Need Assistance/Advice On Importing An Iranian Stamp Catalog

Hey folks,

I recently identified a specialized one-country catalog of Persian and Iranian stamps. The catalog was published in Teheran.

Ordered the item from a European distributor who refuses to ship to the US. His position is the catalog may be covered by US sanctions on Iran and if the package were inspected, he (and I) may have issues with the US govt. He is willing and able to ship the catalog to Canada.

What knowledge does the forum have on whether scholarly works are covered in the import restrictions placed by the US on Iran?

Thanks for any insights.

"A ban on all Iranian-origin imports."

Which catalogue, if I may ask?

The Persiphila specialized catalogs (THE gold standard IMO) originate in the U.S.

http://persi.com/books/index.html

The other one that is frequently referred to for more modern material is the Farahbakhash catalogue, which can be gotten on ebay et al.

It's the Farahbakhsh. I choose this catalog based on comments in the forum that all eras of Persian philately are covered in 1 volume (vs. 3), and comments stating it is more up-to-date.

I looked for awhile and could not find one on ebay.

It depends on the era of Iran you collect and at what level. For post-1941 material, or if you are only planning to collect at a novice level, Farahbakhsh and/or Scott are sufficient. However, if you have any plans at all to "wade into the deep end of the pool" with respect to all the forgeries and reprints, the Persiphila catalogues are incomprarable. Nothing else comes close, at least nothing else published in English.

The coverage of the early material in Farahbakhsh is at about the same level as Scott... I would argue even more superficial.

I was hoping the Farahbakhsh catalog would cover the Pahlevi era definitives in depth as I believe there are many shades (hues). I didn't even see a catalog for this era for Persiphila.

For the Pahlevi Dynasty (1925-1941), you want this volume:

http://persi.com/books/RSP/index.html

I have an older edition in black & white, and while I'm seeing some color varieties, I'm seeing more perforation and printing varieties listed than color variants. If you could give me some specific examples, I can dig deeper.

I'm currently waiting for Mr. Sadri to publish a new edition of the 1897-1909 issues, due out by the end of the year, at which point he says he will offer an e-book "bundle" of all four volumes. The books themselves are not inexpensive, so any savings is a good thing. I prefer digital versions anyway.