April 2012

Contents to Volume 42, Number 11.

The latest news from the stamp world.

Reports from philatelic societies.

Forthcoming Fairs and Auctions.

News of recent auction results.

John Holman reveals the new Irish definitives, Charles Dickens’ 200th anniversary, and stamps depicting Annigoni portraits of The Queen

Great British Comics, UK A–Z Part II, Charles Dickens – a sneak peek

John Scott sings the praises of newspapers as a rich but often neglected source of postal history.

Gavin Littaur, reveals a contender for the title of ‘most important item in British postal history’

John Deering brings another update on Britain’s definitive stamps

Win a Collector’s Edition GB Specialised Queen Victoria Catalogue

Inspired by the classic 1066 and All That, Alan Sacks continues his own potted philatelic history of Britain

A supplement to the Great Britain Specialised Catalogue

Peter Martin reveals the story of the five brave Titanic post office workers who made the ultimate sacrifice for the mail

Steve Pendleton explains how a chance request to a ship’s captain resulted in a true piece of philatelic Titanic memorabilia

Nicholas Pertwee continues his stamp-by-stamp analysis of the Ghana 1988 C50 surcharges

Stamps worth looking out for from Cook Islands – plus the Stanley Gibbons competition

Rob Holley asks if a standardised numerical guide, against which we could measure rarity, might bring some much-needed precision to the hobby

As stamp booklet collecting grows in popularity, Dr William Mayo highlights a number of very rare booklets of the Elizabethan era to keep a collector’s eye out for

Michael Banister selects more extracts from the journal of an ordinarie collector of stamps

Cinderella stamp expert, Christer Brunstrom takes a look at Norway’s Bypost labels, which offer an affordable and obtainable avenue for collecting

Peter Jennings FRPSL, FRGS, continues his report on the people and the post of Ethiopia

Peter Martin reveals the collecting opportunities offered by an issue requested by war-time US President – and avid stamp collector – Franklin D Roosevelt

Chris Wheeler looks back on the stamps of an independent Azerbaijan.

More philatelic books reviewed

Double Olympic Bronze Medalist, Tommy Godwin shares his thoughts on the Royal Mail Olympic Definitive Issue

Geir Sor-Reime continues his annual survey of stamp booklets with a run-down of recent foreign issues.

Island Hopper reports on stamps from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

A summary of recent and forthcoming issues from around the world.

Dean Shepherd investigates some recent new issues.

David Horry reveals the story behind another unissued stamp. Hugh Jefferies looks at plate flaws from Great Britain and Sudan and an inverted over print from Mauritius

A 14-page update to the Stanley Gibbons Catalogue.