Summer

Philately is a new interest of mine, for no real reason than that I had not given it much attention before. My ignorance on the subject changed around five years ago when I was admiring a few first day covers that my father had: a keen stamp collector, he has amassed thousands of stamps over the years. I had just completed a GCSE in astronomy via evening classes; with my curiosity piqued, I started to wonder what astronomy- and space-themed stamps were out there.

In 1974 Robson Lowe published an illustrated monogram on this correspondence to commem-orate his visit to the National Philatelic Exhibi-tion held in Pretoria. The collection was sold privately at the time, and 46 years later it has resurfaced, intact, to be offered in the October Stamps & Covers of Southern Africa auction.

It is all hands on deck in our London office. Between September and December we boast no less than nine auctions ranging from the highly anticipated first part of the ‘Dubois’ collection of Jamaica postal history and stamps to a hugely exciting sale of worldwide rarities, the ‘Doyen’ collection.

The recent Canada & British North America e-Auction at Spink New York showcased the diversity of the country’s philatelic history, with items ranging from early stampless covers through to modern errors and varieties.