Occupation Octagonals
Produced for use by an occupying army which was already in full retreat, Thessaly’s one and only issue comprised the world’s first octagonal stamps
Report by Adrian Keppel
Thessaly 1898 20pa rose, one of five values in an issue which was distinctive but short-lived
Thessaly may be close to the centre of modern Greece, but it has a chequered history, not all of it Hellenic.
Originally known as Aeolia, and mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey, it has been part of the Persian, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires.
Even after the Greeks regained their independence in 1830, they had to wait more than 50 years before they could incorporate Thessaly into the country, in 1881.
Philatelists know only too well the amount of effort that goes into building a great stamp collection.
It takes time and patience, as well as money.
They also know the importance of preserving and protecting their collections, in archive-quality sleeves and albums and in low-humidity rooms where they are not exposed to direct sunlight.
One of the most useful reference books any 19th-century collector could possess was the Reverend Robert Brisco Earée’s authoritative study of forgeries and bogus issues, first published in 1882 and unforgettably titled Album Weeds.
And if you want to appreciate just how valuable this kind of research was to early philatelists, you need look no further than the curious Amoy, Shanghai, Ningpo & Hong Kong locals.
Earée reflected nostalgically on these stamps, recalling that in his youthful days they were listed in many catalogues, prominently advertised for sale, and became a staple element of junior collections.
The Nicaraguan Mt Momotombo 5c blue, which helped change the course of the Panama Canal
The first attempt to construct a navigable link between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, by the great French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps in 1882, was stymied by landslides, malaria and yellow fever.
Together, these caused the deaths of almost 22,000 workers in Panama.
When the United States took up the challenge, its Canal Commission initially recommended a different route, through Nicaragua.
Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the greatest ever Presidents of the United States.
His time in office was spent trying to abolish slavery, save the Union and reunite the country as the American Civil War raged, and his tragic fame was cemented by the fact that he was assassinated within days of the conflict being resolved.
His austere, bearded face remains instantly recognisable today, and the words of his Gettysburg Address are still quoted regularly.
When rumours arose of a joint stamp issue to mark the 60th anniversary of Indonesian independence, both the Dutch and Indonesian postal authorities were quick to deny them.
That was no great surprise, as the colonial period still touches a raw nerve in both countries.
The last Dutch royal visit, for example, in 1995, was fraught with politics, raising difficult questions about whether Queen Beatrix should apologise for imperialism in what was then the Netherlands Indies (or Dutch East Indies), or voice concern over present-day Indonesia’s poor human rights record.
