IN MY VIEW - Otto Hornung

Numbers down - hallelujah!

THE annual survey of world stamp issues in Michel Rundschau came late this year, but it was well worth waiting for. I had been warned in advance that its publication would be delayed because Schwaneberger Verlag GmbH, the publishers of the Michel magazine and of well over 40 various Michel stamp, coin, postal history, and phonecard catalogues, had to move premises ... the news coming from the stamp issue survey for 2003 is good, very good. All the decisive numbers went down as compared with the previous year.

(Read the entire column in the May 2005 Philatelic Exporter.)

GB COLUMN by James Skinner

Matrimonial Miniature

SINCE writing my last column, Royal Mail has rush released an issue to mark the wedding of the year using its fast track release system. For those celebrity watchers out there, I am sorry to say it is not for Jordan (aka Katie Price) and Peter André’s imminent nuptials, but rather to celebrate the second marriage of the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, to his long-time companion and paramour Camilla Parker Bowles (née Shand).
Although most of the press and virtually all the public were taken by surprise by the announcement, it seems that Royal Mail was not caught on the hop, as it managed to design, gain royal approval, print and distribute an issue in less than two months – a truly remarkable feat.

(Read the entire column in the May 2005 Philatelic Exporter.)

USA by Les Winick

Revenues sell for $3.3 million

THE National Postal Museum received about $3.3 million on the first portion of the sale of US revenues that were “excess inventory”.
The NPM was going to destroy a portion of the stamps, until the hobby rose as one voice, to protest. The money will be used to buy missing stamps for its own US stamp collection.
Auctioneer Matthew Bennett International handled the sale held on February 12 2005. Most of the material went to 30 floor bidders with bidders also present on 20 telephone lines, along with eBay on-line bidders. Despite the variety of bidding methods, an average of 130 lots per hour were hammered down.

(Read the entire column in the May 2005 Philatelic Exporter.)

POSTCARD WORLD by Liz McKernan

Weekend in Reims

"I am sorry to announce that owing to an electrical fault all the trains will have to leave the station backwards. This will not affect the timetable in any way."
The station announcement was loud and clear as I sat in the waiting room at the Gare de l'Est waiting for my train to Reims. I groaned inwardly remembering the leaves on the lines and the wrong kind of snow of years past and commented to the lady next to me that at home we were used to problems on our railways.
She looked at me and then burst out laughing reminding me that it was a 'Poisson d'Avril', as they call an April Fool's Joke in France! I had not realised that the date was April 1 and had certainly fallen for this one! In any case, because the Paris station was a terminus, of course all the trains go out backwards so there was nothing unusual about that whatsoever!
My stay in Reims took in once again both a very large collectors' fair and an annual postcard fair. On the Monday there was an outdoor 'Braderie' - a mixture of car boot sale, bric-a-brac market, and antiques fair - although I did not stay for this. However for those who desire three days of postcard hunting over one weekend the possibility is there.

(Read the entire column in the May 2005 Philatelic Exporter.)

NEW BOOKS by David Rennie

All reviewed in the May 2005 Philatelic Exporter.

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