Guernsey Stamps Philatelic News November 2013

Philatelic News

November 2013 Vol. 9 No. 12

When Santa got stuck up the chimney

Raymond Evison 25 years of Gold

www.guernseystamps.com

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Welcome 2013 was another busy year for us.

At the beginning of the year we produced our first Augmented Reality (AR) stamp in our Guernsey Marine Life issue. A challenging and successful project that will enable us to use AR to add extra interest to some of our future stamp designs.

We also commemorated a couple of fantastic events, the 200th Anniversary of our local newspaper ‘The Guernsey Press & Star’ and the 100th anniversary of the West Show, our very popular traditional farmers show.

The big UK event of the year was The Birth of HRH The Prince of Cambridge and we produced a miniature sheet to complement the existing miniature sheets we issued for the Royal Engagement and Wedding.

With Christmas just round the corner, this autumn we bring you some wonderfully illustrated stamps featuring Rudolph and Santa from two of the most well known childrens songs. With our final issue for the year we are celebrating one of Guernsey’s most successful growers Raymond Evison who has achieved his 25th Gold Medal at Chelsea Flower Show.

Next year sees the start of our Lunar series as we celebrate the Chinese Year of the Horse.

Later in the year we will be bringing you the first issue in a five year series commemorating The Great War. It promises to be a poignant serives highlighting the devasting impact on generations of Guernsey families as their men went off to fight for their King.

I wish you a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year and hope that our forthcoming issues continue to inspire you!

Forthcoming Issues

Guernsey

8 January 2014 Lunar Series - Year of the Horse Set of 6 stamps, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack, Sheets of 10, Souvenir Sheet, Souvenir Sheet First Day Cover, Limited Edition Souvenir Sheet Gold Replica, Souvenir Folder for set of 4 stamps 12 February 2014 Endangered Species - The Orangutan Miniature Sheet, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack

Alderney 12 February 2014 Alderney Ladybirds Set of 6 stamps, First Day Cover, Presentation Pack, Sheets of 10, Souvenir Sheet, Souvenir Sheet FDC Tariffs, programme details and issue dates are subject to change without prior notice.

APOLOGIES FOR ERROR Our July 2013 Vol. 9 No. 10 edition featured our 200th Anniversary of the Guernsey Press & Star.

We incorrectly referred to a green 1/2d stamp as half a shilling and shilling. It was of course a half penny.

Keep an eye open for news stories, competitions and special offers on our Facebook page and get the chance to see our new issues here first. www.facebook.com/ guernsey.philatelic Follow Guernsey Stamps on Twitter: www.twitter.com/guernseystamps

QUICK & EASY ORDERING

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Vote for your favourite Guernsey or Alderney Stamp issue of 2013

40 ALDERNEY

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The Life of BEATRIX POTTER

The yearbook & album pages are on the way The 2013 collection of Guernsey and Alderney stamps is due for despatch in early December, priced at ÂŁ62.79 you only pay for the stamps!

Album pages will be despatched to standing order customers in the usual way in early December too.

A PERFECT XMAS GIFT!

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Mermaid Tavern

Tell us which is your favourite stamp issue and be entered into our prize draw to win a 2014 Islands of Guernsey Calendar.

Use our order form to enter the prize draw or enter online at www.guernseystamps.com Competition is open until 31 December 2013.

Entries for the prize draw competition are only accepted through our website or by post using the stock list order form.

Guernsey & Alderne The creator of both our Guernsey and Alderney Christmas 2013 stamp issues is Devon based artist Nick Watton. Nick has worked with Guernsey Post on a number of philatelic projects over the last eleven years designing and illustrating stamps covering a range of subjects.

Working mainly in watercolours and oils and with a love of sketching, Nick knew from a young age that he wanted to paint. Now, some years on, along with commercial assignments, he exhibits throughout the UK and demand for his original paintings and commissions continues to grow.

We’re pleased to be able to share with you a little bit more about Nick including how he approached this latest Guernsey Post assignment: “I have loved drawing and painting from an early age. All my school projects were accompanied with as many illustrations as possible. My headmaster at primary school told my parents that I would be some sort of artist and I can’t remember a time that I wasn’t painting or drawing. It’s so much a part of who I am that I feel restless if I go very long, without at the very least, a bit of sketching.

Having graduated from Falmouth College of Art and Design in 1990, I was never in any doubt as to the direction my career would take and I have been an artist all my professional life.

Discussing his relationship with Guernsey Post Nick tells us, I completed my first stamp issue for Guernsey Post in 2002, when I was asked to illustrate Les Casquetes lighthouses and I’m delighted to have enjoyed over a decade of varied and interesting subjects to cover on their philatelic material since then.

I love designing stamps and am proud of the fact that a little piece of my artwork can be posted all around the world, or that someone might like it enough to pop it in their album.

When working on philatelic projects, the degree of research required varies from issue to issue.

ey Christmas Stamps The 2013 Guernsey and Alderney Christmas stamps were inspired by the words of the songs ‘When Santa got stuck up the chimney’ and ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ and further fuelled by my imagination.

Some of the previous stamp subjects I have worked upon have required extensive research.

For instance, it’s important that uniform design and details are correct and the exact specifications of wartime vessels or aircraft must be depicted - there is always an expert out there who will let us know if we’ve got it wrong! Luckily it’s in my nature to be a stickler for detail, and I always try to ensure accuracy. For example when working on the Centenary of the Titanic issue I wanted to make sure that my designs correctly portrayed the weather conditions and moon phase on the evening in 1912 when the Titanic passed Alderney.

Working on artwork for stamps is particularly interesting, the initial image is painted at four times actual size and when in the planning stages it is important to take into consideration the positioning of the lettering and the placement of the Queen’s head. It certainly wouldn’t do to have a faux pas in this area, such as steam coming out of her nose or a hand waving above her head!

It’s also important to bear in mind the clarity of the image once it has been reduced to the size of a stamp, to ensure the detail doesn’t get lost.

Sometimes there are specific complications depending on the medium used; for example the Christmas stamps were completed in oil paint which has a long drying time compared with other mediums; this therefore dictated the pace and order of the work. I had to work on the images in rotation, allowing the layers to dry, rather than completing one stamp design in full before moving on to the next.

I’ve really enjoyed working on the 2013 Christmas issues as they were particularly ‘jolly’ projects, I hope this comes through in the feel of the finished pictures.”

Presentation Pack £4.86

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First Day Cover £5.16

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Set of 7 stamps £3.96 35p - Santa gliding past the window 40p - Santa lands on the roof 53p - Santa is stuck in the chimney 55p - Children pulling Santa out 63p - Santa sneezing 71p - Santa leaving presents 79p - Santa continues on his way

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Date of issue 13 November 2013 Designer Nick Watton Printer Cartor Security Printing Values 35p, 40p, 53p, 55p, 63p, 71p, 79p Process Offset Lithography Stamp size 30mm deep x 40mm wide Paper 110 gsm unwatermarked/PVA adhesive Perforation 13 x 13.25 Cylinder A

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First Day Cover £5.16

Presentation Pack £4.86 Set of 7 stamps £3.96 35p - Santa tending Rudolph 40p - An elf comforting a sad Rudolph 53p - Rudolph & his snowmen friends 55p - Rudolph being callled names 63p - Santa surveying the fog 71p - Rudolph’s glowing nose 79p - Rudolph leads the way

Date of issue 13 November 2013 Designer Nick Watton Printer Southern Colour Print Values 35p, 40p, 53p, 55p, 63p, 71p, 79p Process Offset Lithography Stamp size 30mm deep x 40mm wide Paper 110 gsm unwatermarked/PVA adhesive Perforation 13 x 13.25 Cylinder A

World renowned clematis producer Raymond Evison, founder of the equally famous Guernsey Clematis Nursery Ltd, is this year celebrating his 25th gold medal at the iconic Chelsea Flower Show where he has been awarded no less than 11 consecutive gold medals in a row.

Our stamp issue 25 years of Gold showcases just some of the beautiful plants which have been cultivated by Raymond in the island of Guernsey – and indeed, the images featured on the stamps were taken by Raymond himself.

We spoke to Raymond about his many years’ involvement in the Chelsea Flower Show: “The Chelsea Flower Show has been part of my life for many years. In fact, I helped to build up an exhibit and attended my first Chelsea Show at the age of 16, some 53 years ago.

As well as exhibiting I have judged floral exhibits and gardens for a long time too. I was a garden judge for the first time in 1985 and have been the chairman of moderation for both floral and gardens for quite a number of years.

Since 2003 I am proud to say that I have been awarded a gold medal each year.

It doesn’t get any easier, though, and each year I try to create a different exhibit with a change in design and, of course, the introduction of one or two new cultivars (hybrids).

The planning for the following year’s exhibit starts immediately as the current one ends.

First there is the selection of the plants and their potting into larger pots. They grow all

summer and autumn and are pruned to make them strong, bushy plants. During the first week of January all plants are put into a cold store which gives them the winter chill that they need.

Different varieties are then taken out of the cold store at various intervals before the show date to grow and flower. Some need 10 or 11 weeks to come into flower whilst others may only need as little as 5 weeks to come out of dormancy, grow and flower, after their false winter chill.

Once we have the exhibit structure in place it takes 4 people 8 long days to arrange all the plants. This year we used about 3,000 plants and they produced 10,000 flowers, which all had to be in perfect condition for judging, so there’s a lot of pressure.

I still get nervous before judging. Will the judges like the new design? Will the flowers open on time? Are any too advanced if the weather is very hot?

We need to ensure that the plants have grown to perfection, whatever the weather, prior to the show. The plants then need to be transported so that they arrive in perfect condition – and so we are always nervous ahead of the crossing to England. The design needs to be correct and we need to stage the plants on time.

It is critical that the plants and flowers last through the six days of the show and, of course, we want to showcase our clematis in such a way that the visitors feel we have that ‘wow’ factor.

“It is a lot of pressure but it continues to be an extremely rewarding process.”

First Day Cover £4.81

Date of issue 13 November 2013 Designer Two Degrees North Printer BDT International Values 40p, 53p, 55p, 63p, 71p, 79p Process Offset Lithography Stamp size 30.56mm deep x 38mm wide Paper 110 gsm unwatermarked PVA adhesive Sheet 10 Perforation 13.75 Cylinder A Set of 6 stamps £3.61 40p - C.Samaritan Jo™ Evipo075N. 53p - C.Anna Louise™ EvithreeN. 55p - C.Chelsea™ Evipo100N. 63p - C.Edda™ Evipo074N. 71p - C.The Countess of Wessex™ Evipo073N. 79p - C.Giselle™ Evipo051N.

Presentation Pack £4.51

Sheets of 10 £36.10

Prestige Booklet £14.44

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New Stamps from Small European Postal Administration Cooperation, SEPAC

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Since 1996 a number of small European Postal Administrations have cooperated in a group called SEPAC. Today this group includes Aland, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Greenland, Guernsey, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City. All the members of the group have small home markets and face the same challenges, making it natural to cooperate.

On 24th September 2013, twelve of fourteen members of SEPAC launched a new joint stamp folder with one stamp ONL from each postal administration. £14.6Y The common theme of the 8 stamps is ‘Animals’.

All the stamps bear the official SEPAC logo.

The new stamps will be available in a folder entitled ‘Beautiful Corners of Europe 4’. It holds 12 stamps from each participating postal administration.

For more information, please log on to www.sepacstamps.eu or www.guernseystamps.com

The Royal Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London is the oldest philatelic society in the world, established in 1869 as The Philatelic Society, London.

“The Royal”, as we are universally known, is committed to moving with the times. We welcome new members who share our aims and objectives, from wherever in the world they may be. We hope that you find much of value on our website - www.rpsl.org.uk - of course there is more for members than for the casual user.

If you are interested in joining ‘The Royal’ please get in touch with John Triggs, the Channel Islands contact, on telephone +44 (0)1481 725847, email: jtriggs@cwgsy.net

soon to be withdrawn...

The History of Alderney Harbour withdrawal date 30 October 2013 Set of 6 stamps £3.46, First Day Cover £4.66, Presentation Pack £4.36, Sheets of 10 £34.60, Souvenir Sheet £3.46, Souvenir Sheet First Day Cover £4.66, Souvenir Sheet & Pack Insert £3.66

The Christmas Story Alderney withdrawal date 30 October 2013 Set of 7 stamps £3.80, First Day Cover £5.00, Presentation Pack £4.70

The Christmas Story Guernsey withdrawal date 30 October 2013 Set of 7 stamps £3.80, First Day Cover £5.00, Presentation Pack £4.70

Issues currently available

Superb illustrations of the West Show, illustrated by renowned artist Joel Kirk.

Date of issue: 24 September 2013

The Royal Birth

200th Anniversary of The Guernsey Press & Star

HRH The Prince of Cambridge born 22 July 2013.

Local headlines from 1893 - 2013

Date of issue: 24 September 2013

G U E R N S E Y

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ALDERNEY BAILIWICK OF GUERNSEY

02.06.1953

Europa: The Postman’s Van Superb illustrations of post van’s from the past, illustrated by renowned artist Robin Carter.

40p

Celebrating 60 years since the Queen’s Coronation

The 60th Anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation

A wonderful collection of images from the day of the Coronation, 2nd June 1953.

Date of issue: 8 May 2013

Date of issue: 29 May 2013

Guernsey Marine Life

Endangered Species: Giant Panda

A close-up look at the wonderful Marine Life seen in the waters of the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

Date of issue: 20 February 2013

Another superb wildlife illustration

by Joel Kirk for our Endangered Species series.

Date of issue: 20 February 2013

The Life of Beatrix Potter Wonderful new illustrations depicting Beatrix’s life.

Date of issue: 31 July 2013

Date of issue: 31 July 2013

Belvoir Bay

SEPAC: 100th Anniversary of the West Show

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Herm Island A paradise island which is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey is show cased in this wonderful issue.

Date of issue: 29 May 2013

Alderney Beetles As part of our Invertebrates series we are delighted to feature some of the beetles found in Alderney.

Date of issue: 20 February 2013

See stock list for Guernsey self sticks, Raymond Evison Wild Flora Guernsey definitives 1 and Coral and Anemones Alderney definitives.

All correspondence to: FREEPOST GU267

Guernsey Philatelic Bureau

Envoy House

La Vrangue

St Peter Port Guernsey

Channel Islands

GY1 5SS Tel: +44 (0)1481 716486 Fax: +44 (0)1481 712082 E-mail: philatelic@guernseypost.com www.guernseystamps.com

Channel Islands Specialists Society Anyone wishing to join the CISS, buy one of the Society’s excellent publications, or find out more, should write to: Moira Edwards 86 Hall Lane Sandon Chelmsford Essex CM2 7RQ www.ciss1950.org.uk