Cool Timeline
One-cent British Guyana sold for US$9.5 million
The one-cent magenta from British colonial Guyana, sold for a world record US$9.5 million at a New York auction on Tuesday. It took just two minutes for an anonymous collector on the phone to seal the deal after quick-fire bidding opened at US$4.5 million in a packed room at Sotheby’s…Read More
The world’s first postal stationery
Ireland-born artist William Mulready was the first person to illustrate postal stationery. Postal stationery is classed as a document on which the proof of advance payment is shown by the placing of a stamp or a postmark. The piece shown – a stamped, foldable letter card, appeared at the same…Read More
Engraver Extraordinaire
(See also article published on May 5th ‘First African Stamps’) William Humphrys was born in Dublin in 1794. At an early age he moved to the United States. There he studied engraving techniques under the tutelage of a Mr. George Murray in Philadelphia. In 1815 he embarked on his career…Read More
Paterson’s Bush Ballads on Australian Stamps
The Australian Post issued a set of four stamps in honour of writer Banjo Paterson. Poet, journalist, editor and solicitor, Andrew Barton “Banjo” Paterson is arguably Australia’s master balladeer. The late 19th and early 20th centuries were the peak of this popular verse form in Australia.
Great British Film Stamp Set
Great Britain’s Royal Mail has very recently issued a stamp set in celebration of its home-grown film industry. It features six classic British films that have enjoyed worldwide success since the Second World War.
Ich bin ein Berliner
On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy of the United States made a speech in Berlin. One that became notable partly because of the few German words that Kennedy used during the speech: “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner). Kennedy’s speech was made from the Rathaus Schöneberg,…Read More
The Un-Inverted Jenny
On the 23rd of September 2013, USPS issued a stampsheet with the reprint of the famous 1918 Inverted Jenny stamp. The Postal Service has also printed 100 additional sheets of stamps of the recently issued $2 Inverted Jenny stamp but with the plane flying right-side up, creating an instant collector’s…Read More
From Postmaster to President
On February 12, 2014, the United States issued a stamp with a picture of the head of the former American President, Abraham Lincoln (b.1809-d.1865). This striking head belongs to the famous 6-metre-high marble statue in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.
70th D-Day Anniversary stamps issued by Isle of Man
To commemorate the 70th Anniversary of D-Day Isle of Man Stamps and Coins is pleased to present a striking set of six stamps, commemorative sheet and limited edition folder, produced in support of the Royal British Legion and The Normandy Veterans Association. This emotive issue is due for release on…Read More
First African Stamps
The first postage stamps issued from the continent of Africa were released in September, 1853. The territory of ‘Cape of Good Hope’, then a British colony administered as the Cape Colony, was the issuer. It remained a British colony until being incorporated into the independent Union of South Africa in…Read More
