by catpaw | 11 May, 2016 | Catpaw's Picks, country Stamps, Espresso fueled mumblings, Stamps
Have you seen the 2007 cork stamp? Cork can be made into everything from bottle stoppers to shoes and stamps. Here’s the short tale of cork.
Quercus suber – the amazing cork tree
Cork comes from the Quercus suber, also called cork oaks by we mere mortals. Cool trivia: cork oak an evergreen tree. The average cork oak lives between 150 to 250 years and grows up to 65ft high. It’s the bark off the tree that is used to produce cork. Once the trees hit maturity at 25 years, the bark is peeled off the tree every 10 years or so (between 9 and 12 years, depending on the tree).
Cut away of cork trunk
The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and the Romans used cork for several purposes, including building, insulation and of course as a stopper for olive oil bottles. Archeologist in France have uncovered wine amphora with cork stoppers dating back to 3rd BC., with the wine still inside.
Check out Amorim for more information on cork. They have an excellent site filled with information. Their description of the harvesting is worth checking out: “The removal of the planks makes a dry noise, reminiscent of the gentle creaking of a door, the sound of a cork passing through the bottleneck. A particularly characteristic aroma fills the air, which is slightly sweet … “
-
Cork oak tree – Quercus suber
When Portuguese and Spanish sailors set out to explore the world, they used cork oak in some of the ship construction. When French monk Dom Pérignon began producing wine, he used cork, instead of the more commonly used wood, to seal the bottles of wine from the monastery production in the 1670s. Not long after that, Portugal became a centre of cork wine stopper production. Here’s more trivia: according to Eden Project website, one tree can produce enough cork for 4,000 wine bottles.
Cork should be considered one of those wonder products, but people tend to think of it only in terms of wine bottle stoppers. It’s eco-friendly, sustainable and acts as both a natural fire stopper and insulation. Cork is so flexible it can also be turned into shoe soles, cores for baseball and cricket bats, friction lining, flooring, bowls, and fashionable handbags. Mother Nature threw in a bonus – it’s biodegradable and fully renewable.
Cork oaks are found all around the Mediterranean, but Portugal is the world’s largest producer, with over 32% of the world’s trees found there and over 50% of the world’s cork production. That translates into 737 thousand hectares of cork trees. They are the true kings of cork production.
2007 cork stamp
Which brings me to the reason cork is the focus of an article about stamps … cork makes kickass stamps:
Portugal – 2007 Nov 28 printed on cork veneer self-adhesive
Scotts #2971 Gibbons #3535 Michels #3254 Perfs: 13×13¾ | Sold for €1,00
230,000 issued | Designer: João Machado, engraver
In 2007, the Portuguese post office (Correios de Portugal) issued a stunning, graceful stamp made of cork. The self-adhesive is unique for a couple of reasons – it was the first time a postage stamp was printed on cork and each stamp is unique because of the nature of cork bark. Portuguese engraver João Machado’s design shows a cork oak on a hillside, highlighting the cork grain pattern in each stamp. I suspect a person could spend years collecting these stamps for the variety in the grain in the background.
Non sequitur: I have to say, I think Correios de Portugal has the best logo in the world.
Correios de Portugal post office logo
230,000 stamps were issued Nov 28, and the stamp sold out. It wasn’t just the uniqueness of the material used; people were taken by Machado’s beautiful design. The stamp, unveiled at the Assembly of the Republic, was accompanied by first day covers and leaflet with the stamp attached as part of a stamp presentation pack that sold for 4.25€.
Portugal – cork presentation pack
Some stamps were issued with a special AMORIM markings:
Portugal Cork Stamp – AMORIM 2007
If you were one of the smart ones who purchased a mini sheet of them, you made a wise investment. I’ve seen them sell for $600 per sheet. A full sheet (not the mini) goes for about $80. You can find singles on eBay and other auction sites for about $5 a pop.
After doing research on cork and the 2007, I’m now determined to acquire the stamps. The opportunity to collect variations is too tempting to resist.
Read more:
Portugal FDC 2007 stamp printed on cork
by catpaw | 5 Apr, 2016 | Espresso fueled mumblings, Stamps
Buckle up stamp fans, time for a story about BC Airways and another foray into my favourite area – Canadian history and airmail.
If you are an airmail collector, you should look at Canada’s fascinating semi-official airmail history. Semi-officials were a branch of airmail stamps, issued by individual airlines. Canada Post sanctioned the private printing, allowing airlines to collect fees for delivering mail, usually to remote bush areas like the northern mining communities. Although the stamps were supposed to be affixed to the back of a cover, they often snuck onto the front, proudly displayed beside regular postage.
It’s a rich history to explore for airmail and pioneer aviation fans alike. If you happen to be a history buff, well bonus all around! A couple of sources will help you explore semis – van Dam’s catalogue and website are treasure troves of information. van Dam is also one of the most reliable sources around for purchasing semi-officials. You can pick up copies of Unity Canada and Sanabria Airmail catalogues for pricing and a bit of information about the flights. Sanabria is harder to find, but copies occasionally pop up on eBay.
The best book is The Pioneer and Semi-Official Air Stamps of Canada 1918-1934 by Longworth-Dames. Semi-officials are ignored by Scotts and Gibbons general catalogues, though they might be in one of their speciality catalogues. If you are serious about semi-officials, you need van Dam and Longworth-Dames, although I do wish van Dam sorted their dreadfully dated website out. I bang my head on the keyboard every time I use it.
Canada Stamp – Air Mail #CL44 – British Columbia Airways Ltd. (1928)
Today’s offering is from one of Canada’s shortest-lived airlines, British Columbia Airways:
BC Airways semi-official stamp
BC Airways served the Vancouver-Victoria-Seattle area. They issued a single stamp before the airline folded in 1928. BC Airways was formed Nov 27, 1927 and flew a Ford 4-AT Trimotor:
Ford Trimotor 4-AT – The Tin Goose
The Ford 4-AT was an excellent beast. This trim, 3 engine monoplane cut a dashing figure in a day when biplanes were still common. The Tin Goose (as it was affectionately called) hauled freight or 8 passengers and 2 crew and saw service in every corner of the world. 79 4-ATs were built between 1927-1933 by the Ford company. Its iconic shape is instantly associated with the romantic, golden age of air travel. Pan-Am flew them on their Havana-Cuba route. Amelia Earhart flew one. Lindbergh flew an AT across the Atlantic and Admiral Byrd flew an AT on his flight to the South Pole. It was an amazing aircraft used by bush pilots, passenger airlines, and the military.
Capable of carrying 8 passengers and 2 crew, the 4 went into service delivering freight and mail on it’s first flight July 23, 1928. The semi-official stamp was printed Aug 3, 1928 and the first official airmail flight went out Aug 4. On Aug 16, the airline began taking passengers across the San Juan de Fuca Straight. Less than 2 weeks later, the company ended with the crash of their only airplane. On a foggy Aug 25 morning, BC Airways, piloted by Harold Walker, from Seattle (an airmail pilot) and L. Carson of Victoria, co-pilot, crashed into the water near Port Townsend, Washington. Both crewmen and 4 or 5 passengers were killed.
News of the fatal 1928 crash
The crash made headlines in many major papers. Not only was it Canada’s first passenger plane crash, the flight also carried some notable people. The Ottawa Citizen reported the airplane was last seen flying over Port Hadlock, so low, people could read the words on the fuselage. Eyewitnesses said it was missing motors and heading for the bay. A fisherman saw a monoplane fly overhead and crash some distance away. By the time he got to the site, there was no sign of the plane or passengers. There were a few reports of oil patches on the water, but no wreckage was ever found despite extensive searches.
On board was Alexander McCallum Scott, an barrister and MP from Glasgow, Scotland, along with his wife. Scott was a personal friend of the former UK Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, so the crash received extensive coverage. Also onboard was Dr D. B Holden from Victoria, a doctor in Victoria for 38 years and Thomas E. Lake, a manager with Union Oil, just returned from managing a branch in Asia. A few sites say there were 5 or 6 passengers, but these were the only people I could verify. Contemporary reports all indicate 4 passengers, 2 crew.
Shortly after the crash, BC Airways folded. Whether due to the crash or not isn’t clear. Airlines in the ‘20s and ‘30s came and went with astonishing speed.
This 5¢ stamp is easily found. It was printed by Colonist Printing and Publishing Co., in Victoria and issued 1928. According to Sanabria, 110,000 stamps were printed but that figure doesn’t sound right. This was a small company with a limited route and no hopes of delivering that many letters. The average print for many semi-officials hovered around 3000 – 5000, not in the tens of thousands. I’ve misplaced my Longworth-Dames so can’t verify the number. But I’ll bet a toonie, the number is incorrect.
A single mint copy can be bought for $12.50, lower for ones with small defects. Covers are far more expensive – a good quality one fetches $170 on average.
There are a couple of known flaws to watch for in this issue:
- a large white dot can be found on the left of the number 5 on the left-hand side.
- damaged background design – you’ll need a magnifying glass to see this
- spot on the left side
The flaws increase the value from around $12 to $50 per stamp. The singles are easily found, lots floating around to pick up. Even the flaws are fairly common. Covers can be found at most airmail auctions and van Dam always has a couple of lovely covers to look over.
One last article about the crash from the Ottawa Citizen on the crash
by catpaw | 11 Mar, 2016 | Catpaw's Picks, country Stamps, Espresso fueled mumblings, Stamps
Do you know where Toronto’s first post office is located?
Toronto’s first post office 1833-1839 Watercolour – painter possibly Owen Staples
260 Adelaide Street East. It’s a small, lovingly restored building across the road from George Brown College. I’ve passed by it more times than I can count, until this week, never stopped in. A scandalous state of affairs for any stamp collector. It’s a smart little Georgian building, that doesn’t draw a lot of attention to itself. Built in 1833 and served as the local post office until 1839. The Adelaide address has an added layer to it’s story because it was tied up with the Rebellion of 1837, although its resident was an unwilling participant.
Muddy York & Toronto’s first post office
Plan of York, Lieut. Philpotts, 1818, MT 109c
York was a muddy blotch of land on the edge of Lake Ontario back in it’s early years. It was pretty much a rural backwater – small, provincial and according to visitors horribly backwards. It wasn’t until after the War of 1812 that York was kick started into a new, vibrant town with new wharfs, warehouses, commercial businesses etc. popping up in the next decade. By the 1830s, the existing system of governing proved to be incapable of taking care of business. York, the provincial capital, was also transforming into a growing commercial hub. Along with the growth came the demand for better roads, sewage, and other services befitting a provincial capital. The old system, geared more towards small village and rural surroundings was no longer enough. In 1834, the provincial government incorporated the city of Toronto.
James Scott Howard the first Postmaster of Toronto
There were 4 post offices in York prior to incorporation. The one on Adelaide was the first official Toronto post office. Enter the hero of our story – James Scott Howard the first Postmaster of Toronto.
Born in County Cork Ireland 2 Sept. 1798, Howard arrived in Canada in 1819, first settling in New Brunswick and later moving to York. He received an appointment to work in the post office, under York Postmaster William Allen. By July 1828, Howard was elevated to Postmaster. All was well for a number of years. The house on Adelaide was built in 1833 and the Howard family lived upstairs with the post office downstairs for a while. When Toronto incorporated, Howard made it to the history books as its first official Postmaster.
It’s difficult to imagine how important a post office was in the 1800s. It was a major hub of activity, near the financial district, close to the harbours, and of vital importance to people waiting to hear from family back home. Post Masters ran notices in the newspapers, quarterly, listing who had mail waiting for them. Line ups were not uncommon. The post office included a reading room where people would gather to have their letters read to them. This was in an era before public education made basic literacy the norm. Postal staff would be on hand to read and in some cases write return letters for people.
Adelaide post office reading room
But … things were afoot in Canada, an event that would throw Howard’s comfortable life into turmoil for years. He inadvertently fell out of favour of the ruling Family Compact here in Ontario. For those not steeped in grade school history of Canada, the Family Compact were the ruling class in Ontario. Elitist, Loyalist, Anglican, tight knit family ties and very conservative, the Compact controlled all aspects of Ontario. A businessman dared not bring down the wrath of the Compact, it could cost them dearly.
[read more on the Family Compact here http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.cCa/en/article/family-compact/]
Times are changing in Upper Canada
By the 1830s, their power was being challenged. The harder they tried to maintain control; the more discontent grew. Times were changing, whether they wanted them to or not. By 1837, things came to a head when an armed uprising began against the government. [Read more on the Rebellion here http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/rebellions-of-1837/]. Uprisings occurred in both Upper and Lower Canada. They were all put down within a year and things appeared to settle back into the status quo. However, defeating the Rebellion proved to be the last gasp for the ruling compact. Although the rebels were beaten, in the long run, they won. Within 10 years, the Durham Report [Read more here http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/durham-report/] drew up the plans for responsible government and laid the groundwork that broke the grip of the Family Compact for good.
James Scott Howard wasn’t part of the Compact – he wasn’t Anglican for starters and not part of the ruling families. Second, he seemed to have been fair minded. He had friends from all occupations, including some who were central players in the Rebellion. Howard maintained political neutrality and by all accounts, kept himself out of politics. But he was accidently swept up in the Rebellion of 1837 and unfairly accused of siding with the Rebellion. The government of Ontario dismissed him without any formal charges being brought against Howard or proven. The Family Compact viewed his friendship with some of the rebels as guilt. Out he went. The position of Postmaster was handed to Albert Berczy, who took up residence in the building for about a year. The post office was moved from Adelaide to Front Street (just west of Yonge Street) in 1839 and the Adelaide ceased functioning as a post office.
The aftermath
Howard fought for years to clear his name. Lieutenant Governor Francis Bond Head was convinced of Howard’s complicity and refused to budge. Although an inquiry did agree with Howard that he had no part in the rebellion and that he had remained neutral, it didn’t make a difference. He wasn’t rehired as Postmaster. He hadn’t shown due loyalty to the ruling class and that was enough to doom his chances. Friends agitated on his behalf in the 1840s, believing a great injustice had been done. Although he was never reappointed to any post office position, he was given the job of treasurer for York and Peel counties He later took on other government roles but was never again involved in postal matters.
When the post office vacated, the building was rented out to a number of different tenants and businesses. Howard sold the building in 1873. 260 Adelaide changed hands many times over the next 100 years until it was an unrecognisable shell of its former self – Toronto isn’t always kind to it’s own history. It wasn’t until a fire nearly destroyed the historic building in 1978 that the city of Toronto finally begins to recognise its importance. It was purchased, restored to its former simple beauty and is the local post office once again. It was a busy little place when I visited. A steady trail of people coming and going.
Toronto’s first post office today
The Adelaide post office also serves as a museum. The main room is a fully functioning post office, complete with a replica of the original post slots. You can potter around looking at the displays in the other rooms, try your hand at using a quill pen (not as easy as it looks) and read a little on the history of the building. Letters mailed from here can be, on request, hand cancelled with a reproduction red ink cancel from the era. If you’re interested in receiving one, drop me a line and I’ll pad down to the post office and send you one.
If you come to Toronto, take a bit of time and visit. You can check out their site here Town of York Historical Society | Toronto’s First Post Office and the Town of York Historical Society.
Replica of Royal Mail post slots at the Adelaide Post Office Museum
NOTE: Small formatting edits made May 26, 2021 and July 25, 2024
by catpaw | 22 Feb, 2016 | Catpaw's Picks, country Stamps, Espresso fueled mumblings, Stamps
How about an adventure climbing Dhaulagiri?
Over Christmas I was rooting around my bookshelf, debating whether to get rid of some old textbooks I’ve had hanging around since my Queen’s university days. I was thumbing through one and found something I had tucked inside way back in ’81:
Back in the early 1980s, a Canadian team of mountain climbers were planned an expedition to climb Dhaulagiri in Nepal, the 7th highest mountain in the world. I remember reading about it in a magazine and running off to the library to look up the location – this was long before internet days, so I spent an hour in the stacks reading about Nepal and the region. The team was doing a fund raiser so I whipped off a letter to them asking … you know I can’t remember what I asked. That was a long time ago.
Anyway, I rec’d a letter back from the leader of the team Jon Jones:
It’s funny, I vividly remember reading the letter, thinking a couple of things – Canadians climbing in the Himalayas and stamps from Nepal! So I scrapped together the princely sum of $10 and sent it off. Now back then, that was a LOT of money. It meant I did without something. I was a student on a strict budget, there by the grace of loans and grants. It was no small thing to produce $10 – it represented part of my food budget. But hell, I’d eaten peanut butter sandwiches lunches for years, another weeks would be worth it. Off went my cheque.
Later, I rec’d a card from Nepal, as promised.
The best part were the signatures from all the climbers.
Well… okay and the stamps. The stamps really were my prime motivator. I wanted those stamps. It’s funny, I remember rec’ing the letter from Mr Jones and how excited I was that cold winter day. Getting a letter was always fun, but the prospect of having one from somewhere so exotic … intoxicating. This was in the day you never phoned long distance before 6pm (rates went down after 6), cell phones were Star Trek territory and there was no instant communication. Letters were it.
When the card arrived from Nepal, I propped it up on a bookshelf to admire it but wasn’t sure how to keep it safe. I knew the stamps would stay on the envelope, but I was still a neophyte collector and wasn’t sure how to display or save envelopes correctly. I was a student, which meant moving a lot, so I tucked the letter, card and envelope away in a book for safe keeping. School got in the way, and the cover stayed in the book for decades, forgotten until this past Christmas. So that’s 1, 2, 3 … how many decades? Finally, it’s where it belongs, in my stamp collection, carefully slipped into acid free covers.
I did a bit of research on the crew that went up the mountain and found this:
Asia, Nepal, Dhaulagiri
Climbs And Expeditions
Dhaulagiri. Our expedition was originally to attempt the southwest pillar but without enough tested Himalayan climbers living in Canada, we changed to the first-ascent route. We were Jon Jones, leader, Dr. Chuck Masters, Jim Elzinga, Don Gardner, my brother Alan and I. We arrived at the first Base Camp at 12,000 feet after 14 days of walking. We eventually established our upper Base Camp at 15,300 feet on April 7. The camps above were mostly at standard places. An intermediate Camp I at 17,000 feet, used only during the first week, was on the way to Advance Base at 18,300 feet. From this camp on the northeast col, the northeast ridge really begins.
There were three camps above at 21,000, 23,000 and 24,400 feet. Rope was fixed between 21,500 feet and the last camp so that the less experienced members could move freely between camps. Actually, partly due to sickness, only Alan Burgess, Elzinga and I reached 23,000 feet, supported to 21,000 feet by Masters and Gardner. Shortly after, Elzinga left the expedition when altitude sickness meant he could no longer hope to attempt the summit. The summit was reached by Alan and me on May 17 after a 12-hour day beginning at 24,400 feet.
Adrian Burgess, Alpine Climbing Group http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198223601/Asia-Nepal-Dhaulagiri
Turns out, they went on to become Canadian mountaineering legends! Who knew back in ’81. I flatter myself now that my lowly $10 made a difference. I partially donated because I knew I’d never go mountain climbing and this was my way of participating on the fringes.
.. but, yea, it really was about getting a letter from Nepal.
Now that you’ve enjoyed this article, how about supporting Bitter Grounds? While you’re here don’t forget to support Bitter Grounds via Buy me a Coffee (to the left), PayPal (in the footer) or by merch. You can now subscribe to my newsletter and get new posts directly to your inbox. You can now like and share articles using the pop-up box on the right.
by catpaw | 17 Feb, 2016 | Catpaw's Picks, country Stamps, Espresso fueled mumblings, Stamps
Ready for a history lesson about North Borneo state stamps? Buckle up, this one gets confusing at times.
Some of the world’s beautiful stamps came from the State of North Borneo. The little parcel of land (abt 31,106 sq.m) was given as a gift, leased, abandoned, flipped, invaded, and conquered at a dizzying rate in the span of about 200 odd years. It belonged to the Sultan of Brunei but was leased to Great Britain as a reward for aiding the Sultan in a civil war. For a few years, the British tried to settle the land, built a port, imported labour etc. By 1805 it was viewed as a white elephant – too expensive to administer and too difficult to fend off pirate attacks so the British abandoned the lease and left.
60 years later, the Americans took out a lease on the land but quickly sold the lease off. Post-Civil War United States government had no appetite for Asian territories and auctioned off the lease to the American Trading Company of Borneo. Their efforts were equally short lived. Disease, expenses, deaths, and difficulty keeping labour on the land forced the company to abandon the territory within a year.
They hung onto the lease for 10 years and flipped it to the Consul of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Hong Kong. Baron Gustav von Overbeck negotiated a 10-year lease with the Sultan of Brunei. Despite his best efforts, von Overbeck couldn’t interest the Austro-Hungarian government in investing time, men and money on the land. He was saddled with a costly lease no one wanted. Overbeck tried to sell the lease off to the Italians as an Italian version of Devil’s Island, but the Italian government didn’t see a need for a penal colony so far away.
North Borneo history – now I get lost in the maze
Right about now, I get a little lost in the negotiations. Von Overbeck exits the story shortly after getting British colonial merchants, Alfred and Edward Dent, involved as financial backers. When Overbeck bailed, the Dent brothers took over the little speck of land no outsiders seemed to know how to manage. In July 1881, the Dents formed the British North Borneo Provisional Association Ltd, complete with Royal Charter and backing from powerful friends in Great Britain.
Within a year, the North Borneo Chartered Company was born and took over all administration of the area. This ruffled a number of feathers, including the Dutch, Sarawak, and Spanish governments, not to mention the indigenous population, but the colonial barons of the Victorian era never let matters like territorial disputes get in the way of turning a profit. By 1888, the company managed to have North Borneo declared a British protectorate, which was vital if the Dents were going to pull large profits out of the land.
The Dent brothers expand their mini empire and inflict horrific damage on native population
The small territory expanded through further treaties with the Sultan. Aided by the British government, the Dents managed to put down rampant pirating, brought in thousands of Chinese labourers and established permanent settlements. Timber, tobacco, and rubber plantations formed the backbone of the new economy.
By the 1890s it was a successful and lucrative company. So successful, the British government placed Labuan under its protection. I’ve read a few history bits about the era and they all seem to gloss over issues, stating it was quite peaceful, with the British administration ushering in an era of stability and prosperity. Reading minutes from Parliamentary proceedings shows a darker side to this.
As late as 1929, the British government was still defending the use of forced labour because it wasn’t “DeFacto slavery”. There were accusations the local population were forced to surrender a child to work as forced labour on the plantations. The mass influx of foreign labour and onerous taxes added further stresses. There were several uprisings, including a 6-year fight between 1894 -1900 and later another in 1915. So, it may have been peaceful as far as the colonial rulers were concerned, but not for the native population.
Hansard’s website (the record of British Parliament proceedings) is a rich source of information on North Borneo. Questions ran the gamut of mundane inquiries about day-to-day operations to accusations of forced labour, opium taxation, treatment of the local population and more. The most illuminating was an interesting exchange about the Royal Charter and issues arising from granting so much power to a private enterprise (Hansards: BRITISH NORTH BORNEO COMPANY (CHARTER). —OBSERVATIONS. HL Deb 13 March 1882 vol 267 cc708-24) The discussion is a show case of British Imperialism at its height.
The company continued to control the area until the Japanese invasion in 1941. The end of WW2 saw the beginning of the end of chartered companies acting as governments agents. Their time was over. The Borneo Company couldn’t afford to rebuild North Borneo after the devastating occupation and sold its rights to the British government and the land became an official British colony and later absorbed into Malaysia.
Nice history lesson but what about the stamps
North Borneo State issued some of the most striking stamps of the 1890s. Both topic matter and engravings are exquisite. Waterlow & Sons excelled with this series. According to the venerable Stanley Gibbons Commonwealth & Empire Stamps 1840-1952, this series (issued between 1892-1920) saw a few perf variations to watch for, caused by “irregularities of the pins, rather than different perforators”. For a collector, this offers a variations bonanza.
The first pictorial series of 1894 from North Borneo state stamps
This set of 9 stamps are a bargain for used collectors. Lots of variations and cancels to hunt for. The set includes:
- 1c Dyak Chief,
- 2c Sambar stag (also listed in some catalogues as the Malay stag)
- 3c Sago Palm
- 5c Great Argus Pheasant
- 6c Arms of the Company
- 8c Malay Dhow
- 12c Estuarine Crocodile
- 18c Mount Kinabalu
- 24c Arms of the Company with Supporters
With the numerous perf variations, this collection alone is enough to keep you busy for quite a while. Beware of canceled to order (CTO) stamps. There was a cottage industry in North Borneo selling them off in bulk by the government. But if you simply want to add them to your collection, it’s a good way to get some inexpensive and beautiful stamps.
The Great Argus Pheasant is, arguably the most distinctive in the set:
The stamp was based on a drawing by Victorian adventuress Baroness Brassey (7 October 1839 – 14 September 1887). I tried to find a copy of her illustration but haven’t managed to. If I find it, I’ll update the article.
Proof of Argus pheasant stamp
This proof for an Argus pheasant stamp caught my eye a while back:
Note the different colour. This is up for sale over at Stanley Gibbons Market Place for a cool $1,690.58 (Cdn) so, no, it’s not part of my collection.
More North Borneo State stamps
Mint, used, variations – all worth pursuing. I’ve met collectors who dismiss the used because of the CTOs, but don’t let that discourage you. Get what you can afford, what you love and then enjoy them. The history is rich to explore as well. If you want decent information on these stamps Stanley Gibbons offers the best info on variations. I use the Commonwealth & Empire Stamps 184-1952 extensively when researching colonial stamps.
Updated: Jan 1, 2021
Minor editing and addition of proper alt tags and headers + major addition of new details about Brassey and images added Jan 20, 221
If you enjoyed this article, you might like this one:
George V St Helena Cleft Rock Flaw
