PHILATELY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2811, 29 January 1908, Page 70

PHILATELY.

* Bt Pjhtub. •

A. Tsovel Notice. — One /of the" liveliest, notices of 'the new Jamestowa stamps ap-.. peared in the - Calaveias CSironicle, of the county of feat -name in Oalifornia. .-We nead : > '*So if you-^et * letter bearing- a. . stamp -on -which, instead of, the benevolent . - feature? of George Washington, you see _«. man -with-^narchist- whiskers, do not get' alarmed^and imagine that the -'Black Hand., .«r,:tbe Mafia are after jou.. It is only, a : picture kit v, gentleman "named- "John Smith who~larded in this "country a great many years ago with a. few companions .und a -, j>ennit froin'^he- I&rtg of -England to light \ anywhere Hhey pleased on a strip of .land j " not -to exceed ,4deg in width, bounded on the- -ease 3>y the ASantio. Ocean and on tiie"| west by tbe JlerpeTian-^G-aTdens, -which were supposed ±o-i>e last stop before getting j to the jumping-off place." An account -iien j folkws" a in length, i»lling_ what', John Smith wou3d do if he were «live ■fe-vj -day;- srltogeiiier, i;he .conceit -is- » quaant,^ -and Lreezy felt of 3bnmour,.-*nd incidentally *■ the besi fcmd of .acivertising for ;tfhe James-; townr stamps." -/-"'- „ j ' - %. Ii.JS- Binsburg,.: of' London, ,, ! " wishes ! to^correct a Itetemenf appearing- in % ' tvn 1 Indiati^cbntempotary, ."In a letter to flic' "' Sisteip Collectors' roffcnigntiy he- writes --f "There -is a- Btatemsnt in- the September • - number o£ "the Philatelic Journal -of .India -to the effect &at a liondon 'dealer Tsas made •a standing offer of £25,000 for my coll-eo- -, tion. -As this is without foundation : jl should''b"e exfiremely- obliged if you would' . allow me to -contradict" -it in~ youi^Journal. :'_ ' Mauiifius.— Wben we . remember how - "much has' been -writien~«nd published «on- ; cerning file, first issue of- this oolony, i* is "curious- that even staargj tJolJectora -seem • 'to be.nnable to lefer to it without ma&inK mistakes. Xn' a asepoxt ■oi^s. -aneetiiyj of a : Philatelio Society,., piiblished in one «f our . contemporaries, -we find that a member, in • -•speaking' of ibe 2d '£Post Office," said ihat . ■ ""it was 'rare," because the bad been 4 caneelJed' said withdra-wn on account -of an : .3 error.'" UDere we iia-pe no less tfcan^ ihree -I mistakes in a couple of lines -relating . to" ' one -of . the createst jarities. whjc£ -aS. 'collectors "should Tcdow sonaeiJiiiig .about.' Tlie . issue .sras neither " "&unce3fcd" nor "wiii; drawn,"" and tiiere^^wae no "errj>r", about ~&e stanips.-. As ,iai «^, is tnown, ;all that ' irrrnijßd "of, i«61%" values •m<s<&- put -in ciroulatioij^.and they were .iiVFailab'lV'-for «se -«o. Jone ;aS--tibey'-3asted^-.'flie -only "reason - shsen for nc4;.j>rint&ig~«aore was that print- , L in»i-*fawnps .irom a-vncjfper plaie, -one. At a^ . time, "was too -,clow X process. -- ./, ■ i A- 3Becp;^'~l^e-— Asnaanc Sob iconimßßts<^H*hl sfor£h bv-ife'TsimTSnaiVl-e sale ri -the Brei+inss seoflee*NnL 'sre' fr«>4 'severs?, +"ka±, ' frlT 'td-khe'i.'mstf -raeriw-se -in-TAJoc^ of oersteiii sha--?HT)s- j^stt "Mx bona3it msjiy ye-ars a.«-o. T»i« T^stsrhdon Phila^elfet. in an editorial oti + Ji« saita," *ay 3. m the ; course of jtfi .extend r *\ Tewiarka • "A.n Tin cut -plate of the 4t3 «ii-graawd Nevis was bought Tag M, Breifea* isam M. Moens

in 1883 for 12s, douhle that price being paid for the plate of -the 6d lithograph ! The old Is St. Vincent values were ill bought at 3s or 4s a-piece, and the rarest Turks Islands surcharges, in blocks, averaged* but a few pence each I" The appreciation in value of the specimens named -is almost . inconceivably great, in a period of about 25 years. Evidently, Mr Breitfuss's philatelic acumen was: -tinctured with a bit of 4 good fortune in buying many of his stamps at -just the proper time. In -1883 the- British colonials^, as a rule, were quoted low in "price, but a few yeaxs later a marked advance in price was. in effect. The stamps of the "United States afforded a' parallel instance; about 1891 or 1892, there was a sensational increase in- their value, and any collector who bad" .purchased bis specimens just before that time saw ■& very pleasing "unearned increment" represented in his "stamps. It- as now possible for correspondent residing in any country within, the Postal Union to prepay a reply. This stamp for all posts- has been printed; »t Einsiedem, in Switzerland, and five" millions are. being struck- off at the first impression. It shows v, goddess on -a background-" of olive branches, :aaid was designed by Grasse, the author of iheTTreaoh. stamp of 10 centimes -The international stamp will -cost 25 centimes."■■"JTbis .novelty* was proposed' -by Mr Henniker Heaton, M.P., "and was *«jGepted by the Postal -Congres at Borne 'last year<— Evening Standard. -- - \'^[- y z \ *. . *j!he pcslal-sistem of 'foelanS Is "managed fty tha-postanaster-of Heykjavjki the. capital, -which.:itsalf "has ,?QiTee -post offices pi »geaxies, while 23/^arefficattered about the rest of Cthe" islajia,» ah'd l^^ are xfeder his autho-nd-fy. > Besides;" these 26 post offio^, the*e ■zifc&r 165 "places ■att-Tirhich - letters s-can. be posted.* The .postmasters o£ ibe- 26 are"-genevaHy the' leading people of. the district, pestoM or traders, and they discharge Aeii duties . as a second string to tiieir official position. The officials in charge- of the 165 secondary postong^laoes are something like . the German •sub-post offices. ' Sixty years' ago the zmailboa* made only one voyage riyear between Denmark find Iceland,; nowadays' there is -a. forlnightly postal service during the greater part, of the year, and a weekly -service during the six'months of the summer. The postal matter is .delivered In the .interior : of Iceland T>y mounted 1 messengers, itnd the delivery is often, attended with, great difficulty .in winter. These, mounted mailmen make 15 Tides' from -Ehe larger .places io tho smaller "during -flie year.' " ' NEW ISSUES. " .... _; -The IJondon, Gazettes has already thus month contained two notices that are. likely, to' interest' stamp- collectors. The first one relates, to the. British Central Africa Pro--teotocate, -and -we axe -told ±ba* henceforth it is to be known as the Nyassaland Proitectorate.- -Thß -piincipali' changes will be a appoirrfeed in Men of. a".43ommißsidner, .-and- that-athei© willi.be ExectitiLye tind" 'Legisl&trve -Oouneils.- * -stamp collectox^s^gpoint.'ofvißW^ there aie also -lffiely-H»l;be there-as^ a , possi"ijDility- that"-tho current iB.C. A. stamps will Tjb .Burcharged -^Nyaßsaland;? in". wbieh'. case T&ere ia ?tiso ti a"""great&r -posibility-'of pxbvi'sionals rbeing ■ -needed _.(t) : ' The . XC.A., 1 jd^al --autiteiities bave always *how» a. " Teadx-afiapi^iKty>lor«emergencies,H! i axHi -we dread to picture -wKat the future may "have in- fetove. " -. - i ' , j ' BrAzil.^— A -further' or- final instalment of these 'senes''is',aK>w l tofliandi' 2000 'reia, deep green j -5000 Teis, deep rose. ITnpaid — 10. -re is, slate-black-; 700 reis, purpie-bro-wn. - JESast Alrica" and Uganda.— Ewen's Weekly reports tJiat "flic lr has" been, isued'on _a chalky nrultiple GA. "paper. The -currency hasTjeeu 'changed from- rupees of 16 annas -to-fupees of 100 c. - 'The" ISbrdisk Klate^is' tislc" Tidskxift -cnronicles the iie^w stamps and stationery;^ with "values 'in the new curr-enoy^ . .-I - , - ~ * -- _ .. ;