The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) has published the second edition of Guide to the Postal Stationery of Iraq by authors Clayton Rubec and Akthem Al-Manaseer.
The first 2016 edition stands among the RPSL’s best-selling books. This second edition has 30 additional pages of new material, including previously unreported examples of Ottoman postal stationery used in its Iraq vilayets, more “British in Occupation” and Indian Expeditionary Force postcards and envelopes plus British India sovereign stationery. The book’s cover shows an image of the unreleased – and probably the rarest Iraqi postal stationery item – 1933 Faisal I 20-fils orange aerogramme.
This new edition also offers expanded sections on the 1954 and 1957 unreleased proofs of Faisal II aerogrammes and new formula postal stationery from 2019. Foreign commemorative items, including proofs, that are included mark the world’s first aerogramme, created in Iraq. A postcard marking the World Heritage Committee’s designation of the internationally important marshes and antiquities of southern Iraq and newly recorded proofs of Inland Postal Orders, Inland Postal Money Order forms, and Iraqi International Reply Coupons round out additions to this second edition.
This new book is aimed at anyone interested in Iraqi and Mesopotamian philately. It aims to list all postal stationery used in Iraq during the Kingdom of Iraq and Republic of Iraq periods. Covering the period from 1863 to 2021, this second edition summarizes new information from many sources that is additional to that presented in the first edition. Illustrations are mainly drawn from the authors’ own collections. A rarity index is provided. A broad definition of postal stationery is used. This recognizes that collectors may be interested in material that complements formally recognized postal stationery. Sections 2 and 3 of the book discuss many possible Ottoman, British India and other postal stationery items that may be found with postmarks from Mesopotamia. These sections indicate the range of Iraq-related postal stationery possible for a collector. Specimens, essays, proofs and examples of printing errors are noted in the text. Information on forged items is included for clarity. Three appendices and an index complete the text.
Clayton Rubec was a Senior Habitat Scientist in Canada’s Federal Ministry of the Environment up to 2008. Since then, he has led a series of environmental consultancies. He has authored about 50 philatelic publications. He has been a member of the British North American Philatelic Society, the Postal History Society of Canada, the American Philatelic Society and the Nicaragua Study Group.
Akthem Al-Manaseer is the Charles W. Davidson Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at San José State University, California, USA. Professor Al-Manaseer is an FIP (Fédération Internationale de Philatélie) accredited juror and a US National Accredited Philatelic and Literature juror. He is a member of the Club de Monte-Carlo de l’Élite de la Philatélie and has served as the President of the Council of Northern California Philatelic Societies. He is a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society, London and is an expert on Iraq philately. He has received several special awards and Large Gold/Gold medals for his exhibits on Iraq, Baghdad and Mosul, and Transjordan.
The book is £23 for RPSL members and Fellows or £25 for non-members.