January 2018

Contents to Volume 48, Number 8

The latest news from around the philatelic world.

More reports from the nation’s Philatelic Societies.

Forthcoming fairs and auctions.

The latest reports from auction rooms at home and abroad.

We look at Royal Mail’s annual products for 2017 and its new prestige booklet that’s ‘out of this world’.

David Milsted FRPSL details the most intensively studied of all British departmental issues.

In the last ‘Machin Watch’ of 2017, John Deering looks at Royal Mail’s latest Star War p.s.b., before providing an update on M17L self-adhesive Security Machins.

Richard Wheatley discusses the Bantam halfpenny introduced in 1870, with a particular focus on its use in his home town of Leeds.

The latest supplement to the GB Specialised Catalogue.

Readers have their say, courtesy of the GSM postbag.

David Smitham looks at the 18-year reign of New Zealand’s first stamp issue, the Full-Face Queens.

Pragya Jain continues his study of the early stamps of India with a focus on the country’s first national issue.

With changes in currency, printers, papers and perforations to explore, Ceylon is a paradise for Commonwealth collectors, as Noel Davenhill reveals in the latest instalment of his ongoing series.

More reviews of the latest philatelic publications.

Barry Floyd serves up a healthy serving of exotic fruits to be found on stamp issues from around the world.

For over 400 years the Thurn and Taxis family operated a postal network that eventually covered most of Europe. Alan Wishart provides a history of the service and the stamps it produced.

John Moody investigates the philatelic legacies left behind the ‘dead’ countries of Alaouites, Biafra and Bahawalpur.

As 2017 draws to a close, Jersey, Guernsey and Macau look back at their issues of the past year and reveal some highlights of their 2018 programmes.

David Horry showcases the introduction and use of Single Circle Postmarks in the Colonies.

Steve Pendleton takes us to the central Pacific for a tour of the postal history of Christmas Island.

Nimrod highlights the key issues of Somaliland.

Niger’s Bird definitives can feel a bit like a jigsaw puzzle, especially when it comes to laying out an album page. Luckily, Michael Round helps to piece things together.

Since their introduction in 1840 stamps have been used as a tool of propaganda. Christer Brunstrom highlights their use for political, religious and territorial means.

Catch up with the latest news from Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey.

Another chance to win a £50 Stanley Gibbons voucher.

Alison Boyd looks into the stories behind some more new stamp issues.

A summary of recent and forthcoming issues.

More faux fun from the Hedley Adams Mobbs collection.

SG Catalogue Editor, Hugh Jefferies, seeks help from readers regarding a modern GB variety.

Your 14-page update to the Stanley Gibbons Catalogue.