PHILATELY. * Bi Pkltjek.

Otago Witness, Issue 2848, 14 October 1908, Page 66

PHILATELY. * Bi Pkltjek.

The tremendous enthusiasm and activity which make- Germany the very stronghold of philately, leave little undone in the propaganda carried on for the benefit of national philatelic strength and unity. Whoever heard of a philatelic Sunday Stamp school! In Mr Glaeewald's excellent publication, Philatalisten Zeitung, it is related how the upper Alsace Philatelic Club has started a philatelic school for , boya at Mulhaueen. The school is held every other Sunday at 10 a.m. The first session wee attended by 40 youngsters, all under 18 years of age. At each session a member. of the club renders' a popular and carefully-prepared lecture on a certain country. After crivina" an outline of the history and the geographical features of the country in question, its stamp issues aro taken up, described and illustrated The pupils are encouraged to aek questions and individual advice in connection with their collections is freely given. I* is unnecessary to stats that no chargeis made for the service rendered ; on the other hand, there is a free distribution of stamps at the close of each session. The scheme has proved & decided success, and ia now being adopted in other parts of Germany. As a national society the American Philatelic Association is the largest of its kind in the world, bjjt it is by no means the largest philatelic society. Ths first place in this respect is still occupied by Internationaler Philatelisten Verein, Dresden, with ite 34 branches and 1900 members. This society, which was founded at Dresden, January 'l, 1877, gay© its immediate attention to the formation of a philatelic library, and has succeeded so well in the development of this important feature, that at present, its library ranks next to that of the Royal Philatelic- Society, London. The cultivation of friendly relations with representative foreign societies has always been the policy of the Dresden Society. Thus wo find that in October, 1882. The National Philatelic Society of N-ew York was elected a cor-r-esponding>society, in December 1887 the American PhiLatelio Association, in August, 1889 the Brooklyn Philatelic Club, and in January, 1905, the Boston Philatelic Society. In >the French catalogue Baillieu issued in 1863 I not© (be following prices: — South Australia, first issue, 6d, price 2£d; Id, 2d, and Is, price 5d each. Western Australia, Id, bkek ; 2d, bronze ; f ,d, blue ; 6d, bronze ; and Is, brown — all at 5d each. I wonder'how many of the 2d and 6d M. BaiHieu had for sale at these prices. Brazil is to have yet another commemorative stamp, according to the Courrier dv Brezil. Thi- ti-^' 1 th-p excuse dees not ■em quite co good as usual — it 16 the celebration of the centenary oi thp Opening of of the ports oi Brazil to international commerce. Tne stamp has been designed by Monsieur Henrique BernadelU. and will be printed by the American Bank Note Company, for issue in July next. On the right and left of the stamp, below the arms of Portugal and Brazil, are s-hown portraits- of Dom Carlos II and of Alfonso Peiuia; below the dates 1808 and 1903 appear. The centre of the design consists of a view of tho bay of Rio de Janeiro, flanked by figures of a warrior and a female figure, allegorical of Portugal and Brazil. The design is said to be extiemely effective, and the general result a happy one. — L'Echo dc la Timbrologie. The largest collections ever sold, judging them by their values, have been as follows: The Sreitfuss collection, bought by Stanley Gibbons (Ltd.) ; the D'EtroUea collection, sold at auction ; the Mann collection, bought by Stanley Gibbons (Ltd.) ; tho Transehr-Rosoneoke collection, bought by P. Kohl: the Aycr collection (firet part), bought by Stanley Gibbons (Ltd.) ; the Schrceder collection, bought hj V. RobeTt ; the Castle collection (Australians), bought by Stanley Gibbons (Ltd.) ; the Thorne collection, bought by New England Stamp Company. One of the great English dealers says: — " During tho past few months, especially, I have been much struck with the fact that stamp-collecting is rapidly becoming the great hobby of the aristocrats cf birth and wealth, not only in tliib country, but also throughout Europe. " At the present moment we have among our clients the monarohs of two European nations, and the heirs apparent of three other nations, and during this last season wo have had xnoro business with new clients of the first positions in their countries than at any previous time sinco I have been in business. Philately is making great strides in Austria, Germany, Italy, Holland, and Spain. Possibly this id brought to my notice at tlve present time, more than at any previous date, owiug to ihe fact that through the purchase of tbe'Mann and Broitfuss collections wo have been enabled to supply extraordinarily fine collections of European stamps, and fcr these old stamps I find a really great, and increasing demand." j Not to lie outdone by their contemporaries, Mesvrs Perkins, Bacon, and Co. and Messrs Do La Rue, for allowing the spirit of Euclid to enter into their stampdesigning, Messrs Watorlow and Son 6 have once more provided "Philately, at the order of the Ecuador Government, with a triangular stamp, or, to be more correct, wit'i a cot. As far as ii known, there are four valuer — lc, grey-green ; 2c, red ; sc, blue; and 10c. orange— all of which bear the head of President Moncavc in black. Two notable points about tliG=e new stamps are that they are p'lforated, and also bear the daie 1907 From ihe latter ono j conclude^ that then- nublication was postponed 01 celcyed. Fortunately tho design

is pretty, so we shall not be caJlcd upon to pass too hard a criticism, but look at them from the point of view of Mr Ewen — as an interesting inducement for recruits to cur hobby. NEW ISSUES. Tasmania. — I bave seen the 6d pictorial on crown A paper. Transvaal. — The Government of this colony has given notice that the stamps, etc., of the laCe South African Republic, overprinted ''V.R.l.'' o. "E.R.1.," will cease to be available for postage after the 21st December next, but thai tbay may te exchanged for current stamps, etc., after that date down to June 30, 1909. Stamps, etc., tendered for exchange wil be carefully examined, as the_ Transvaal Government has reason to believe that a considerable quantity of counterfeit stamps and stamped stationery is in circulation. Forgers of stamps and overprints are liable to imprisonment with hard labour up to seven years. Conada. — The tercentenary stamps are : io. portraits of Prince and Princess cf Wales ; - le, portraits of Champlain and Cartier ; 2c, portrai'" of the King and Queen- ; sc. L'Habitation de Quebec ; 7c, portraits of Montcalm and Wolfe : ,10c, 'Quebeo in 1707; 15c, departure of Champlain : 20c Cartier'a arrival before Quebec. Cochin. — We hay& received a large stamp ■of- entirely new design' for this State. A portrait of Ksha.tr iya, the head cf the ruling family, is.&hown on the stamp. Tho watermark consists of a conch shell, somewhat- similar to that .used for Travancore ; this watermark is used as Kshatriya is tho ■head of both States. The paper is rather thin wove, and the perforation gauges 14, and is fairly regular.