The truth is within and only you can reveal it 24 Jun 2018 11:58:49pm
I've decided to start a new thread of the most beautiful pages from my collection of the world. In no particular order I hope to show a different page every day that I believe fits the title of the thread.
The first page is a semi postal page from 1932-33 Austria. As with most European countries the Semi-Postals of the 1930's were some of the countries most beautiful as well as most valuable stamps they have issued. Although each set catalogs for over $100 the key stamp is the "Stagecoach" stamp in the fourth row.
Indeed, these stamps are little pieces of art, much different from today's downsized photographs and posters. More colours do not always make things more beautiful. But may I suggest that the stamps are rearranged? Six in a row looks a little crowded, at least to me.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 25 Jun 2018 09:18:42pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
Whenever I think of most beautiful pages, the page below always comes to mind.
Italy has produced a great many stamps that can be considered some of the world most beautiful. This Airmail page from 1932-33 is a great example of them.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 26 Jun 2018 06:32:38pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
Today a page from Chile featuring beautifully engraved Bi-color stamps. This set was issued in 1910 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the independence of Chile. Many other South and Central American countries also issued beautiful sets in 1910 to celebrate their Independence as well.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 27 Jun 2018 10:04:57pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
Prior to it's independence Laos was part of French Indo China. In 1951 Laos started issuing their own stamps. They made some of the most beautiful engraved multicolor stamp so tbe found anywhere in the world.
For more of the beautiful stamps of Laos, follow this URL: mitch.seymourfamily.com/mward/collection/asia/laos/laos.html
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 28 Jun 2018 11:44:10pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
With out any doubt, this is my favorite page, set and stamp (90 cent Lincoln). It is also one of the most beautiful pages in my view. The set was a ground breaker featuring stamps with subject content rather than the customary dead presidents but it was widely unpopular when issued.
Shown are the stamps and the proofs.
This series (like all your posts) is amazing. I was just going to send you a request for some Laos stamps when you ended up posting a page. I don't collect Laos, but I can't bring myself to sell them. There is something about the engraving, the iconography, and even the texture of the paper that I find beautiful.
When you post future items would it be possible to provide some commentary from a postal history perspective? (Or perhaps other members could chime in).
For example, a tidbit on the individual engraver and company (e.g. American Bank Note) would be interesting - as well as some comparative info. For example, I find that some early 1900s South American issues have a similar look to some USA stamps, so a cross-reference would lead us to something to look for.
Also, are there specific engravers who produce particularly beautiful work that could be showcased? I seem to recall someone named Slavic/Slaven/???) whose stamps are particularly collected by some aficionados.
Hopefully not asking too much, because I really appreciate what you do provide to us already.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 30 Jun 2018 12:51:23am
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
Dave,
I'm flattered that you seem to think I know everthing about stamps but I am far from there. My visual memory is quite good but I am tasked to remember what I have learned and there is so much more that I have bsrly studied at all. There are alot of stamps in
the world and so much to be learned from each one. I supply the pics and if someone finds interest in them then they can Google what ever else they wish to know about them. I greatly admire the engravers and marvel how they can turn dots dashes and lines to
creates works of art, however I do not know which can be attributed to what stamps.
For today is a beautiful airmail page from Guatemala.
I wish the board was able to post scans larger than 900 pix wide. The size is to small to show the stamps in any kind of decent detail. That said, if you go to the link at the bottom of each of my posts you will arrive at my website. Clicking on the country in question you can find the same page but of better detail than can be shown here (in most cases). You can also see the other stamps from the country.
Update: I just noticed I forgot to upload the page scan, so here it is
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 03 Jul 2018 08:36:04pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
I think one of the most overlooked countries with beautiful stamps is Romania. There are so many beautiful page that picking the most beautiful is very difficult but this one is as close as any.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 08 Jul 2018 10:07:54pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
Dave, It's also one of those pages that is a must have for a decent French collection. However it Cats for over $1,500 and it took me until a couple years ago to piece it together. That was a happy day for the collection.
Below is a beautiful Airmail page from Eritrea. It is typical of other Italian Colony pages
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 10 Jul 2018 10:40:16pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
If I was to choose the most beautiful page/set ever, it might well be this one!
The original stamps are very expensive and beyond the means of most collectors. Fortunately
the proofs although scarce can be had for around $300 if you can find them.
Dialysis, damned if you do...dead if you don't 11 Jul 2018 05:58:10am
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
Hi Mitch,
I had to giggle a bit when I saw your post and comment regarding the 1869 pictorial series. I concur that this is a fantastic issue but it is amazing how much time has changed perspectives.
In 1869 this series was widely criticized and even shunned by much of the stamp buying public. The public (and press) felt that the postal service was simply issuing these stamp as a money making scheme; that they were unneeded and the Post Office was just printing 'pretty', high value stamps just for the income.
The reaction in 1869 was pretty much the same as it is today regarding new stamps.
Mitch, you continue to amaze me! I never collected US stamps, but vaguely remember seeing images of a few of these over the years. I had no idea how many stamps were in the set or what the face values were. Nor did I know about current values for the stamps and proofs. Thanks for sharing this page with us!
Tom
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"I no longer collect, but will never abandon the hobby"
Retired Ap. Book Mod, Pres Golden Gate Stamp Club, Hi Tech Consultant 12 Jul 2018 03:19:27pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
When compared to some of the early engraved stamps of say, France, or most other countries in the early 1920s, I find the Saar engravings lacking definition, and the images feel blurry. Just an artistic personal opinion. rrr...
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"E. Rutherford: All science is either physics or stamp collecting."
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 12 Jul 2018 09:47:09pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
Earlier I noticed i failed to mount and scan one of the last Saar stamp I received. It happens to be the high value of the non-overprinted set I showed yesterday. As the stamps
look engraved at first they are not. They would probably have been much lovelier if engraved
but I like the primitive look and the use of colors.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 13 Jul 2018 01:59:24am
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
Bavaria as always been one of my favorites. They have a superior feel to them, often combining embossing and precise printing to great effect. I've shown two pages today, mainly because I mentioned embossed stampes. The 1st page are early embossed stamps
while the second page was my selection for beautiful page of the day. All of the stamps on both pages are typographed.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 13 Jul 2018 07:36:23pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
The stamps of Latvia have a primitive look to them that I find quite attractive. This airmail page was chosen for obvious reasons, pretty hard to beat!
Mitch, I hope you don't mind me calling you that, the page with the Guatemala airmails is one of the most beautiful I have seen and falls right into the Douglas DC-3* topic I am collecting. I didn't even know they existed until seeing your post and now I am finding they are not that easy to find either. (Any dealers out there who have stock are welcome to contact me.)
Well done sir, what a beautiful collection you have.
*Of course the aircraft shown on these stamps could well be, or even most likely be Douglas DC-2s which would have been fairly ubiquitous in Central and South America by 1937.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 14 Jul 2018 08:39:53pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
Danny, No problemo! Those stamps are quite popular and so somewhat difficult to come by.
It is best to buy them as a complete set. The two larger high values are the most difficult to find so it's best to concentrate on finding them and the others will either be with or soon follow. I've had a couple spare sets but they sold very quickly
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 14 Jul 2018 08:49:43pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
For today a beautiful page from Portuguese Nyassa. They differ from any other stamps of Portugal but do have a Portuguese feel to them. The colored paper on some adds greatly to their appeal.
Thanks Mitch, I am following your advice on the Guatemala airmails regarding looking for the larger size high values, especially as the top value 1.50 has a picture of the aircraft in the main design as well as the overprint. It may have to wait until my next visit to the UK as out here in Thailand there isn't that great a choice. Mind you I am following an eBay used lot right now;-)
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 15 Jul 2018 07:21:36pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
Bulgaria has produced many beautiful stamps up into the 1930's. However my favorites are the first coats of arms stamps. All of the different colors used make for a very striking
page.
The aircraft in question on the Guatemala stamps is definitely a DC-2. The DC-2 is identified by the absence of a dorsal fin (the DC-3 has both a dorsal and a vertical fin), by its "slab-sided" sides (the DC-2 fuselage in cross-section looks like a typical racetrack, with parallel straightaways while the DC-3 fuselage in cross-section is essentially circular). Another identifying detail (not visible on the stamps in question) is the landing lights: the DC-2 has two, mounted in the nose, while the DC-3's landing lights are mounted in the wings, several feet outboard of the engines. This identification is confirmed in the Stanley Gibbons Collect Aircraft on Stamps catalogue.
The first of the of the two attached images is a photograph showing the KLM DC-2 Uiver landing at Melbourne at the end of the MacRobertson International Air Race in 1934, clearly shows the identifying attributes of the DC-2, as well as the flaps, one of the most important innovations of the DC-2. The Uiver placed first in the handicap division of the MacRobertson race, firmly establishing the fact that aviation technology had reached the point that long-distance passenger, cargo, and mail transportation by air was feasible and cost-effective. Well, cost-effective as long as governments heavily subsidized air mail costs!
The second photograph shows a real-photo postcard picturing a DST or Day Sleeper Transport, the first DC-3 type of aircraft, which would become a DC-3 when its sleeping births were replaced with to become a more-profitable DC-3.
Thank you Bob. I knew about the dorsal fin although I called it something far from aeronautical, "the fairing to the tail fin". I should have thought about the lights in the nose. I do not have one of the Guatemala stamps yet, but once I have one I get it under a magnifying glass.
The Netherlands Antilles in 2008 issued a stamp with the DST on it. I will drop a very small picture below. I should have scanned the one I have here.
Apart from the Dutch flying into the Caribbean I think Pan Am were flying plenty of DC-2s in Central and South America. As a young man I managed to fly on what must have been one of the last scheduled DC-3 flights in the UK and later old ex-Olympic DC-3s were our means of transport into the Libyan desert.
The biggest ID problems I have with my DC-3 collection is with east European stamps showing the Russian IL-12s and IL-14s and not putting them down as DC-3s. They had a nose wheel rather than one on tail but you can't always spot that.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 19 Jul 2018 05:46:29pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
I doubt that many world wide collectors don't consider Belgian Congo as producing some of the worlds most beautiful stamps. From the first page (shown below)they consistantly issued stamps of the highest caliber and I consider them to be at the top of the list for most beautiful stamps.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 20 Jul 2018 07:12:20pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
Stamps of Tannu Tuva have long been popular for their subject matter shapes and colors.
Today's page is one of the earliest ones. I love it for it's primitive designs and other aspects mentioned above.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 22 Jul 2018 10:33:45pm
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
Japan is another country having so many beautiful pages that choosing the "most" is very difficult. I've chosen this page because it is kind of in the middle of old and modern issues.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 27 Jul 2018 12:48:32am
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
For today a page from 1910 Argentina. It features another set commemorating the 100th anniversary of independence that many countries in South America celebrated and issued sets of stamps for.
The truth is within and only you can reveal it 28 Jul 2018 01:05:34am
re: Most beautiful pages of the world
Some of the most popular and attractive stamps were those issued for the German colonies.
All of the stamps for the colonies were of the same design. The first set or two were those of the German empire imprinted with each of the colony's name. The second and third sets of stamps were the same except that the colony's name was inscribed.
Shown are those from German New Guinea.