FOR STAMP COLLECTORS

Evening Star, Issue 20853, 24 July 1931, Page 2

FOR STAMP COLLECTORS

[By Philatelist.]

\ ■ ' Any news, notes, anti items of ■ philatelic interest will always be appreciated. Address care Editor. WHAT ARE “ LOCALS P” These are postal stamps having only 'a limited franking power in contradistinction to the ordinary State-issued postage stamp whose Jvaukmg power extends to places outside the?/countiy of its origin. Here is, a greatly ne-j glccted byway of philately, yet a held of immense possibilities. True, most ot these stamps are by no means beautiful, but from an historical viewpoint, and in the tremendous possibilities they open up in the field of research, they certainly merit far more attention than they get. The majority arc not catalogued at all, while the few that are are mostly imperlcctly done. J lie heal is large, tho collecting is lint a cosui> matter, duo chiefly to the tittle demand, though many of these stamps arc extremely rare. For example, ne lint c the college stamps of Oxford ami Cambridge, issued between 1870 and lirso, a unique series, and the outcome ol special privileges granted by Parliament as carlv as 1656. Between 1565 and 1868 'circular delivery ' companies issued local stamps for use in various towns in England and Scotland, and these were the forerunners of the baitpenny postage in Great Britain. They were later suppressed as an infringement of the Postmaster-General s monopoly. The collection of those stamps is complicated, but made all the more fascinating by the huge number of forgeries that came into existence at the time. Again, wc have the letter stamps, issued* by the various British railway companies; these form a highly interesting senes. In Europe the largest as well as the most interesting group of local stamps hails from Russia; those being issued under special instructions from’the imperial Government by local councils in provincial districts when the imperial post did ,npl find it profitable to extend the general jlostal ties.Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark have all added to the list ; white from Austria come the well-known locals of the Danube Steam Navigation Company. The local stamps of Turkey are probably the most difficult to collect and study, as so little is known concerning them. From here we have the. stamps issued by the Imperial Turkish Admiralty Co., Bell’s Asia Minor Steamship Co., and those of T. B. Morton and Co. Unfortunately, inaay of these stamps were issued more lor the collector than for legitimate use. It is interesting to note how eariy were collectors fleeced. Between 1865-1867, Constantinople issued local postage, newspaper, and postngo-dno stamps, huge remainders of these coining on tho market w‘hen the service ceased. Government issues wore overprinted, as locals in Constantinople from 1873-1881. Here, again, forgery is rile, as might only be expected in overprinted stamps. Tho local stamps of the United States form a large group, mostly issued by private letter-carrying companies between 181.'} and 1861. Of these the “"Wells Fargo ” stamps arc tho hostknown to collectors. This company carried the mails overland by coach during the day> oi the Calilorniao goici rush, .when the cost of postage was as high as A do i the ounce. Thy provisionals issued by the various postmaster.; during tho Civil War are locals, but are extremely rare and worth many times their weight in gold now. Tb«, locals of Central and South America arc of little interest beyond those of Buenos Aires, issued between ISSB and 1862 * These stamps appealed lo lbo old collectors, but are- very searco today, Many locals come Iron) Morocco, tlie majority of 'these, however, being of a speculative nature, the stamps being produced for the benefit of collectors. The Suez Canal Company issued a series of four stamps in 1868 which had a very short existence,' fail were ranch forged. The Native States of India arc, of course, responsible for a host of locals. These are fully described in the cataloging. In die Chinese Empire tho chief local post was that of the treaty port of Shanghai,which commenced to is-nc stamps as early as 1865. Many of those are to-day icxtremely scarce. **So, you will see, there is a good deni of scope for some good and intensely interesting research in this branch of philately. These stamps! me not so reaclilv conic by as the majority ot ordinary postage stamps, and. more, over, they form very important landmarks in history, and many are the grim, tragic stories lying behind them, waiting for th,e keen collector to bring to. light.. Naturally, however, the locals o) one’s own country are by far the most interesting to the average collector, and we in New Zealand have our locals ns well as the countries already men- . 1.-1 i i if. •: .. he

for instance; or what betten examples have we for collection, general interest, and research than our railway stamps'. The various values, issues, papers, and perforations of these stamps open up a wide and intensely interesting field. These stamps are still to bo picked up here and there. They are astonishingly cheap considering their almost total neglect by collectors and consequent rarity. They can be recommended as a very fascinating and worth-while byway in any Now Zealand stamp album. China.—Postal rates were to have been increased by 33 per cent, this, we believe, will occasion a new set of stamps. We have heard unofficially that new designs'arc planned, and the inscriptions in English will he omitted. Jngo-slavia.—A jubilee set of three values is to he prepared in commemoration of the founding-of the nation. The denominations are 50p plti? 50p, Id plus Id, and .‘hi phis Id. Franco.—Commemorative postage; ft is a pleasure to chronicle the distinctive new stamp with which France inaugurates the Colonial Exposition of 1931. Printed by the Hello Yaugirard Press, it is an oblong pictorial bearing tho inscription “ Exposition Colonialo Internationale ” across the top. Down through tho centre is the Torch of Liberty with the initials R.F. “Postes—lf 50—Paris—1931 ” is in three linos below In tho medallion on each side of the centre inscription are striking groups of France’s distinctive colonials, all facing the flaming torch. ■We recognise the Algerian, Bengalese, Sudaineso, Indo-Chinese, and many others. , Tho colour n deep blue, and it is a most attractive and interesting stain)). Brazil.—For the first sight of the revolution charity - .stamps heralded on April 18 wc are Indebted to Air Denton Hcpwortli. who has shoyyn ns three postalfv used specimens, uniformly inscribed “ per invalidos c orphans ’’.and adorned with portraits' of Brazilian statesmen, set off by the colours of their provincial flags and printed by the Lithe Globe of Porto Alogro, as lollows:—20C plus -100 rcis, green (Dr Gctinlo Vargos and Dr Joao Pessoa) ; ] dollar phi; 500 rcis. green, red, and yellow (D. Oswaldo, Oraiira); 1 dollar plus 2 dollars 500 reis, black and rod (Dr Joao Pessoa). The designs arc the work of Messrs Ernesto Zeuner, Honrimie Nuguos, and Giulio Costa. The colours of tho 1 dollar stamp arc those of the flag of Rio Grande do Snd, and of the 5 dollar those of Parahyba.

British Guiana.—A commemorative issue celebrating the centenary of the amalgamation oi the counties of Domcrara, Berbiee and Esseqnilio as the colony of British Gniaira will appear towards the end of this month. China.—Wc understand that the following changes in tho Chinese postal issues are to he anticipated—.viz. : —(1) A new definife senes; (2) a set in commemoration of the National Congress, with the portrait of Sun Yat Sen; (3) 6 <•., brown, and 9 c., scarlet, colour change and now value in the current set: (t) the issue of the 1 cent on 3 cent provisional, with black surcharge; (5) the discontinuation of the 3 cent and 13 cent values.