The British North America Philatelic Society’s Map Stamp Study Group has issued its latest Xmas 1898 Map Stamp Report.
The second issue since the group’s revival this April, following a roughly 13-year hiatus, the newsletter serves as a launching pad for the group’s nearly 30 members, who include novice collectors and experienced specialists. Their focus is the 1898 two-cent stamp (Scott #85) that’s considered the world’s first Christmas issue, although it was meant to mark the introduction of imperial penny postage while boasting about the British Empire’s vastness.
Like in the first Map Stamp Report, released in April, report editor Scott Robinson, of Pierrefonds, Qué., highlights the series’ basic terms and concepts, its various “plates and states” and key publications and reference guides. In addition to other articles, the latest newsletter also includes a research request regarding the earliest appearance of the stamp’s black plates and ocean colours.
To read the newsletter, visit bit.ly/3z7ANJk.