Fundy Stamp Collectors Club
P. O. Box 302
Moncton N.B.
E1C 8L4
Since 1997
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The Philatelic Corner
By Paul-Emile Bourque
Moncton, NB
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Atlantic MailsA history of the mail service between Great Britain and Canada to 1889 by J.C. Ameli (1980) The National Postal Museum (1980) ISBN 0919882-072Given the growing interest in early Canadian covers, I decided to highlight one of the major publications of the National Postal Museum written by Or. Jack C. Ameli in collaboration with Kenneth S. Mackenzie, research officer at the National Postal Museum. Or. Ameli has the merit of being one of Canada's foremost postal historians. This book regroups Dr. Ameli's research on the British transatlantic mail service from 1851 to 1889. In addition, most of the covers illustrated in his book are from Dr. Ameli's private collection. Indeed, this is a magnificent book well researched, documented and . illustrated. It beholds a wealth of information on transatlantic communication for this period. Sixteen chapters dedicated to the beginnings of the transatlantic mail packet service, the establishments of packet ports, the connecting routes, the postage rates and postal markings. The appendices present reference material, tables of transatlantic sailings and maps. I particularly enjoyed viewing the numerous early stampless covers, the illustrations of the ports and the packet vessels. As one reads through the book, a better understanding of the history and evolution of the transatlantic mail service emerges. In addition, the book serves as an important source book for the postal historian. I highly recommend this book for those who have a keen interest in early Canadian covers. This book certainly helps one gain detailed knowledge into the routes travelled by these early covers. In closing, this classic book is certainly a must have for your philatelic library. Although the book is somewhat difficult to find, it is still available occasionally in philatelic auctions.
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Editorialc o 37 Saunders St., Moncton, NB E1B 4N8 We determined that the cost of a Post Office Box was too high for the small volume of mail received on a monthly basis. The other major news item coming form the club is the announced dates for BRUNPEX 2009. The annual show will be held on Saturday, September 12, 2009 from 10am to 4pm. The show will again be held at the Rotary Lodge, on St. George Boulevard in Moncton. Despite its somewhat isolated locale, the club and dealers last year felt the location to be a significant improvement. Also of note, this will be the Tenth Anniversary of the BRUNPEX Show. In other club news, meetings have been held monthly, with a variation of one page presentations, buy selltrade, and feature presentations. During the May meeting those in attendance were treated to two presentations. New member Howard Dyer gave a short talk on his recent vacation in Ecuador, along with copies of some of their stamps. This was followed by a presentation on train stamps, by Harvey Terris. Harvey added to his train stamps from Canada, United States, and Great Britain by displaying scale models of various trains from these countries that were depicted on the stamps. Comparing the art work on the stamps with the scale models was very interesting. The Fundy Stamp Collectors Club holds regular meetings monthly, from September to June, on the first Thursday night, 7:00 - 9:00pm at the CN Pensioners Club on Curry St. in Moncton. Attendance varies from 10 to 15 members. A short business meeting is followed by a presentation or one-page exhibit by various members. Look for the next issue of The Fundy Stamp Club News in October 2009.*** Don Mills, editor e-mail: donmillscanada at yahoo.com |
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The Beginner's Circle -- Encore By Ron Messenger, MonctonReprinted from Issue 17, February 2007 |
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DRYING STAMPS
After the stamps receive a final bath, carefully pick them up with your fingers and lay them flat on a paper towel (face up) in a single layer,
making sure the stamps do not touch each other. Then cover the wet stamps with another paper towel and give it a gentle press to blot the excess
water from the face of the stamps. You can use old newspapers to dry the stamps but the printing ink from the newspaper may ruin the back of the
stamps. These days, newspapers have a lot of colored printing (photos, comic strips, ads etc.). Never dry stamps on the colored part of the
newspaper - it will stain the stamps. Drying the stamps properly and flattening them is very important for their final appearance. Inexpensive stamp drying books can be bought from stamp dealers (about $4-5 for ordinary ones). I recommend you buy one such book. After the stamps have dried partially between two paper towels (plain, white kinds recommended), move them into the stamp-drying book. Stamp drying books have alternate plastic-like pages (on which no stamp adhesives can stick) and blotter pages. You start from the last page of the book, which is a plastic page. Lay the stamps face up on this page and cover them up with the blotter page. Turn the next page. It is plastic. Lay a second group of stamps face up on this page and turn the blotter page over it. In this way you use the book from last page to first page. Whether you are drying one page full of stamps or the entire book, remember to put some heavy books (like dictionaries) on top of the drying book so the stamps can flatten out nicely. Stamp flattening presses are available on the market, but there is no need to buy those unless you are collecting stamps for profit. In three to four hours the stamps will dry completely and flatten out nicely. I often leave the stamps in the drying book overnight. After taking them out of the drying book, I lay them flat on a table and let them air out for a few minutes. Next time: "Hinges, Mounts, Tongs" |
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