216. The Popes.

The election of Pope Francis I will no doubt see a flurry of stamp issues to commemorate his succession to the papal throne. Even now, employees of at least two philatelic agencies in New York and one in Lithuania are probably frenziedly manipulating photographs and text inscriptions on a computer screen so that they can be the first to produce stamps with various Commonwealth countries' names printed on them and thus be the first to cash in on the new Pope's face looking out from what would be promoted as a postage stamp. Which country will be the first to have stamps produced on its behalf with Pope Francis peering out from them? - Nevis?, Guyana? The Gambia? (a mostly Muslim country but what does that matter?), Tonga? Samoa? Mozambique? Uganda? Can they produce stamps in a shorter time than the conclave of cardinals managed to elect a new pope? - almost certainly, I would think. 

  Coincidently, I recently read John Julius Norwich's marvelous book on the history of the papacy titled, simply, "The Popes". The book tells beautifully the history of the various popes from the earliest times and if the Catholic church seems to be mired in scandal now, the present troubles pale into insignificance when compared with what has happened in the past. One chapter is titled "the Monsters" and covers the period 1492 to 1513 and deals with the notorious Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) and the infamous Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere) and another covers the period 858 to 965 with the splendid title "Nicholas I and the Pornocracy" in which Pope John XII makes an appearance ("He allowed the city [Rome] - indeed he encouraged it - to slide into chaos, using its wealth....to gratify his own passion for gambling and every kind of sexual licence"), as does Stephen II who had the body of his predecessor, Formosus, exhumed and put on trial, the corpse decked out in pontificial vestments and there is John VIII who was the first pope to be assassinated - by priests from his own entourage! Popes have been rather less controversial in recent times and one of the best philatelic items produced by a Commonwealth country was issued by Belize on 15 April 1986 to commemorate Easter of that year by depicting 8 of the Popes of the twentieth century with superb portraits of them by the outstanding philatelic artist, Gyula Vasarhelyi. The 8 stamps appeared as a sheetlet with an additional label at the centre:-

The top left stamp depicts Pope Pius X (Guiseppe Sarto) who succeeded Pope Leo XIII (Giacchino Vincenzo Pecci) in 1903. Norwich describes Pius as being "too quiet, too humble, too holy; and his very holiness closed his mind to original thought" but also "no-one doubted his essential goodness of heart". His holiness meant that in 1954 he was declared a saint, the first pope to be so elevated for about 400 years:-

Pius X was succeeded by Benedict XV (Giacomo della Chiese) in 1914 and he saw the Catholic church through the trauma of  the First World War:-

Achille Ratti was elected Pope on 1922 after Benedict's death and took the name Pius XI. During his reign the fascists under Mussolini rose to power in Italy and Hitler took power in Germany. It took years for Pius to recognise the dangers represented by Hitler - he had long been more fearful of the triumph of communism - but when he eventually recognised the true nature of Hitler, though he was very sick, he met the British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, in January 1939 and tried to instill courage in him to resist Hitler's demands and when he was unsuccessful he was heard to murmur as Chamberlain and his foreign secretary left the papal chamber, "Sono due limaccie" - "They're a pair of slugs" which in retrospect seems like a reasonable diagnosis by The Pope:-

After Pius' death, Eugenio Pacelle was elected to be Pope Pius XII on 2 March 1939. His lack of resistance to Hitler and failure to condemn the Holocaust against the Jews stand out as a shameful part of the history of the Papacy and will forever stain the record of his reign. John Julius Norwich writes, "It is painful to have to record that, on the orders of his successor, the process of his canonisation has already begun":-

The reign of Pius XII lasted until 1958 when he was succeeded by Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli who became Pope John John XIII. He was a much loved Pope and historically summoned the Second Vatican Council which brought the Catholic church into the modern era:-

When Pope John died in 1963, he was succeeded by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini who became Pope Paul VI:-

Pope Paul carried out a number of visits abroad including one to Uganda in 1969 and these visits seem to have been the cause of the issue of the first Commonwealth stamps ever to depict a reigning Pope (Malta, a devout Catholic country, had certainly previously issued stamps featuring the first Pope, Peter). he died in 1978 and was succeeded by Cardinal Albino Luciani who took the name, John Paul I.

However he died a month after his election, there were suggestions that he had been murdered, and he was succeeded by Karol Wojtyla who became Pope John Paul II. After centuries of Italian popes, the succession of Pope Paul II who was a Pole, was immensely popular and he played an important role in the downfall of communist rule in eastern Europe. He made many trips abroad and visited many Commonwealth countries including The United Kingdom:-

Belize issued a single stamp and a miniature sheet on 7 March 1983 to commemorate John Paul II's visit to Belize. The stamps were poorly designed (note the spelling of "welcome" on the miniature sheet) and very poorly printed by Litografia National of Porto in Portugal:-

The papal visit was also recalled by a set of 4 stamps and a miniature sheet which was issued on 22 December 1983 to commemorate Christmas, the designs being produced by Gyula Vasarhelyi and very nicely printed in lithography by Format International. The designs showed scenes from the papal mass held in Belize during the Pope's visit:-

Possibly the first ever Commonwealth papal visit stamps were those which had been those produced for Biafra which commemorated Paul VI's visit to Uganda. The were issued on 1 August 1969 and consisted of four stamps and a miniature sheet which is not formally listed by Stanley Gibbons Catalogue. Biafra was in a state of rebellion against Nigeria and Nigerian federal troops overran the territory on 10 january 1970 so the status of these first Commonwealth papal stamps is somewhat dubious:-

Saint Lucia marked the deaths of Pope Paul VI and his successor with an issue of 5 stamps which were released on 28 May 1979. The 5c value depicted the two deceased popes while the other values showed illustrations of Paul VI in the company of notable foreign personalities:- Anwar Sadat of Egypt (30c), U Thant, UN Secretary General (50c), Golda Meir of Israel (55c) and Martin Luther King ($2):-

When John Paul II died in 2005, Saint Lucia and Belize joined other Commonwealth territories, which included Seychelles and Kiribati, in participating in a small Crown Agents omnibus issue where each territory issued a single stamp, each depicting a different portrait of the Pontiff:-

Both of the above were issued on 18 August 2005 and were designed by Andrew Robinson and lithographed by BDT. In Blog 208, I have dealt with the various issues which mark the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI and we  must now see what awaits us in the way of stamp issues from Commonwealth countries which mark the arrival of Pope Francis.

215. Dr. Who 16 - Dr. Livingstone 0.

It says a lot for the values of Royal Mail, the British postal service, that while it will issue 16 different stamps on 26 March 2013 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a fictional television doctor, Dr. Who, whose achievements exist only in the minds of the people who watch the programme, there is no stamp issue to be made by the postal administration this year to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Dr. David Livingstone. missionary and explorer, whose achievements were very real and very great. Clearly there is very little profit to be made by commemorating the life of a truly great Briton in comparison with a character from popular television. This omission is disgraceful and demonstrates just how shallow and intensely profit-orientated those who oversee Royal Mail's stamp new issue programme really are. To be fair, there is a minor commemoration of the great man to be made on 1 May 2013 when Royal Mail will issue a "business sheet" of 10 x 1st class (total face value £6) Scottish regional stamps (Livingstone was a Scotsman) which will be sold for the exorbitant price of £14.95 so if somebody bought the sheet and used one of the stamps on their mail they would be paying a domestic first class postage rate of £1.50p (150% above the correct postal rate; so David Livingstone will clearly not receive any public recognition for his great achievements as the result of the production of this appallingly-priced item - who would be mad enough to pay £1.50 to send a first class letter?)

Clearly somebody buys these "business sheets" as Royal Mail will also issue a similar item on 16 April 2013 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the now-mothballed HMS Britannia, the former Royal Yacht, cost of the sheet again will be the incredibly cheeky sum of £14.95p. And there will also be a sheet of 20 stamps with attached "Smilers" labels to coincide with the "Australia 2013" Philatelic Exhibition to be held in Melbourne. I have long given up collecting these "Smilers" and "Business" sheets as they are ridiculously exploitative and I really do have better things to do with my money.

Doubtless, the post offices of other countries which have a deeper appreciation of history and an understanding of what really makes someone worthy of philatelic commemoration will make up for Royal Mail's neglect of David Livingstone and his achievements and we will see a number of worthy issues from some Commonwealth countries which commemorate this great man during the course of 2013.

In a previous blog, I mentioned the set to be issued by Jersey which commemorates the racehorse, Corbiere, but overlooked that there will be an attractive miniature sheet to accompany the issue. How wonderful to see original art being used on stamp design; Jersey really is doing quite well this year after last year's appalling diamond-encrusted nonsense. I cannot help pointing out that the horse gets 4 stamps and a miniature sheet depicting him while Dr. Livingstone warrants no stamps at all from Royal Mail (not to over-egg the point). Doubtless Stamperija will have noticed that David Livingstone was born 200 years ago and will not miss the opportunity to commemorate him on one of its multiple issues to appear from Mozambique and Uganda during 2013. The WWF Stamps website illustrates an issue to be released by Mozambique in March 2013, the design featuring Temminck's Ground Pangolin, one of the stranger-looking creatures to appear on a postage stamp and even stranger than the "Ood" which is featured on Royal Mail's Dr. Who miniature sheet:-

214. Killer Penguins.

A fun set of 4 stamps is to be issued by The Falkland Islands on 28 March 2013 entitled "Penguins, Predators And Prey". The stamps depict wonderful artwork by Tony Chater which shows local rockhopper penguins as well as one of its predators, the Johnny Rook, as it is known locally in the islands, and an unfortunate crustacean - the lobster krill - prey of the penguins to whom the Rockhoppers must be "Killer Penguins". 

 Other Commonwealth new issues include a set of 5 stamps and 1 miniature sheet to be issued by Tristan Da Cunha on 15 April 2013 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and a set of 4 stamps from Fiji, issue date not yet known, which include a charity surcharge  and commemorate the Fiji Paralympic Committee:-

Singapore issued a miniature sheet in a folder on 8 February 2013 which was on the subject of 6 signs of the Chinese zodiac with the individual stamps included in the sheet all in the style of lunar new year stamps which had been issued previously by Singapore:-

A set of 4 stamps was released on 28 February 2013 which depicted historic railway stations of Singapore:-

Future issues of Singapore in the first half of 2013 will be:- Pond life Part 3 (2 gummed stamps and a  booklet of self-adhesive stamps) issued on 20 March 2013, 50th anniversary of the first television broadcast in Singapore (28 May 2013) and "Our City In The Garden" (17 June 2013).

213. Commonwealth Dog Stamps Opinion.

In the last 2 blogs I have mentioned 2 new sets produced by Australia and Jersey which feature the topic of domestic dogs. A third issue has also just been released by Vanuatu on 27 February 2013. The issue consists of 4 stamps and 1 miniature sheet and the items are produced to the wonderfully high standard that Vanuatu stamps usually reach. I really like this set in that instead of depicting expensive pedigree breeds of dogs, the particular four-legged friends which are shown in the designs, are clearly local dogs of mixed breed shown in their local setting. And what a grand bunch of faithful friends they seem to be. The issue commemorates Sam's Animal Welfare Association which is a local Vanuatu charity which was founded after a local widow made a generous donation in memory of her husband and their faithful dog, Sam. The Association is made up of local volunteers who provide animal welfare services in Vanuatu and also carry out education programmes especially in local schools about the humane care of animals in the islands and the benefits of owning pets.

These excellent stamps were designed by Denise Durkin and lithographed by Southern Colour Print. They are exactly what small countries should be issuing - items of local interest and educational value at prices which actually reflect local postal rates in attractive and interesting designs. Vanuatu is one of the best postal administrations in The Commonwealth when it comes to issuing new stamps and I hope that  Vanuatu Post Office sells lots and lots of their excellent products. If only a few of the other Pacific island territories of The Commonwealth would follow Vanuatu's lead. Vanuatu also issued two other excellent sets recently - 2 stamps to commemorate the Red Cross and 4 Greetings stamps - both sets being released on 5 December 2012 and also designed by Denise Durkin and lithographed by Southern Colour Print:-

As "Dogs" seems to be the big theme at the moment, it is worth mentioning that the first stamp ever to depict a dog was issued by Newfoundland on 15 February 1887 as part of a definitive series for the colony which was printed in intaglio by the British American bank Note Company of Montreal. The one half cent stamp which aptly featured a Newfoundland was first issued in a rose-red colour and then reissued in November 1894 in black.  The red colour was reissued in an orange-vermilion shade in January 1896:-

Rose-red 1887

Orange-vermilion 1896

Black 1894

The Newfoundland dog re-appeared on the stamps of Newfoundland as part of a definitive issue which was released on 2 January 1932. A splendid specimen of the breed was depicted on the 14c value which was printed in intaglio by Perkins Bacon. The stamps were comb perforated 13.5. The stamp was reissued in 1941, this time printed by Waterlow in intaglio and with line perforation 12.5.

A final version of a Newfoundland dog design was issued by the country on 12 May 1937 as part of a long set which commemorated the coronation of King George VI. The set was printed in intaglio by Perkins Bacon:-

The Newfoundland was not the only breed to feature on the stamps of Newfoundland. Huskies were depicted pulling a sleigh on a 15c airmail stamp which was issued on 2 January 1931 on unwatermarked paper and reissued on 13 March 1931 on paper with a watermark which depicted the coat of arms of Newfoundland. The stamp was designed by AB Perlin and printed in intaglio by Perkins Bacon:-

The first British stamps to depict dogs were not issued until 7 February 1979 when 4 stamps were released each depicting a breed to represent one of the countries of The United Kingdom. The stamps were illustrated by lovely art work by Peter Barrett and were printed in photogravure by Harrison and Son. The designs depicted an Old English Sheepdog, a Welsh Springer Spaniel, a West Highland Terrier (Scotland) and an Irish Setter (Northern Ireland):-

A second dog issue followed soon afterwards with a stamp being released on 25 March 1981 as part of a set of 4 which commemorated International Year Of The Disabled. The particular stamp featured a yellow labrador working as a guide dog for blind people, a role for which the breed is particularly well-known. The stamp was designed by J. Gibbs:-

In recent years, a large number of Commonwealth territories have released stamps which illustrate the topic of dogs, both domestic and wild, and the less scrupulous philatelic agencies which produce stamps in the name of a number of poorer Commonwealth territories have found that "dogs on stamps" can be a big money-earner for them. I avoid most of those issues as I hate to be exploited by such agencies but I will certainly be adding the Vanuatu set of dog stamps to my collection.

212. More Dogs, A Racehorse, A "Disappearing" Princess And Madonna.

Jersey has a long list of new issues for the first half of 2013, all very nicely designed using original art rather than photographs manipulated with a computer, and generally featuring subjects with local relevance to Jersey while retaining an interest to a broad range of collectors. Following on from the Australian dog stamps mentioned in Blog no. 211, Jersey issued 6 dog-themed stamps on 8 March 2013 to commemorate the Jersey Kennel Club:-

An issue to be made on 11 April 2013 will move Jersey from the subject of dogs to horses when it releases 4 stamps which feature the racehorse Corbiere which won the English Grand National race in 1983:-

And from horse power to mechanical forms of transport with the issue of 4 stamps on 19 March 2013 which feature postal service vehicles as Jersey's participation in the annual Europa series:-

and more road transport with a set released on 2 April 2013 which consists of 6 stamps whose designs feature bus transport on the island:-

These are all excellent designs and are very collectable especially as they do not seem to be accompanied by any miniature sheets or booklets. My only complaint is that there are just too many sets being issued in a relatively short time period for such a small territory. Meanwhile the Lithuania-based Stamp Agency, Stamperija has released more philatelic items with the name of Mozambique printed on them. These productions number a total of 15 sheetlets (each containing 6 different stamps making a total of 90 stamps) and 15 miniature sheets and are said to have been issued on 30 October 2012 under the title of "Anniversaries II". These items are even more eccentric than usual and consist of sub-sets entitled "Princess Diana - 15th anniversary of her disappearance" (I thought she had died and not disappeared!):-

the 80th anniversary of the birth of Diana Fossey:-

50th anniversary of Charleston Lighthouse in the USA; Judo champions; NASA spacecraft (50th anniversary of Mariner 2); 165th birth anniversary of Mary Anning, fossil collector; the Fight against AIDS; Foreign "stars" of modern cinema"; "Expo 2012, Yeosu, Korea" - marine life; 75th anniversary of the "disappearance" of Gustav Dalen (designs feature lighthouses); 50th anniversary of Alouette I (satellite); 220th birth anniversary of Isaac Lea, conchologist; Bicentenary of the Battle of Borodino, where the French tyrant Bonaparte was halted in his invasion of Russia:-

"Stars" of modern music, including the US singer "Madonna":-

and the commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the birth of an altogether more deserving person, Dr. Christiaan Barnard, who performed the world's first cardiac transplant in 1968:-

Needless to say none of these items, except perhaps the AIDS issue, appear to have any connection to Mozambique itself but they clearly have great visual appeal to some collectors especially those who are interested in the subjects depicted and there must be a fair number of people who are prepared to hand over their money to Stamperija to obtain these items. An interesting phenomenon, isn't it?