This months feature item has been provided by Christine who recently obtained via an auction at Saphil House a very nice Stanley Gibbons 10th edition album that dates from around 1912. Beside the fact that this was likely to be the top of the range product for collectors of that period there is a wealth of information contained within. Beside the numerous maps showing how the world was divided between colonial powers and highlighting just how much has changed in the last 108 years, there are numerous pages showing watermarks used by various countries, period advertising aimed at philatelists and then its chock full of old stamps as well.

To sum it up - a Very interesting old album and Christine's intention is to have a bookbinder do some conservation work as it is currently a little fragile so that it is maintained as an interesting piece of history in its own right.

Images of the spine and first page

Map for Asia with the colours denoting who had the ruling authority and of particular interest is the now obsolete names used for some of the countries

Map for Oceania with particular interest in Australia where South Australia and the Northern Territory are under the same administration ( no border) and the same exists for Victoria and New South Wales.

To our north we have Germany controlling part of what is now Papua New Guinea and again the colours denoting the colonial powers with the key shown

Maps for North and South Americas

Just a small sample of the treasures within. There are of couse a few sparse pages but its a very good representative spread of early world stamps