Stamp of success at club’s meeting

The Lanarkshire Philatelic Society met in Hamilton last week and gave a warm welcome to four guests from the Caledonian Philatelic Society.

They presented a superb set of displays to members.

Ian Mason, president, showed a postal biography of a German trader, Hermann Holper. The covers progressed through his working life to his joining the German Army, and followed him to his stay in field hospital and to his eventual return home.

They each bore Nazi postmarks and Third Reich symbols. The speaker pointed out that the covers illustrated how a postal service could be used by the state as part of an autocratic propaganda machine.

The second display by Alan Blakely presented the theme of‘temperance’ through illustrated envelopes, postcards, letters, stamps, postmarks, song sheets, biographies and letter headings.

George Henshilwood, who, in bygone days, was a pupil at Hamilton Grammar School, showed that Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887 was commemorated with special ‘Bantam’stamp issues. These, half the size of the 1p stamp, were used for newspapers and postcards. They were all displayed – along with the higher values issued in 1890 and 1892. Also special postmarks used to celebrate the event were viewed.

The final display, by Elizabeth Nairn, gave members an insight into the migration history of New Zealand and the development of relationships with the Maoris. Stamps were issued from 1855 with Queen Victoria’s head – and gradually Maori symbols appeared in the border of the stamps. Over the years Maori symbols, artefacts, culture, crafts, tattoos and personalities were illustrated on the stamps. In 1987 the Maori Language Act declared Maori as the official language of New Zealand and the Maori names of areas of the country began to appear also. In 1997 the words of a Maori Christmas carol appeared on a set of stamps, and in 2017 English words with the comparable Maori word appeared on a stamp issue. It was remarked that this was an interesting display of the developing relationship with the natives of the country.

Member George Jamieson gave warm thanks for such an entertaining evening presented by the four guests.

The next meeting will be in the Caledonian Bowling Club, Motherwell Road, Hamilton, on Friday, March 17, at 7.30pm when ‘Two Good Doctors’– Doctors Dow and Liddell – will present their display‘perthshire’.

Anyone with an interest in stamps, postal history, postcards etc is very welcome to attend.

More details of the society’s programme - and much more information – can be obtained from www.lanarkshireps.co.uk