Black And White Stamps

I was wondering when you would box our ears,
and drag us back to the primitives.

Bhopal cnr letters B.L.C.I ?

Crete: nice images, no preamble
Crete (Rethymo)
russian sphere of admin
2 metalik handstruck locally, comes in either wove or laid paper.
Control mark in violet or blue

Why the use of the control mark?

Not at all sure, Rod, but I think BhopaL Central India

And while I have my Bhopal in Photobucket open, here is a sheet of Bhopal SG 53, the ½ Anna of 1884, perforated (well and truly)



with the spelling errors 'NWAB' for 'NAWAB' at Row 1/1, 'SAH' for "SHAH' at Row 1/4 and 'NAWA' and 'JANAN' for 'NAWAB' and 'JAHAN' at Row 3/2

Sorry rod222, indeed no preamble (although there was a one-line description below!) so let me try harder here.

Russian Post Office in Crete SG R4 was produced quite crudely. This value appears on three types of paper: (most commonly) wove, also laid and (rarely) quadrillé, with uneven streaky gum. These two blocks are wove.

The printer who was the Russian soldier Alexander Sokhatine first drew a grid in pencil (and the lines can be seen on these two blocks) and then handstamped each stamp one by one. For these two blocks he did a reasonable job lining up the stamps with the vertical pencil lines but on the left block the pencil lines run right through the middle of the stamps. On some blocks the stamps overlap.

The stamp itself says in Greek, "Rethymnon" (the town where the the Russian troops were based and the centre of the Russian area of administration), the abbreviation for "Provisional Post" and the value expressed in metallik. A metallik was 20 paras (half a piastre) so the value here was one piastre. I guess that metallik was the name of a 20 para coin.

I don't know why the control mark was used but I expect it was to add authority and probably also for accounting control. All three series of the Russian postage stamps in Crete have control marks as do most of the revenues issued by the Russian administration there.

While the control mark on the later trident issues was simply an eagle in a circle, these early ones use a large handstamp with an eagle and the Russian text, "Island of Crete Expeditionary Force". The handstamp was printed in violet and different shades of blue ink.

The first Russian Post Office stamps (two values including a 2 metallik red in the same design as these blocks and 1 metallik in a different design) went on sale on 1 May 1899 (old style) and the 2 metallik was replaced by these stamps in black after only four days because of serious problems with the red ink.

A total of 11,675 copies were sold of the 2m black and they were replaced by the first trident series (the ones without stars) which were issued on 27 May.

The Russian post offices offially closed on 29 July but it's not clear that it every performed as real postal service. However, postmarks are known from 14 post offices and these two blocks are cancelled with what is by far the most common postmark on this handstamped issue, a straight-line RETHYMNON.

Wow! brilliant.
That's what we like to read, Nigel.

Brickbats to Stanley Gibbons, they once used to
give currency history at the beginning of each
stamp issuing authority.
Metallick was an ornery topic to google before your
excellent coverage.

Russian presence:

1898 The Great Powers decided to impose their own choice and they captured Crete - The English took Iraklio, the Russians Rethimno, the Italians Chania, the Germans Souda, the French Sitia and the Austrians Kasteli Kissamou! Greece was then forced to withdraw its forces. The Cretan rebels were forced to accept the plan of the Europeans, who appointed Prince George of Greece as governor of the Autonomous Cretan State and placed it under their protection.

1898 Whilst the English were establishing the new administration in Iraklio, an enraged Turkish mob poured into the city, slaughtered hundreds of Christians, set fire to houses and churches and proceeded to all kinds of barbarous acts. While the river of Cretan blood spilled over so many years left the Europeans unmoved, the blood of the 17 English soldiers, killed in this final outbreak of Turkish barbarity, was the straw that broke the camel's back. The Europeans now realised what Turkish barbarity really meant, and they reacted strongly. They arrested and hanged the Turkish instigators and ordered the Turkish army to leave Crete immediately. On 2nd November, the last Turkish soldier left Crete. So, after 230 years, the period of Turkish occupation finally came to an end - it was one of the most nightmarish periods in Cretan history.
Autonomous Cretan State (1898-1913)

Steve

Does anyone else find that "Immortal Chaplains" stamp very moving?

Some history behind the stamp

By the way, the US four chaplains stamp (Scott 956) probably qualifies as showing the first non-president who had been dead less than 10 years. [It was about five years, in fact.]

Design changes made were:

The ship was changed to look like the historically correct
ocean liner and not a battleship

The portraits of the chaplains shows the four men as young
men in their twenties, the original depicted older men who
looked like they were in their fifties. The chaplains actually
ranged from mid thirties to mid-forties when they died.

Parts of the text were omitted:
the three faiths, "Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish"
the statement, "Died to save men of all faiths


The Original design



acknowledgement blair rcsd.

This Canada 1958 Free Press issue can truly be considered "Black and White and re(a)d all over"



(Rod, I will have to get a better scan - I think there are some insulators on the telephone poles on this stamp)

You appear to posess a seriously healthy memory BeeSee.

Alas, even Clark with his X-Ray vision had difficulty
with insulators on this issue...
but keep searching :)

But what is that little "P" doing in the top LH corner

Now, if you want black and white..and insulators,
we have to visit Mr. Z Nagy and his design
commemorating the anniv of the electrification of Hungary.

Rather a brave decision to commit your design to black and white.

No greater gift, can you give.

George L Fox, Clark V Poling, John P Washington and
Alexander D Goode sacrificed their lives in the sinking
of the SS Dorchester Feb 3rd 1943,
when they gave their life preservers to their fellow passengers.

More insulators!
Not a black and white pic though.


Although it could be....


Steve

Hey great scan Rod, you beat me too it! There is definitely insulators on those poles!

As for the "P", I believe it is an initial of the engraver - I will have to check that out when I get home from the office.

Steve, that black & white is an illegal entry on this page

For this stamp Scott specify "intense black". Painting by Henryk Rodakowski (1823-1894) "Mme Romanet" (Leonia Bluhdorn) the stepdaughter of the painter.