Stellenbosch Filatelistevereniging Stellenbosch Philatelic Society Champagnestraat/Street 18 Proteahoogte/Heights Brackenfell 7560

Tel. : 021-981-4036 Faks/fax. : 086-672-1625 E-pos/mail : [email protected]

JaargangVolume: 34 No/Nr: 11

Klubaand : 1ste Dins van mnd om 19:00 Club night: 1st Tues of month at 19:00

Venue: Le Donjon, La Societé, La Clemence, Webersvallei Road, Stellenbosch

NUUSBRIEF AUGUSTUS 2013

VORIGE BYEENKOMS 2 JULIE Die Voorsitter, Leon Smith, verwelkom lede Henk Geertsema, Wilhelm Verwoerd, Thys Malan, Hugh Mulder, Gunter Wossler, Anton Putter, Siv Borgin, Laurette van Tonder, David Wolpe, Ida Potgieter en Robert Harm. Hy verwelkom ook ons gaste Rob Allan en Lydia Smith. Verskoning word aangeteken vir Dennis Horn, Pieter Maritz, Kallie Buys, André Oosthuizen, Willem Lubbe, Emil Bührmann, Niel Matthee, Peter Jolie, Tewis Britz en Ds Scheepers. Lede Kallie Buys (9 Jul), Gunter Wossler (14 Jul), Ds Scheepers (16 Jul) en Pieter Maritz (23 Jul) word gelukgewense met hulle verjaardae. Leon Smith word spesiaal gelukgewens met sy 50ste verjaardag op 20 Jul. Dit is met leedwese dat die Voorsitter aankondig dat Willem Lubbe na ’n kort siekbed oorlede is. ’n Hele aantal lede het sy begrafnis bygewoon vanuit ’n stampvol kerk. Hy het baie mense binne en buite ons klub diep geraak, en sy opgewektheid en sy besonder materiaal sal by ons gemis word. Daar is baie goeie getuienis oor hom gelewer. Lede handhaaf ’n oomblik van stilte ter nagedagtenis. In sy verwelkoming verduidelik die Voorsitter dat die normale program aangepas word om voldoende tyd vir die veiling van ongeveer 90 lotte te laat. Die normale programitems SK&A en alfabet uitstalling staan dus oor. Ledec word herinner dat die opbrengs vir ons jaarafsluiting gebruik sal word. Die bywoning is minder as verwag, maar dis ʼn vakansiemaand. Lede wat reis word ʼn goeie reis toegewens, asook ʼn veilige terugkeer. Hierna gaan die byeenkoms kortliks voort om enkele klubsake aan te spreek. De klubsake onder bespreking is die volgende: a. Die lede word herinner aan ons klubaand van 1 Okt 2013. Die instelling van kompetisies en die toekenning van die bekers word die aand bespreek en gefinaliseer. b. Die Voorsitter herinner lede aan JOMAPEX 2013. Die sluitingsdatum vir inskrywings is tot 31 Jul 2013 uitgestel. c. Die Voorsitter bevestig dat Nasionale Seëldag by die Soneike Poskantoor gehou sal word. Die Klub sal 100 spesiale koeverte vanaf Federasie aanvra op die grondslag dat onverkoopte koeverte teruggestuur sal word. Die Sekretaris moet die skrywe op daardie grondslag aan Federasie rig. Hy moet ook vasstel of daar ʼn spesiale aanplakbiljet beskikbaar gaan wees. d. Daar is nou vordering vir ons deelname aan die Interklub in Sep 2013, waar ons klub as gasheer optree. David Wolpe sal ʼn drie-raam uitstalling, Siv Borgin ʼn twee-raam uitstalling en Gunter Wossler ʼn een-raam uitstalling inskryf. Rame sal om 17:00 opgerig word, en lede word versoek om reeds daardie tyd beskikbaar te wees om te help. e. Lede kla weereens oor die obliterasie van seëls op die koeverte waarin die SA Philatelist ontvang word. Die Sekretaris word gevra om dit in ʼn skrywe aan Federasie bekend te maak. Die Voorsitter verdaag die vergadering vir verversings en ʼn glasie wyn, met dank aan Lydia The next agenda item is the auction. This is the first auction held by our club for many years. The Chairman shortly explains the rules and stresses the fact that all participants must register with Lydia. He explains once again that the sellers are paying the commission and that prices include the commission. Members are requested to pay their bills before leaving or to make arrangements with the Chairman on payments. The pay-out will take place as part of the August meeting. Bids will be increased by R2 up to R100, and by R5 after that. After this the auctioneer David Wolpe takes the floor, while he himself will deliver each item as the bid is confirmed. Bidding is brisk and some 80% of the lots are sold. Everyone is thrilled about the contents of this meeting, and there is an immediate request that further auctions must be arranged. Provisionally the next auction is arranged for Mar 2014. The meeting closes at 21:45.

FACTS AND FEATS: THE POSTAL SERVICES The highest permanent post office in the world can be found at Phari-Yong, Tibet. It lies at an height of 4 575 m. The highest Post office in the United States is in the aptly named village of Climax, Colorado at 3 450 m. The highest post office in the British Isles is at Wanlockhead, Dumfries and Galloway at a mere 451 m. Between 1886 and 1904 an office existed on the summit of Ben Nevis at 1 343 m, but this handled telegrams (about or in connection with the observatory) only. The most northerly permanent post office in the world is situated at Ny Ålesund, Spitzbergen, Norway (78˚55’32”). The post office in the town of North Pole, Alaska (population 600 in 1988) is actually 23 km east of Fairbanks (65˚), and does not lie within the Arctic Circle. For interest, the most northerly on the European mainland is at Nordkapp, Norway, in Asia it is at Katana, Siberia, in the US at Barrow, Alaska, and in the British Isles it is at Haroldswick, Unst, in the Shetlands. The most southerly post office in the world is operated by the United States at the South Pole and serves 1000 servicemen, scientists and naturalists (1981) engaged in geophysical research. Mail for the office is routed through Christchurch, New Zealand. The oldest post office in the United Kingdom, still in its original building, is at Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway. The post office is unique in having occupied the same house since its inception in 1763, a fact which was officially recognised in a pictorial postmark in 1974. The post office, as an abstract term, has existed since the mid-17th century, but not in the same building. The post office serving the smallest population (in 1988) is that on Suwarrow, an atoll in the Cook Islands group. The island is 800 m long and 200 m broad, and lies some 320 km from its nearest inhabited neighbour. The only inhabitant, New Zealander Tom Neale, was appointed postmaster on 22 Jul 1969. Prior to that date he served in an unofficial capacity. Mail from the island is known with an official datestamp and Tom Neale’s own circular4 cachet. The most sparsely populated area in the UK served by its own post office is the island of Canna in the Inner Hebrides (population 20 in 1988). In 1891 the neighbouring island Rum had a population of only 12, and were served by their own post office. The world’s only undersea post office was established on the sea-bed of the Bahamas on 16 Aug 1939 as part of of the facilities of the Williamson Photosphere, operated by the American Field Museum. It consisted of a globular, glass-walled chamber, equipped for observing underwater phenomena, and was manned by Capt Charles Williamson. The uniqiue post office was depicted on the 5/- and $1 definitive stamps of the Bahamas of 1965-71. Facts and feats come from: Mackay, James, The Guinness book of Stamps, Guinness Publishing Ltd, Enfield, 1988

VERVALSTE POSSEëLS IN DUITSLAND Op ’n vorige geleentheid het ek in die nuusbrief genoem van die vervalsing van posseëls in Nederland. Nou blyk dit dat ook in Duitsland sulke gevalle ontdek het. Die tydskrif FOCUS Magazine nr 17 van 22 Apr 2013 meld dat Duitse versamelaars op hulle hoede moet wees. Jaarliks spandeer Duitse versamelaars ongeveer €175 miljoen (ongeveer R2 miljard) (u het reggelees ± R2 miljard) aan ouer seëls en nuwe uitgiftes. In die proses maak hulle gebruik van seëlhandelaars en op veilings, en maak nie altyd van die bekende handelare gebruik nie. Dit maak hulle die ideale teiken vir bedrieërs. Boonop word seëls aangekoop as ’n manier om geld “te was”. Oskar Klein, hoofredakteur van Michel waarsku dat vervalsing met rasse skrede toeneem, en dat professionele vervalsers tot die seëlmark toetree. Reeds word papier herstel, oordrukke later aangebring, stempels vervals, en aan die onversigtige versamelaar verkoop. Een voorbeeld hiervan is Wahnfried Thum uit Düsseldorf. Hy het ’n reeks van 17 seëls van Duitse Kolonies (sy versamelgebied) vir Є7.000,00 (meer as R80 000) aangekoop in die hoop dat hy sy versameling aanvul. Nadere ondersoek het egter getoon dat slegs 2 van die 17 seëls eg was. Die res was later gedruk, van nuwe gom voorsien of eenvoudig vervals. Dit sou goed gewees het indien hy die seëls eers aan hulle ekwivalent van ons “Expert Committee” vir bevestiging blootgestel het. Sy spyt het te laat gekom. Verlede jaar is ʼn saak teen ʼn handelaar van Hamburg aanhangig gemaak, waar by sy winkel en huis met ʼn wettige bevel deursoek is. Die handelaar het appèl teen die bevel aangeteken, en dit laat die saak hang. Intussen gaan die handelaar voort met verkope vanaf sy winkel en aanlyn. Selfs die handelaar se seun het erken dat daar veral via die internet veel gemors verkoop word, en dat kopers versigtiger te werk moet gaan, veral as goeie “materiaal” teen lae pryse aangebied word. KNBF nuusbrief 039 van Jul 2013 (Daar is twee reëls wat geld: Caveat emptor – Buyer beware;, en as die prys te goed is om waar te wees, is dit.)

THE DEATH CENTENARY OF EDWARD STANLEY GIBBONS (continued from July 2013). After selling the business in 1890, Stanley Gibbons travelled extensively, mostly for pleasure but always taking the opportunity to obtain stamps for his old company. In 1897 he visited Honolulu where he observed the burning of unwanted stocks, something he viewed as “sad”. His second wife, Margaret, died of cirrhosis of the liver at their home in Cambridge Villa in Nov 1899. Two years later in Dec 1901 he was seen with wife (believed to be called Georgina) at hotels in Calcutta and Rangoon. During a newspaper interview in 1903 in Ceylon he stated that he had visited Ceylon 10 or 11 times, while he was still planning to visit Bombay, Java, Singapore, Siam, Cochin China, while attending the Hanoi Exhibition. At this stage he replied to a question that he had six specialized collections, but rarely bought any stamps for them as he stated that these stamps were “too expensive”. However, there is no record of the subjects of these collections. His third wife, Georgina, isw named in his sister’s will in May 1905, but on 12 October of the same year he married wife number four named Bertha Barth, aged 27, a widow of Jubilee Place, Chelsea. In the wedding register Stanley Gibbons describes himself as a “gentleman”. It appears that Bertha died during a visit to Ceylon in 1908. This fact was reported in a local newspaper, and that she dies of cancer of the liver. He returned to Britain immediately on the ship Bremen. In Jan 1909 Stanley Gibbons married his fifth wife, Sophia Crofts, a 40-year old widow. This marriage seems to have been doomed, and they were separated by the time he passed on 17 Feb 1913. She died in 1936, but there are records showing that she signed as Sophia Gibbons, or Sophia Stanley, or Sophia S. Gibbons. Stanley Gibbons died at home, apparently due to thrombosis. His estate totalled £13 172 11s 4d (about £1.5 million in today’s money), the largest portion of which went to Mabel Ethel Hedgecoe who may have been his companion in the end. There were no children from his side. The 28 February 1913 edition of Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal (the forerunner of Gibbons Stamp Monthly) carried a two-page obituary, reciting many of the events in Stanley Gibbons’ life, summing it up by saying: Mr Gibbons modestly never laid claim to the title of “Scientific Philatelist”, but his great imports of stamps in the early days, his publication of albums and catalogues, and his steady pursuance of the stamp business during so long a period, were of the greatest service to our pursuit. Stanley Gibbons appeared on at least two stamps, one from Antigua in 1993 (SG 1809), and one with Stanley Philips, who bought his business in 1890, on a stamp of Montserrat in 2001 (SG 1180). The Antigua stamp shows the first edition of the SG catalogue. In spite of the information available on Stanley Gibbons very little is known about him as a man. From all accounts he was of a genial and kind disposition. Source: John Holman in Gibbons Stamp Monthly Feb 2013

DIE PERDETREIN VAN BUDWEIS-LINZ-GMüNDEN Die perdetrem is vir vele Nederlanders wel bekend, waar hulle in Amsterdam, Groningen, Den Haag en Leiden gebruik is. Dit was egter ook in Berlyn gebruik, en is dit met ’n Berlynse seël gevier. Die perdetrein is egter iets anders en besonders. Die Oostenrykse Pos het in 2011 die 175ste Herdenking van die eerste perdetrein tussen Budweis (nou in Tsjeggië), Linz en Gmünden gevier. Die posseël het ’n waarde van €0.62 gehad en was deur Georg Pucalka ontwerp. Daar was 6 miljoen van die seëls gedruk. Die spoorweg is in gedeeltes tussen 1827 en 1836 aangelê, en was op daardie tyd die tweede openbare spoorlyn in Europa. Die spoorlyn is hoofsaaklik gebruik vir die vervoer van sout van die soutmyne in die Oostenrykse Salzkammergut na Boheme. Tussen die jare 1855 en 1856 is daar stoomtreine op die trajek geplaas. Vanweë skerp draaie en skerpstygende hellings tussen Budweis en Linz moes daar eers ’n nuwe trajek gebou word. Dit is egter eers in 1873 vir stoomtreine in gebruik geneem, nadat die gebruik van perde in 1872 gestaak is. Die spesiale posstempel toon Franz Josef Ritter von Gerstner en Franz Anton Ritter von Gerstner, onderskeidelik die ontwerper en bouer van die spoorlyn. KNBF nuusbrief 039 van Jul 2013

Geskryf deur Robert Harm 29 Julie 2013 CLUB PROGRAMMES

Bellville Philatelic Society, at the Bellville Public Library at 19:00 on 2nd Wednesday of the month. 14 Aug 2013 National and Interklub exhibits; One page on Outdoors; Ida’s chat. 26 Aug 2013 Inter-Society Quiz and displays. (all Western Cape clubs participate). 3 Sep 2013 Interklub at Stellenbosch. 11 Sep 2013 Visit by Hugh Amoore; One page on Nobel.

Fish Hoek Philatelic Society, at Minor Hall, Fish Hoek Civic Centre at 19:30 om 1st Tuesday of the month. 6 Aug 2013 Adrian de Bourbon: Rhodesia evening & Cup. 26 Aug 2013 Inter-Society Quiz and displays. (all Western Cape clubs participate). 3 Sep 2013 Postal history evening; John Cheminais.

Paarl Filateliste, at the St Petri Lutheran Church Hall, Mill Street at 19:30 2nd Thursday of the month. 15 Aug 2013 Youth evening; Quiz. 26 Aug 2013 Inter-Society Quiz and displays. (all Western Cape clubs participate). 3 Sep 2013 Interklub at Stellenbosch. 10 Oct 2013 Kaufman Cup. (this meeting will be held in Worcester).

Pinelands Stamp Circle, at Pinelands Library at 19:00 on last Wednesday of the month. 26 Aug 2013 Inter-Society Quiz and displays. (all Western Cape clubs participate). 28 Aug 2013 History of Postal Services; One page Skiing and Hats: “On the Wing”. 25 Sep 2013 My favourite five pages; One page our neighbours, heroes & villains; Mozley throhy.

Royal Philatelic Society of Cape Town, at Atinaneum on 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. 12 Aug 2013 Adrian de Bourbon: Rhodesia Aerograms; Chris Stewart: Combination Covers. 26 Aug 2013 Inter-Society Quiz and displays. All clubs can partake and join an evening together. 9 Sep 2013 Society literature & journals; John Cheminais OFS Boet Wat. 23 Sep 2013 All members competitions.

Stellenbosch Philatelic Society, at La Clemence, Webersvallei Rd, Stellenbosch at 19:00 on 1st Tuesday of month. 2 Jul 2013 Club auction. 6 Aug 2013 Interklub displays: Quiz; Alphabet R. 26 Aug 2013 Inter-Society Quiz and displays. (all Western Cape clubs participate). 3 Sep 2013 Interklub at Stellenbosch.

Walker Bay Stamp Club, at the Hermanus Bowling Club at 17:30 on 1st Monday of month. 1 Jul 2013 7 Aug 2013 26 Aug 2013 Inter-Society Quiz and displays. (all Western Cape clubs participate).

Thematics SA (Western Cape Chapter), at the Bellville Public Library at 14:00 14 Sep 2013 Discussions and advice on thematic collecting and exhibits.

STAMP FAIRS Durbanville,at Durbanville Library Hall, c/o Oxford Street and Koeberg Road at 09:00 until 12:30. 3 Aug 2013 7 Sep 2013 Note that the Third Auction of 2013 will be held. PHILATELIC TERMS : P-4 Bibliography: McKay, James, Philatelic Terms Illustrated, Stanley Gibbons Publications, Ringwood, 2003. Nováček, Jiři, Guide to Stamp Collecting, Chartwell Books Inc, New Jersey, 1989. Smith, Anna H. (Ed), The language of stamp collecting, Johannesburg Public Library, 1959. Wood, Kenneth A. (Ed), This is Philately, Van Dahl Publications, Albany, 1982

Post Offices Abroad (poskantore in buiteland) The term refers to post offices and postal agencies staffed and operated by one country, located in another country, international zone, concession or occupied territory. They may use the ordinary stamps of the country operating the service and are only distinguished by the cancellations and described as being used abroad. Later offices used stamps appropriately overprinted or inscribed, e.g. the British postal agencies in Morocco, the Gulf State or the Levant. Countries having used such offices were France, Germany, Italy, Japan, US, Russia, Austria, Poland, India and Romania in various parts of the world.

Post-a-Book Post-a-Book was a service provided by the British Post Office and operated through retail bookshops as a convenient way of sending books by post. The service was introduced in 1983, and was distinguished by distinctive labels, stationary and self- adhesive postage stamps. They were similar in design to that later adopted for the Royal Mail Postage Labels of 184-85.

Postage Due Labels (boeteseëls) These are labels sometimes erroneously referred to as stamps and have no postal validity in their own right. It is purely an official indication of an amount due to the postal service on an item of delivered mail. The labels were pioneered by France in 1859, and the US commenced their use in 1879. The British Post Office only adopted them in 1914. They are also known as To Pay labels on account of the inscription used by the British Post Office to encompass Customs charges as well as deficient postage. Two modern trends have been noticed. On the one hand postage due labels are being used less and less as postage meter labels take over their function. On the other hand, many countries have started producing attractive multi-coloured pictorial postage due labels. These are obviously aimed at philatelic sales, since the labels have no postal service and there is no point in making them available to the general public. Each country use their own translation of the term To Pay, e.g. Porto (Germany), Losen (Sweden), A payer or Taxe (France), Te betalen (the Netherlands), Segnatasse (Italy), Taxa da Plata (Romania) and Doplata (Poland).

Postage Paid Impressions These are handstruck or printed marks applied to bulk posting of mail prepaid in cash. The term was invented by the British Post Office in 1966 to denote a system that is now extensively used as an alternative to other forms of bulk posting and metered mail. The impressions show the serial number of the licensee, the class of posting (first or second class, rebate or parcel post), and the office of issue. Those intended for more than one office may well have the designation PHQ (Postal Headquarters. The system is not unlike the permit mail system used in other countries, including South Africa.

Postal forgery (posvervalsing) A postal forgery is a counterfeit stamp prepared specifically to defraud the postal authorities.

Postal history (posgeskiedenis) Postal history is the study of the origins and development of postal services and all aspects pertaining to them. Branches of postal history with their own specialist societies include airmails, travelling post offices and even mail boxes. The term is also very loosely applied to collectable material such as postmarks, postal stationary and stamped covers and cards, shortly known as marks, routes and rates (tariffs).

Postal fiscal stamps (fiskaalseëls) Postal fiscal stamps are revenue stamps that were originally intended to denote taxes and duties and thus inscribed. However, these stamps were subsequently properly authorised to be used postally. These stamps should not be confused with stamps inscribed Postage and Revenue (as in the case of South Africa), which could be used for either purpose.

Postal order stamps (posorder seëls) Postal order stamps are special stamps affixed to postal orders, money orders or postal notes in order to increase their value by small amounts. In England ordinary postage stamps are used for this purpose, but definitive stamps have been used by the Netherlands (1884), El Salvador (1895), Spain (1915), Newfoundland (1918) and Italy and colonies (1924). A series of 18 postal note stamps were issued by the US Postal Service (1945-51) for a similar purpose. I seem to remember that we had a similar system in South Africa, but that is long ago!

Postal stationary (pospapier) The term postal stationary is applied to all forms of stationary made available by a postal administration, whether or not a particular item bears an imprinted stamp. The latter is correctly known as the indicium. These items include all kinds of envelopes, letter sheets, letter-cards, postcards, wrappers and aerogrammes are entitled to pass through the mail without extra charge. Traditionally such stationary was recognised by having imprinted stamps, but it should be noted that the Mulready stationary did not come into this category. The earliest form of postal stationary dates back to 1608 when the city of Venice produced and sold letter sheets bearing the city’s coat-of-arms, and made their use mandatory for written communication to and from government officials as a fo5rm of taxation. A modern trend is to avoid the use of imprinted stamps of fixed value (probably because of inflation), and to substitute a device merely indicating that postage has been prepaid, e.g. British postnotes (1982), 1st and 2nd class envelopes (1984), and aerogrammes and registered envelopes (1986).

Postal Union colours (Posunie kleure) The Universal Postal Union (UPU), almost from its inception, urged member countries to adopt certain colours for the stamps used on overseas mail. This was the very reason that the GB twopence halfpenny changed from rosy mauve to blue in 1880 to denote the foreign letter rate. This recommendation became mandatory as a result of the UPU Congress in Washington in 1898. The colour green was set aside for the use as the basic rate for foreign printed matter, the red colour was set aside for the rate for postcards, and blue would be the single letter rate. These colours fell into disuse as the result of the inflation and the disparity of postal rates following the Second World War, and the scheme was finally abandoned on 1953.

Postcard Tax Stamps (poskaart belastingseëls) Shown is a Persian stamp overprinted Controle, which was issued in 1904 to denote a tax on picture postcards sent through the mail. These stamps had to be affixed to cards in addition to the normal postage.

Postcard stamps (poskaartseëls) A postcard stamp was an adhesive stamp overprinted for use on postcards issued by the Orange Free State, 1889- 97. Stamps of various denominations, denoting internal South African and overseas postage, were affixed to the cards and then overprinted with the national coat-of-arms.

Postally used (posgebruik) The term implies that a stamp bears irrefutable evidence of having been genuinely and legitimately used to prepay postage. The opposite thereof is cancelled-to-order (CTO), fiscally used, or used on a telegram.

Drawn up by Robert Harm 25 July 2013