STAMP NOTES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 121, 21 April 1938, Page 7

STAMP NOTES

France, Belgium and Germany are among a* number of countries which have m recent mouths added modern train stamps to tlie’ specialised train stamp collection. Many countries have issued train stamps, and the collection of 'these is one of the most popular of specialised subjects for philatelists. --

Canada, which probably lias more railway mileage than any other country, is represented in such, a collection with the harvesting stamp ol 1928, which shows a train crossing the prairies at tiie left of the harvesting scene, and on tlie special delivery stamp of 1927 featuring dog team, train, steamer and air transportation of mail. New Brunswick’s ls6o issue features an early Canadian train and Newfoundland has an express train on the five-cent’ value of tne 1928 issue, an iron ore train on the 24-cent 1932 and 1937 coronation issues. The United states featured a locomotive in its 1869 issue, trains on various values of the 1898 Trahs-Missi-sippi and the 1901 Pan-American sets, ana oil 'the 1912 , parcel post issue. Alexieo has . a mail train on the high values of the 1895 pictorial set; Guatemala on the issues of 1921, 1930 and 1935; Nicaragua, a train, railway tracks and. bridges on special commemorative stamps of 1932: Salvador lias an old locomotive on, its three centavos of the 1896 pictorial issue. Similarly other central and South American countries have issued train stamps.

Egypt issued a four-value set in 1933 for the international railway congress depicting different engines from 1852 to 1932. India included the mail train in its recent "postal transportation set. Borneo shows a tropical train in its 1902 issue. Mozambique on its 1935 Zambesi River bridge commemorative shows a railway yard with many trains alongside the bridge, and a train coming into a jungle station on its 1918 pictorial set. A Persian railway train is shown -crossing a river bridge on the pictorial issue of 1935, while Russia’s' special

delivery set of 1932 includes one value featuring a maiL train, and an entire 1935 issue is devoted to subway trains in Moscow. One of the few electric railway stamps is that of small San Alarino, issued in 1932, while the Djibouti-Addis Ababa railway bridge which was front page news during the Italo-Ethiopian war is shown on the high values of the French Somali coast set of 1915. Southern Rhodesia’s 1937 Coronation stamps and Southwest Africa’s 1937 transportation pictorial show trains in British Africa. These are but a few of the many train stamps, which the careful collector can obtain. There are many more, and the compilation of a complete train collection is a big task for the specialist.

* * * * * Recent new issues include Ecuador’s commemorative for the 160th anniversary of the United States constitution, which was issued on February 22; Finland’s three ski stamps—Chile’s six-value sot for the 50th anniversary of the annexation of mysterious Easter Island ; Republican Spain’s - stamp for the 150th anniversary of the United States Constitution showing the Statute of Liberty. Announced for early release is a set from Danzig fop the 150th anniversary of the birth of Philosopher Schopenhauer, and several charity sets from Estonia. Two hundred thousand sets which Egypt issued in three values to commemorate the International Cotton Congress were sold out on the first day.