February 2018 - Sneak Peek

The Thirty-Six Types of fthe Canada
1898 Two Cent Numeral Issue, by Peter
Spencer
If you ever wanted to see how to get
down and dirty with the multiple versions
of a single issue, this is a great
place to obtain an up-close education of
how to analyze the many varieties of a
specific stamp.
Peter Spencer, a native of Alberta,
taught physics for about 30 years before
retiring and finding much more time to
spend as a philatelist. This is Spencer’s
eighth volume on the plating of Canada’s
Queen Victoria-era Numeral Issue
and the third exploring specific aspects
of the 2-cent carmine.
The author “has accomplished the
herculean task of identifying the specific
time periods, over the 64 months
that it was in production, in which different
plates were actually used to print
stamps of this issue,” states the BNAPS
note at the front of the book. “Accomplished
by examining 55,000 dated copies,
sorting them in chronological order
and plating them one by one, it was an
incredible amount of work.”
That work presents the 36 types of
this stamp with text and super-magnified
details that show the different plating
varieties. There is at least one chapter,
maybe more, for the 22 plates used
to create this stamp.
It probably helps to have some familiarity
with printing methods and
plating before diving into this book. But
even for those of us whose eyes might
glaze over when reviewing transfer die
rolls, re-entries, meshes and shift transfers,
there is much here to appreciate.
By offering concise definitions and text
along with massive blow-ups I could actually
follow distinctions such as ghost
dots and evidence of cracked plates.
Even though I am not a flyspecker
and will never try chasing all of the varieties
of this (or any) stamp, I learned
a
lot about our hobby by taking some
time with this intense work. I think I
will grab the single copy of this stamp
that I own, put a magnifier to it and see
if I can detect some of the details found
in Spencer’s work. I know I will be the
better philatelist for the effort.
Published in 2017 by the British
North America Philatelic Society, Ottawa,
Canada. Spiral bound, 8½ by 11
inches, 83 color pages. $49.95 Canadian,
plus shipping; 40 percent discount on the
book for BNAPS members.
BNAPS publications are available
from Sparks Auctions, 1550 Carling
Ave., Suite 202, Ottawa, ON K1Z 8S8,
Canada, or bnaps@sparksauctions.com.
Or, order on the web via http://sparksauctions.com/bnapsbooks.
Baghdad in British Occupation:
The Story of the 1917 Provisional
Stamps, by Freddy Khalastchy
This award-winning book from
a respected member of the esteemed
Royal Philatelic Society London has all
the earmarks of a true champion.
But don’t take it from me, who
knows little of this area. Here is a snippet
from the Foreword, by Philip Kinns,
director of philately for Stanley Gibbons
Ltd.:
“…this handsome volume…represents
the fruits of years of assiduous
collecting, thought and research… To
say that he has done [this period] proud
would be an understatement.”
Kinns goes on to wax about the “lavishly
illustrated record of the surviving
stamps … The variety and range of covers
are a revelation.”
The book examines a group of
stamps that were created out of turmoil
for a very specific locale – Baghdad toward
the end of World War I. The book
explains why and how the stamps – all
overprints – were issued, and presents a
full record of all known stamps, errors
and covers as a reference for future collectors.
History tells us that the Ottoman
Empire controlled much of Iraq for centuries.
In World War I, Turkey joined
the Central Powers and fought against
Great Britain and its allies. The Indian
Army, under guidance from Great Britain,
did much of the heavy lifting in the
campaign through Iraq. Baghdad finally
fell on March 11, 1917 when British
and Indian forces moved into the city.
The British quickly went about
bringing order back to the beleaguered
city. This included creating civil offices,
including a post office. That task
also included gathering unused Turkish
stamps that had not been burned upon
the Ottomans’ retreat.
Sir Percy Cox, the chief political officer
in Iraq, thought that the stamps
would annoy the enemy and would also
indicate the change of administration
whereby the British replaced the defeated
Turks. Much correspondence was
exchanged between Iraq and the India
Office, with the occasional involvement
of King George V, before these stamps
were eventually issued.
In the end, 14,580 stamps of 25 varieties
were found and overprinted for
use (some with errors) as provisionals
in Baghdad, going on sale September
1, 1917, according to a section written
FEBRUARY 2018 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 171