Thematics: Day of the Stamp

The ‘Day of the Stamp’ is typically a day of the year set aside by postal stamp-issuing authorities to publicise, and in some cases subsidise, philatelic events and exhibitions. The issues were popular in many European countries during the mid 20th Century including Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Netherlands, Italy and Hungary. The Day of the

Thematics: Britannia

Perkins, Bacon & Co. will forever be identified as the printers of the first adhesive stamps, the Penny Black in 1840. They were the designers of many other early influential stamp issues including the Britannia type. These represented many of the earliest issues of Barbados, Mauritius and Trinidad. Jacob Perkins was an inventor, mechanical engineer and physicist, born in

Thematics: UK Postmark (Cancellation) Slogans

From the earliest adoption of adhesive postage stamps, postmarks have been used as an indication that the postage costs have been paid. Once postmarked, the postage stamp was ‘cancelled’ and could not therefore be reused. The use of postmarks to convey messages and slogans was initially reserved for the use of national institutions such as

Thematics: Jeffryes, Benjamin and Sarpy

Forgeries might be regarded as the bane of the philatelist. Many are difficult to spot and are perceived as a threat to the integrity and value of a collection. However, in some cases the history and events associated with a forgery can actually add to a stamp’s value. The operations of a trio of forgers

Thematics: Child Welfare

The first child welfare stamp was issued in Switzerland in 1913 and became known as the Pro Juventute issues because of their Latin inscription meaning ‘for youth’. The stamp, featuring an image of the Matterhorn and Helvetia (the female national personification of Switzerland), was denominated 5 centimes but was sold for 10 centimes with the