Tag: Stamps

Better Late Than Never

An account of working on various things in connection with James and Sons’ next auction (Tuesday October 6th, action starts at 10AM).

INTRODUCTION

This brief post is about James and Sons next live auction. Regular readers of this blog will recall that it was scheduled for September 30. Events intervened, and the date was changed to Tuesday October 6th, but all is now back in order.

THE PREPARATIONS

We thought that all the gremlins had been dealth with when the first batch of catalogues arrived back from the printers until someone glancing at the inside of the catalogue just after they had arrived in the shop noted that something was amiss in about a nanosecond and had put a finger on the problem in not much longer. Unbelievably, although the cover was right the listing was the August listing reproduced in its entirety. Fortunately, the printers did not argue over whose mistake it was (the evidence against them being absolute) and set about rectifying the mistake. Even more fortunately the speed with which a certain individual (one of those advantages of autism mentioned in this post) had spotted the problem meant that none of the faulty catalogues had even been put in envelopes, much less posted. The catalogue is also available for viewing online.

A MAMMOTH EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE

Most of Thursday at work was taken up with dealing queries about the upcoming auction. There was one individual who had sent requests for images of every banknote in lots 590-8 inclusive, each of which was a whole album full of said items. Here is a sample image which just happened to be the last note of the last lot in this list…

DSCN6181

FILLING IN THE GAPS

Also in the last fewf days I have been filling in the remaining gaps in the imaging (in most cases gaps that were there because the lots had not actually been assembled – they were bulk coin lots in the main). Here a few highlights…

567 - a

With this lot, the box merited attention at leats as much as the coins within.
With this lot, the box merited attention at leats as much as the coins within.

567

Not a bulk coin lot - a late description change.
Not a bulk coin lot – a late description change.

569

This also necessitated a late change of description on the online catalogue.
This also necessitated a late change of description on the online catalogue.

GETTING THE WORD OUT

Principal among yesterday’s tasks was getting an email out to our online customers about the auction. I prepared the text part of the email using word, assembled a montage of a few of the better images and once I got the go ahead sent it out. I conclude this post by sharing the images and the text with you.

52bc 395bc 421 501 502 533

This is how I assembled the six foregoing images into a montage.
This is how I assembled the six foregoing images into a montage.
A JPG of the original word document, created by screendumping and cropping.
A JPG of the original word document, created by screendumping and cropping.

JAMES AUCTION ALERT

Stamps and Medals

A brief account of today at work, with some good images. Also some high quality links, especially concerning “Celebrate Suffragettes not Serial Killers”

INTRODUCTION

As well as sharing some of the better images from today at work (all items will going under the hammer on September 30th, and the lot numbers range between 312 and 549) I have some important links to share.

THE IMAGES

Apart from one big coin lot at the start of the day, I was imaging big stamp lots as and when they were ready and medal lots in the gaps in between. Here are some of the better images…

355 355a 359 359a 364a 366a 370 401 435 442

LINKS

My first two links are to splendid posts on a new find, “why evolution is true“, a blog named for the book of that title by Jerry A Coyne (the book is superb as well by the way):

Another pair of related links:

  1. Before visiting this post from scriptonitedaily make sure you have a sick bag handy – it tells us about a former UKIP candidate who blamed the drowning of a three year old Syrian on the greed of his parents.
  2. A petition that is just taking off an avaaz calling for “no more drownings”

Jayne Linney in her eponymous blog takes the DWP to task for once again refusing to release data on disability benefits.

Meanwhile, Welfare Weekly have this about a volunteer law project that has won 95% of its appeals against fit to work test results.

Michael Meacher has produced this excellent post about Tony Blair’s increasingly hysterical denunciations of the Corbyn campaign.

I end this brief post with a link to thefashionhistorian because the author of this blog, Katy Werlin has just become involvewd in the East End Womens Museum project. Here is a sample of Katy’s work. Hot off the press, a new link offering you a chance to write to the mayor of Tower Hamlets about this issue.

The Inhumane Despicable Sociopath and Attempting to Bury Bad News

A section on IDS and benefit deaths, a section on the Labour leadership contest and some other stuff including pictures.

INTRODUCTION

This post is about the recent revelations from the DWP of just how many people have died shortly after having their benefits axed – revelations that were carefully timed to coincide with the dissolution honours in an effort to minimize the coverage they got. Having finally had to admit defeat after fighting a long rearguard action against making any revelations at all (well done Mr Sivier and Ms Zolobajluk for your roles in making this happen) they produce the figures at this time of all times!

THE INHUMANE DESPICABLE SOCIOPATH

Others have done a splendid job of publicising the figures already, and most of this section is devoted to linking to the best of the many pieces that this scandal has generated. First however, a couple of pics to set the scene…

This, courtesy of Mike Sivier at Vox Political is devastating revealing of the kind of monster we are talking about.
This, courtesy of Mike Sivier at Vox Political is devastating revealing of the kind of monster we are talking about.
This is a partial acrostic of my own creation - I could not think of sufficiently opprobrious words to link the secondary letters of each of his names!
This is a partial acrostic of my own creation – I could not think of sufficiently opprobrious words to link to the secondary letters of each of his names!

When to comes the various articles and other pieces that have been produced, I have to start with the instigator of it all…

Mike Sivier at Vox Political, who produced this offering. Mike’s FOI request and tireless badgering of the DWP were backed by this hugely successful petition run via change.org by Maggie Zolobajluk.

DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts) produced this response to the revelations.

The Liverpool Echo, spurred by the excellent contribution of local MP Louise Ellman, provided this splendid article.

Meanwhile, in the “Land of the Mountain and the Flood”, to be found north of Hadrian’s Wall, The Herald had this to contribute.

That wonderful online resource, Huffington Post, were comfortably up to their usual standards with this offering.

In a truly sickening development to this story, pointed up by Political Scrapbook, on the very day that these figures were finally revealed IDS’s confederate (or as they call them in this context, special advisor) Philippa Stroud was awarded a peerage.

I finish with a brief comment of my own: these figures should without a doubt gain IDS the prize of a one way ticket to The Hague – they constitute ironclad evidence of crimes against humanity carried out on a shocking scale.

A PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERLUDE

Here are some photographs from yesterday…

This will be lot 251 in James and Sons September Auction
This will be lot 251 in James and Sons September Auction
A close up of the two stamps - a 2d blue (quite rare) and a 1d red/brown (common as muck)
A close up of the two stamps – a 2d blue (quite rare) and a 1d red/brown (common as muck)

252 253 254 254a

This coin is lot 560
This coin is lot 560
A few pictures from yesterday morning's walk
A few pictures from yesterday morning’s walk

DSCN4799 DSCN4800 DSCN4801 DSCN4802 DSCN4803

Close ups of each face of the coin.
Close ups of each face of the coin.

560b

Lot 601
Lot 601

THE LABOUR LEADERSHIP CONTEST

This will be a brief section. I am not a part of this process, not because I have been purged (although the Labour right are currently purging with truly Vyshinskian enthusiasm in a desperate bid to win by foul means a contest that are being thumped in by fair means) – I never sought a vote in this contest. I have three links to share:

ENDNOTES

In this section I have three links that I wish to share that did not belong in the main body of the post. After that I have a request, an advance notice and a closing picture.

My request is that everyone who has made it through this post should please share it as widely as possible. In line with this request I encourage you to use anything in this blog post that appeals to you just so long as you, as I always try to, give credit where it is due.

My advance notice is that I am working on a post that will be much longer than anything I have previously offered for public consumption.

Bilbo Baggins was once reduced at a banquet to saying “Thag you very buch” – I now conclude this  post by offering the clarfiied version…

TY4

Emails, Images and Sorts

An account of today at James and Sons, with images and links, plus a couple of bonus links at the end.

INTRODUCTION

This is a post about today at work. I also have some links to share later on.

AUCTION READY

James and Sons’ August Auction will take place at Fakenham Racecourse on the 26th (a week tomorrow). Today therefore was spent imaging lots that had not yet been done, creating and despatching a bulk email and various other bits and bobs.

IMAGING HIGHLIGHTS

There were a few interesting items in today’s imaging…

Some interesting memorabilia from the 1956 ashes (offspinner Laker 46 wickets at less than 10 each just 18 months after the pace of Tyson and Statham had done for Aus on their own pitches)
Some interesting memorabilia from the 1956 ashes (offspinner Laker 46 wickets at less than 10 each just 18 months after the pace of Tyson and Statham had done for Aus on their own pitches)

31 32 33 41 42 100 331 331a 331b 331c 331d 508 509

EMAILING

The process of creating a bulk email involves identifying recipients, selecting/ creating an image, working out a headline and body text, assembling, and once a higher authority has deemed everything acceptable sending it out. I used the cover of the catalogue as an image. There were several variations before I was done…

This was a first attempt using the scanner.
This was a first attempt using the scanner.
Subsequently I used screen dumps from the PDF document to create two possible images.
Subsequently I used screen dumps from the PDF document to create two possible images.
This one, with the front cover in the centre.
This one, with the front cover in the centre.

CPDF3

And the one I eventually used, featuring just front and back cover.
And the one I eventually used, featuring just front and back cover.

The complete document can be viewed below:

Auction Alert

View a complete catalogue

LINKS

Just a couple of links:

Adverts and Imaging

INTRODUCTION

The title section of this post refers to today’s activites at James and Sons, but I also have some important links and quality infographics to share. On the subject of sharing, I hope that some of you are encouraged to share this post.

ADVERTS AND IMAGING

Today was productive, but not as productive as it might have been due to the fact that my efforts on the imaging front were interrupted by the need to send a couple of very basic adverts to the Diss Express and the Bury Free Press respectively about collector’s fair. A copy of one of the ads is below and I will provide links to the original word documents for both…

COLLECTORS FAIR AND AUCTION VALUATION DAY

WEDNEDAY 5TH AUGUST

STOWMARKET FOOTBALL CLUB 10AM TO 3PM

A wide range of coins, stamps, postcards,
banknotes, militaria etc. for sale.

COLLECTIONS PURCHASED

Please ask for David James

Tel: 01328 855003      Email: admin@jamesandsonsnorfolk.com

Collectors Fair Diss CF

IMAGING

The imaging workload was nicely varied, featuring most kinds of item we sell save for militaria…

COINS

The coin lots I choose to share come in the form of high resolution scans…

52 68b 68a 68 67b 67a 67 60b 60a 60 57b 57a 57 56b 56a 56 53b 53a 53 52b 52a

STAMPS

The stamps were all in albums and hence required the use of the camera…

403 403a 403b 403c 405 405a

EPHEMERA AND TOYS

These items were also done with the camera, and apart from a few football programs I will sharing the full range. The items categorised as toys are actually as you will see collector’s models – not intended to be played with…

12 13 14 50 50a

This gazeteer is not in great nick but then it is over 250 years old
This gazeteer is not in great nick but then it is over 250 years old

348a 348b 348c
350 351 351a 352 354 354b 355 355a 356 356a

POSTCARDS

To end the section on today at work, some more scans, this time of postcards…

421 423 424 413 416

LINKS

I do not have as many links as sometimes, but they are all very important, starting with…

CECIL THE LION

This is a story about a self-indulgent rich bastard (I make no apologies for the strong language – I do not often resort to it) from Minnesota named Walter James Palmer and an African icon. The circumstances of this particular piece of “trophy hunting” – Mr Palmer apparently has a long history of such activities – have generated it vast international publicity. The lion was decoyed out of the protected area in which it lived by bait, shot with a crossbow and ultimately finished off with a rifle – all so a rich American could indulge his perverted sense of fun. I have two links for further information about the story:

1)This from avaaz

2)And this article in a newspaper not often cited by this blog – The Telegraph.

AN UPDATE ON “ROOSH V”

The campaign to prevent “Roosh V” from being allowed into Canada continues to gather momentum – here is the latest news.

VOTING REFORM

Just a single link here, to the Voting Reform Declaration.

VOX POLITICAL ON DISABILITY

Two excellent pieces from the ever reliable Mike Sivier today, both on the subject of disability:

1)This one about the assessment system as orchestrated by the vile American company Unum.

2)This horror story about a case of discrimination by association – sacked for being a family member of a disabled person.

A NEW DISCOVERY COURTESY OF A GREAT SUPPORTER

Autism Mom is a long standing supporter of this blog, and it was from her blog that I located the details of pucksandpuzzlepieces whose most recent post features tackling an assault course!

INFOGRAPHICS

My first infographic comes with a link this article on Discover…

Lizard Family Tree

Next, a return to the Telegraph – unlike the story which I am told was big and bold this correction was tiny and in the bottom corner of a page, so I am giving it a bit of extra exposure!

Torygraph exposed

Finally to end this post two excellent infographics relating to the Conservative Party…

Tory Bastards selfservativespuc

Special Post: Victoria

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the latest installment in my series “London Station by Station“. I hope that you will enjoy this post and be encouraged to share it.

THE ULTIMATE IN TRANSPORT NODES

A SOUPCON OF HISTORY

Victoria Underground station first opened as part of the Metropolitan District Railway in 1868. The construction of this of the system was combined with the building of the Victoria Embankment, and was designed and overseen by Joseph William Bazelgette who was also responsible for the design of London’s sewer system. Peter Bazalgette, the TV producer who has a bridge programme from the 1980s to his credit and Big Brother to his debit is a great-great nephew of Joseph William.

The infighting between the Metropolitan District (now the District line) and it’s supposed senior partner the Metropolitan meant that the Inner Circle (now the Circle line), the other line to serve these platforms was not completed until 1884.

In spite of giving its name to the line in question, Victoria was not one of the original Victoria line stations, opening as part of the second of three tranches in 1969, before the final section from Victoria to Brixton opened in 1971.

A PHILATELIC DIGRESSION

One of the quirks of the Victoria line is that every station features a pattern o a picture of some sort used as a motif. The pattern used at Victoria, is based on one of the most famous items to feature a picture of Queen Victoria, the 2d blue postage stamp. I do not have a picture of the London Underground pattern based on it to hand, but this was lot 682 in James and Sons’ May auction…

682

THE TRANSPORT HUB

Victoria is the most used station on the entire London Underground network. In excess of 60 million passenger journeys per year start or finish at this station. Victoria is a major train station, serving a wide variety of destinations to the South and East of London, including running the Gatwick Express, which connects to London’s second busiest airport. There is at the moment a bitter rivalry between Gatwick and Heathrow over who will get a new runway. My own view? Neither – do not build the thing at all – instead encourage people away from aeroplanes.

In addition to the train services there is Victoria Coach Station, from which you can reach most parts of the country, although some of the journey times are very long.

THE PHOTOGRAPHIC FINALE

As usual for these posts I have some map pictures…

DSCN8590

The Diagrammatic History
The Diagrammatic History

Operation Catch Up

INTRODUCTION

As well as my title piece I have some photos which connect to that and some cracking links to share with you. Read, enjoy and please share…

OPERATION CATCH UP

The combination of two auctions happening in the space of four days and a degree of failure on the organsiation front has made things somewhat hectic of late. However, after a full day imaging for our June auction today, I believe that we will be able to give our online viewers a week to look at the items that will be going under the hammer, which did not look likely at one point. Today’s imaging has been very varied, including some lovely Hornby toys (Hornby for the uninitiated are THE name when it comes to railway themed toys and models). There were also some decent stamp lots and some interesting militaria. To end this section here are some pictorial highlights…

277 277a 283 283a 294 503 503a 506 506a 512 512a 519 594 594a 596 596a 600 618 622 623 623a 623b 641 658 658a 664 665 685 764 764a 767 767a 794

LINKS

Here as promised are those links, starting with a fistful on the subject of…

RELIGION

My first three links are all related to the same organisation:

1)Atheist Republic home

2)Atheist Republic blogs

3)Atheist Republic’s brief explanation of atheism.

Patheos, so often a source of good material have done it again, this time with a piece about Christian extremist opposition to higher education.

A CHANCE TO BRING A VILE CRIMINAL TO JUSTICE

A single link, being given a subsection to itself. This is a petition being run by Avaaz to ensure that the South African government does the right thing and takes the opportunity to arrest and incarcerate former Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir

SCIENCE AND MUSIC

An unusual juxtaposition, but both my science related pieces are concerned with planets, and there is a very well known piece of music called The Planets, so I considered it acceptable on this occasion. The music related link is to a piece by Charlotte Hoather about Madama Butterfly, in a production of which she will soon be appearing. My two planets themed pieces both come from Cosmos Up:

1)Juxtaposition of Jupiter and Venus

2)A possible preponderance of Neptune sized planets in our galaxy.

A FINAL SELECTION

Three more links, starting with this from Jayne Linney.

Stop Homophobia have collected some superb responses to hate mail.

Last but most definitely not least is this piece from network autism about gender dysphoria and autism.

A Hard Day’s Imaging

INTRODUCTION

I have a few links to share with you, but most of the post will be taken up with the title piece.

CATALOGUE FOR GREAT CENTENARY CHARITY AUCTION IN PRINT

The catalogue for the Great Centenary Charity Auction is now available in printed form. For more detail please consult the official post on www.greatcharity.org, which can be viewed here. Just to whet the appetiite further here is a glimps of the cover…

GCCA Catalogue

A HARD DAY’S IMAGING

Having knocked the Great Charity Centenary Auction on the head, today was almost entirely devoted to imaging for James and Sons own June auction. I imaged a wide variety of lots today, and reckoning that pictures speak louder than words, the rest of this section will be images of some the better lots…

This is lot 1 - starting as we would like to continue!
This is lot 1 – starting as we would like to continue!

1a 517 589 626 626a 630 630a 647 647a 647b 777 777a 786 786a 791

LINKS

Just three links with this post, these two related stories from Patheos:

1) Yet another creationist (Ken Ham in this case) makes a fool of himself.

2) Miley Cyrus shows herself to be capable of being sensible.

Our final link is to a piece in The Mirror about the DWP’s continuing effort to avoid revealing just how many people have died as a result of welfare cuts.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and will be inspired to share it.

A Pot-Pourri of a Post

Some good links to various interesting and important items, an important infographic in among them, a couple of classic recipes and some excellent images.

Before I get into my own stuff, I have some links to share…

LINKS

I start with a series of posts about the general election that has just happened:

First up, the ever reliable Mike Sivier of Vox Political. It was also Mr Sivier who provided the introduction to the my next post, written by David Hencke. Another frequent source of good material is John P Ointon who blogs as notesfromthenorth and who provided a fine response to the general election. My final piece of election related material, given that the Tories have an absolute majority in the house on 36% of the votes cast, is a petition calling for a change in the system of parliamentary representation courtesy of change.org, accompanied by a graphic showing what the the break down of MPs would be under PR…

PR

My penultimate link is to the petition currently being run via 38 Degrees by the Save Southwark Woods campaign.

My last link is to a post from Autism Mom.

IMAGING AND OTHER STUFF

A combination of two busy and eventful days and a sleepless night in between (following the election) has meant that I have not posted recently. I revisited a classic recipe of mine this week, my own customised version of Madhur Jaffrey’s Lemony Chicken and Coriander, although rather than using thighs I used a half chicken cut into managable size pieces with the aid of ‘the world’s sharpest knife’. This recipe featured, along with another that I have not used in a very long time in my first ever blog post. Here are both recipes in a graphic…

Kitchen Specialities

The ‘PR’ graphic I put up earlier of course is based on actual votes and not on how people would have voted had PR been in force (e.g. I voted labour in the general election for a combination of reasons which would not have applied under PR – the question would have been whether to vote Green – as I did in the local elections – or for the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition, TUSC). In view of the number of people who clearly did not vote the way they had told pollsters they would, here is photographic proof that I did precisely what I said I would…

DSCN4993

I have done some interesting imaging at work this week, finishing off the May stuff and imaging one piece of stock for the June sale that needed to be protected from damage…

These five images are of the medals that feature in lot 424A in our May auction. There were two pics, one taken with flash and one without, the latter of which was treated in three different ways and the former in two.
These five images are of the medals that feature in lot 424A in our May auction. There were two pics, one taken with flash and one without, the latter of which was treated in three different ways and the former in two.

Flash No Flash - edited

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No Flash

These date from Thursday, now some stuff from yesterday…

The documents that accompany the medals pictured earlier.
The documents that accompany the medals pictured earlier.
The next six images are of lot 653 in the June sale (It was mighty hard to capture every detail of something so intricate as this, hence so many pics)
The next six images are of lot 653 in the June sale (It was mighty hard to capture every detail of something so intricate as this, hence so many pics)

653a 653b 653c 653d 653e 768 768a 768b

ON SHARING

At the start of this post I shared various things from other sources, because they had made an impact on me. If you enjoyed this post I would be very grateful for you to share it, and I also encourage you to share individual items from within it if they particularly appeal to you. My final words, once rendered by the estimable Mr Bilbo Baggins as “thag you very buch” are embodied in the image with which this post concludes and apply to all who read it through to the end:

TY3

Setting Up One Auction and Imaging for Another

This morning I helped with getting tomorrow’s auction set up at Fakenham Racecourse, and took the opportunity of photographing this display of uniforms, which will be part of a stall advertising the Great Centenary Charity Auction, on whose twitter account I have already posted it…

UniformsThen, for the afternoon I was engaged in imaging lots for the May sale. There a some interesting items to image, a selection of which I now share with you…

455 455a 455b 457 457a 457b 457c 459 459a 459b 459c 459d 472 472a 472b 620 620a 622 622a 622b 622c 642 642a 642b 642c 464 464a 464bIn ascending order the lots featured above are 455 (Nature), 457 (Glastonbury), 459 (Robert Hooke – among many other things author of Micrographia, one of the first books ever written about the use of the microscope), 464 (Edmond Halley, a near contemporary of Hooke, now best known for the comet that bears his name), 472 (Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol”), 620 (Alderney “Womble” stamps), 622 (Nassau Postcard with stamp and postmark) and 642 (Nepal postcard, with stamp and postmark).

If you have enjoyed this post please share it.