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I have no idea why I have this cover. Perhaps for the slogan, possibly because it is about scouting, maybe even because I was born in 1953 … but there is was in a bin marked “Phil to be sorted #9”. 

The Pan-Pacific Scout Jamboree ran from December 29, 1952 to January 9, 1953. Over 11,000 scouts and 2,000 scoutmasters attended, representing 16 nations and every Australian state. There were even 241 “Lady Cubmasters” in attendance, because unlike the Girl Guide movement, Scouring has welcomed leaders of both sexes. The location was Holroyd, in Sydney, where a quarry business offered 250 acres of space for the event. Council staff, volunteers and scouts spent months preparing the land, installing water, electricity, lighting, roads, and other amenities. There was even a branch of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia! (Facebook, Old Sydney Album)

The federal government commissioned the commemorative stamp, which was available from November until January.

Unfortunately, none of the “Phil to be sorted” bins I have checked so far - don’t ask how many I have - contain stamps from the Australian states!

For more information about the jamboree, check out the Cumberland Times blogs: https://cumberlandtimes.blogspot.com/201...3.html?m=1

I am starting this thread to capture some of the Q and A from the Stamps and Their Stories sessions. 

If you will be a guest speaker, it may help you prepare. 

I hope it will help all KSC members think about possible topics of interest to new members or prospects. Maybe we could include mini training sessions at a table in our meetings occasionally?

I would like to know how to soak stamps off envelopes.

The first thing to know about soaking stamps is - Don’t do it! At least not until you have studied the envelope in its entirety. Who sent it, who is it addressed to, what was its path through the postal system, what slogans and date stamps and cancellations does it carry? Often the envelope is of more interest to a collector than the stamp. 

The second thing to know about soaking stamps is - Don’t do it! Soaking can cause dyes to run from paper onto stamps. The material you layer between drying stamps can leave embossed patterns on stamps. Modern stamps require dangerous chemicals to dissolve adhesives. 

The third thing to know about soaking stamps is - Don’t do it! Your time is too valuable. Once you have determined that there is nothing on the envelope other than the stamp that you wish to keep, use a small paper trimmer (or scissors) to cut out a piece of the envelope with the stamp centred within a frame of 1/4 to 1/2 inch on all sides. These “stamps on piece” can be organized in stock books, in binders with specialty inserts, or secured on custom made pages with scrapbook tape or glue.

The first class for this fall’s session at the Kingston Seniors Association was on Monday. Jim Gould led the group through a thorough and very interesting presentation on precancels. He brought album pages to illustrate his talk and gave everyone a multi page coloured handout to take home. He explained how this is now the focus of his collecting life. One objective of this series is to demonstrate there is no “right way” to collect. How and what we collect is an individual choice, and collecting styles span a spectrum. Jim provided a superb example of a highly specialized collector!

One of the attendees said she has registered for Stamps and Their Stories every time it was offered, as well as the Collecting History series that Hugh and I offered when KSC was taking a break last winter. She was devastated when she was told the program wouldn’t run because there were not enough registered participants - twice - and was very happy to be sitting at the table on Monday.

I really identified with the participant who said she hoards stamps and has to get them under control!

I got these two covers from Mark at the recent show in Gananoque. 

The first was mailed by Michael Millar with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN. He, and the FAO, were working on Seed Improvement in Haile Selassie's Ethiopia in the aftermath of the world war, when the UN was still new and the Cold War was just beginning. In 1952, it was sent to Dr. Frank Novosad of the Division of Forage Plants, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Ontario -- a Canadian agricultural research hub.

The airmail letter, franked with 75c worth of stamps was marked postage due. There is a large T hand-stamp in red ink inside an upside down triangle on the front cover. On the borders of the cover is a repeating tri-colour pattern in the national colours of Ethiopia.

   

This is a security envelope with a moiré pattern.

   

Stamps:
Ethiopia / Emperor Haile Selassie
Series: 60th Birthday of the Emperor (7 stamps)
Issued on July 23, 1952
25c, Ultramarine
Sc. 323

Series: Commemoration of Ethiopia's Federation with Eritrea on September 11, 1952 (9 stamps)
Road and Broken Chain
Issued September 11, 1952
50c, Purple
Sc. 330

This is a total of 75c. And, as noted above the cover was marked postage due. There are, however, no other postmarking. Nor is there an arrival back-stramp. Not surprising for the time.

Cancel:
Double ring CDS with central bar
Between the rings አዲስ አበባ / ADDIS-ABEBA [The name of the city in Geʽez (script used for Amharic) and Latin letters. Addis-abeba = New Flower in Amharic]
5 12 52 [December 5, 1952 ... the order of the month and year is assumed based on the issue dates of the stamps]

The other, similar, cover is from a couple of months later.

On February 5 (or 6), 1953, another letter was sent by the FAO to the Central Experimental Farm in Canada. This one was addressed to the Senior Plant Breeder in Oilseeds. 

   

The franking is mixed. There are nine stamps from the Haile Selassie birthday stamps, six 10c (Sc. 321) and three 5c (Sc. 320). They add up to 75c, the same as on the first cover. However, there are also two semi-postals. They added 10c in postage (for a total of 85c) and 4c as a contribution to the local TB fund. There is not postage due mark this time which implies that the proper airmail rate to Canada was between 75 and 85 cents. I haven't found a rate table for Ethiopia but there I have found other covers on HipStamp and eBay to the UK and Denmark with a foreign airmail rate from Ethiopia, in the early 1950s, of 85c. So, that's my working assumption ... 85c.

Stamp:
Anti-TB Work
Scott describes the stamp as a Tree, Cross and Snake. I thought it might actually be a Caduceus [two serpents with wings and Hermes' Staff] but it looks more like an Ankh. After giving it some thought, I recorded it in my notes as an image of the Rod of Asclepius [Single staff with one serpent which is the classical symbol of medicine and healing.
Issued on November 25, 1951 [Series of 6 stamps]
5c + 2c, Deep blue green, Engraved
Sc. B21

Cancel: As above. As far as I can tell, the date reads 05? 2 53 [February 5, 1953. it could be the 6th]

Cheers, Hugh

Most members are aware that Debbie and I offer boxes of albums and packets as "U-Pick / 10c per stamp". We bring about 6 big boxes of these to the club every meeting and members are welcome to take selected albums or packets home just by signing them out.

What isn't so well known is that we also offer collections with higher value stamps in them on the same "take them home on approval" basis. But we only bring a small sample of these to the club each meeting. 

Our standard price for these stamps is 30% of Scott, and we don't adjust for the currency difference. And that's 30% OF, not OFF. In other words a $10 Scott catalogue value stamp costs you only $3.00. And a minimum value 25c c.v. stamp costs you only 7.5c.

Since we can't bring these all to the club every meeting, I'm going to post newly available collections here before each meeting. I will only bring them if somebody asks for them, and they will be reserved for that person for that meeting - and available to take home if they want.

Here are this week's new collections (U-Catalogue - 30% of Scott):

1) White Ace album of United States regular issues - used. Includes C1-6, great Washington Franklins, especially coil pairs and some earlies

2) Small collection of New Zealand, mostly mint. Some useful int set c1970s. Nothing scarce.

3) Australia mint - interesting stuff. Blocks, coils souvenir sheets mostly 1960s-1980s

4) Great Britain mint sets from presentation packs. Many already catalogued.  I've got a Bankers Box full of these. Will provide a randomly selected large zip-lock bag full at a time.

5) South Africa mint collection. Appears very complete from 1950s to 1980. Lots of interesting items.

6) An old Scott International Junior album loaded with really old stuff. A lot of it will be minimum value, but there's lots better stuff too. 

I'm happy to answer any questions, or look for stuff on my shelves for the next meeting.

Roy

I just got back from Australia Stamp School 101 (Smile). Seriously, Richard is passionate about Australia and it shows. He's done a lot of prep and loaded us down with great handouts ... ranging from a book review of The Fatal Shore to maps and notes on the postal history of the Australian States ... die studies and more. 

Great first meeting ... looking forward to next month. 

   

People often think that occupation stamps are largely confined to the two world wars of the 20th century. There were (and are) a lot of occupations all over the world that leave a trail in postal history over the last three hundred years. 

Here, for example, is a cover from October 24, 1961. A CDS from Gaza was applied to this FDC with two UAR issued occupation stamps. The United Arab Republic was a short-lived union of Egypt and Syria between February 22, 1958 and September 28, 1961 when, following a coup d'etat in Syria, the union was ended. However, Egypt continued to be known officially as the UAR until it was formally dissolved in September 1971.

This cover, therefore, was cancelled after Syria had pulled out of the UAR.

The UAR stamps, also issued on this date, celebrated the UN Technical Assistance Program (UNTAP) and the 16th Anniversary of the UN. The stamps on the cover, however, which were printed in different colours, are the 'occupation' version of the stamps and were produced for use in Palestine (Gaza). Egypt had occupied the Gaza strip since 1948.

   

Stamps:
UAR - UNTAP / World Refuge Year (Occupation Series)
Issued on October 24, 1961

10m, Dark Blue and Orange
Sc. N81

35m, Vermilion and Black
Sc. N82

Here's a place where you can update other members of the club on your newest acquisition, what arrived in the mail today or just what you've been working on today. 

Here's what I've been doing tonight.

...

I've been working on this cover. I picked it up this week and was intrigued by it's unusual instructional marking. 

   

It's a May 14, 1947 patriotic cover from Muncie, Indiana to Hill Field a USAAF base in Ogden, Utah. On it there is a boxed purple hand-stamp with:

CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES ARE INSTRUCTED / TO HAVE PERSONAL MAIL SENT TO THEIR / HOME ADDRESS

Hill Field, at its peak in 1943, employed 22,000 civilian and military personnel. When this cover was sent, in 1947, the base was engaged in the preservation and storage of surplus aircraft. Following the creation of the USAF, Hill Field became Hill AFB on February 5, 1948.

This cover appears to have been sent to a civilian employee of the USAAF, OASC. Which I assume is the Ogden Air Service Command (the logistics HQ) the original name of the unit. The sender was probably unaware that, after the war, the unit name changed to the Ogden Air Material Area (OAMA) ... (in July 1946).

A bit of a puzzle is the manuscript (pencil) 'T-4' with the added number '41021' above the address. I'm assuming that it was made by a base postal worker. You can see that the base address was underlined several times, also in pencil. That was, presumably, the reason why the purple hand-stamp was applied. My guess is the T4 / 41021 was added at the same time. The civilian employee's job level and employee number?

What are you working on today?

Cheers, Hugh

It looks like the Fall 2025 version of Stamps and Their Stories is a go! The series will be held at St Andrew’s By the Lake United Church on Monday afternoons, from 1:30 pm until 3:00 pm, beginning September 8th.

If you would like to be a presenter or a panellist or a Q&A Wrangler, please let me know ASAP.

This is an example of a shussei tsūchi hagaki (出征通知葉書) That is, a pre-printed Mobilization Notice Postcard. A “Departure for the Front Notification” postcard. Newly enlisted soldiers were expected to send them to relatives and employers once their reporting date was fixed.

It was addressed in 1943 and sent to  Tsuchiya Yoshio, [care  of the] Ichikawa household, 7 9 Ōokayama, Meguro ku, Tokyo.

   

Stamp: Japan
General Nogi Maresuke (1849-1912) [Hero of the Russo-Japanese War]
Issued on May 10, 1937
2s, Scarlet
SG 318

2 sen was the domestic postcard rate at the time. As the sender was not yet in the military, this was not sent 'free' but required civilian postage and travelled through the ordinary mail system.

Cancel:
It appears to be a machine cancel with six wavy lines. The wavy line obliterator looks like it is enclosed in a box which is different than western usage.
Single ring dater die 鶴見 / 18 /  6 . 3 [Tsurumi, June 3, 1943 (Shōwa 18)] Tsurumi, or Tsurumi-ku is one of the wards [ku] of the city of Yokohama.
There is an ornamental scroll with the character for Post in the bottom portion of the dater die.

Tsurumi [the posting office] sits on the Tōkaidō Main Line about 25 km south west of Meguro. The card probably reached Tokyo the same day or early the next morning.

Postcard:
On the front of the rather rough, buff coloured card, at the top, are the words 郵便はがき [Postcard] The paper stock and the blotchy printing suggest that by 1943 higher grade materials were being diverted for military needs.

Pre-printed Message: On the back of the card is printed a standard message (based on machine translation)

With profound respect,
At this crucial moment, as our Great Japanese Empire lays the foundations for its next hundred years, it is a comfort to learn that you remain in continued good health and tireless endeavor.
Through good fortune I have been permitted to take part in the supreme task of breaking through the present national crisis.
This is thanks entirely to the guidance and support I have received from you and all the others, for which I offer heartfelt gratitude.
On the occasion of my departure for the front you extended many kindnesses; please accept my deepest thanks.
After entering the ranks I shall devote myself single mindedly to the complete fulfillment of the national policy, and I beg you therefore to set your mind at ease.
I write in haste to convey my thanks and this brief notice.

The year (Shōwa 18 / 1943) and the month (6) are pre-printed on the card. The sender was supposted to add the day in the space provided. The sender of this card did not do so.

Manuscript addition: The sender added his name Nakamura  Tatsuo and the name of the unit to which he is being posted ... 千葉市 歩兵第七十二部隊 [Chiba shi Infantry Regiment No. 72]

This regiment was established in 1938 in Chiba. It was deployed in China and in the Philippines.

   

Here is another example of a (出征通知葉書) Mobilization Notice Postcard from the start of the war.

It's from Shōwa 13 (1938), five years earlier. At that time, Japan was engaged in a full-scale war in China (Second Sino-Japanese War). It had started in the summer of 1937.

The 1938 card was sent to a Mr. Ōishi at Nagamizuta Hamlet, Hatsuō (初生) Village, Hamana District (now, Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka Prefecture).

   

It was posted on September 29, 1938 by Suzuki Osamu  newly posted to the 4th Squad, 3rd Company of the Hamamatsu Anti-Aircraft / Artillery Detachment.

While they are very similar in function (and have the same stamp, postcard rate and postmark type), there are a few interesting differences between this card and the one above.

For example, the paper is of somewhat higher quality (firmer) and the type and printing is darker and cleaner.

The paper shortage was not yet as challenging as it would become by 1943.

Also, the pre-printed message on the back is also a bit different. It appears to read:

With respectful greetings.
When I was called up and entered camp, you were kind enough, despite your many duties, to come personally to see me off and to extend special courtesies; I am deeply grateful.
Thanks to your support I have today safely joined the unit listed at left; pray set your mind at ease.
Henceforth I am firmly resolved to devote myself single heartedly to repaying our Sovereign and Country.
I beg that, during my absence, you will continue to favour me with your kind guidance.
I write first to tender my thanks and respectful salutations.
Shōwa  13, 29  September

   

In my view, the 1938 version of the message is more like a polite personal letter. He thanks his friends and family who had come to see him off and promises to do his duty.

The 1943 version, on the other hand, appears to have shifted into the realm of war propaganda. There was no mention of a send-off and the language has shifted to talking about 'breaking through the crisis'.

While soldiers in other parts of the world were asked to 'write home' as soon as they were posted (often with a 'check the box' pre-printed card) these Japanese cards are new to me.

I'm going to see if I can find a series of these cards over the the 30's an 40's and trace the evolution of these messages. I'd be interested in seeing how the language of mobilization hardens as the war unfolds.

Cheers, Hugh