Germany: Holy Land

The featured stamp commemorates the 50th anniversary of the cession of Heligoland to Germany. The significance of this anniversary is indicated by the date of issue 1940 and the inscription ‘Deutsches Reich’ – an issue of the German national state during World War II. The stamp is an historical example of postage stamp propaganda and

Barbados: Victory

Barbados was one of only a few British colonies to issue stamps commemorating victory after World War I. It was originally proposed to overprint unused 1d War Tax stamps but it was generally felt that a dedicated issue would be more befitting of the event. Based on designs refined by the printers De La Rue,

Lithuania: Rise and Fall of Empires

Historically, the fortune of Empires has rested on the outcome of war. The Ottoman Empire crumpled after World War I, as did many of the western European empires following World War II. In other examples, wars have united states as demonstrated by the unification of Natal, Orange Free State and Transvaal under the state of

Egypt: Egyptian Ports

In the nineteenth century, international trade relied heavily on ships and so ports became important places through which that trade flowed. Strong trade links required effective communication systems and with telephony and radio still to be discovered and electrical telegraphy still in its infancy, this demand fell to the postal system. Established trading nations such

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

Egypt: Writing Home

The featured image is of an envelope posted in Cairo on 24 February 1936 to an address in Canterbury, England and carries a red prepaid postage stamp. On the back of the envelope is a 1 piastre letter seal beneath the emblem of the Royal Horse Artillery, an arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery that

Spain: A Monarchy in Profile

Any philatelist with an interest in Spain cannot ignore the changing portraits that grace the early stamp issues. The profiles belie a period of political turmoil in the country that can be traced from the first stamp issue of 1850. Modern Spain is of course a culturally rich and politically stable country and retains its

Denmark: Recovery of Northern Slesvig

One of the fascinating aspects of philately is discovering issues of countries that no longer exist. A little research often unveils an interesting history and a link to a region with its own unique culture. One such region is Slesvig and in this post we’ll visit it’s history and culture through the 1920 Denmark issue

Martinique: The First Distinctive Issue

Martinique is part of the Lesser Antilles island group of the Caribbean and was discovered by Columbus in June 1502 but not colonised until the French founded a settlement in 1635. The island lies directly north of Saint Lucia, northwest of Barbados and south of Dominica. Before 1886 Martinique used the French general stamp issues

Egypt: Reflections of an Ancient Civilisation

Few countries can boast a history quite like that of Egypt – built on the foundations of an ancient civilisation at that. Central to this civilisation was the River Nile that rises in eastern Africa and runs for thousands of miles before traversing Egypt and emptying into the Mediterranean. This was a powerful nation long