Stamp Magazine

5 Jan 2014

The Mafeking Siege Stamps

At the height of the Siege of Mafeking (1900), considered a decisive British action during the Second Boer War, the government issued special photographically produced 'local' stamps done in blue - the 3d Baden-Powell stamps and the 1d Cadet Sgt-Major Goodyear ‘Bicycle’. A similar procedure was used to creat siege banknotes.

How Mafeking Figured in British History of Stamps

Mafeking was then a significant South African railway town, and when the Boer troops led by Cronje launched an offensive in October 1899, the town was well prepared. The action isolated the town from the rest of the region, and it was only through the efforts of the local runners from the area that the residents managed to send and received letters and news. The local runners were considered brave... Read More

Stamp, Mafeking, Postal History, British Postal History

1 Jan 2014

Beginner’s Guide to Stamp Collections and Philately

Stamp collecting among enthusiasts traces a long history dating back to the early 19th century. The art of collecting and studying these postage stamps is called Philately, taken from the Greek word ‘atelia’ which means ‘exempt from tax’.
The popularity of collecting these items started to grow after the introduction of adhesive postage stamps on May 6, 1840 in Great Britain. The introduction of stamps is actually part of a move to improve the postal system. Before the actual introduction of stamps in the region, the way to determine the cost of sending letters was by calculating the distance to be covered in the British Isles and the volume of paper. Starting January 10, 1840, the main determinant became weight, and one was required to pre-pay for the service. During this time... Read More

Stamp, South Africa, Tips, Philately

29 Dec 2013

Thematic Stamp Collecting - How to get started

Stamp Collections are commonly grouped based on their country of origin, and arranged based on date of issue. But there’s another creative way of collecting and saving the items that you have collected. One thing that you can do is to group these items according to a theme - this is known as a Thematic Collection. The idea behind ‘thematic philately’ is to group the stamps by theme so that the whole catalogue can tell a story. If you want to adopt this style then be ready to pay attention to details, come up with chapters, a title and a good story line that can help viewers appreciate the collection in a different light!

Start Your Thematic Stamp Collection on the Right Note

If you are clueless on where to start and what theme to use, then it’s best to check out some of... Read More

Stamp, Tips, Thematic

22 Dec 2013

Why not start a Postal History Collection?

Before the start of the 15th century, letters were used for communications and carried personally by messengers, mostly in the circles of the nobility and government. It was during this time when the modern Post Office that people know today started to bloom. Drafting and sending letters then was reserved to the elite and nobility since they were the ones who could compose and write letters. So if one takes a good look at the surviving letters from this period, it becomes apparant that most of these correspondences were done by merchants, clergy and nobility. No stamps or postal system were in place then, so charges for sending out letters were defined by distance and weight of these letters, with the recipient paying the charges.