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#1
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Candid Comment~ Bhutan et al;
......Regarding Bhutan, and other judgements. Personally, I feel if the so called "Philatelists" can collect gum, then I can collect whatever I damn well like. I simply will leave the judgement to the people at auction when I pass on. They will either buy what I have been caretaker to, or burn it, the responsibility ends there. Anyhow, please enjoy comments made by the editor of "Australian Stamp News" way back in August 1973 when tackling the inroads made by Bhutan. Earlier this year the tiny Himalayan state of Bhutan issued the world's first talking postage stamps - a series of round die-stamped stamps which, when played on a gramophone, tell the history of Bhutan and record folk sings of the country and the national anthem. Bhutan has long been noted for its unusual stamps - three dimensional issues, stamps printed on silk, bas relief stamps, scented stamps etc - but the talking stamps has really set the cat amongst the philatelic pigeons. Judging by the howls of indignation and outrage from the purists one would think that the end of the (philatelic) world was high. The trouble seems to be that most people (and that includes philatelists) are very resistant to change, and are unable to shed basic concepts of what a postage stamp should be like. They are so wedded to the idea that a postage stamp MUST be a small rectangular shaped piece of paper that anything that departs from this norm disturbs them greatly. The truth is that there is no need at all for a postage stamp to conform to the shape and size of the Penny Black of 1840. The first triangle-shaped stamps clearly demonstrated that, and the howls of outrage then we.re almost as loud as the anguished cries of the present generation faced with the novelty of the Bhutan talking stamps. The hard cold fact is that a stamp is merely a receipt affixed to mail to indicate pre-payment of postage. There is no need for it to conform to any shape or size within the ordinary practical limitations of what can be affixed to an envelope. Admittedly a fairly large envelope is needed to accommodate one of the Bhutan Talking stamps since the; smallest is three inches in diameter, but other stamps or miniature sheets of Bhutan (and other countries) have been larger than this and have been used on commercial mail without difficulty. "Stamp News" has in its reference collection many entirely commercial and completely non-philatelic covers bearing the earlier controversial issues of Bhutan (such as the 3-D stamps) and no doubt in due course we will acquire commercial covers bearing the talking stamps. It seems that collectors will just have to get used to the idea that stamps need not necessarily be small pieces of paper about an inch square. In fact, wondering what will be invented by Bhutan, or other venturesome postal regimes, makes the hobby of philately doubly exciting since one never knows what will turn up next in the morning post! Good luck to Bhutan for sweeping away some of the dusty cobwebs that have clung for far too long to our hobby. |
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#2
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On Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:34:03 +0800, "Rodney"
wrote: .....Regarding Bhutan, and other judgements. Personally, I feel if the so called "Philatelists" can collect gum, then I can collect whatever I damn well like. "Knock yourself out, I say!" "Personally", I think people are reading too much into what some of us are saying. "Personally", I think some people are taking this too "personally". :^P I simply will leave the judgement to the people at auction when I pass on. They will either buy what I have been caretaker to, or burn it, the responsibility ends there. Ugh... burn stamps? How unconventional! Sacrilege! Blasphemer! snip I "personally" think that some people can get too engrossed into the forest to see the trees. Collect what you like, nobody argues with that... But... (always a but, right?) Please don't come back here later and ask us to inflate the prices or tell you a fairy tale for items known not to be worth much on the market although they tore a hole in your wallet to purchase "back in the day". Are they collectible? Yes. Please don't blind side us and tell us that postal administrations are caretaking for their "collector friends" when they are out simply to make money - above and beyond carrying the mail that is. Are they collectible? Yes. Finally, please don't tell us the hobby is dying because of these fads pressed on by said postal administrations and that people simply stop collecting new issues because of the flood. Are they collectible? Yes. There's a lot of fun in collecting / processing / learning about stamps, but the some of the mystique of collecting has passed with the years. There are some of us who know the games played but still persist in collecting "WHAT WE WANT TO", like myself. I do believe this was mentioned a few times in some posting about the lowly definitives of a few countries and how intriguing it was to decipher types and all that. Definitives? They get a REALLY BAD rep. There is no one-upmanship at play here. Unless, of course, one wants to get into "my collection is bigger / better/ badder" than ours. I don't play that game. I do, however, poke fun at the system because of what I see / read / hear. To me, however dry the humor, it puts some fun back into a hobby that sometimes can become dry or sterile on some days. Some people may not like this, because they take it "personally". Finally - few will read this and comment anyway. I expect the trolls to reappear... I have some stamps to sort, so I can conclude today's activities on a good note. There might even be some with a Kagu on them. :^) |
#3
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G'day Tracy,
I don't take umbrage with any of your comments, in fact, have been guilty of a few I reserve the right to collect what I want, but also to show my distaste at some issuing policies. For me, the line in the sand, lies somewhere at point of sale. If, a certain issue is made available for all and sundry, and is legitimised by the state for carriage of mail, it then carries some respect. Issues that are produced, to benefit a few, and are somehow restrained in distribution (Australia and Aitutaki come to mind) are agreed, still, to be "collectable", but as far as I am concerned attract disdain, particularly towards the state. It is blatantly unfair, and attracts criminal behaviour. PS: The only people I know of that burn stamps, are states, not individuals. PPS: what is Kagu? or need I not enquire? |
#4
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On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 10:31:43 +0800, "Rodney"
wrote: G'day Tracy, I don't take umbrage with any of your comments, in fact, have been guilty of a few 'K... I reserve the right to collect what I want, but also to show my distaste at some issuing policies. 'K... For me, the line in the sand, lies somewhere at point of sale. If, a certain issue is made available for all and sundry, and is legitimised by the state for carriage of mail, it then carries some respect. For the most part I agree. Some of these said "issues" are limited in distribution, print runs, available only through subscription and other types of limits imposed on them. This, to me, is a form of speculation - attempting to sell something as rather an oddball item at the expense of the completists. This does nothing to further the mailing of daily letters. Nothing. At first, I was a bit bewildered by the number of different printers for some stamps - each having different types and all that. Many, if not all of these (most are definitives) are used and can be found on "common mail" - not contrived / philatelic mailbacks / speculator versions of future "gems". Items used in the general movement of mail. Not items used in the furtherance of philately for philately's sake. Then I realized that one could have a lot of fun with these varieties on the cheap and they have done their duty. Booklet pane positions, Machins, Flag Over / Under / Around the Porch, you name it. Issues that are produced, to benefit a few, and are somehow restrained in distribution (Australia and Aitutaki come to mind) are agreed, still, to be "collectable", but as far as I am concerned attract disdain, particularly towards the state. It is blatantly unfair, and attracts criminal behaviour. Yeah - I wasn't even going into it that far, but yes it could. We talked about that at length with Victor's UPU watchlist messages. Some of those stamps will probably get used on the mail, but the percentage is much less than those that are in everyday usage or highly distributed stamps. PS: The only people I know of that burn stamps, are states, not individuals. Hey! Maybe the Smithy will keep its word and not dump the revenues! PPS: what is Kagu? or need I not enquire? Absolutely you can! It's actually closer than you think. You could probably row there from Brisbane, but I wouldn't want to. :^) New Caledonia! The Kagu bird! It's a "down under" bird only found there, AFAIK. They are the mascots of New Caledonia stamps as well as the overprints for Wallis & Futuna Is. Kind of like the fennec for SNA. Very bizarre bird, from what I've read. They are one of the BIG 4 for me - 1) Red Fox 2) Fennec 3) Kagu 4) Ring Tailed Lemur Not necessarily in that order. But - these beasties were on stamps that helped get me back into the hobby of collecting stamps. I've seen all of the above on TV except for the Kagu. Ah, maybe someday I'll win the lottery and swing on down to Noumea for a vaca... |
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