CYPRUS  CIRCULAR  POSt

Founded 1974

Seen in a recent Karamitsos auction catalogue: CYPRUS.       Barred canc, ‘981’ on £1 green Q.V …€ 1000 British stamps from the ½d to the 5/- are recorded as having been used in Cyprus from 1878 to 1880. Then the word “CYPRUS” was overprinted on U.K. stamps and these were followed by the first definitives issued in 1881. However, this QV £1 green was issued in U.K. on 28.1.1891, and by then British stamps would have been invalid in Cyprus, hence it appears that the 981 (Paphos) postmark above was struck on  arrival in addition to the oval registration mark.  This 981 canceller was sent to Cyprus from England on 5.9.1878 with a note saying that it was for use at Limassol, but for reasons unknown it was sent to Paphos.  After the receipt of a Paphos date stamp a few weeks later 981 continued to be used as a spare up to at least 1925. It seems possible that it was sometimes sent on loan to new postal agencies when they opened in the district, pending the arrival of their purpose-made handstamps from U.K. What was it that cost a pound to post – a large amount of money in those days? See page 66 for more about numeral cancellations.

CONTENTS 49   GB £1 green with 981 cancellation 50   Obituary Chris Cruttwell.    Newsletter 124, J. Sims 51   Auction Report, M. Spencer 52    Editorial.       Matters Arising from past issues 54    A New Revenue, C. Podger.           Famagusta Old Letter Box, J. Ertughrul 55    Manuscript cancellations.  Datestamp Care & Use 56    1934 Air Race London  -  Melbourne,          R. Davis  and  P. Webber 57     Turkish Telegraph & Post Office,   J. Ertughrul 58     WW2 Red X Mail via Military Bag, R. Davis               1950  Publicity Handstamp H1, R. Davis 59      James Gillatt Again,  D. Padgham 60      WW2 UK Stamp Exports & Imports, R. Davis.            Inverted Year Slug,  R. Everett 61      Bee Keeping.  Early Stamp Dealers 62      Rural Agencies in 1968,  R. Child 63      Mansoura-Postmark Collecting            can be Dangerous 64      Registered Mail Study, D. Watson 65      1922 Letter 66       Numeral Cancellations  981, 969, 942 67       E F Markings National Guard, C. Georgallis 68       Faked Covers, M. Payne.               Doctored Cover,Y. Pipis 69       1p Orange perf  13½ x 12½ 70       New Issues of the TRNC,  J. Ertughrul 71       New Issues of the Republic of Cyprus

Membership News – We welcome new members Brian Birch , and Marinos Menelaou 

Members Awards and Displays – None notified, but all contributions are welcome, and please note Jim Wigmore’s request in the Membership Secretary’s Report in the AGM minutes.                                                 

Autumn Meeting and AGM – This meeting was held on Saturday, 7 October 2006 at the British Philatelic Centre in London.  The minutes are enclosed with this distribution.  After the AGM we were treated to a very well presented and exciting display by Akis Christou, who had travelled from Cyprus to give us this presentation, for which we were very grateful.  After lunch, Mike Spencer conducted the auction, which offered a wide range of material offering something for everyone, with some items realising unusually high prices.

Display by Akis Christou – This display comprised errors, varieties, proofs and postal usage from 1880 to 1935, taken from his award winning display in Washington earlier this year.  The first 3 frames showed the constant varieties on the QV provisional overprints in 1880/81, including blocks and strips and reversed watermark.  This was followed by 4 frames of the QV CC and CA watermark stamps, die1, including more blocks and strips, and detached triangles.  The die 2 series was represented by die proofs, essays, and colour trials.  The next 2 frames included KE die proofs, specimens, trial colours, and broken triangles.  Akis concluded his display with 5 frames of KG5 material, including colour errors, inverted watermarks and more broken triangle varieties.  Highlights included one of the 2 recorded strips of 3 of the £5 stamp overprinted specimen, and the 1934 pictorial issue perforated specimen proof sets with the distinctive green hand stamp indicating  their origin from the King Farouk collection.  

Meeting Dates in 2007 - The Spring meeting will be held at the Victory Services Club on 17 Mar.  This will include an EGM held exclusively for the purpose of a minor amendment to the Society’s Rules.  Details will be given in News Letter 125 in Feb 2007.  The autumn meeting and AGM is planned to be held on 6 Oct 2007, either at the VSC, or the Union Jack Club in Waterloo.  This meeting was to have been held at the British Philatelic Centre, but owing to that venue’s future unavailability, we have had to look elsewhere. Further confirmatory details will be given in News Letter 125.  

Additional Meetings at Philatex – In addition to our meeting at Philatex on 24 Feb 07, full details of which were given in NL123,  the Society has also booked two further dates at Philatex in 2008, 23 Feb and 1 Nov.  More details will be notified nearer the time.

Christopher Cruttwell’s Cyprus Collection – I am told that Chris’s collection included items from all the major Cyprus collections sold over the last 50 years, including Richardson, North, Miller, Eley, Constantinides, and Westrowe Hulse, to name but a few.  It will be sold at auction, by Argyll Etkin Ltd (AE) in London on 8 and 9 March 2007.   The Society has arranged with AE, for all our members to be sent a copy of the auction catalogue in late Jan/Feb 2007, and the Society will supply AE with members’ address labels.   AE has given assurance that they will not copy the address labels, and they will use them only for this one mailing.  AE will however, record the names after the sale, of those members who actually purchased any lots.  Any member who does not wish to be sent a copy of the catalogue should contact Jim Wigmore as soon as possible. 

Subscription Reminder –  Members annual subscription rates, which remain unchanged for 2007, are due on 1 January.  Please pay the Treasurer promptly (or even in advance!), £10 for UK, EU and European members; and £12 for members who live in the rest of the world.

Cyprus Material on eBay – In recent weeks, it has been noted that some Cyprus material offered for sale on eBay may not be what it seems.  Examples are charity labels which imply that they are exclusive to Cyprus but which are almost certainly not; and, more worryingly, KGV1 and QEII period first day covers reported with postmarks that appear to have been applied by inkjet printer.  All members who bid for philatelic material on eBay are advised to take the usual precautions about what they buy, and report to eBay any attempted dubious transaction

Secretary’s Postscript – The Chairman and members of the Committee offer their best wishes to all members for a very happy Christmas, and good collecting in2007.                                                                                John Sims, Hon. General Secretary ,  October 2006 

AUCTION REPORT – Mike Spencer

I recently entered the words “CYPRUS POSTAGE STAMPS” into the Google Search Box on my computer which returned about 225,000 hits. It would take years to work through all this!  Worse was to follow, I entered 981 in the search box, thinking of the Paphos postmark article. Nearly 68 million hits were recorded, of which I thought the best was  “The first ever Mahamasthakabhisheka of the sacred 57 ft high monolithic statue of Lord Bahubali was performed in 981 AD”

Please note those dreadful fake covers on page 68. There’s a lot of them about, both forged and doctored, not to mention that  iniquitous KGV £5 for which people are still paying silly money and which continues to appear in catalogues of auction houses that should know better. And of course forged postmarks and overprints are always with us. Now a new slant  has entered the scene – Cinderella greetings and charity labels that are not specific to Cyprus.

I have had a request from Jack Forbes, he has a number of copies of SG107 1½ pi orange & black and SG121 2 pi yellow and black where the black appears in various shades of brown. He would like to know if this is common, and learn more about it.

Thanks to the Royal Philatelic Society (London Philatelist), Stanley Gibbons, the National Philatelic Society (Stamp Lover) and Murray Payne (Sixth Sense) for publications received

The Cyprus Philatelic Society has organised a Philatelic Exhibition which will be held at the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Centre in Paphos, 23-29 November. Entry is limited to their members, there will be 12 classes – Court of Honour, Aerophilately, Astrophilately, Maximaphily, One Frame, Postal History, Postal Stationery, Thematic Philately, Traditional Philately, Revenues, Youth and Postal Literature.

Following  on  Yiannis  Pipis’  article in the last CCP on US WARSHIPS IN CYPRUS WATERS, we can now record a French one which appears to have put into Larnaca where this letter was posted on 8th March 1986. The B.S.S. RANCE (Bâtiment de Soutien Santé) is a Medical Support Ship which had a hospital with an operating theatre on board. The B.S.S RANCE went into service in 1966, she attended the French nuclear experiments in the Pacific and was decommissioned in 1997. She was one of five such ships all named after French rivers

In CCP 16,1 Feb 2006 a very long list of new cancellers was recorded, we can now add to this PAFOS.

ARE THERE ANY CYPRUS PERFINS ?

In the last issue of the CCP, the question was asked “are there any Cyprus Perfins except those used in the revenues ?” . This has produced only one example, illustrated here with ’MBW’, perforated on a poor copy of QV ½d overprinted CYPRUS.  Unfortunately there is no way I can read the plate number, and I assume the overprint is a forgery. In which case, this cannot count as a Cyprus perfin. Keep trying!

One could be forgiven for mistaking the item in the centre for a postage stamp, but it reads ΚΥΠΡΙΑΚΗ ΑΔΕΛΦΟΤΙΣ / ΑΘΗΝΩΝ (CYPRUS BROTHERHOOD / OF ATHENS) and shows the line between North and South Cyprus.

There is a number of these patriotic “Don’t Forget” labels around, as on the right above. Labels have also been seen relating to particular towns and villages.  It is a slogan that was often seen painted on walls.

COURIER MAIL 

John Sanderson has sent me details of these labels mentioned in CCP 16,2 on page 35 – apparently they were used on all mail despatched from U.K. during March 3rd to 10th in 1971. Labels for 26 countries are recorded in “Stamp Collecting” No. 29 April 1971. At the time, London stamp dealers Bridger and Kay were offering these for sale, mint or on covers at prices ranging from 50p to £2.00

CORRECTIONS TO CCP 16,2  FROM ROBIN DAVIS

1. Prisoner of War office page 29: The signature is “Josephine” and not “Neptune”. 
[Ed. See article on page 58 which leaves no doubt]

2. Trouble with Triangles, page 45.  All the KGV key plate issues printed between 1912 to 1923 for all values were printed from the same head plate which had a damaged triangle (stamp 10/6 of the right panel) consequently all have the same identical broken bottom left triangle flaw. The illustration shows the normal flaw.

ADVERTISMENT ON MAIL

Our last issue made mention of private advertisements on envelopes – here is one on an Edwards’ post card of Kyrenia Castle, posted at Nicosia to France on 11 OC 50.   Although at first sight it appears to be a personal greeting card from a friend on holiday, it is in fact, an unusual method of distributing an advertisement.   Translated very freely the message reads:- After a long journey, what a calm rests on this island. I brought my medicine necessary to restore nerve cells. ?

ESSAYS FOR THE 1955 SERIES

In CCP 15,6 of November 2005, Jim Wigmore showed us three QE2 essays and asked “… what were the other values proposed?”   A member has sent me an old Stanley Gibbons offers list which has them all – the complete ten of them are listed as:- 1½ mils   brown   “OLIVES “      5 mils   orange   “ORANGES” 12½ mils   blue-green & magenta  “KYRENIA HARBOUR”    20 mils   two diff. cols. blue & brown and brown & blue  “ROCK OF ROMEO”    25 mils   blue & orange   “HARVESTING “ 27½ mils   olive & purple  “PLOUGHING”    50 mils    “St HILARION CASTLE”  250 mils    “HALA SULTAN TEKKE”     £1.00     sepia & yellow-green.  “MOUFFLON” These have since been sold.

In the last issue Jim Wigmore asked who was Mr. G. Mantovani? We have had a reply from our Chairman, Chris Podger who tells us that George Lorenzo Mantovani was appointed as a clerk to the Larnaca Post Office on 1.11.1884.

 There were quite a lot of Mantovanis of Italian descent in Cyprus at that time, Antonio and Charles are listed in the 1885 Cyprus Guide and Directory. Using the search facility in the CCP Archive CD eight references are returned.  The current Cyprus telephone directories indicate that they continue to flourish.

NEW REVENUE STAMP   Chris Podger This is a 2c orange-red revenue stamp, first issued in 1983 (R13) overprinted 2005 and £6. It apears that this is only used by the Immigration Department. The stamp illustrated is on a document refusing entry to Cyprus under the Aliens and Immigration Law. The applicant wanted to study at the Global College for the summer course, 2005.

Famagusta Old Town  Letter Box - Jeff Ertughrul Famagusta Old Town Post Office Letter Box  between 1964-1974. After that date the post office moved as well as the box.  [Ed.This looks as though it was a wooden shutter, a door or cupboard with a hole cut in it ]

(i) The datestamp impression on outward or posted letters should be made on the postage stamps; 
(ii) In the case of official correspondence the date stamp should be placed on the top right hand corner of the envelope and not on the franking signature as would appear to be the practice at some offices; 
(iii) Under no circumstances should the backstamping of letters be neglected;  
(iv) At the beginning of each business day, the figures on the date stamp must be adjusted. As soon as this has been done, a clear impression must be made in the stamp impression book to afford evidence of the correct discharge of duty; 
(v) When a date stamp is fitted with an index letter (A, B, etc) with clock time, or with figures showing the time of stamping, the index letter or figures must be changed punctually at the appropriate time. The object of the index letter or figures is to indicate the hour at which a letter is received or despatched and if these are not changed punctually , the department might be taxed with delay for which it may not be responsible; 
(vi) An impression must be made of every date stamp used throughout the day, and a fresh impression should be taken immediately a change is made either in the date, index letter or figure. Every such impression recorded must be initialled by a second officer at the time such change is made.

Part (v) leaves no doubt about the use of the letters, A,B, etc. There was once a suggestion that these referred to the counter position at the big post offices. However, I have just discovered this postmark on the left with a V index letter in it, and now I am puzzled once more. V is the 21st letter of the English alphabet, I guess that too rules out counter position. It couldn’t be for 21.00 hours – 9 o’clock in the evening, I doubt they used a 24h clock. Were they still at work then anyway? Did slugs exist for every hour of the day? A Roman 5 or just an error?  Any more suggestions?

On Ebay recently there was what at first appeared to be just an ordinary used sepia PPC of the “Walls of Famagusta (Cyprus)” franked with a 1½pi cancelled Famagusta 2pm, 11 NOV 34.  The address and text reads :                      The Card Room Gang                       Elks Club                         Utica                               N.Y.                                 U.S.A. “Forced down here by storms and darkness – Broken left wheel on shore rocks. Oh! for a game of Pinocle during wait.                             Jack”

This identifies the writer as John H. “Utica Jack” Wright a well known adventurer who took part with his co-pilot John Polando in the 1934 London – Melbourne MacRobertson Air Race celebrating the Melbourne Centenary.

They were flying a Lambert Monocoupe 145 plane named “Baby Ruth”, registration NC501W, which newspaper reports of the time about the race described as being “an open invitation to suicide”. The day before the start of the race King George V, Queen Mary and the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) visited Mildenhall to wish all the crews well. It is reported that the Prince of Wales showed the most interest in the plane entered by John “Utica Jack” Wright and John Polando.

The race commenced at Mildenhall Aerodrome on 20 October 1934 and “Utica Jack” and John Polando made their first stop to refuel at Lyon in France and then flew on to Rome where they rested for the first night. The next day they flew to Calcutta India where unfortunately they were forced to abandon the air race due to mechanical problems. On their way back from Calcutta they made a forced landing in Cyprus which damaged the plane (see text of the post card) to the extent of having to have it shipped back to the USA.

They were not the only participants of the air race to land and have problems in Cyprus [though they were of course on their way home] as Hill & Davies flying a Fairey IIIF had mechanical problems in Cyprus which delayed them reaching the finish until 24 November 1934. The winners of the race having finished on 23 October 1934. As to the Hill & Davies covers which have widely differing Cyprus cancellation dates, a possible explanation is that those dated 25 October 1934 are from when they first arrived in Cyprus and those dated 13 November 1934 from when they were about to depart Cyprus? A check of the Cyprus newspapers of the time should reveal the date they departed. 

Chapter 2, page 2-3 of The Study Paper “Air Mails 1929 – 1960” implies that the start date of the 1934 air race was 19 October 1934 and this also applies to the original Air Mail Study Paper issued in the mid 1980s. Castle in the CCP when discussing Hill & Davies actually says “…, the plane having left England on 19th October, ..”. In fact the actual start date for the air race was 20 October 1934 and the error in quoting the 19 October date probably arises from the souvenir covers carried by some of the pilots which are cancelled Mildenhall 19 October 1934. The race was due to start at 0630 on 20 October 1934 which did not really give the pilots sufficient time to prepare for the race and deal with their covers so they were cancelled on the previous day .

Acknowledgments. 

Peter Webber, “Heart of England Philatelics”, web site www.heartofenglandphilatelics.co.uk for the information etc on “Utica Jack”, his plane and the PPC.

References:

1. “Air Sports International” May 2005 page 18  [an American magazine].
2. www.dc3airways.com              
3. www.nzstamps.fsnet.co.uk 
4. “Study Paper No.3 [second edition 2004] “Air Mails 1929 – 1960” by Jim Wigmore.
5. “Study Paper No.3 [first edition] “Air Mails 1929 – 1955” by J.M. Storey.
6. “Air Races 1934” by R.V. Rogers, Cyprus Circular Post Vol. VI page 36
7. “England – Australia Air Races 1934” by W.T.F. Castle, Cyprus Circular Post Vol. VI pages 51-2
8. "Air Races, England - Australia via Cyprus 1934" by John Sims, Cyprus Circular Post Vol. 15 page 121
9.  Warwick & Warwick Sale No. 378, lot 2897.

Telegram  and  Postahane-i  Ay Todori (Telegraph and Post Office of Ayios Theodoros) Negative seal on a telegram dated 1912.

You often see covers both to and from the Hon. Secretary POW Bureau of the British Red Cross Nicosia, Cyprus, all of which have been through the normal civilian postal system. However, did the cover illustrated on the right addressed to the Red Cross & St. John’s Cairo Egypt go via the normal civilian postal system or the military mail bag?   It certainly entered the civilian postal system as it is cancelled Nicosia 27 AUG 42 but the wording of the two line instruction along the top side of the cover states “For Military Mail Bag. / By Courtesy of the Army Post Office, Troops, Cyprus.”

As an aside, Mrs. Josephine M. Shaw was the Hon. Secretary of the Red Cross POW Bureau Cyprus and was the wife of the Government Chief Secretary Cyprus. She relinquished the position around the middle of November 1943 when she moved to Palestine upon her husband being appointed Government Chief Secretary Palestine.  She regularly corresponded with the famous Cyprus collector Miss Richardson and in fact would gather together Cyprus stamps and covers to send her. Miss Richardson in return would send a donation for the Cyprus Red Cross POW fund, this arrangement continuing after Mrs. Shaw had moved to Palestine. The Cyprus Governors’ office would also retain covers they received and send them to Miss Richardson.

In Study Paper No.1 second edition, there is a short section on page 21 covering the re-appearance in 1950 of the H1 “Cyprus For A Holiday” handstamp. At the end of the section it concludes by saying that “There is not sufficient evidence to decide whether the covers are genuine or ‘doctored’ or modified by favour.” The table on page 13 shows the 1950 period of recorded usage as being 27 January to 23 March and the table on page 32, 27 January to 26 March.

Illustrated below is a commercial airmail cover I recently purchased with the H1 handstamp dated Nicosia 10 MR 50. I now have two of these covers the other one being dated Nicosia 23 MR 50.

Commercial Airmail Cover Nicosia 10 MR 50 with H1 handstamp Having now examined my two examples I am firmly of the opinion that the handstamp has been genuinely applied at the time of posting and so conclude that the handstamp was brought back into normal use, either officially or unofficially, for a period of approx. 2 months, end January to end March 1950.

The sender describes himself as  “A.M.M. van Loon, Military Hospital Vlissingen, Holland”. Prepaid 12½ cents. Addressed to:-   J. Gillat, Nicosia, Cyprus and posted VLISSINGEN  6-7 (night)   8 Jun (18)99 Vlissingen is better known in the UK as the port of Flushing. Most other datestamps are on the reverse: in sequence:-VLISSINGEN-QUEENSBOROUGH              8 JUN 99 * (used on the Zeeland Shipping Co

night ferry to this Kent port). LARNACA/ CYPRUS / A / JU22 / 99 and another very faint strike of the same, date illegible. Redirected to “Hessle near Hull.” PORT SAID bilingual 23. VI .99. HULL/4.30PM/JY 3/ 99 and similar on front but code D. Again redirected, to Bexhill Road, St.. Leonards-on-Sea. ST.LEONARDS ON SEA/STATION OFFICE / 9AM/ JY4/99.

Thanks to Chris Dudeney for passing this on to us.

Here is a ‘Cyprus related’ item produced by the UN on 4 March 1965 which speaks of ‘Peace in Cyprus’.  Was this a UN hope, a celebration, or just a plea?  The year in question was anything but peaceful, there was plenty of Greek-Turk friction, the enclaves started to form and there were inter-communal raids and skirmishes.  Goodwin notes that during this year there was a camel count of only 90. Perhaps that is what it is about, they can make rather a frightening noise and disturb the peace!

Now it is not often that you find a cover to an interesting address but the Cyprus WWII airmail, illustrated at the right, is one such cover as it is to a C.C. Waters Esq. at 3 Berners Street, London W1, England which was the address of the BPA.  The cover, which went via Durban, has on the front a Cyprus censor type C2 No: 18 plus an Egyptian censor and the postage rate was 25pi which is made up of stamps to the value of 12½pi on the front and 12½pi on the back. The airmail postage rate for the service via Durban was 12½pi per ½oz or a fraction thereof. The cancellation is Nicosia 5 DEC 40 which is nearly 5 months after the BPA took over the controls in the UK for the export and import of stamps.   References: 1. “Civil Censorship Study Group Bulletin” October 2003 Vol. 30, No: 4, pages 147 – 150. 2. “Air Mails 1929 – 1960” chapter 6 page 6-3, Study Paper No:3 [second edition 2004]  by Jim Wigmore

HERMES ST.FRANGOUDIS CATALOGUE An update has been announced of this popular coloured CYPRUS catalogue which includes all the issues up to 2005. The broken and detached triangle varieties have now been added, and there is some extra information on the earlier issues.  Price is £Cy12.95 including VAT. Thanks to Akis Christou for this information.

INVERTED YEAR SLUG - Richard Everett Just a quick line to attach a copy of a KGV 10 para stamp cancelled by Limassol T4 cancel on 24 November 1919 but as you will see the year date slugs have been inverted. I cannot decipher the code letter but in any event it seems odd that the year slugs should have been inverted more than half way through the month/year and of course this begs the question as to how many more of these are in existence. Can other members find any in their collections?

BEE KEEPING This  rural cover from Ovgoros, a small Turkish village in Kyrenia District was seen on Ebay recently. There is no date, but the adhesive was current in 1955-60. It has a greetings label too. It was interesting to see the old sender’s address - OVGOROS BEE KEEPING CO-OPER. SOCIETY LTD.  A lot has been written about bees in the CCP, take a look at 6,3; 6,4 and 8,1 and you will find some interesting information about Bees in Cyprus!  An attractive set of four bee stamps was issued on 1 October 1989

CYPRUS STAMP DEALERS Seven years after the British Occupation of Cyprus  in 1878 we see this advertisement in The Cyprus Guide and Directory 1885. – the first book to be printed in Cyprus in English. It is from H.V. Braggiotti who might have been both the first legitimate stamp dealer in Cyprus as well as the first stockbroker – Note; ‘Established since the occupation …..’ Has anyone seen other mentions of the two Braggiottis ? Postmarked 1928. The same cachet also seen on the back of a censored cover to Egypt dated 4 March 1943

On the left, seen on auction recently Purple fancy cachet says:- ESTABLISHED IN THE YEAR 1907 Confectioner CYPRUS STAMP DEALER ATHENS STREET VICTOR PAPADOPOULOS LIMASSOL, (CYPRUS)

 

POSTMARK COLLECTING CAN BE DANGEROUS

Mansoura was a village on the coast road 26 km NE of Polis, with a population in 1960 of 20 Greeks and 127 Turks. The village was abandoned and left in ruins as a No Man’s Land in 1964 because of intercommunal fighting in the area It was here in 1959 that a visiting postmark collector was shot dead and his son wounded as reported in the Cyprus Mail dated 27 September 1959 :-

After some tricky mountainous road works, a new winding route was cut inland around Kokkina  through Alevga, Sellain t’Api, and Ayion Yeorgoudhi – all small abandoned Turkish villages, then on to Mosphileri (Population 27 Greeks)  and down to Mansoura which is back on what was the main road to Kato Pyrgos and Morphou There is a large military presence in the area, which is now pleasantly wooded and seems a good place for a picnic. But, ‘NO PHOTOGRAPHS’ signs are all around, and flags and UNFICYP Observation Posts perch menacingly on the hilltops. In the 2001 Population Survey, Mansoura was listed together with Ayios Theodoros. A few tourists can now be seen on this road, and life is beginning to return to the old village - a fisherman has opened a café there. The official spelling is MANSOURA but the GR canceller omits the ‘N’, Goodwin gives MASOURA  as an alternative spelling.  This is a scarce canceller that was first seen in 1925, about the time when the Rural Postal Agency opened. It was reported as missing in 1972

1) The earliest issued labels were those for the C9 type and the first of these was attached to mail cancelled in Larnaca. The remainder were found on mail posted in 1937 and mainly on First Day Covers for the Coronation. I have in my collection three covers cancelled in Kyrenia at 3.30pm on 12th May 1937. The numbers on the labels are as follows 1998, 2453, & 3010 however a week later. Joe Horden informs me that his cover shows label number 183. I wouldn’t have thought that the amount of registered mail passing through Kyrenia during that period would warrant three counter clerks using separate rolls of labels. By the last day of the year number 4579 was being affixed to mail addressed to Costas N Lantis c/o Limassol Electric Light Co Ltd with the notation ‘Last Day Cover’.
C9 labels have been recorded at five Post Offices -  Kyrenia 25/09/1937 to 31/12/1937, Larnaca 25/09/1935, Limassol 12/05/l937 to 25/09/1937, Morphou 12/05/1937 and Nicosia on 23/12/1937.
 I would be grateful if members with Registered labels in their collections could see if they have C5 to C9 labels that extend the dates of those quoted above and below, particularly those shown in bold type.
2) In date order of first recorded use followed by the Last Date of recorded use the C9 labels were followed by:-

  C5        Famagusta             23/02/1953             Larnaca                   18/06/1963
 C9A      Nicosia                  01/05/1958             Nicosia                    01/01/1958
 C7         Nicosia                  04/10/1960             Nicosia                    01/01/1966
 C6B      Nicosia S.B.O.       27/02/1964             Nicosia S.B.O.        27/02/1964
 C6A      Nicosia W.B.O.     6/06/1967               Nicosia W.B.O.       21/01/1972
 C5A      Limassol                 5/07/1967               Polis                        23/02/1994 
 C6E      R.L.O. G.P.O.        02/08/1967             R.L.O. G.P.O         02/08/1967
 C6         Rizokarpaso           12/08/1967             Rizokarpaso            12/08/1967
 C8A      Larnaca B.O.1        29/05 1972             Nicosia B.O.2         30/06/1986
 C8         Limassol                 24/01/1975             Paphos                    17/10/1990
 C8B      Nicosia W.B.O.       29/11/1986            Nicosia W.B.O.       29/11/1986
  C6D     Limassol B.O.2        27/03/1975            Limassol B.O.2       16/07/1975
 C6C      Limassol B.O.2        29/06/1978            Limassol B.O.2       29/06/1978
  C8C    Aradhippou               06/11/1997           Aradhippou              09/04/1999

The next series of Coil Labels we require information for are those in the range C10 to C11 and because there were not only large numbers of these labels used, there are also many varieties. To this end the information sheet for completion, which is enclosed with this issue of the Circular Post, has hopefully made allowances for the expected increase in examples in your collections, it is therefore separate from the illustrated labels and their descriptions.

YET ANOTHER MYSTERY  Seen on Ebay. What’s all this about? Looks like -  MILITARY LIMASSOL ?? OR DEPAR ??  and perhaps a signature in blue ink. This is the 1923 45 piastres dull purple & ultramarine, catalogued by SG at £120.

15th October 1922 Chief Secretary's Office Cyprus My Dear Tuck,   I am feeling as if it was time I wrote some sort of explanation of this delay with the Bn story though if I remember well I did not hold out very high hopes when last I wrote. Things will improve. We are just coming down from our hill station where writing was not very feasible and are settling down in Nicosia Up in the hills I lived with one of the other secretaries which meant a lot of talking, bridge and entertainment generally after the day's work was over.

Now here in Nicosia I shall become a recluse again. I have taken a room in a hotel and am trying very hard to take two rooms. When I have got my 2nd, i.e. sitting room, which I hope to do in the middle of November, I shall be prepared to sit at home in the evenings especially the winter evenings and get down to writing properly. That does not mean that I shall proceed at a great pace. I am, as you know by now quite incapable of writing anything except a letter at high speed. Also, I shall have my Greek lessons and my preparation for my Greek marker - my homework in fact – to get through.

I hear Atkins has left you. He wrote to me most amusingly on the subject of the bugs which urged him to go and describe how Mrs Hutchinson was appropriately disgusted and the charlady manifestly unmoved. But strange to say he seemed not to have told you, so perhaps even now I am breaking a confidence.

It is only just beginning to get cool here and as I left England in gloriously hot sunshine I find it hard to understand that you have had a bad summer. Yet bad it was so everyone says.

I came down here early having contracted a quinsy in the throat. I spent a few days in hospital but found the hospital diet so rough that I was glad to clear out. The hotel fare is not too good but can be kept up to the mark. The truth is one has to get used to the food. The meat is apt to taste of goat and to sensitive nostrils straight from England people who have been here a long time seem almost to smell of goat. That at any rate was how it seemed to me when I first arrived. Down here in the Plains the meat is better.

Of course there are compensations. You never saw such fruit & vegetables. They go on all the year round changing with the months and seasons so that you never have reason to tire of anyone kind .I came across a letter from Duncan in the file here the other day. The letter was written from Rome where apparently he is or was military attaché, the matter of it was without interest.

We have a detachment of the 1st Hant's here - Bn. HQ being at Alex. Earle of course they all know. And one of them remembered Guard. The Coy Commander here commanded the 2nd Bn. for a year in the war and was among those troops of the 29th Div. through whom we moved back at La Creche. Less C.M.G. he is decorated as yourself and is a captain again with a very small job. No wonder they all want war again.

I hope Fritz is keeping well. No dogs whatsoever are allowed in here (by us). Consequently the most fearful mongrels are treasured as valuable pets.

Yours truly

Andrew Wright

ROBERT WHEELER

“In the Colonel Eley collection auctioned by Robson Lowe in March 1976 there were several lots of the Cyprus numerals with items alongside showing the UK usage. 
 
981 was allocated to Rhymney, Mon in the 1844-57 lists but was vacant in 1865. If it had been issued this would have been in the horizontal oval form. The problem with 981 was that inverted it became 186.
 
186 was issued to Chesterfield in England, Irvine in Scotland and, of course, Dublin in Ireland - all being represented by covers in the Eley collection. It would seem that 981 was not issued in the UK, at least after 1857, owing to the possibility of confusion with the 186's. Presumably issuing it to Limassol/Paphos was far enough away to avoid confusion and invariably at this date the named cds was struck on the front of the cover and not on the reverse as it was with the earlier ones.

Extracts  from the London Impression Book 5.9.1878

Interestingly the same inversion problem occurs with 969 for Nicosia. The same number was said to have been issued to Edenbridge in Kent but was vacant in 1865. Col Eley had examples of 696 as issued to Settle in Yorkshire and used up to 1902.   The 969 of Nicosia and the 981 of Paphos both have stops after the last numeral - but this is not always clear. What you are wondering is whether any of the GB used in Cyprus could be GB used in Chesterfield or Settle? The GB vertical ovals should have 4 bars above and below whereas the Cyprus issues have 3 bars, but ........"

ROBIN DAVIS

In response to your query about albino strikes mentioned on p74 in Castle 3: Please find a photo of a  KGV 10pa stamp with a really good albino 981 cancel. I also have a QV 1/2pi with a not quite so good albino 982.   I do not attach any importance whatsoever to these albino numeral cancels other than as a curiosity as in my opinion it is only a matter of how the cancelling ink adhered to the canceller at the time. The majority of the albino cancels that I have seen over the years are on KGV stamps. EDITOR

A RARE ESSAY           On the left is the 1894 (April 10th) 45 piastres grey-purple and blue, De La Rue imperforate artist's essay in the colours as adopted, being the Die II Keyplate design on unwatermarked wove paper with the duty tablets handpainted, very fine part own gum. Ex Richardson (RL 6/7/60, lot 342). Stanley Gibbons has this for sale - Price: £3,25

 

Peter Webber lent us an interesting Cyprus cover. Both stamps are genuine, but the postmark and the printed envelope are faked. The cancel appears to be a crude imitation of Nicosia Proud Type D16 and has been 'sprayed' onto the cover by an inkjet printer - coloured dots can be seen when magnified, so it was done with a colour cartridge! Similarly, coloured dots can be seen in the printing on the envelope. The printer is very slightly misaligned and the envelope paper is very absorbent, hence the ink has spread. This gives you the chance to see the four different printer colours This cover was purchased on Ebay from a seller who claims to be 'Breaking the Fosters Fintikides Unique Collection'. We understand from Peter that this is not the only faked Cyprus Silver Wedding cover this seller has offered, and that he has also produced similar items for the 1949 UPU set, as well as the 1935 Silver Jubilee set and the GB Silver Wedding issue.We have only seen Ebay printouts of the latter items but they are on "illustrated covers" addressed to Fosters, 18 Cullum Street, EC3, London, England.

DOCTORED COVER  - YIANNIS PIPIS

This cover was sent from the Commercial/Merchant school in Lemithou to the Manager of Carlsberg in Nicosia.

The Greek handwriting is very nice, one of an educated person (possibly a scholar or an academic), not what we are used to see on other genuine Turkish Cypriot covers. On the left bottom corner is a signature from a rubber stamp, that would qualify the cover to go postage-free. The cancellation on the top right is Limassol dated 19 Nov 197?. There is no reason for the correspondence from a High School in Lemithou, that can be sent postage free to a Greek Cypriot company in Nicosia, to use a Turkish Cypriot stamp. I believe that after it was delivered, someone stuck the stamp on the cover taking advantage of the fact that it had no stamp, to make it look genuine. This is not a very clever attempt at deceit! Reserve $1,100. Unsold

Cyprus 198 SG:154a 1938-51 1pi orange, perf 13½ x 12½, top marginal, brilliant unmounted o.g.  Particularly scarce and desirable with horizontal margin, as the line of perfs between stamp and margin MUST be genuine! Price £475.00 Seeing this offer from Stanley Gibbons brought to mind two past references to this issue in Castle and the CCP, including a question that appears never to have been addressed:-

In CCP 9,6 (1993), Garbis Tellalian writes:-
“In 1944 when a reprint of the 1 piastre stamp was released, it was noticed that these were printed on whiter, thinner paper, and also a perforation variety of 13½ x 12½ existed. This was considered a major discovery, because it was the first of its kind in the postal history of Cyprus. Stanley Gibbons catalogued this variety as SG 154a. It is alleged that this variety was first discovered by a Major Lubinski who noticed it on a used stamp cancelled 'Larnaca 14 Oct.1944'. Since then earlier cancellations such as 'NICOSIA 14 APR 1944' have been found. 
Until now the catalogues have been listing this variety as a 1944 release. However a very recent discovery of a Type 7 cancellation on this variety (which has not yet been recorded) shows a very clear strike of 'PYRGOS (LEFKA) JUN 43'. I have examples of PYRGOS cancels for 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1945. This would indicate that the postal clerk set his 1943 year date correctly. Thus if this date is authentic and not a postal error in showing the year 1943 instead of 1944, then all records relating to the release date of this variety have to be amended to 1943.”
However I have not seen any replies to Garbis’ article. Stanley Gibbons  and Hermes St. Frangoudis still list the issue date as May 1944. Can members please look at their used copies and see if they can find others with a clear 1943 cancellation.

POST RESTANTE              John Sanderson This photo was taken in October 2004 during the horrendous Kyrenia roads refurbishment, just inside the carpark by the maidan

18.5.2006                                          Integration as seen by young people             Min Sheet, 2 x 70 Y kuruş perforated             Amount 60,000              Size 78 x 72 mm              Design S. Gurani Özcan              Government Printing Press, Lefkoşa A second unperforated sheet was also produced as well as the two stamps separately 40,000 of each. A first day cover was issued for each miniature sheet  and a separate one for the two stamps which are each 26 x 41 mm

7.7.2006  FIFA World Cup     Values: 50 Y kuruş and 1 YTL     Amount 50,000 each     26 x 41 mm     Se-tenant block of four     Design:-     Görel Koral Sönmezer     Government Printing Press     Lefkoşa

22.09.2006   Value:40, 50, 60 Ykr and 1 YTL  Designed by Hüseyin Billur Printed by Government printing office Lefkoşa.

NEW ISSUES of the REPUBLIC of CYPRUS

FIRE ENGINES – 14.9.2006

20c. Pump Water Tender 
HINO vehicle bought 13/12/1994. Used for water transport and to extinguish fires in urban areas.

50c. Fire Engine with Turntable Ladder 
BEDFORD  vehicle, MERRYWEATHER,  bought on 11/3/1959. It was also used as a bridge, a water jetting tower and  for rescues as an external ladder for high buildings.

Design, Antonia Hadjigeorgiou; Text, Cyprus Fire Service.
Size, 30 x 38 mm in sheets of 16.   Printing,Offset Litho on unwatermarked paper
Printer, Alex. Matsoukis S.A., Graphic Arts, Greece
Quantities, 13c – 50,000; 30c – 50,000; 40c - 50,000;  FDC’s  - 8,000

CHRISTMAS 2006 – 16.11.2006

                                Design, Sophia Malekou;   Text, Christodoulos Hadjichristodoulou 
                                Size , 27 x 38 mm in sheets of 16;   Printing, Offset Litho on unwatermarked paper
                                Printer, Alex. Matsoukis S.A., Graphic Arts, Greece
                                Quantities, 13c – 75,000; 30c – 50,000; 40c - 50,000;  FDC’s  - 8,000

50th Anniversary of the death of Nicos Nicolaides – 16.11.2006 Nicos Nicolaides, one of the Cyprus top-ranking prose writers, was born in Nicosia in 1884, from poor parents toiling to live. In spite of attending only the first three classes of Elementary School, he studied numerous books.  Professionally, he engaged in hagiography, an art that absorbed him until the end of his life. He lived in Athens, where he met Palamas and Sikelianos. In 1923, he settled down permanently in Cairo where he lived until his death in 1956. He started his career as a writer with poems in prose and later on with short stories, which made him known as a top intellectual personality of the Greek and Cypriot community in Egypt. Nicos Nicolaides is recognised as one of the major prose writers not only of Cyprus but more generally of modern Greek literature.

                               Design, Liza Petridou-Mala;   Text,  Paschalis Eliopoulos
                                Size,  27 x 40 mm in sheets of 20;    Printing, Offset Litho  on unwatermarked paper.
                               Printer, Alex. Matsoukis S.A., Graphic Arts, Greece
                                Quantities, 5c – 300,000; FDC’s  - 8,000

REFUGEE STAMP 2006 A specimen of this stamp has been received,  but the issue date is not mentioned.  it is listed on the order form of the Philatelic Bureau