 1896 but not in the “19th Century Edition” except for the United States.
To save on space, I’m using these abbreviations in the following:
1896 - my pre-1900 edition of the Brown
19th - my post-1900 edition of the Brown
E - envelope cut squares
RE - registration envelope cut squares
W - wrapper cut squares.
Countries not listed below appear to include the same stamps for the period the two albums cover or they aren’t in the 1896 edition because the countries first issued stamps after 1895’ish.
OK, let’s dig in:
United States. Postmaster Provisionals. 1896 is missing a number of provisionals such as the Alexandria and Annapolis stamps. Especially peculiar is the 1896 includes only the five cent Providence provisional, and illustrates that with a sheet of 12 rather than a single stamp.
US Carrier stamps. 1896 provides two pages versus one in the 19th Century edition.
US Confederate States. Provisionals. Two and a half pages with cuts and descriptions in the 1896, just a blank page in the 19th.
Afghanistan. Six pages with cuts and descriptions in the 1896, one blank page in the 19th.
Angra. 1896 includes E.
Argentina. 1896 includes E and W.
Argentina. Buenos Aires. 1896 edition includes 3 more stamps than the 19th.
Austria. 1896 includes Pneumatic envelopes, E, and W.
Austria. Levant/Turkey. 1896 includes E.
Austria. Lombardy-Venice. 1896 includes envelopes, 1850 and 1858 revenues used for postage, and the Danube Steam Navigation Company which is some earlier versions of the 19th but missing from my 1930 edition.
Baden. 1896 includes E.
Bahamas. 1896 includes E and RE.
Barbados. 1896 in includes E, RE, and W.
Bavaria. 1896 includes 1865 and 1869-84 return letter stamps, E, and W.
Bechuanaland/British Bechuanaland. 1896 includes RE and W.
Belgium. 1896 edition includes newspaper stamps, E, and letter sheets.
Benin. 1896 edition includes E and thirteen postage due stamps versus four in the 19th Century Edition. According to the current catalog, “Nos. J1-J4 exist with overprint in various positions” which account for the extra spaces.
Bermuda. 1896 missing 1849 Hamilton stamps. Neither include X4-X6. 1896 includes RE.
Bolivia. 1896 includes fifteen spaces for revenues used for postage and E.
Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1896 includes E.
Brazil. 1896 includes E.
British Central Africa. 1896 includes RE.
British East Africa. 1896 includes E and RE.
British Guiana. 1896 includes 3 more official stamps than the 19th. 1896 also includes E, RE and W.
British South Africa 1896 (Rhodesia in 19th). 1896 includes RE.
Brunswick. 1896 includes E.
Canada. 1896 has spaces for a few stamps not in the 19th, e.g., Scott #1 3p red on laid and ribbed (as opposed to wove?). And Scott #2 and #3, the 6p and 12 p black, on laid. 1896 also has the 1879 officially sealed stamp and E, W.
Cape of Good Hope. 1896 has E, RE, and W.
Central American Steamship Co. In 1896. Lost Scott catalog status sometime after that.
Ceylon. 19th has 131 spaces for regular issues compared to 126 in the 1896 for the same years. 1896 has E, RE, and W.
Chile. 1896 has Official seals, Revenues used for postage, Telegraph stamps used for postage, and E.
Chinese Treaty Ports. Chefoo, Chinkiang, Chungking, Hankow, Ichang, Kewkiang, and Wuhu have separate pages in the 1896. The 19th provides three blank pages.
Colombian Republic. There are a number of differences between the two albums, e.g., the 1863 “Same, Star after Cent” spaces which are in the 1896, but not in the 19th having been relegated to minor number status in later editions of the Scott Catalog. The 1879 set of Cali Provisionals that are no longer in Scott are in both editions, six spaces in the 1896 within Colombia proper, and eighteen spaces in the 19th Century edition along with other States. One weird difference is the cut for the 1863 bisect surcharged “Bueno por Cinco Pesos” on Scott #65 (69?). The cut is flipped for no apparent reason between the two albums. Probably a moot point as this appears to be a fantasy issue (described in Earee’s Album Weeds.) 1896 has Railroad Postal Service and River Postal Service envelopes.
Cook Islands. 1896 provides 4 spaces for the 1896 stamps where the 19th has 8 spaces, one set for toned paper the other for white.
Costa Rica. 1896 has spaces for Revenues Used for Postage as well as E and W.
Costa Rica. Guanteaste. 1896 has spaces for Revenues Used for Postage.
Cuba. 1896 has space for an 1871 ten centavo Republic of Cuba stamp. By the 1930 edition, it had disappeared from the 19th. It appears that this is an essay and there was also a five centavo.
Cyprus. 1896 has RE and W.
Danish West Indies. 1896 has E.
Denmark. 1896 has spaces for Official Seals and E and W.
Diego Suarez. 1896 has E.
Dominica. 1896 has Revenues Used for Postage.
Dominican Republic. 1896 has W.
Dutch Indies. 1896 has E. 19th has two spaces for 1845-46 Postage Dues, Scott J1-2. Are these the first postage due stamps? Most sources say France but these are over a decade earlier.
Ecuador. 1896 has Revenues Used for Postage, and E and W.
Egypt. 1896 has a page of Official stamps 1864-1872 that are not in the 19th. (See http://www.interpostalseals.com/) The 1896 also has E, letter sheets, and W.
Fiji Islands. 1896 has an official stamp from 1888.
Finland. 1896 has E and W.
Formosa. 1896 has 2 stamps from 1888. I don’t find Formosa in the 19th.
France. 1896 has E, W and Pneumatic Envelopes.
French Colonies. 1896 has E and W.
French Guiana. 1896 has E.
French Guinea. 1896 has E.
French India. 1896 has E.
French Oceanica. 1896 has E.
French Sudan. 1896 has E.
Funchal. 1896 has E.
Germany. Postal Services of Princes of Thurn and Taxis. Northern States. 1896 has E.
Germany. Postal Services of Princes of Thurn and Taxis. Southern States. 1896 has E.
Germany. North German Postal District. 1896 has three pages of E, W and Provisional Envelopes.
Germany. Empire. 1896 has E and W.
Gibralter. 1896 has RE and W.
Gold Cost. 1896 has RE and W.
Great Britain. Offices in the Levant. 1896 has E.
Great Britain. 1896 has four spaces for Mulready Envelopes, the 19th, two. The 1896 has six pages for E, RE, W, and Compound Envelopes.
Greece. 1896 has E.
Grenada. 1896 has Revenue Used for Postage, RE, and W.
Griqualand West. 19th has blank page for “Cape of Good Hope Stamps Surcharged.” 1896 has three pages with cuts and descriptions.
Guadeloupe. 1896 has E.
Guatemala. 1896 has E and W.
Hamburg. 1896 has E.
Hamburg American Mail Company. 1 space in 1896.
Hanover. 1896 has E and Local Envelopes.
Hawaii. 1896 has E.
Heligoland. 1896 has E and W.
Honduras. 1896 has E and W.
Hong Kong. 1896 and 19th have spaces for Revenues Used for Postage/Postal-Fiscal Stamps. 1896 has Official Seal.
Hungary. 1896 has spaces for E and W.
India. My 1930 edition of the 19th starts India with three spaces for the Scinde District Posts which the 1896 has with its Protected States pages. 1896 has E and RE.
India. Protected States. 1896 has 27 pages with separate spaces, 19th has five blank pages. 1896 includes cut squares as applicable.
Ivory Coast. 1896 includes E.
Jamaica. 1896 includes Revenues used for postage and W.
Japan. 1896 includes Officially Sealed, and E, W, and Official Wrapper.
Lagos. 1896 includes RE.
Leeward Islands. 1896 includes E, RE, and W.
Liberia. 1896 includes E, RE, W.
Lubbock. 1896 includes E.
Madagascar (British). 19th has 10 pages versus six and a half in 1896.
Madeira. 1896 has E.
Malta. 1896 has RE and W.
Mauritius. 1896 has E and RE.
Mayotte. 1896 has E.
Mecklenburg Schwerin. 1896 has spaces for both Scott 6 and 6a.
Mecklenburg Strelitz. 1896 has E.
Mexico. 1896 has official seals, E, official envelopes, and W.
Mexico. Campeche. 1896 has space for imperforate 25 centavo.
Mexico. Morelia. 19th has 1 space, not in 1896.
Mexico. Zactecas. 1896 has 2 spaces, not in 19th.
Monoco. 1896 has E, W.
Montenegro. 1896 has E, W.
Montserrat. 1896 has 1884 revenue used for postage.
Morocco. 1896 has a page with spaces for Mazagan-Morocco, Mazagan-Marakech, Mogador-Morocco, and Tanger-Fez. 19th has one blank page for “Stamps used for service between various cities in Morocco.”
Mozambique Company. 1896 has spaces for two newspaper stamps versus one in the 19th.
Natal. 1896 has W.
Nepal. Missing in 1896.
Netherlands. 1896 has E.
Nevis. 1896 has revenues used for postage.
New Caledonia. 1896 has spaces for seven 1893 military stamps and E.
Newfoundland. 1896 has E, W.
New Republic. There appears to be some differences in coverage between the two albums but I was too lazy to figure out the differences (i.e., same yellow paper, same gray paper, etc.). 1896 has E.
New South Wales. 1896 has E, official envelopes, official registration envelopes, RE, and W.
New Zealand. 1896 has space for 1896 newspaper stamp as well as spaces for the 1890 railway newspaper stamps. 1896 has three pages for revenues used for postage. The 19th, which mostly ignores this type of stamp, has one page for postal-fiscal stamps.
Nicaragua. 1896 has three pages for E, an official envelope, and W.
Niger Coast Protectorate. 1896 has RE.
North Borneo. 1896 includes revenues used as postage.
Norway. 1896 includes return letter stamps and E.
Nossi Bé. 1896 has E.
Oldenburg. 1896 has E.
Orange Free State. 1896 includes nine 1892 telegraph stamps used for postage.
Pacific Steam Navigation Company. 1896 has spaces for 11 stamps. Not in 19th or current Scott catalog.
Panama. I didn’t find in the 1896 so I assume my copy is missing these pages.
Paraguay. 1896 has E and W.
Persia. 1896 starts with space for 1868 Coat of Arms stamp which is not in the current catalog. 1896 has W.
Peru. 1896 has a page of E.
Peru. Provisional Issues. 19th century edition has one blank page for Provisional issues. 1896 has three pages with spaces for Arequipa, Ancash, Apurimac, Ayacucho, Chala, Chiclayo, Cuzco, Huacho, Paita, Moquega, Pasco, Pisco, Piura, Puno, and Yca.
Philippines. 1896 separates out the provisional issues, 19th integrates in one sequence.
Poland. 1896 has E.
Ponta Delgada. 1896 has E.
Portugal. 1896 has E.
Prince Edward Island. 1896 includes space for 1b (catalog $17K versus $250 for the major number in the 2007 catalog).
Prussia. 1896 has a page of E including the 1867 Victoria National Invalided Stiftung.
Queensland. 1896 has space for 1894 Newspaper stamps and W. 19th has spaces for three registration stamps versus only one in the 19th. 19th inexplicably provides a blank page for revenues used for postage.
Reunion. 1896 has E.
Romania. 1896 includes W.
Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. In 1896, not in 19th.
Russia. 1896 includes 2 pages of E and W.
St. Christopher. 1896 includes revenues used for postage.
St. Lucia. 1896 includes revenues used for postage, RE and W.
St. Marie de Madagascar. 1896 includes E.
St. Pierre Miquelon. 1896 includes E.
St. Vincent. 1896 includes RE and W.
Salvador. 1896 includes five pages for E and W.
Saxony. 1896 includes E.
Seychelles. 1896 has E.
Shanghai. There may be some differences between the two editions but I didn’t pursue. 1896 has E and W.
Sierra Leone. 1896 has RE.
South African Republic/Transvaal. 1896 and 19th differ in coverage of pre-1877/78 issues. 1896 has E.
South Australia. 1896 has W and official wrappers. Both have a blank page for official stamps. The 19th century qualifies this is “Stamps of regular issues surcharged with the initial letters of various departments” and then provides two pages with spaces for stamps overprinted O.S.
South Bulgaria. Another cut example.
Straits Settlements. 1896 includes RE.
Straits Settlements. Johore. 1896 missing Scott #1.
Suez Canal Co. Not in my 1930 version of the 19th but was in some earlier.
Sweden. My edition of the 19th includes 3 skilling error but it wasn’t in some earlier. 1896 has E.
Switzerland. 1896 has E and W.
Terra del Fuego. This private post is in the 1896.
Tasmania. 1896 has revenues used for postage, E, RE and W.
Timor. 1896 missing Scott #21. 1896 has space for 1883 10 R free surcharged on Mozambique. 19th also has this stamp and same on Portuguese India stamp. Both are given minor numbers today, Scott 2a and 2b.
Tobago. 1896 has RE.
Tonga. 1896 has E and RE.
Trinidad. 1896 has RE and W as well as space for the Lady McLeod Steam Navigation Company stamp. The Lady McLeod was in some earlier editions of the 19th.
Tunis. 1896 has space for E.
Turkey. 1896 has six spaces for 1887 privately produced surcharged bisects. Was in some earlier editions of 19th. 1896 has spaces for E.
Uruguay. 1896 missing Scott 3B. 1896 has E and W.
Venezuela. 1896 has ten spaces for Scott 1-6 versus three in the 19th. 1896 has spaces for revenues used for postage, blank half page in 19th.
Victoria. Both 1896 and 19th have spaces for revenues used for postage. 1896 has three pages for E, RE, and W.
Western Australia. 1896 has space for the inverted Swan error 3a.
Wurttemberg. 1896 has space for postage dues. Missing in the 19th. 1896 has E and official envelopes.
United States [BOB]. 1896 has telegraph stamps, revenue stamps, playing card stamps, and proprietary stamps. 19th has official seals, E, official envelopes, telegraph stamps, revenue stamps, proprietary stamps, and documentary stamps.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
April 1st Breaking News: Scott to Bring Back the Browns
Unlike Steiner who distributes his album pages on CD-ROM or via download, Scott plans to sell customers the tens of thousands of original letter press metal cuts and type used to print the Browns. According to Scott’s press release, their market research has proven that collectors of the first one hundred years of philately want to create albums using a complementary technology. “Sure,” a Scott executive explains, “we could have gone with something experimental like dot matrix, but our company wants to be cutting edge, not bleeding edge.”
Price on request. Some assembly required. Does not include printing press. Shipping extra. (P.S. Scott is serious about the cutting edges; don’t hurt yourself.)
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Scott International Album Accessories
As far as I can tell, you can no longer buy a prepackaged set of labels, but you can still purchase them individually. On the Amos Advantage site, there is a dropdown in the Search menu for “binder labels: international.” They correlate to a previous version, so there are only two rather than four separate labels for the Volume One.
This got me to wondering whether there were any accessories sold for the International series that aren’t available today. The only thing I can come up with are the Coats of Arms, Flags and Rulers of Countries. Perhaps you know of others. To get us started, here are the accessories I’m aware of:
Binder small blue (regular)
Binder large blue (jumbo)
Slipcase small blue
Slipcase large blue
Binder labels (currently sold for individual binders)
Blank pages with the International border
Blank quadrille lined pages with the International Border
Blue protector sheets for International binder
Glassine interleaving 2-round post International
No longer available:
Coats of Arms (96), 19th Century Series
Flags (88), 19th Century Series
Rulers (72), 19th Century Series
Binder labels (set for all currently available volumes)
Other accessories that can be used with the International but not specific to the series include:
Scott Filler strips
I thought I remembered that Amos sold Advantage Stocksheets (1-8 pockets) with the International Border, but I don’t find these on their website. I own some but they are packed up at the moment so I can’t check. [UPDATE: they come in the National and Specialty borders only.]
Subway Stamps in their G&K line sells versions of most of the above, but it is worth specifically noting:
G&K Interleaving Crystal clear film
G&K Inventory Record Pages
G&K Crystal clear page protectors (closed on 2 sides).
Saturday, January 3, 2015
If You Still Have Money Left Over From the Holidays....
According to the auction firm, these are "vast country collections from 1840 to 1940 where the emphasis was on obtaining stamps that were impossible to find and to complete each collection. (I'm not certain that "Impossibles" is entirely accurate, but at least they didn't called it the "Uniques" collection.) Pasquarello's collections focused primarily on Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt (see the image on the left), Estonia, Finland, France, Germany & Germany States, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Italy and Italian States & Colonies, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Colonies, Norway, Poland, Portuguese Colonies, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tripolitania, Turkey and [the always popular] worldwide balances. The collections are mint and used and complete or almost 99% complete." Not only do I like the date range that Mr. Pasquarello chose, but also that there are a surprising number of (choice) used stamps as opposed to the high percentage of unused/mint typically found in large country collections. Now all I have to do is win each of these lots and I will be well on the way to a nice Brown International Collection (or a Blue with a lot of extra pages).
In addition to Pasquarello's holdings, there are many others worth perusing, not the least of which is Michael Roger's specialized Ethiopia. But the latter falls beyond the scope even of the Brown Internationals.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)