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60th Anniversary News
We have rounded another milestone as we move into our diamond Jubilee year. It was in November 1952 that our Society was founded as the the Scandinavia Collectors Club with the first issue of Contact being published in June 1953 A current list of events celebrating this milestone can be see here. But note! The list of meetings for the 2012-13 has not been finalised, so do come back again to check for updates! From the begining the membership has been made up of collectors who have consistently brought honour and recognition to our Society through their exhibitions all over the world. This is still the case as the new honours list shows I hope that all those who wish to be at Wiltshire for the 60th Anniversary Exhibition and AGM have contacted Susan, if not, time is running out! New for this year is that members can pay their subscription for 3 years in advance. This serves a dual purpose 1. Overseas members can pay once for several years and thereby cut banking Charges 2. UK based members (as well as our overseas members) who avail themselves to this option are protected against increases in subscription fees during this period of advanced payments But remember too! If you decide to renew only after 31st January 2012 you will incur an additional fee of £1.50 late administration fee Redevelopment of Articles With the launch of this website back in May 2011, which includes a members section protected by usernames and passwords we have set up a section containing many of the old articles published in Contact over the years. Amazingly, there is very little duplication and the range of topics and subjects covered is quite remarkable. However, as many of the longer standing members will know, back in the 'oldern days' (pre-1980 or so) there were very few illustrations and even then the quality was not exactly great. This can now be alleviated through the website, as we can reproduce practically any illustration in full colour and much more detail than is possible even in the current issues of Contact can deliver! The redevolpment of articles is now holding by 1978 and the article count stands at around 130 and counting. I would therefore appeal to all members even those who may not display, say because they only collect stamps, new issues as well, rather than Postal History, Stationery First Day Covers etc. to step forward, as many of the articles do need stamps for illustrations and this would be a great platform on which to get involved. On a personal level, I have never given a display and I have been collecting for almost 35 years. But that is abot to change! I have found a topic on which to display nothing but stamps and hope to make my debut at Wiltshire in March. For obvious reasons I cannot reveal any more at present, but hope to put it on the site in due course. If anyone is interested in picking up the gauntlet then here is a suggestion: The Common theme for the Nordic issue 2012 is "bridges". Anyone with a Scandinavia Stamp collection who can rise to the occasion? A happy Philatelic 2012 The Webmaster London Meeting 5 November 2011
London Meeting Report at RPSL:- Invited Display, 5th November 2011 This was our first meeting at our new London venue, the premises of the Royal Philatelic Society London (“the Royal”). Thirteen members and a guest assembled there to enjoy a display entitled “Aspects of Finnish Postal History” by Mike Elliott. Session 1. A frame of early material began with a Crown post letter of 1735; this was followed by two feather letters (one of which had been filed in his “Birds” section by the dealer Mike had acquired it from !). Mail into and out of Finland filled the remaining frames (three and two respectively). The two most common routes were through Sweden and along the Åland post road or by rail to St Petersburg and then into Finland. However other routes existed and might come into their own at times of disruption, for example we were shown a 1915 cover to Hälsingborg routed via Tornio. A very recent addition was a cover sent from Dorchester in October 1917 to Terijoki on the Karelian isthmus and addressed to the wife of a Polish prince. If further research yields results a write up of this item may well feature in a future edition of Contact. Session 2. This session began with a frame of early stamps and Mike not only showed a 5 kopek blue (a cut out from PS but used as a stamp) and the 10 kopek rose, but also an obvious forgery a 20 kopek value in light blue. Early stamp issues continued with examples of the serpentine rouletted issues which we were shown on cover and used singularly wherever possible. Three frames of PS followed beginning with an 1847 Porto Stempel PSE from Helsinki to Gamla Karleby that occasioned Mike reminding us that in Finland postal stationery preceded the issue of stamps. A frame of Registered mail included a number of covers with the etiquettes of railway station post offices. Between 1910 -8 Russian registration etiquettes with the letter З were used when supplies permitted, and an example was shown on a cover to Russia sent just before Finnish independence. This session concluded with a frame of Parcel cards. Session 3. The final session began with two frames of local cancels, examples of both straight-line village cancellations and numeral carrier cancels. A subsequent frame was devoted to mail addressed to an individual named Paavo Soukka 1927 - 40; beginning when he appeared to be a student, through to his national service and a period of hospitalisation. A cover where he was addressed as Tuomari (Judge) suggests a subsequent legal career, (does anyone have other covers that shed light on Paavo’s life and career, or can you provide additional background information ? – Ed.) A frame of covers and cards illustrating mobilisation for the Winter War, followed and subsequently a frame of some selected (and select !) items of Åland postal history. Mike concluded his display with a frame of more modern, light-hearted material, including a cover franked with Moomin stamps addressed to the current President of the Royal. Eric Keefe gave the vote of thanks highlighting many items (including 1924 airmail from Finland) that had perhaps passed these less knowledgeable eyes by; however that’s the sign of a good display - when it’s of interest to both the expert and novice in an area. Our thanks go to Eric and Mike for arranging what proved to be a satisfactory new London venue. We hope more of you can come along to future meetings and appreciate the facilities at the Royal. Brian Hague Honours List November-December 2011
Honours Board
Honours List November-December 2011
Honours Board
Making the most of our new site
We encourage all members to please fill in their online profile as our Society has got no clear record of what the members actually collect. This information is purely for internal statistical use and will not be shared with anyone.
We also encourage general comments about the site, both positive and negative as these will serve to make the site even better.
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