Nixdorf ‘Pro-Postal’ Machine & New Machin Labels

As promised ( thanks to Larry) I can now divulge some of the details of these new Machins expected to be released to the general public on 8th October 2008.

They are in fact experimental Machin Labels, known as "fast stamps" and presumably will be available in different denominations. According to the source of the information "they will be dispensed from "The Nixdorf ‘Pro-Postal’ machine - and eventually to be rolled out to 700 UK Post Offices in 2009."

Further confirmed information

"The first Wincor-Nixdorf UK Post and Go Machine producing Royal Mail postage labels and Post Office ‘Fast Stamps’ will go-live on 8th October 2008 at the Galleries Branch, Bristol. This will be followed on 10th October 2008 at two locations -Sunderland and South Shields.

If you are interested in Postage Labels as a collecting medium more information can be obtained from Postage Labels of the UK . UK ATM Philately-A Modern Collecting Alternative By Brian Sinnott.

An Answer To My Poser & Results of The Poll

Thank you to all the people who took the time to answer our Poll.

According to the results of our Poll, 38% (19) of readers read this blog everyday, and 28% (14) visit at least once a week. Five people replied now and again and three just once a month. (8%) stated it was there first visit. As we try to post several times a week I do hope that you ALL now visit more often.

Considering these results I was a bit surprised that the feed back for an answer to my question was zero. We received no replies or should I re- phrase that to, no answers from anyone. Was It that difficult? Perhaps I should have offered a prize after all.

Time to put you out of your misery.

If you have these stamps above in your collections, then you have some great rarities to treasure. They all have an extra perforation hole. You will notice that the ellipses are set three perforations up from the bottom on these stamps. What a shame they are only Royal Mail publicty pictures!

(Left) The ellipses are only set 2 perforations up from the bottom on the genuine articles.

Still to come.

Larry has sent me extensive details of a new Machin , or new Machins which are set to arrive on 8th October.

Watch this space!

Valentines Love Booklet 15/01/08

Another issue which we failed to add a picture ( must be slipping) of was the Valentines retail booklet that was issued on 15th January 2008.

This was priced at £2.04 at the time of issue. The content of the book were changed from that produced in 2007. It now contains 2x1st class small format 'Smilers - Love' stamps on the left side and 4x1st NVI Gold Machins on the right side.

The book was printed by Walsall Security Printers in gravure. No cylinder number books exist for this printing , but as with the next two promotional booklets issued later in year (Ice Cream) and (Carry on) the right hand side of the pane has a vertical strip printed which runs from top to bottom.

Postage Rate Rise 2008

Reading through my last post, I realised that we have not yet had a picture of the Machins ( 4 values) Released 01 04 08 for the postage rate increase which took effect on 7 April 2008 except for a set of used values sent to Larry on cover from the MBPC.

Text Amended (thanks Larry)
=====================

Inland rates rose, 1st class from 34p to 36p and 2nd class from 24p to 27p. Large Letter rates increased from 48p to 52p and 2nd class from 40p to 42p.

International (European ) rates also increased from 48p to 50p, 10gr international letter rates increased from 54p to 56p, and 78p to 81p for 20 grams.

New pictorial definitives (Country Stamps) valued 50p and 81p were also issued for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

To save me the trouble of scanning these I toured the web to look for a picture of mint examples of these Machin stamps and found this (below)

It is a pre issue publicity picture from Royal Mail. Something struck me as odd (not looking right) with these pictures. It took me few seconds to figure it out. How observant are we today? Can you tell me what it is? No prizes for correct answers, but if no one replies within a couple of days or so I will reveal what it is.

A long year and Deep Pockets

If you are a main stream collector and have a regular order for everything, then to date it has been a long year, and if your name is Royal Mail a profitable one.

So far I have counted 39 individual stamp releases (not products, as Presentation Packs etc are not listed).

Lets go through them:

8th January:

This first issue of the year 6 stamps to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Ian Fleming.

A Miniature Sheet was also issued on the same day it contained one of each stamp. Then to finish we have a Prestige Book entitled 'Ian Fleming's James Bond.

Total 3
=====

15th January

Just seven days later Royal Mail issued another Love Booklet 4 x 1st class Machins and two love stamps. These booklets are printed by Walsall Security Print in Gravure and are self-adhesive.

Not satisfied with this we also see a new Smilers Sheet with circular labels and a generic sheet. issued on the same day.

Total 6
=====

5 February 2008

A set of 6 stamps depicting Working Dogs, values ranged from 1st class, 46p, 48p, 54, 69p and 78p

Total 7
=====

28 February 2008

The Houses of Lancaster and York. There was a set of 6 stamps and Miniature Sheet issued. Sheet values 2 x 1st 2x 54p, and 2 x 69p. The Miniature Sheet features the life and times of the age, with four historic events. Values are 2 x 1st class and 2 x 78p.

On the same date ( we are now only 8 weeks into the year) for booklet fans a nice promotional Greetings Stamp Booklet which features the six most popular 1st class greetings stamps from the previous booklets issued in 2005 /2006.

Total issues 10
==========

11 March 2008.

A slight rest of 10 days or so 'Glorious Northern Ireland'. A Miniature Sheet (4 stamps) 1st. Class - Carrickfergus Castle, 1st. Class - Giant's Causeway, 78p - St. Patrick & 78p - Queen's Bridge and Friendship Beacon and a Smilers Sheet (20 1st class) were issued.

Total 12
======

13 March 2008.

S.O.S - Rescue at Sea 6 stamps issued, 1st. class - Barra Island, Outer Hebrides; 46p - Appledore, Devon ; 48p - Portland, Dorset ; 54p - St. Ives, Cornwall ; 69p - Selsey, Dorset & 78p - Tenby

Total 13
======

1 April 2008.

New Machin Definitives & Country Stamps

New Country Stamps valued 50p and 81p were be issued for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales in the existing designs. Printed by De La Rue

Machins: 9p, 15p, 56, and 81p. The 9p stamp was printed with a new cylinder and there were differences compared with the previously issued stamp - namely the ' 9p' is slightly more rounded and the image of the Queen's head is much clearer.

Also on 1st April the Centenary of the Territorial Army was commemorated with a new type of Royal Mail product Commemorative Sheet consists of 10 x 1st class Union Flag stamps and commemorative labels. These sheets will be sold for £13.50 a premium over face value.

Total 15
======

15 April 2008.

Two weeks respite before the next issue (very nice of RM to give us a short break) 10 x 1st class stamps depicting Action for Species 2 - Insects .

Total 16
======

13 May 2008

British Cathedrals: a set of 6 stamps. The stamps featured several Cathedrals : 1st. class - Lichfield, 48p - Belfast , 50p - Gloucester, 56p - St. David's, Wales , 72p - Westminster & 81p - St. Magnus, Orkney, Scotland .

A Miniature Sheet was also issued on the same day, a se-tenant block of 4 stamps showing the interior of St. Paul's Cathedral.

We mentioned this booklet recently, also issued on 13th May. 'Ice Cream' Greetings Retail Booklet

Total 19
======

10 June 2008

Classic Carry On & Hammer Films, 6 x stamps : - 1st. class - Carry On Sergeant, 48p - Dracula, 50p - Carry On Cleo, 56p - The Curse of Frankenstein, 72p - Carry On Screaming & 81p - The Mummy.

There was also a Retail Booklet with 6 x 1st class Machin definitives and a 'Carry On Collecting' advertisement.

Total 21
======

17 July 2008

Air Displays : A set of 6 stamps and a Smilers Sheet. The Stamps : 1st. class - Red Arrows ; 48p - RAF Falcons ; 50p - Red Arrows display ; 56p - Avro Flypast ; 72p - Parachute display & 81p Air Race.

The Smilers Sheets featured the 1st. class stamp and is entitled ' 100 years of Aviation '

Total 23 issues
===========

24 July 2008

It had to come! Commemorative business Sheet - 1908 London Olympic Games 10 X 1st. Class Flag stamps with commemorative labels. This sheet went on sale for a staggering £13.50. £1.35 per stamp!

4 August 2008

Beijing 2008 Olympic Expo Smilers Sheet. 20 x 'Hello' 1st class stamp, printed by Cartor in Litho.

Total 24
======

22 August 2008

Olympic Games Handover Miniature Sheet of the Olympic Flag from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to London for the 2012 games. 4 x 1st class stamps. This was a joint issue with China Post.

Total 25
======

18 September 2008

Losing count now! Military Uniforms - RAF a set of 6 stamps and a Prestige Book.

Total 27
======

29 September 2008.

Next week we see two more issues Country Definitives Miniature Sheet .There will also be a Prestige Book issued.

Thats not all, 29 September will be the day for the next Glorious UK - Smilers Sheet. A total of 20 stamps. 5 x 1st class stamps from each of the four countries together with labels showing scenes in Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland & England.

Total 30
======

14 October 2008

6 new staps to commemorate Women of Distinction. 1st. class - Millicent Garrett Fawcett , 48p - Elizabeth Garrett Anderson , 50p - Marie Stopes , 56p - Eleanor Rathbone , 72p - Claudia Jones & 81p - Barbara Castle. What! no Maggie Thatcher??

Total 31
=====

4 November 2008

As per usual we come to the Christmas Issue. a set of 6 stamps, a Miniature Sheet and a Smilers Sheet to be issued, not to mention the 1st class booklets, 2nd class booklets to name another 2.

Total 36
======

6 November 2008

We have still got time for a few more so lets finish off with a bang 'Lest We Forget' to commemorate the 90th Annivserary of the end of the First World War. There will be a Miniature Sheet and Smilers Sheet issued also in addition to all this, the Poppy stamps which were issued over the last three years will also be issued se-tenant in ordinary sheets.

Have I forgotten anything, are there any more issues lurking in the shadows that I have not heard about, if not then we have it.

A grand total 39 issues in 12 months.
==========================

An E-mail From Tony Carter

I am always greatful to readers who respond to this blog, It does infact give me the opportunity to post something for all to read. Tony Carters e-mail is reproduced below.

Dear Roy,

I am sorry I have not replied before now, it is a busy life of a sales rep that takes the blame. Many thanks for producing the information on Large PiP stamps As a novice I found it of enormous value.

I thought you may like this further information on large PiP stamps from the Anniversary of the Machin Booklet (to produce on your blog) it was sent to me from a acquaintance in Brighton.

"Tony,
I have been informed (by someone in the know) that the only source for a se-tenant pair of the Large Pi P stamps is the Machin Anniversary Prestige Booklet Pane printed by De La Rue in Gravure - OFNP/PVAl


This was first issued 5th June 2007. I do not know of the number of booklets produced for this issue, but I feel due to Royal Mail cut backs of late, notably Prestige booklets (along with Presentation Packs) have been greatly reduced.

As this is the only source to date of these two different pairings and the fact that all new Prestige books are to be produced in Litho in the future. These pairs of large PiP stamps are unique and will most certainly rise in value over a period of time". I. J.R

A big thank you to Tony for sending this information. If this is correct then the other panes will also increase in value. Does anyone know how many Anniversary books were issued?

If you have a topic you wish to raise please send my self or Larry your e-mails or alternatively respond to any of the posts on site.






..Roy

Well I am afraid there is not much (news wise) to report on the Machin front at this time, except I had a email from Rosie Blackburn informing me that the lists contents of the Machin home, which are up for auction are now online.


"This is just to let you know if you hadn't already seen it in the press. The contents of Garmelow Manor - Machin's former residence are being sold by Cuttlestones Auctioneers on 19th September and !st October following the death of Francis Machin, Arnold Machin's son last year.


As well as the contents of the family home there are one or two important pieces of memorabilia being auctioned including an original plaster relief mould of Queen Elizabeth which was used in the design of the stamps and an original sketch for the 2d stamp done in 1967"


You may remember Larry wrote about this sale a couple of weeks back. I also posted a follow up a few days later.


This is a link to the gallery of images from the sale.


You will notice that lot 77, is a circular original plaster cast coin mould, depicting Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.


Lot 78 is described as A rectangular ceramic molded relief panel, depicting Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, probably Royal Worcester, 32 x 22cm.

lots 80,81, 82, and 83 are also related to the Machin head as they are 4 lots described as A Collection of Royal Mail first day covers addressed to Arnold Machin Esq OBE RA, £1 value.
Amazing how many of these covers are entering the market just lately, both Larry and I blogged about these signed covers just a short time ago.

(To save you searching back postings) these can be found here also here and here.

R A F Uniforms Machin Pane

As explained below, written on 11th September. The second Prestige Booklet in the forces uniforms series is to be issued on 18th September. This is priced at £7.15. The actual theme will be 'Royal Air Force Uniforms'.


I can now show you a picture of the se-tenant Machin pane, it will contain 4x1st NVI gold and 4 x 2nd NVIs, surrounding a label with the RAF emblem. This booklet will be produced by Cartor, however the panes will be printed by Walsall Security Printers.

Above is a picture of the Machin Pane in more detail

This is the second time that this R A F emblem has been used for the label on a Prestige pane. The previous one (below) was used for a central label on the Breaking Barriers Machin se-tenant Pane (DP271) issued nearly ten years ago on the 13th October1998.

Phosphor Under Ink

Dave Price e-mailed me with a question. "What is Phosphor Under Ink (PUI) and how can I find out if I have these variations?"

Phosphor under ink :

Certain stamps printed on FCP have a milky appearance, this is caused by the phosphor being printed first, then the stamp image printed over the top. The best way to test for these variations is is to hold the stamp up to the light, the bands will appear milky and lighter than the none phosphor area.

Two values that come to mind are the 4½p Pale steel blue (Oct 1974) from Booklet Panes DP23C, 6P pale green from sheets, cyl 8 (Oct 1973) and 6p (Oct 1977) cyl 4 (printed on the Halley Press).

There are others, 11p, 12½p to name another two , but without checking a current catalogue I do not have the source or printing details to hand.

More information on Phosphors can be obtained on my website here and here

....Roy

R A F Uniforms Prestige Pane

Royal Mail embargo's seem to be on so many products these days, why all the secrecy? Not a mention of a new Machin for the Diamond wedding but heaps of speculation.

Anyway, I have now managed to locate the image of the Machin Pane from the Military Uniforms - RAF Prestige Book – due to be issued 18th September 2008. So either it was not publicised (enough), I have not seen it or there was an embargo, if the later the embargo for this issue must now be over.

This is reproduction of : The Dambusters Crew Cover Produced by : Bradbury (BFDC) the only place I have come across a picture of the pane.

Pane 3: From the booklet will be - 4 x 1st class and 4 x 2nd class Machin definitives.

These panes will be printed by Walsall. The printing will be in litho - so the definitives will be printed in litho for the first time since the James Bond Prestige Book .

A Diamond Machin

Peter London writes in the comments department.

"I understand that a "White Machin" will be issued by Royal Mail on 29 October 2008 (??) - no further details as yet, there is speculation as to whether this will be similar to the "Millennium Machins". No reason for the issue has been given - perhaps this is going to be the Diamond wedding celebration Machin"

Well I have to admit I have heard nothing about this except for Larry's original speculations. Do you have any more information? Has anyone else heard anything?

......Roy

HONG KONG

When those Machin Men contacted me to ask whether I would care to contribute to this wonderful blog, my first reaction was one of enormous pride! But that was fiollowed immediately by a panick attack! Hong Kong Machins? But I know naught 'bout them Asian stamps. After having quietened down a bit, I realized that that was probably also the case for many of you, dear readers. For we have all heard of them, we probably all have a few copies of them, but what do we really know about these Machin stamps from Hong Kong?

And that's a pity, for the Hong Kong set is the largest Machin definitive set outside GB, and Hong Kong was always very, very kind to Machin. Not only do we have the proper Machin set, but in the past Hong Kong issued three more Machin sets with that other Machin head! And these, too, are real beauties!

So let's have a closer look at the 1992 definitives. For it was in that year, on 16 June to be precise, that the Machin stamps were introduced in Hong Kong. The design was by I. Leung. The main bulk of the set are, of course, sheet stamps. These were printed in gravure by Enschedé. The low values are of the normal GB Machin small format, perf 14.75x14. The high values are larger, almost like the Machin predecimal recess high values.

The markings on the sheet margins include the cylinder numbers. Three plates were used, two for the background colours and one for the Machin head. All my copies have A1 for all the background colours and A7 for the Machin head cylinder.

I suppose, therefore, that the machin head cylinder was used for all values, which would explain the higher number, as more plates will have been used due to wear, etc. If you know of any other cylinder numbers, do let me know! The traffic lights (Asian style, ie square) are also included on the sheet margins. I don't know if there are any other interesting markings, such as printing dates, printer's logo, etc. So again, let me know if you know!

The high values have a security peforation. This does not consist of the usual elliptical perforation, but the four corner perforation pins are larger. You hardly notice this on a single stamp, if at all, but in blocks the effect becomes much more obvious.

In 1996, phosphor bands (yellow) were introduced on the then current and new values.

Together with the sheets, coil stamps were issued. These were printed in the same way, and therefore not readily distinguishable, apart from the clipped perfs at the sides. But every fifth stamp in the coil has a number on the back. This is printed under the gum, so used copies should still have that number intact.

The miniature sheets form an interesting part of the set, because a) there's been quite a few, b) they're quite colourful, and c) they contain stamps that have not been issued in sheet form. This goes especially for the $10 stamp. This stamp was actually included in various miniature sheets with completely different colours! If I'm not mistaken, there are 8 different colour combinations to collect. Shown here is the apple green, carmine & black stamp from a 1996 miniature sheet.

The Hong Kong stamps can also be collected in booklets. Again a very interesting part of the set, because these booklets were printed in lithography. They also yield various se-tenant pairs.

Enschedé was not the only printer involved. Leigh-Mardon, in Melbourne, Australia, was also employed for the production of booklets. Their stamps, too, were printed in lithography. The Leigh-Mardon stamps are easily distinguishable, however, because the printers used paper with the watermark "Crown over CA".

And that concludes a brief introduction to this wonderful Machin set. It should be enough to get you started, but when you feel the urge to delve deeper into the subject, I would recommend the Deegam Handbook, which is the only source, as far as I know, where you'll find some more detailed information. Enjoy the hunt!

Adrian

I Am Not Insane, Just Stupid

Referring to my previous post today and Adrian Keppel's wake up call in the comments department, another thought hit me (two in one day) am I spending to much time on this Mania thing of ours? To make such a stupid error, even though the stamps were issued 41 years ago, the answer must be an obvious YES.

I am going to join Larry and wear a dunces cap for a week. I should also find something better to spend my time on. Do you want the windows cleaned Love? ;-)

Whilst on the subject of Adrian I mentioned his blog last week, I took a tour of his pages and found several mentions of Machins, Country definitives and other stamps of GB. If you have not yet found the time to browse his blog I suggest you find the time. You will not be disappointed.

There are also some wonderful informative posts on Hong Kong Machins which I found of great interest. I know that he enjoys writing philatelic articles so I am going to write to Adrian later today and ask him if he would consider joining our team to re post his musings about the Hong Kong Machins on Machin Mania.

I hope he accepts!

Stopping At The Trafic lights

Yesterday in between shopping for supplies, lounging around the pool, cleaning the car and dossing around in general I found myself with a couple of hours to spare. Nothing unusual there!

What to do now before dinner? After a deliberation I decided to surf the web for a while before the wife found me more jobs, she tends to leave me alone if she thinks I am working on something :-)

My first stop was this site to read up on any comments left over the last few days or so. By the way thanks to those of you who left them, we are always pleased to receive your thoughts.

My attention was then drawn to Larry's post on Machins with traffic lights which I read again. Larry stated that "In the Machin series, traffic lights only appear on the large-size photogravure high values"

Here is the second set of traffic lights I mentioned in my comments to Larry, these are situated in the bottom margin , under the second stamp from the left.

Deep in my mind I remembered seeing them somewhere else and I was pretty sure they were on a earlier Machin block, but which one? In a process of elimination I racked my brain, I then determined that they could only exist on a bi colored stamp of which there are only two from the pre decimal era. the bi-coloured 1/9 stamp is shown below left (without the printers marks)

Another memory flooded back, two years ago I sold some pre decimal blocks of 4 with printers check marks in the margin, but these were of the square type similar to the check dots at the bottom of the ATN printings.


Could I be imagining things? Am I cracking up? Do these really exist? Undeterred I set off searching the web to see if there was any reference to them. After what seemed like an hour but was actually two. I gave up, no joy whatsoever, I must have imagined it.

Having given up, my next stop was to check eBay just to see if anything of interest hit me. Well knock me down with a feather duster what did I find? You have guessed it and here it is! (left)




Or is it? This is not one of the bi -coloured stamps I mentioned above only 9d and 1/9 values were bi -coloured. The sellers description has not helped he just states it is a block with missing phosphor.

I have come to the conclusion that the darker mark could be a registration colour mark. But this still leaves the lighter one, is it a registration hole or an actual traffic light?.

I will leave this now for you the readers to decide, what do you know of these traffic lights (if they are in fact traffic lights). I do not profess to be an expert and I think this post kind of proves that. I am more confused now than I was before I started on this quest. HELP!

Lets have your views!

£10 Britannia Stamp ( Another Machin?)

Relax folks, this is not a follow up to the James Bond post detailing Pussy Galore, but again it is not really about the Machin Head Profile we all love......... well 99% of us love it! Even the wife has caught the Match-in bug as she pronounces it!

Whist Larry is on the subject of high Values, I thought it may be a good time to reflect on another stamp that was printed in single sheets of 25 (5 x 5) by the House of Questa in offset lithography.

This stamp has the Machin outline head, also known as the Laurel- Leaf bandeau head in profile, normally used on Special issues.

2nd March 1993 was the date that the Royal Mail released the highest face value postage stamp to date. It was needed due to the ever increasing postal rates for overseas parcels and the fact that there was not enough room for several lower values. Strange really as this stamp was actually twice the size of 2 x £5 of the time.

With this stamp came new security features in the form of 4 x ellipse,s (two on the top, two on the bottom, additional features are under short wave UV glowing fibres (red, blue and green) are visible. The stamps also bear an embossed Braille "10" another first as Braille has never appeared on a postage stamp before.

The outer circle of the shield bearing the Union Flag was also printed in fluorescent ink which appears a yellowy green when exposed to UV. On certain stamps from plate 2A only, the wording ten pounds under the figure £10 also glows florescent yellow green.

What I also find of interest is the fact (to match the value) these stamps were printed in 10 colours, which should show in the plate numbers above row one and two in the top left hand corner. Instead of the cylinder block representing the ten colours there is another security feature. These are all printed in the same colour, yes - just one colour - purple.

Traffic Light Gutter Pairs

After our previous posts about marginal markings, Roy asked me about perhaps the most well-known ones, the circular registration marks. These marks are reminiscent of traffic lights and are generally called that.

In the Machin series, traffic lights only appear on the large-size photogravure high values. They were located in the gutter between the stamp panes. (The stamps were printed in sheets containing the two panes with the gutter between them. The panes were generally separated before being distributed to post offices, but complete sheets were also made available, allowing gutter pairs to be saved. Does anyone remember how many stamps were in each pane of these values?)

This format of two stamps separated by the gutter is called a "traffic light gutter pair."

These photogravure Machins were issued in 1977 to replace the recess-printed high values that were issued in 1970. (The 10p from that group is shown here.)

The conversion to photogravure was presumably done to save money, since gravure stamps are less expensive to print than engraved ones. The Post Office compensated a bit by making the stamps larger and printing them in two colors. Jeffery Matthews designed the stamps using, of course, the Machin portrait.

The initial set of values, £1 olive and greenish yellow, £2 purple brown and pale green, and £5 royal blue and pale pink were issued on February 2, 1977. (I'm using Douglas Myall's color names, other catalogs will differ.)

These stamps didn't pay any specific postal rate. They were just used for parcels and costly services such as insurance.

Six years later, on August 3, 1983, a £1.30 blue-green and buff stamp was issued in the same format. This stamp paid the first weight step (up to 1 kilogram) for parcels mailed within the U.K. As the parcel rate increased, new stamps were issued: £1.33 blue-black and mauve on August 28, 1984, £1.41 blue-green and buff on September 17, 1985, £1.50 blue-black and lilac on September 2, 1986 and finally £1.60 blue-black and buff on August 15, 1987. Notice the alternating color scheme for these stamps.

All of these high-value Machins were discontinued in 1988 when the decimal castles appeared to replace them. Never again were stamps issued to pay the basic parcel rate.

These stamps can be collected as singles, gutter pairs (with blank gutter) and traffic light gutter pairs. The normal cylinder blocks also exist. The items that these stamps were usually used on, parcels and such, did not pass through the automated letter sorting machines. Therefore, these stamps do not have phosphor bands and are printed on regular, non-phosphorized paper. There are some varieties of color shade and perforation type for those who want a specialized collection of these stamps.

The gutter pairs are individually listed in the Machin Collectors Club Catalogue. The set of eight gutter pairs is listed in the Stanley Gibbons Concise, but not individual pairs. And the Stanley Gibbons Specialized doesn't mention them at all.

As an aside, even though these stamps are simply larger versions of the standard Machin design, I (and some others) don't find them as attractive as the standard Machins. If you disagree, let us know in the comments.

--Larry

Continuing on from Larry's post Re: The Machin Plaster cast . We have had a comment from the trustees of the Machin Arts Foundation who have a small Machin exhibition at the Wedgwood visitors centre curated by Douglas Muir. There are several items relating to on Arnold Machin on loan.

If you would like to visit their website more information can be found here.

Above left is a picture of another item that will go in the same auction as the plaster cast. This would look good on anyone's wall, (drool, drool).

Just to clear something up, I had an email informing me that "The plaster cast was expected to fetch in the region of £10,000 not £100,000" (as reported) sorry for the misinformation.

.....Roy

Robin Harris & Adminware

This medal goes to Robin Harris, who I welcome today as a new link from Machin Mania. Rather than write a review I have linked to another website (or blog) that has reviewed it for us.


"Robin Harris has created a veritable treasure trove of information on Great Britain's Machin stamps. Virtually every Machin, including many variations, are detailed on his comprehensive website. This week, I've chosen his site for Stamp of Distinction's Website Spotlight."

NB: Stamps of destinction will also benefit from a link.

If I have one negative of Robins site it would be that he has disabled the right click on his pages which in it self stops people from downloading the images and text. He is perfectly in his rights to do so, but I feel these are of such brilliant quality they should be shared on the net.

"His attention to detail make it an excellent representation of all that is good with a comprehensive philatelic site. It is a tremendous collection and will be a great site to bookmark."

Say no more, click on this link (my appologies for the bad link, this has now been fixed) so browse Robins site to your hearts content.

Own your own genuine plaster cast of QE II by Arnold Machin

Here's a once-in-a-lifetime (actually, a once-only) event. Arnold Machin passed away in 1999 and his wife a couple of years later. Apparently, their family home went to their son Francis, who sadly passed away last year.

The home has been sold and the contents are being auctioned.

Of most interest to philatelists is the discovery that Machin had one of the plaster casts that he had created during the development of the stamp. I don't know where this one fits in with the history of that development, but I certainly hope Douglas Muir (Curator, Philately at the British Museum & Archive and chronicler of the history of the Machins) is on the case. It will be interesting to see if it goes to a private collector or whether the BPMA or other museum will grab it.

There's an article about the auction in The Telegraph.

The auctioneer is Cuttlestones. There's a press release about the auction, with some biographical information about Machin. There's no word yet about how to get a catalog, but keep an eye on their web site. The stamp-related items from the Machin estate will be auctioned on October 1.

--Larry