the red stamp by miklos pinther

The stamp was designed by Guido Bach,

who was commissioned to do so by Wa-

terlow and Sons. The first supplies of this

stamp were printed in London, later

sheets were recess printed by the Govern-

ment Printer in Wellington, New Zealand.

Each sheet of stamps consisted of 240

stamps, arranged in 10 horizontal rows

each of 24.

Inside this issue:

New Zealand, First Map. 1

Errors on Map Stamps. 3

Miniature Messages. 4

Lesotho Water Project. 5

Denmark and Its Maps 7

Andrea Palladio 9

Tiki Tour 10

New Zealand's First Map Stamp, by Brian Marshall.

Special points of interest:

At the Auctions 6

Society News 8

New Issue Illustrations 10

Check List 11

Ballot 16

In 1901 New Zealand introduced a uni-

form postal rate of one penny for all first

class mail, regardless of whether the mail

was destined for delivery within New

Zealand or to somewhere overseas. Many

countries agreed to this, and dropped their

own postal rates accordingly, while other

countries, including the United States,

France and Germany, agreed to accept

letters from New Zealand carrying one

penny postage only, without charging

postage due. Australia, New Zealand's

nearest neighbour, on the other hand

threatened to return any letters that car-

ried only one penny postage.

To commemorate the introduction of

penny postage in New Zealand, a new

stamp was issued, commonly known as

the Penny Universal. It is New Zealand's

most studied stamp, mainly because it

was in use for a long time, so various

plates, different papers, and different per-

forating machines were used.

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Whole Number 28

January 2010

(continued on page 2)

“Penny Universal” “Penny Dominion”

The stamp has as its design a female

figure denoting New Zealand, standing in

front of a globe. This has caused some to

consider this stamp to be New Zealand's

first map stamp. The CartoPhilatelic Soci-

ety's Checklist lists it as New Zealand's

first “map stamp”. The design is clearly a

globe, but it is not possible to locate any

particular place on the globe – not even

New Zealand.

One newspaper response to the design

suggested it was actually a school teacher

trying to teach geography to an uninter-

ested class, and holding on to a cane.

The stamp was also issued with an OF-

FICIAL overprint, for use on mail sent by

government departments, and was over-

printed for use in the south Pacific islands

of Aitutaki, Niue and Penrhyn.

In 1907 the stamp was slightly redrawn,

and reissued. New Zealand became a Do-

minion in 1907, and the stamp now has

the wording DOMINION OF NEW ZEA-

LAND. The lines of shading on the globe

were drawn diagonally, whereas in the

1901 version they appear vertically. The

plates for the “Penny Dominion” (as it is

commonly called), were made by Perkins,

Bacon and Company, and the stamps

were surface-printed by the Government

Printer in Wellington. The final printing

of the Penny Universal took place in

1926. The “Penny Dominion” was also

issued with an OFFICIAL overprint, and

was overprinted for use in Aitutaki, Niue,

Rarotonga and Samoa. It was also over-

printed to commemorate the Auckland

Exhibition of 1913.

THE NEW CARTOPHILATELIST, NUMBER 28, JANUARY 2010 PAGE 2

A quite different view was given by

the American cartophilatelist Walter

Klinefelter. Writing in the September

1955 issue of the Carto-Philatelist he

commented that the map stamp was “...a

very fine example of cartography re-

duced to its bare essentials....here is a

small stamp so unpretentious in appear-

ance that its excellence may easily be

overlooked. Yet the uncrowded compo-

sition, the narrow frame of native deco-

rative elements, the restrained lettering,

all combine to provide a simple austere

design. In short, it is the very simplicity

of the design that recommends it for

more intent consideration”.

My personal view is that this stamp fits

into the “ugly duckling” category, but

nevertheless is suitable for “more intent

consideration” because it is New Zea-

land's first map stamp, and the different

printings give it an interesting complex-

ity worthy of study.■

New Zealand's first true map stamp

was issued in 1923.

Penny postage, introduced in New Zea-

land in 1901, remained the standard rate

until 1915, when rates were increased

because of the First World War. In 1923

the New Zealand Government decided

to reintroduce penny postage within

New Zealand, to places in the British

Empire, and to countries with which

New Zealand had special postal agree-

ments. Robert Francis (Frank) Joyce,

who was active in New Zealand phila-

telic circles, suggested that the design on

the stamp should be a map of New Zea-

land, to allow for easy recognition of the

country of origin on any mail carrying

the stamp, and the Postmaster-General

gave his approval. William Rose Bock,

a Wellington engraver, was given the

task of preparing the design and engrav-

ing a steel die for the production of the

printing plates. The stamps were printed

in Wellington by the Stamp Printing

Branch of the Government Printing Of-

fice, and were made available to the

public on 1 October 1923.

Immediately there was a problem.

When the first printings were made it

was discovered that a chemical reaction

was set up between the copper surface of

the plate and the ink, resulting in the

colour being affected and the plate be-

ginning to wear. Just two days after the

stamp went on sale it was necessary to

manufacture a new plate. Printings from

the first and second plates were made on

de la Rue chalk-surfaced paper. In

March 1924 a switch was made to Jones

thick chalk-surfaced paper, and in 1925

a further switch was made to Cowan

unsurfaced paper. The stamps printed on

the Cowan paper are the scarcest to find.

The stamps printed on the de la Rue and

Jones papers consisted of sheets of 240

stamps each, in ten horizontal rows of

24. The stamps printed on the Cowan

(NZ first map stamp, continued. from p1.) paper appeared in sheets of 120 stamps

each, in ten horizontal rows of 12. The

colour of the stamps printed on the de la

Rue and Jones papers is usually de-

scribed as carmine, whereas the colour

for the stamp printed on the Cowan pa-

per is usually described as carmine-pink.

The stamp remained on sale until stocks

ran out in 1925.

The stamp also appeared pre-printed on

lettercards from 1923 through to 1927.

Reaction to the design was generally

unfavourable. Noted philatelists of the

day commented adversely on the overall

design, commenting that the inscriptions

at the bottom of the stamp were rather

too large and heavy, while the value in

figures and the lettering for NEW ZEA-

LAND were too small. It was also noted

that the space in the center of the stamp

was not large enough for an accurate

map to be shown. The editor of the New

Zealand Stamp Collector referred to the

stamp as an “ugly duckling,” the New

Zealand Herald dismissed the stamp as

“somewhat plain,” and a comment was

made that the map must have been cop-

ied from an early chart of New Zealand

made before the coastline had been

properly surveyed. A strongly worded

letter to the editor of the New Zealand

Herald argued that “...it is not a map at

all: it is a very incorrect outline, with the

country itself as blank as an unexplored

continent!....the result is that we have …

an utterly faulty ground plan of this fair

Dominion... It is by far the poorest

stamp ever issued in New Zealand, both

in design and execution.”

Brian Marshall M.A., Dip.N.Z.L.S.,

FLIANZA, RLIANZA.

Subject Librarian – Geography and

Environmental Science.

Room M11

Level M, General Library,

University of Auckland,

5 Alfred Street, Auckland,

Private Bag 92019,

Auckland Mail Centre,

Auckland 1142,

New Zealand.

Phone: 64 - 9 - 3737599 ext. 88452

[email protected]

Map showing New Zealand's

correct outline.

Outline of New Zealand as shown

on the 1923 map stamp.


In 1999 Jean-Pierre Mangin, President

of the European Academy of Philatelia

published the first of two volumes of his

Guide Mondial des Timbres Erronés.

He identified his subject as “...errors of

conception and creation that affect en-

tire issues and convey a different mes-

sage from that intended.” It is to such

errors that this article is directed with

one more limitation. The stamp issues

under consideraton all have maps as

their subject. There are over 250 map

stamps with design errors. In a series of

articles in The New CartoPhilatelist I

have examined about fifty of them. In

this article I will focus on four more.

First, a bit of introduction. The errors

in question are not the notorious pro-

duction errors which effect one or two

stamps, but design errors, which effect

the whole issue. For example, Germany

2019 issued in 1998. This is a very nice

stamp which includes in its design a

ship and a portion of a map. All is well

until we remember some physics. No-

tice the flags that fly from the mast

heads of the ship. They all fly toward

the rear of the ship. The wind which

blows the flags must also power the

ship which is moving forward. So, if the

wind is filling the sails from behind

then it must also be blowing the flags

from behind! On this stamp and several

others the error is that the flags are

blowing in the wrong direction.

The Dominican Republic issued 351-

355 in 1940 to commemorate the 50th

anniversary of the founding of the Pan-

American Union in 1840. They feature

a map of the western hemisphere encir-

cled by the flags of the countries of the

Union. Here the problem is bad draw-

ing. North America from the Mexican

border with the United States to the

coast of South America looks like a

There are a number of drawing errors

on the map. Africa is separated from

Eurasia and the Strait of Gibraltar does

not exist. North America is unrecogniz-

able. Neither the Aleutian Islands, nor

Japan appear on the map. Madagascar,

Greenland and Ceylon are missing, and

India is only a bump on the southern

coast of Asia. Cape Horn, which

emerges from behind the sculptor‟s

head, has a strange shape. The Cape of

Good Hope is misshaped. Many islands

are omitted or misplaced.

At first glance, Guatemala C141 issued

in 1946 it is a beautiful stamp. But that

is an illusion which disappears upon

examination. The frame and the bird are

fine, but the map is a mess. On the

western hemisphere there is a large is-

land in the Gulf of Mexico and a strange

island in the south Pacific, the shape of

North America is distorted and Hud-

son's Bay is missing. On the eastern

hemisphere Europe appears as an island

separated from Asia, the Mediterranean

Sea is missing, Africa is disconnected

from Asia Minor and Australia is almost

as large as Asia. And finally, although

the dates on the stamp might indicate

that the stamp was issued in 1940, it

was in fact issued in 1946.

Errors on Map Stamps, by Diedrik Nelson.

Germany, Sc 2019

string bean. The Equator bisects Cen-

tral America. It should pass through

the northern part of South America.

Vancouver Island seems to be attached

to the mainland. Baja California is too

small. Cuba should be due south of

Florida (Where is Florida?). The island

of Hispaniola, which is the location of

the Dominican Republic should be due

west of Cuba. The shape and location

of the land masses in the Arctic are

wrong. Hudson Bay and Newfoundland

are missing.

Nicaragua issued a stamp in 1954 to

honor the United Nations as indicated

by the legend at the bottom of the

stamp. The design has the emblem of

the United Nations being engraved by a

sculptor.

Dominican Republic Sc 351-355

These stamps illustrate the errors made

and passed over by those who create

our stamps. Such errors are made by

every postal service, and mostly with-

out correction. For the most part the

only ones corrected are those that have

an incorrect value for the stamp.

Guatemala Sc C141. Nicaragua SC 750.

(continued on page 4.)


Clearly the interest is lost revenue, not a

correct design. According to Phyllis

Theroux, “Mistakes are the usual bridge

between inexperience and wisdom.”

You may draw your own conclusions.

The Dominican Republic, Scott 118

reads "Cinco" (five) while these are 50c

stamps (Cincuenta). The errors of these

stamps are said to be fabricated, even if

you have real stamps (check the perf).

(Errors on stamps, continued from page 3.)

Dominican Republic SC 118.

There is another kind of error on this

stamp with the map image reversed.

Jean-Pierre Mangin, Timbres des Error-

nes. I:189.

Image Reversed.

The true error on these stamps is the

border between the Dominican Republic

and Haiti which juts into Haitian territory

some 50 miles in the area of Lake Eri-

quillo and in the vicinity of La Citadelle,

claiming possession of the Hatian town

of Hincha. The border was finally agreed

on in 1929.■

Miniature Messages; The Semiotics and Politics of Latin American Postage Stamps, reviewed by Miklos Pinther.

Looking at the subtitle one might ap-

proach this book with caution:

“Semiotics and Politics?” Is this an ab-

stract, academic study? Perhaps it has

value for a political scientist, but would

it be useful for a philatelist? A perusal

of the preface and introduction, however,

quickly allays such concerns. The reader

will be attracted by the direct, personal

style and the considered manner in

which the author explains the connection

between semiotics and stamps. The

“power” of stamps… Child never uses

the word “power,” yet as a cartographer

this work reminds me of the opening line

in Denis Wood‟s book, The Power of

Maps, “Power is the ability to do work.

Which is what maps do: they work.”

Jack Child explains to us how stamps

work.

Let‟s clear the air; this book is not a

treatise on postal rates or postal history.

It is not a minute inspection of physical

or technical attributes. Rather, it is an

exploration of the thematic aspects of

Latin American stamps. For inspiration,

Child credits the work of David Scott in

his European Stamp Design: A Semiotic

Approach to Designing Messages. For

methodology, he adopts the semiotic

analysis work of Charles Sanders Peirce,

a 19th century American philosopher.

The author emphatically reminds us that

postage stamps are one of the “smallest,

densest, universal symbols” and that our

repetitive contact with them “reinforces

the impact of the semiotic messages”

they carry. He puts forth the notion that

stamps can indeed make valuable contri-

butions to academic studies, which he is

in a unique position to defend. A popu-

lar professor of cultural studies and con-

flict resolution in Latin America at the

American University in Washington,

DC, he was born and raised in Buenos

Aires, traveled extensively throughout

South America, and is a lifelong stamp

collector. He is also known to have

nudged his students, from time to time,

to include philately in their class papers.

Professor Child uses over 600 stamps

from all of Latin America as well as

Belize and Guyana (154 are reproduced

in a color insert) to dissect a broad range

of topics on stamps, from advertisement

to wars. The narrative is enlivened by

anecdotes of profiteering, errors, censor-

ship, and internal politics, among others.

Some will be familiar, such as the con-

troversial episode of the “Seebecks” or

the stamps of the Chaco War period. In

others, like the Falkland conflict or the

Antarctic claims, the reader will find

fresh, personal insight. And cartophi-

latelists will encounter plenty of exam-

ples of maps as national “iconographic

signs.” To accomplish all this, the au-

thor successfully weaves together a vast

array of publications, all carefully refer-

enced in over 400 endnotes. Philatelists

will find the index to the stamps men-

tioned a particularly helpful tool.

Originally, I came across this book

while searching for ideas on writing up

rejected stamp designs for a possible

future exhibit. The new way of looking

at stamp designs and the body of litera-

ture reviewed by Professor Child was an

eye-opener for me. It is hard to imagine

anyone undertaking a serious Latin

American philatelic study without con-

sulting this groundbreaking work.■

1David Scott, European Stamp Design: A Semi-

otic Approach To Designing Messages. Lon-

don: Academic Editions, 1995, 144 pp. Large

10x12 inch format; over 1300 illustrations,

most in color; bibliography and index to stamp

designers.

2For further research see also: Jack Child,

"Researching the Politics and History of Latin

American Postage Stamps at the APRL" in The

Philatelic Literature Review, Volume 52, 1st

Quarter / 2003, pp. 50-63.

Jack Child is a CPS member.

By Jack Child

Duke University Press, 247 pp, paper $23.95.

Articles Wanted.

The hardest part about being an

editor is having enough good arti-

cles of varying length to fill the

pages. Please write about your fa-

vorite map stamps and tell us why

they are important to you.

Martin Oakes


The back page of TNCP No. 27

(October 2009) features a sheetlet of 10

map stamps of the Malibamatso Valley,

Lesotho, as mapped in 1911 [See note.]

This sheetlet is part of a stamp issue that

deserves a comment for its special car-

tographic and geographic interests.

In 1996 Lesotho issued three sheetlets

of 10 (2 x 5) stamps (SG 1238-1267),

each forming a composite design and

covering 16 x 36 km of the Mali-

bamatso Valley. The three sheetlets are

portions of the national map coverages

at 1:250,000 scale as mapped in 1911,

1978 and 1994. While examples exist

from other countries of map stamps

reproducing parts of national map series

at so-called topographic scales, and

even sets for different dates, for exam-

ple UK 1991 Ordnance Survey map

series (SG 1578-1581), three blocks of

10 stamps of the same area for different

dates is novel. But there are special fac-

tors about the Malibamatso Valley re-

sponsible for this.

The Malibamatso Valley is in the ex-

treme north of Lesotho in the upper part

of the Orange River basin. Lesotho it-

self has two remarkable geographical

facts: it is an enclave, completely sur-

rounded by South Africa; and the entire

country is very high above sea level, the

lowest point of the country being at

1,400 metres (4,593 ft.).

Water is always scarce. The Lesotho

Highlands Water Project was created in

the 1980s for twin purposes: to allow

water to be stored and diverted into the

Vaal River in South Africa to supply

the major cities of Johannesburg and

Soweto; and to generate electricity

within the country rather than importing

from South Africa.

Already, by 1990, South Africa was

celebrating the Highlands Water Project

by a map stamp (SG 702) in a stamp

issue on various co-operative projects

in Southern Africa. On the map of Le-

sotho and its surrounds are shown the

water delivery tunnel running north-

wards to the Vaal River and the Orange

-Vaal water transfer scheme around the

west of Lesotho running southwards to

the Orange River.

The Lesotho Highlands Water

Project, by Roger Kirby.

The three blocks of Lesotho map

stamps show stages in the Malibamatso

Valley‟s development. The 1911 map

was produced by rough ground survey-

ing methods involving plane table and

theodolite traverses, resulting in very

inaccurate maps compared with the

later products. The 1911 map shows

some paths and only a few settlement

names which are mostly not present on

the later maps.

By comparison, the 1978 and 1994

maps were produced from aerial photo-

graphs by photogrammetric plotting so

the topography and rivers are much

more accurately portrayed. The first

stage of the Lesotho Highlands Water

Project installed the Katse Dam across

the Malibamatso River and a 45 km

tunnel to Muela, where hydro-

electricity would be generated. By

1994, the date of the completion of the

New Standard Map of Lesotho, the Ka-

tse Dam was nearly finished and the

stamps for this date show the Katse

Reservoir at the expected 1997 full sup-

ply level. By 1994, this part of the Le-

sotho Highlands Water Project had led

to new settlements at each end of the

reservoir as well as construction of new

roads, airfields and other infrastructure.

When the dam was completed in 1997,

at 185 metres tall it was the largest in

Africa.

The SG catalogues state that the

sheetlets were issued in conjunction

with a schools campaign to promote the

use and understanding of maps. But

without the Lesotho Highlands Water

Project this memorable 1996 set of

three blocks of map stamps would

probably never have been produced.■

South Africa, SG 702.

SG 1238-47 SG 1248-57 SG 1258-67

Note: To aid in collation this page was

added to the printed TNCP only.


On November 1, 2009, a brief story

circled the globe: China stamp fetches

record price. Carried by dozens of

online news outlets, this was stunning

information because new copies of two

of China‟s rarest stamps resurfaced and

were sold the day before for unprece-

dented high prices by John Bull Stamp

Auctions Ltd of Hong Kong.

THE AUCTION – There were three lots

of the China map stamps known as the

“Whole Country is Red,” Scott no.

999A (Yang W63): lot 751, single used

copy, final bid HK$276,000; lot 752,

s ing le mint co p y, f i na l b id

HK$356,500; and lot 753, upper left

block of four mint stamps, final bid

HK$2,300,000. A fourth lot, no. 754,

was a similar, larger size map error

stamp, which was never officially is-

sued (Yang W83). This was hammered

down at HK$3,680,000!!1 As noted by

the auctioneer, these stamps were the

stars of the sale. “No auction house in

China,” claimed John Bull, “has offered

7 copies in one auction.” No doubt

about it, it was a remarkable event.

A BIT OF HISTORY – So, how scarce

are these stamps? We do not know the

exact number in private collections, but

they are very rare indeed. Yet, some

time ago, there were other historic sales

of these stamps which are interesting to

note because it gives us a glimpse of the

strength of the Chinese philatelic mar-

ket. In the late 1980s, Unitric Philatelic

Company in Hong Kong conducted a

series of sales that was equally signifi-

cant. In April 1987 Unitric sold a large

used (?) copy of the “Whole Country is

Red” to a Hong Kong collector for

HK$73,000, and noted that only three

copies were recorded. In December

1988, it sold a large mint copy to a

Swiss collector for HK$205,000. In

this same auction there was also a top

margin block of four of the small stamp

which realized HK$155,000. And the

following year, in August 1989, Unitric

sold a lower left corner block of 8 small

stamps, with imprint, for HK$200,000

to an Indonesian collector.2 (The rela-

tively low price was possibly the result

of some marginal soiling.) At the time

this was believed to be the largest block

recorded. In October 1997, however, a

full sheet of 50 stamps was placed on

display at the China Philatelic Expo in

Guangzhou. The sheet is considered to

be a “national treasure” and valued at

over RMB10,000,000 or about

US$1,500,000.3 To round out the his-

toric valuation of these stamps we

should note that the 1998 Yang catalog

(12th edition) lists the small stamp

(W63) at US$18,000, and the large one

(W83) at US$90,000.4

THE STAMPS – Now let us return to

the stamps. The original report of the

John Bull sale by AFP (American Free

Press) was a little unclear because there

are two different stamps which are fre-

quently referred to as “The Whole

Country is Red.”5 As indicated above,

they are also commonly labeled as the

“small” and the “large” stamps. The

small one is a vertical stamp measuring

30x40 mm (Fig. 1). The large stamp is

horizontal with 60x40 mm dimensions

(Fig. 2). The small stamp was issued

on November 25, 1968; the large stamp

was completed but never released.

1968 was a tumultuous year in China.

It followed the Socialist Educational

Movement of 1962-1966 and the major

Cultural Revolution struggles of 1966-

1967. This year marked the beginning

of the movement of urban youth to the

countryside and the establishment of

Revolutionary Committees throughout

the country. The Ministry of Posts and

Telecommunications wanted to com-

memorate these achievements with this

issue. Graphic artist, Wang Weisheng,

was tasked to create the stamp. After

an initial design was rejected, he was

under some pressure to come up with an

alternative, which is the so-called

“small” version. The slogan written

across the map, “Whole Country is

red,” signifies the victory of the prole-

tarian Cultural Revolution and gives the

name to the stamp. There seems to be

29 red flags for the Revolutionary Com-

mittees, red balloons fly in the sky, and

the little red book of Mao‟s quotations

are waved by the joyful masses. Above

them, almost like an ethereal glow,

floats the map all in red, clearly the

focus of the design.

At the Auctions… by Miklos Pinther

1Prices realized do not include the 18% buyer‟s commission. The Hong Kong dollar exchange rate

has been quite stable, approximately 7.8 to 1 US$. For further information see the web site of John

Bull Stamp Auctions Ltd at http://www.jbull.com/default.aspx. 2Prices realized do not include a 10% buyer‟s commission. Information was kindly provided by

John Tsang of Unitric Philatelic Company, Hong Kong. 3For further information visit the web site of China National Philatelic Corporation at http://

www.cpi.com.cn/cpi-eng/index.asp. 4For further information on the status of philately in China see, Michael J. Leyden II, “Chinese

Philately is „Red‟ Hot!” in American Philatelist, October 1997, pages 946-950. 5For a more accurate report see Rick Miller, “Record realization for unissued Chinese stamp” in

Linn’s Stamp News, December 14, 2009, pages 1 and 13. 6Carla Michel has done extensive research on this stamp, particularly on how to identify forgeries.

For example see, “Ganz China ist Rot – Marken- und Brieffälschungen” in Die China-Philatelie,

no. 124, October 2002.

Fig. 1. The “Whole Country is Red” small stamp, Scott no. 999A.

Fig. 2. The “Whole Country is Red” large

stamp, Yang no. W83.

( Continued on page 8.)

http://www.jbull.com/default.aspx


It was only recently, that a man said:

”Something is rotten in the state of Den-

mark.” That person was the Danish

Prince Hamlet and Shakespeare the re-

porter. Beyond this I do not know much

about Denmark (Fig.1) except it is one of

the oldest monarchies in the world dating

from the 9th century.

It is situated in Northern Europe with

the capital Copenhagen and is a member

of the European Union. Denmark has

just one land border with Germany

(Fig.2.)

Denmark and its Map Stamps, by Volker Woesner.

All other borders are sea boundaries,

e.g. with Sweden and Norway. In medie-

val times until 1814 Denmark was one

of the largest Empires in Northern

Europe with Norway, southern parts of

Sweden and two German duchies,

Schleswig and Holstein (Fig.3) that were

also part of Denmark until 1864.

Today Denmark consists of the

mainland, numerous islands (Fig.4) and

two dependencies, Faeroe Islands

(Fig.5) and Greenland (Fig. 6.) Neither

are members of the European Union.

Fig. 1

Sc 937

Fig. 2

Sc 770

Fig. 3

Sc 1713

Well known to everybody is the Viking

king of Denmark, Harold Bluetooth

(around 970.) His name is used as a sym-

bol for short wireless connection of elec-

tronic devices.

Fig. 4

Sc 1023

Fig. 5

Sc 35

On July 12 to 17, 2009 a Conference on

the History of Cartography took place in

the Capital of Denmark, Copenhagen.

Fig. 6

Sc 70

To mark this event, four stamps with

historical maps of Denmark were issued

on July 15.

Fig. 7

Sc 1441

The first map (Fig.7) was a drawing by

Abraham Ortelius from 1570 and is the

oldest printed map of Denmark.

Fig. 8

Sc 1440

The oldest map of Denmark is depicted

on fig.8. It was sketched in 1552 by Mar-

cus Jordan and copied many times . This

map is a copy from 1585.

There is no scale but the relative posi-

tion of features is correct. The map

shows that Denmark possessed southern

parts of Sweden.

Fig.9 features a map of 1650 by Johan-

nes Mejer. Mejer was a mathematician

and an astronomer. The measurements

for the map were done by using geodetic

principles. The latitudes of places like

towns and villages were calculated by

measuring the elevation of the pole. The

longitudes were relatively correct. As the

map was very detailed, the Danish au-

thorities were afraid, the map would fall

into enemies‟ hands. So it was not pub-

lished until 1947.

Fig. 9

Sc 1439

The fourth and last stamp of this issue

(Fig.10) is a map from 1841 by the Royal

Danish Academy of Science and Letters

in Copenhagen. It depicts the mainland of

Denmark and the German duchy of

Schleswig.

This map is a correct cartographic map.

Trained land surveyors did all surveying

by means of triangulation networks. The

scale was 1:480.000. The latitudes and

longitudes are correct. The Prime longi-

tude in the map runs through Copenha-

gen.■

Fig. 10

Sc 1438

References:

URL: www. postdanmark.de

Catalogue on historical geodetic survey-

ing in Denmark.


GREETINGS!

By the time you receive this the holi-

days will be over and new year begin-

ning. All of the officers of the CartoPhi-

latelic Society hope you had enjoyable

times and we wish you best wishes for a

happy and successful 2010!

ELECTIONS!

As announced in the last issue of The

New CartoPhilatelist, it is now time for

elections. All officers are to be elected

for three year terms beginning April 1,

2010.

The nominees are:

President – David Wolfersberger (US)

Vice President – Mark Honig (NL)

Secretary/Treasurer – Alf Jordan (US)

European Representative –

Volker Woesner (DE)

Representative at Large –

Ed Vallery (US)

Al Underberg, who has served many

years as Vice President, has decided not

to seek re-election. Thanks Al for your

efforts on behalf of the Society.

2010 MEETING

As mentioned previously, the Society

will meet at the American Philatelic So-

ciety‟s StampShow 2010 in Richmond,

VA, August 12-15. No additional infor-

mation is available from the APS at this

time. As you look forward to 2010, plan

to attend this event. Our meeting will

take place on the morning of Saturday

August 14. Please let me know if you

are planning to attend so I can be sure to

keep you updated as more information

becomes available.

Some other thoughts Susan Featherstone found a site -

www.charlesclosesociety.org - for those

interested in studying the Ordnance

Maps of Britain and Ireland. It provides

information on these maps as well as

links to other sites that are of interest to

those who are interested in the “OS”

maps.

Susan also brought to my attention a

book, The Fourth Part of the World, The

Epic Story of History’s Greatest Map,

by Toby Lester. This is another book

about the Waldseemüller map, but after

reading the first few chapters it seems to

place this map in a larger context of

world history. I hope to have a review

in the next issue but meantime I would

recommend this book to you.

I just received a letter notifying us that

America on the Map received a Silver

medal at Chicagopex 2009. Congratu-

lations again to Miklos for the great job

he put in on this excellent volume, and

to all of the contributors. It is not easy

for a thematic publication to compete in

a show that is aimed more at traditional

philately, so a Silver medal is nice rec-

ognition for the book.

A few issues ago I commented about

being a “map person” like many of us

are. Here is another indication that I

enjoy maps. My wife and I travel by

train from our home in St. Louis to visit

our two daughters in Chicago. A regu-

lar road map does a pretty good of plot-

ting the tracks but I knew there had to

be a real “railroad atlas.” Sure enough,

a quick search on the „net found a series

of atlases called SPV Railroad Atlases

of North America. This is a series of 17

atlases covering all railroads in the US

and Canada. The maps are very de-

tailed, especially in terminals, and show

some major industrial sidings. In addi-

tion the owner and users of the various

tracks are noted. I will have this with

me on our next trip to Chicago (just to

be sure the engineer doesn‟t get lost!).■

Society News, by David Wolfersberger THE ERROR – The new issue was dis-

tributed early to some post offices, and

advanced copies were also given out to

officials. Within a few hours, however,

an editor of the Map Publishing House in

Beijing reported a problem with the map:

it did not include certain island groups in

the South China Sea, and most regretta-

bly, Taiwan was not shown in red. Au-

thorities of the People‟s Army immedi-

ately stopped the issue, and were able to

destroy all but a few copies. Thus origi-

nated China‟s most well known map

stamp error. The initial rejected design

was probably the large version. This was

actually a two-stamp set. One stamp

shows Chairman Mao and Lin Piao

greeting the masses. The other stamp is

very similar to the issued small version

with the map and the slogan. Written on

the bottom of both stamps is “Great Vic-

tory of Cultural Revolution,” which is

how this set is called more formally.

THE SURPRISE – It was a pleasant sur-

prise to learn that Wang Weisheng is still

around and apparently attended the auc-

tion. Afterwards he told AFP that for a

long time he was afraid that he would be

jailed for the error. The precise circum-

stances surrounding these two stamps are

still not well known. Hopefully, in the

not too distant future, Mr. Wang will

give an in-depth interview about his

work, perhaps to German philatelist

Carla Michel who is a foremost expert

on this topic and well respected in

China.6 ■

(At the Auctions, Continued from page 6.)

Bronze award for German map stamp unit in Berlin.

On October 10, 2009 a big stamp fair

took place in Berlin, Germany. Beside

the stamp dealers a one-frame exhibition

took place. 17 stamp units participated

with 5 frames each plus their publica-

tions. The map stamp unit won the

bronze award. Other competitors were

stamp units with ships, standardization,

trains, music, castles, history etc. The

gold and silver medal won –I hardly

dare to say it - the ornithologists and

zoologists, as always.

Volker Woesner, Cartophilatelist

Steam Powered Video is a British com-pany in its 26th year. In that time it has been responsible for popularizing the North American railroad scene in Europe and Australasia. The maps, authored by Mike Walker, have a lot of historical detail and are generally quite accurate. The railroad atlases of North America are di-vided by region. They may be found on line used or purchased new from the UK. Price about $30. Printed on quality art

paper with soft back cover stitch bound.

http://www.spv.co.uk/railroading.shtml

The Editor.

http://www.charlesclosesociety.org/


The souvenir sheet shows the façade

and floor plan of Villa Valmarana,

which Palladio designed in 1563 for

Grianfrancesco Valmarana. Because of

the death of Valmarana in 1566, this

villa was not completed as shown in this

drawing. Comparing a picture of the

villa as it appears today reveals many

differences from the plan: Windows,

second floor loggia, roof, and many

other details.

While some might not consider these to

be “map stamps,” they are beautiful ex-

amples of stamps showing plans of

buildings. I believe that these types of

stamps have a place in a map stamp col-

lection but as always the decision re-

mains with the collector.■

The €0.65 stamp shows the layout of

the Villa Capra or Villa Rotunda. This

was built by Palladio beginning is 1566

for a retired priest. Located near

Vicenza, Palladio‟s inspiration was the

Pantheon in Rome. In turn, Villa Ro-

tunda influenced hundreds of other

buildings around the world including the

White House in Washington, DC.

The €0.85 stamp shows the layout of

the San Giorgio Maggiore Church men-

tioned above. Construction was begun

in 1566 but not completed until 1610,

well after Palladio‟s death in 1580. This

is a beautiful example of Palladio‟s de-

sign elements of classical design being

used in a Renaissance building.

In 2008 Vatican City issued two stamps

and a souvenir sheet (Scott 1396-98)

honoring architect Andrea Palladio on

the occasion of the 500th anniversary of

his birth. Born Andrea di Pietro della

Gondolain in Padua, Italy, Palladio was

apprenticed to a stone mason and later

worked with sculptors in Vicenza. In

1537 he met amateur architect Giangior-

gio Trissino who led him on studies of

classical buildings, thus igniting Pal-

ladio‟s interest in architecture. Palladio

started his own architecture business in

1540. His reconstruction of loggias of

the Basilica in Vicenza led to big de-

mands for his services to design and

build villas and houses for the wealthy

in Vicenza and Venice. His first church

building in Venice was the refectory for

the Benedictine monastery of San Gior-

gio Maggiore. This was followed by

numerous other religious buildings in

Venice and elsewhere.

In total, it is estimated the Palladio

designed and/or build about 47 villas

and palaces, and 15 churches and other

religious buildings.

One of his most important contribu-

tions to architecture was his book I

Quattro Libri dell' Architettura [The

Four Books of Architecture]. This book

contained his architectural principles and

practical advice for builders. One impor-

tant aspect of this work is the set of me-

ticulous woodcut illustrations to illus-

trate the text. This book remains in

print today. One source even goes so far

as to state “Andrea Palladio is often de-

scribed as the most influential and most

copied architect in the Western

world.” (http://architecture.about.com/

od/greatarchitects/p/palladio.htm)

Andrea Palladio, by David Wolfersberger.

Scott 1396

Scott 1398

References consulted:

http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Andrea_Palladio.html

http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Services/Philatelic_and_Numismatic_Office/

_dettaglio_emissioni--id--Shop%20Francobolli--cat--2008--prod--F_2008_015.htm

http://www.boglewood.com/palladio/life.html Scott 1397

http://architecture.about.com/od/greatarchitects/p/palladio.htm

http://architecture.about.com/od/greatarchitects/p/palladio.htm

http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects/Andrea_Palladio.html

http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Services/Philatelic_and_Numismatic_Office/_dettaglio_emissioni--id--Shop%20Francobolli--cat--2008--prod--F_2008_015.htm

http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Services/Philatelic_and_Numismatic_Office/_dettaglio_emissioni--id--Shop%20Francobolli--cat--2008--prod--F_2008_015.htm


New Issue Illustrations by David Wolfersberger

Dominica 2680

Dominican Republic 1458

Latvia 754

In case you missed Mark Honig‟s de-

scription of the new sheet, “A Tiki Tour

of New Zealand,” on our website and

blog, this information is presented here.

Thanks to Mark for continuing to stay on

top of new issues and posting them on

our blog.

New Zealand issued a sheet of 24

stamps (Scott 2264) featuring various

sites and attractions around the country.

According to the New Zealand Post press

release, this sheet “provides Kiwi travel-

ers and tourists with an effective tick list

of sights and attractions across the coun-

try - and a visual record they can send to

friends and family of each region they

visit.”

A Tiki Tour, by David Wolfersberger.

So what is a “Tiki Tour?” According to

the information on the sheet, a Tiki Tour

can be described as the “scenic route” or

“roundabout way.” According to New

Zealand Post, a Tiki Tour “involves get-

ting from A to B via L&P. Your classic

Tiki Tour is all about enjoying the jour-

ney as much as the destination.”

Altogether some 88 sites and activities

are shown on the sheet. A poster is

available describing all of these and there

is a list on line at

http://www.nzpost.co.nz/Cultures/en-NZ/

AboutUs/MediaCentre/

MediaReleases/4August2009.htm.

The things shown range from hang glid-

ing to curling to skiing, from whales to

crawfish to blue cod, from a lighthouse

to an airplane to a caravan.

An interesting feature is in the upper

left corner. From Mark‟s note, this

“appears to be image of a „Tik,i‟ a

wooden or stone carving of human form

from Māori mythology where Tiki is the

first man.”

Wouldn‟t it be great to visit all of these

locations and sites, and participate in the

activities shown on this interesting sheet,

then mail a letter from each place with

the appropriate stamp? What a great

collection that would make!

Picture below.

http://www.nzpost.co.nz/Cultures/en-NZ/AboutUs/MediaCentre/MediaReleases/4August2009.htm



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%e2ori_mythology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%e2ori_mythology


MAPS ON STAMPS CHECK LIST

November 2009 to January 2010 Scott's Monthly Update

Issue

Date Country Issue Scott Cat.

# Format Grade Coverage Face

Value Michel SG

2009 Aruba Global Warming 347 Sheet of 4, 347a-d

A Southern US, Carib-bean on 347a; Arctic on 374b

200c, 2x250c,

300c

TBD MS444

2009 Australia Queensland 150th anniv. 3085a S/S of 2, 3084-85

A Detailed map of Queensland on margin

55c, $2.75

B86 MS3297

2009 Australia Australia's Favorite Stamps 3086 A Australia #15, map of Australia, on stamp

55c 3214 3208

2009 Australia Australia's Favorite Stamps 3086a Booklet A Australia #15, map of Australia, on stamp

55c Noted SP174

2009 Australia Australia's Favorite Stamps 3091 Coil S/A A Australia #15, map of Australia, on stamp

55c 3219 3213

2009 Azerbaijan Europa - Astronomy 896 AR Old globe 20g 758A 735

2009 Benin 15th Anniv. Council of Ac-cord

1419 Dahomey 334 surcharged

A Dahomey, Togo, Ivory Coast, Niger, Upper Volta

200fr on 65fr

1497 TBD

2009 Benin Cent. Int'l Meteorological Cooperation

C624 Dahomey C188 surcharged

A World 300fr on

100fr

1568 TBD

2008 Brazil General Administration of Posts, 200th anniv.

3063 A Brazil 1r 3572 3561

2007 Cape Verde 100th anniv. Airline TBD A World projection 10E 910 TBD

2006 Cape Verde Community of Port. Speak-ing Nations

872 A Globe 60e TBD TBD

2008 Chile Expo Antarctica Philatelic Exhibition

1521 A Antarctica 470p 2324 2250

2008 Chile Expo Antarctica Philatelic Exhibition

1522 S/S A Antarctica on margin 3000p B61 MS2251

2009 Chile Preservation of Polar Re-gions

1523 Pair, 1523a-b A Globe with Arctic on a, and Antarctic on b.

470p each

2326-27 TBD

2009 Chile Preservation of Polar Re-gions

1524 S/S of 2 A Excellent globe on1524a-b, Antarctic on margin

1500p each

B62 TBD

2008 Colombia National Institute of the Blind

1287 A Braille map of Colom-bia

1400p 2483 2523

2008 Cuba Flora and Fauna 4835 Pair with central label. Joint is-sue with Iran

A Cuba on 4835a, part of Iran on 4835b

75c each

TBD TBD

2009 Cyprus Cyprus Philatelic Society, 50th anniv.

1115 S/S A Globe with Cyprus highlighted

85c B30 MS1193

2009 Dominica Relationship with China 2676-79 A World in background, Dominica on flag

50c, 65c,

90c, $1

TBD 3635-38

2009 Dominica Relationship with China Not listed Mini-sheet of 6, 2679

A World in background, Dominica on flag

$1 TBD 3639 note

2009 Dominica Relationship with China 2680 S/S A World in background, Dominica on flag. Globe on margin

$5 TBD MS3639

2008 Dominican Republic

Discovery of Hispanola by Columbus in 1492

1458 A Hispanola, Columbus 10p 2149 2306


Issue



Value Michel SG

2008 Ecuador Int'l Swimming Federation cent.

1938-39 A World projection as part of emblem; world map on 1938

24c, 30c

3102-03 2783

2009 Egypt Int'l Francophone Day 2034 A World 150p TBD TBD

2009 Egypt Int'l Labor Org. 90th anniv. 2036 A World in background 150p TBD 2506

2009 Egypt Women's Peace Movement 2037 A Globe 150p TBD 2507

2009 Faroe Island Geological formations in Faroe Islands

513 S/S of 6, 513a-f A Various parts of Faroe Islands on 513c, d and f

6x10k B25 MS596

2009 France Chocolate 3682 S/S of 10, 3682a-j

A France on 3682e 10x55c 4690 MS4648

2008 Gambia Christmas 3171 A West Africa 25d TBD 5217

2009 Gambia Obama 3193 S/S of 4, 3193a-d

A Map of train route 25d TBD MS5252

2008 Georgia Europa 440 A Globe 1.0l 561 531

2008 Georgia Europa 440a Booklet A Globe 1.0l 561 note 531 note

2009 Georgia Anti-War Movement 455 S/S of 3, 455a-c A Georgia on margin 30t, 50t, 70t

TBD TBD

2009 Indonesia Opening of Suramuda Bridge

2187 S/S A Indonesia showing location of bridge

10,000r TBD MS3292

2009 Iran Persain Gulf 2961 A Persian Gulf 3000r TBD TBD

2009 Iran Economic Cooperation Council

2981 A Nice map of middle eastern countries

1300r TBD 3266

2008 Iraq National Reconciliation 1742 A Iraq 250d 1759 2245-47?

2009 Israel Environmental Quality 1778 Strip of 3, 1778a-c

A Partial globes on each stamp

2.30s each

TBD 1949-51

2009 Italy Italia 2009 Philatelic Exh. 2916 A Europe € 1 3284 3186

2008 Japan Travel Scenes 3063 S/S of 10, 3062-a-j

A Map showing location of sites in Kyoto, Ara-shiyama-Sagano, on margin

80y each

4673-82 3839-48

2008 Japan Iwami Silver Mine Site 3067 S/S of 10, 3067-a-j

A Map of mine location on 3067a

80y each

4686-95 3882-91

2009 Japan Travel Scenes 3092 S/S of 10, 3092a-j

A Map showing location of sites in Okinawa, Shurijo Castle-Kokusai Street, on margin

80y each

4768-77 3952-61


A Map showing location of sites, Okinawa, Oki-nawa Churaumi Aquar-ium-Yanbaru

80y each

4778-87 3962-71


A Map showing location of sites in Nara, Nara Park area

80y each

4818-27 3392-4001

2009 Kazakhstan Preservation of Polar Re-gions

590 A Arctic 230te TBD TBD

2009 Korea (North) Rocket launch 4855 S/S A Partial globe showing Korea

120w B724 TBD


Issue



Value Michel SG

2009 Latvia Nat'l Museum of History 734 AR Old map of Latvia in background`

35s 759 750

2008 Libya People's Authority Declara-tion

1715 A Globe with Africa high-lighted

500d 2912 TBD

2008 Libya People's Authority Declara-tion

1715a Printing varia-tion

A Globe with Africa high-lighted

500d ------- TBD

2008 Libya 6+6 Mediterranean Project 1723 A Northern Africa, Europe, western Asia

750d TBD TBD

2008 Libya Anniv of Revoluiton 1727 A Africa 1000d TBD TBD

2008 Libya Mobile phones in Libya 1728 A Libya 750d TBD TBD

2009 Liechtenstein Liechtenstein Philatelic So-ciety

1450 A Lichtenstein. Holes along outline of map.

130rp TBD TBD

2009 Lithuania 1000th anniv. Of Lithuania 897 S/S of 6, 897a-f A Europe 3l B39 MS980

2008 Macedonia Red Cross Week RA144 A Globe 6d 145 594

1999 Mali Millennium 1051 MS of 4, 1051a-d

A Arctic on 1051b 310fr TBD TBD

2009 Marshall Is-lands

US Military Heroes of the Air 938 Sheet of 16. A Marshall Islands on 938p

44c TBD 2318-32

2009 Marshall Is-lands

Postal Service 25th annv. 939 S/S A Marshall Islands 44c TBD MS2333

2009 Mexico World Environment Day 2620 A Globe with North America

10.50p TBD TBD

2009 Montserrat Charles Darwin 1223 S/S of 4, 1223a-d

AR Map of Pacific Ocean o margin

$2.75 each

TBD TBD

2009 New Zealand Tiki Tour of New Zealand 2264 Sheet of 24 + label

A New Zealand on stamps and margin

50c TBD MS3157

2009 Peru Earth Day 1680 A Globe 5.50s 2375 TBD

2009 Russia Hydrometeorological Ser-vice 175th anniv.

7139-40 A Weather map 8r, 9r 1548 7601-02

2009 Russia Hydrometeorological Ser-vice 175th anniv.

7140a Sheet of 8, four each 7139/7140

A Weather map 8r, 9r 1549 7601-02

2008 Vatican City Andrea Palladio, Architect 1396-97 A Layout of church 65c, 85c

1623-24 1547-48

2008 Vatican City Andrea Palladio, Architect 1398 S/S A Layout of church on stamp and margin

€ 2.80 B31 MS1549

2009 Vatican City Vatican City 80th anniv. 1410 S/S A Map of Vatican City on stamp and margin

€ 2.80 B32 MS1558

2009 Virgin Islands Exploriers - Columbus 1112 S/S A World $2 TBD MS1239

Italy 2916

Latvia 754

Vatican City 1410

Chile 1524


The CartoPhilatelic Society is a nonprofit philatelic organization with a world-wide

membership of collectors of maps on stamps. Founded in 1955, the organization

was rejuvenated in 2003. We are associated with the American Philatelic Society

and the American Topical Association. Annual dues are US$18 for residents of

North America, and US$20 for members residing elsewhere for hard copy, and

US$15 for PDF everywhere. You are cordially invited to join us and share our en-

thusiasm for maps on stamps. A membership application may be found on our

website or obtained from the Secretary. Please send your application and dues to

the Secretary—Treasurer.

Collectors of Maps on stamps

President &

Checklist Editor

David

Wolfersberger

768 Chain Ridge Road St. Louis, MO 63122

Vice

President

Al Underberg 6895 Colony Drive

South

St. Petersburg, FL

33705

Secretary-

Treasurer

Alf Jordan 156 West Elm St. Yarmouth, ME 04096

Webmaster Reese Plews [email protected]

Email addresses may be found on our website. www.mapsonstamps.com

© 2009 The CartoPhilatelic Society. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited without express permission of Editor or Author.

Editor: Martin Oakes

2100 Oriole Drive

Freeport, IL 61032, USA

Email: [email protected]

ISSN 1930-2053

Faroe Islands 513

Russia 7140a

Marshall Islands 939


Back of Ballot. This page intentionally left blank.


2010 ELECTION OF OFFICERS

OFFICAL BALLOT

President:

David Wolfersberger _____________________

Write in: _______________________________

Vice President:

Mark Honig _______ _____________________

Write in: _______________________________

Secretary/Treasurer:

Alf Jordan _____________________________

Write in: _______________________________

European Representative:

Volker Woesner ___ _____________________

Write in: _______________________________

Representative at Large:

Ed Vallery ________ _____________________

Write in: _______________________________

BALLOTS MUST BE RETURNED BY

FEBRUARY 1, 2010

We will be using the time-hono(u)red Critzer System of negative voting. In this system, if you don't approve of

the nominee, cast your vote along with the name of your selection to the Secretary-treasurer, either by postal

mail to:

Alf Jordan

156 West Elm Street

Yarmouth, ME 04096

Or by email to Alf at [email protected]

Any significant negative votes will generate a runoff election. Saves everyone a great deal of time and hassle

and is guaranteed to produce a 100% turnout. Please have all votes submitted no later than March 15th, 2010.

Thank you, Alf Jordan, Secretary / Treasurer

BALLOTS MUST BE RETURNED BY

MARCH 15, 2010

the red stamp by miklos pinther

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