Updated 7th April 2012   

The current issue of Stamp Lover -  April 2012                     

• Playing the Post and Go Machine numbers game at Stampex - A colourful update by Michael Goodman on the latest Post and Go labels exercise at Stampex
  
  

• Diamond Jubilee Display at Highcliffe Castle, Dorset - Christopher Oliver, President of the National Philatelic Society reports display and presentation given by John Davies FRPSL to mark the Diamond Jubilee of HM Queen Elizabeth II. .
  
  

• You too can write a philatelic article - Richard West FRPSL encourages philatelists to share their knowledge by "putting pen to paper" with advice on how to go about this based on his many years experience as a well-known editor of philatelic magazines.
   

• Antelopes of South Africa - The lead up to the first printing of self-adhesive stamps in South Africa - Christopher Oliver gives an illustrated account of the introduction of these stamps in 1998. 
  
  

• A Prisoner in Ruhleben, the racecourse turned prison camp -  David Alford supplies and explains the background to a postcard sent from Ruhleben, camp by Wallace Ellison in 1917.
  
  

• New Issues - 

  • Denmark, Faroe Islands and Greenland mark the 40th anniversary of the accession of HM Queen Margrethe II.

  • Malta - commemorates the 90th Anniversary of the Senate and Legislative assembly with a miniature sheet showing the £1 Melita stamp of 1922. 

  • The Sinking of the Titanic - the centenary is dramatically illustrated by new issues from Gibraltar and the Isle of Man
    
    

• Recent Displays at the National - A Report on the Tasmania - Stamps and Postal History display given by Patrick Reid FRPSL on 11 February 2012.
  
  

• Book Reviews - This popular feature this month the 2012 Scott Specialized Catalogue, Gibbons latest catalogues for St Helena and Ireland and specialised books covering Guernsey, French Military Posts, New Zealand and Afghanistan. 
  

 PLUS -  Other Regular Features - 

• The President's Piece, National PS News

• Letters to the Editor

• Other Philatelic News 

• Stamp Fairs Listing - April, May and June 2012.

MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL PHILATELIC SOCIETY RECEIVE SIX ISSUES OF "STAMP LOVER" A YEAR 

For 5 days in November, as a leading British stamp club, the National Philatelic took a stand at the Ideal Home at Christmas, where an estimated 85,000 people passed through the doors of the famous Earls Court Exhibition Centre. The aim was to promote stamps and stamp collecting. Click here to read more.

Annual Competitions, December 2010 

The National's Annual Competitions took place at the December Meeting and as usual were preceded by the monthly auction and traditional sherry and mince pies.

A high standard of entries saw John Davies taking first place in the Traditional Class with a well written study of these issues, starting with the hybrid revenue postal overprints, and including good specimens of these stamps plus blocks and covers of later ones,. The close runner up was Simon Richards with the early stamps of Dominica, including some classics used on cover . Third place was Dr John Marks with GB Queen Elizabeth the Second , errors, flaws, and fakes, the sort of material that could go undetected without  magnifying glasses or a little bit of observation.

The Postal History Class was won by Simon Richards  with early British West Indies stamp less  maritime covers, unusual material,  and well researched and written up .The writer was the runner up with a study of  underpaid mail sent from the USA during the  19^th century and early 20^th centuries . Alan Randall Jones  came third with a study of mail from the USS Tillman, including a profusion of postcards.

Chris Oliver won the Social/Open Class with a study of the South African Voortrekker Celebration issue  while Stuart Henderson won the Thematic Class with the First  World War and its consequences, an opportunity to include a diversity of world wide material and show off his historical knowledge. 

The judges were Christine Earle and Brian Asquith . Christine stayed to comment on the overall competition and to discuss points with competitors after. She said she had spent a “very entertaining morning “ judging the entries and that “ a lot of people had taken time and trouble and thought about their entries.” She added”  I like the way more and more competitors are telling a story with their entries and explaining on the front page what their entry is about”.
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As is usual Competitions Day saw the announcement of the winner of the Johnson Award for philatelic writing in Stamp Lover during 2009 the winner of which was Ramon Goodey for his article “How I studied UN issues” which appeared in the October 2009 edition of Stamp Lover. 

“STAMP LOVER” Celebrates 100 years of enthusiasm

“The keynote of the STAMP LOVER will be enthusiasm” wrote Fred Melville founder of the Junior Philatelic Society in the very first edition of the journal in June 1908.  A century later, the Junior’s successor, the National Philatelic Society, celebrates the centenary of the Stamp Lover with a bumper edition. 

The special 100-page issue features a re-design, with full colour illustrations and articles which reflect the diversity of philatelic interests and which also review the development of philately during the past century.

The issue is prefaced with an extract from the very first issue, including the editorial where Fred Melville expresses his views about enthusiasm for stamps, stamp collecting and the Junior Philatelic Society. That enthusiasm has been reflected ever since in the pages of subsequent issues of the Stamp Lover. 

Articles by expert contributors not only mark the Centenary but also inform and educate on philatelic issues today. As will be seen below, subjects include research, social philately, aerophilately, Machins, thematics, postal stationery and computers in philately. There is also a look back to 1908 and the issues current then, as well as a philatelic history of the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition.   

Click here For full details of the contents of this special issue.

Accordingly, the British Philatelic Trust, has provided financial support for which we are grateful, to enable local philatelic societies in the UK to receive copies. This will allow their members to benefit from the research provided by our contributors.   

Copies of the Centenary issue may also be obtained from the Hon Secretary at National Philatelic Society, c/o The British Postal Museum & Archive, Freeling House, Phoenix Place, London WC1X 0DL, for £3 each) including postage. Cheques should be payable to National Philatelic Society.