To most people, Madagascar was a series of very successful animated films starring the instantly recognisable ring-tailed lemur. To me, it was the place my father, as a British Intelligence officer attached to the Free French, saw out the Second World War.
INSIDER TRAVEL: MADAGASCAR Read Article »
Towards the end of 1647 and the first English civil war, Oliver Cromwell moved his family to King Street in Westminster o ‘an old wooden house lying between the Blue Boar’s Head Yard and Ram’s Mews’.
OLIVER CROMWELL’S WATCH Read Article »
Since the creation of the first wristwatch in 1868 for Countess Koscowicz of Hungary, Swiss watch manufacturers like Patek Philippe, Omega and Vacheron Constantin have been creating unique watches to meet demand from the ever-growing market.
TIME FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF COLLECTORS Read Article »
Insider readers may remember that we promised to let you know more about the incredible Second World War escape stories of John Humphreys OBE DL, who featured in our Chelsea Pensioners article in Issue 37.
JOHN HUMPHREYS OBE DL – THE GREAT ESCAPIST Read Article »
Waterloo Uncovered founders Mark Evans and Charlie Foinette have a shared history, as well as a deep friendship. They studied archaeology together at University College London before joining the army. Both chose the Coldstream Guards, the British regiment that played a vital role in the allied victory at Waterloo and continues to see
active service across the world today.
WATERLOO UNCOVERED Read Article »
Every collector has a moment that first connected them with their chosen area of interest. My passion for stamp collecting and philately is connected to a 20-minute geography lesson at school using worldwide postage stamps in the autumn of 1993. Holding so many different tiny, seemingly weightless pieces
of other countries in the palm of my hand captivated me completely.
VOICE OF A NEW GENERATION : CROSS-CATEGORY COLLECTING Read Article »
In the 16th Century, imitations of Roman coins were created by the artist Giovanni da Cavino of Padua, after whom some imitations are called ‘Paduans’. At the time da Cavino was living in Padua, working as a sculptor and jeweller, and making medallions of various kinds.
GIOVANNI DA CAVINO OF PADUA: MASTER OF THE HONOURABLE FORGERY JOHN-MELVILLE-JONES Read Article »
The romantic garden of Ninfa, just 65 miles south of Rome, was created by the Caetani family almost one hundred years ago, and lies among the eloquent ruins of a small but affluent medieval town, which in turn grew out of Roman and papal settlements, and passed to the Caetani in the early fourteenth century.
Ninfa, Caetani and Coins Read Article »
“If I do nothing else with my life I will make it solo, with no re-supplies, to the North Pole.” These are the last words my father heard as he died in my arms. The words had just welled up unexpectedly from a place deep inside, but my father and I both knew this is was the sort of thing he had been working towards. I needed him to know he had successfully handed me the baton, and that I was not going to stop until it was done, whatever the cost. If ever there was an unbreakable commitment, a vow even, it seemed to me that this was one.
DEFYING THE ODDS: PEN HADOW’S SOLO NORTH POLE EXPEDITION Read Article »
On 5th March 2020, Bob Galland gave an excellent talk on The Evolution of the British Franking System at the Royal Philatelic Society London, 15 Abchurch Lane, with a full display of hundreds of sheets and the usual presentation to the assembled audience of 86 members and guests. The Auditors were hap-pily ensconced in the office on the third floor trying no doubt to find a flaw in our accounts to justify their fee.
THE ROYAL GOES TO STAMPEX – VIRTUALLY!! Read Article »
