Tag: Stamps

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

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

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.

NHS Action Yesterday

Some very important links, an account of yesterday’s petitioning activity around the NHS and some pictures.

I have a variety of other things to share with you before I get to the main meat of my post…

LINKS

First of all a family of related links. Autism Mom’s latest post “autism-respect-the-beautiful-otherness-of-the-autistic-mind” is the original post that attracted my attention, and it in turn was inspired by two articles:

1)A piece published by the Royal Society and authored by Francesca Happe and Uta Frith.

2)A piece published on medicaldaily and written by Lecia Bushak.

Next, news of a major victory in the battle to save the world’s bees, in pictorial form. While on the subject of conservation, I have a petition to share with you about that horror known as the ivory trade.

My next link is to a piece written by a lawyer who courageously and correctly stood up for his neighbours when they were being bullied by the DWP – it provides insight into just how vicious this department has become since the Idiotic Delusional Sociopath (IDS for short) took control. This post is simultaneously disturbing and inspiring. A natural follow on from that is a link to this post from refuted.org.

Moving on, Tom Pride gives details of some vicious anti-semtism from a Tory candidate.

My next two links are related both referring to matters connected with LGBT rights. The first one was written in response to Nick Clegg publicly ruling out (a rather grandiose thing for soon-to-be ex MP to do in any case) any coalition involving the SNP, and points out just who he might find himself helping if he supports a coalition of the right – the gang of bigots officially known as the DUP. The second concerns the case of an asylum seeker facing deportion back to Jamaica and certain death – anyone actually carrying out this threat will be an accessory to murder and should be punished appropriately.

My penultimate link comes courtesy of julijuxtaposed and is counterblast to the increasingly rabid Scotphobia being shown by the right.

Finally, I include a link to an establishment being run by my latest twitter follower, which seems to be an excellent thing.

A PICTORIAL INTERLUDE

This card was sent to me by Rocio Watkins, an American researcher who I have been of some assistance to - it contained a small cheque for which I have thanked her.
This card was sent to me by Rocio Watkins, an American researcher who I have been of some assistance to – it contained a small cheque for which I have thanked her.

DSCN4496 DSCN4497

This is the stamp on the envelope in which the car was sent. Although being current issue it is not yet of interest to philatelists I feel that I may be so eventually as circular stamps are not all that common.
This is the stamp on the envelope in which the car was sent. Although being current issue it is not yet of interest to philatelists I feel that I may be so eventually as circular stamps are not all that common.

YESTERDAYS NHS ACTION

Between 11AM and 1PM yesterday about 10 of us took to the streets of King’s Lynn to collect signatures for a petition which is at the heart of a campaign to Save Our NHS. Our numbers were a little less than they may have been because of late withdrawals and the fact that some people who would ordinarily have been with us were campaigning in Hunstanton as part of Jo Rust’s election campaign (including Jo herself who would certainly have been with us otherwise).

The weather was decent, and lots of people signed. I, and accosting people I do not know with a petition is something that having Asperger;s definitely does make more difficult, personally got 20 and must have had 10 times that number tell me they had already signed. Given how many others were also collecting signatures and the near certainty that I will have gathered the fewest of any of them we are certainly talking in terms of several hundred new signatures.

Finally, a few more pictures to end the post:

DSCN4346 DSCN4493

Look up and across from outside King's Lynn Debenhams and you will see this window display!
Look up and across from outside King’s Lynn Debenhams and you will see this window display!
Details of a post-election public meeting that will very likely be the occasion of my next visit to the fine city of Norwich.
Details of a post-election public meeting that will very likely be the occasion of my next visit to the fine city of Norwich.
This is my enlarged version of the victory for bees picture.
This is my enlarged version of the victory for bees picture.

Two Very Hectic Days

As usual, before getting into the main meat of this post I have some links to share with you.

LINKS

First of all, I urge everyone to sign and/ or share Joanne Fowler’s petition about the treatment of her 93 year old father.

The only other link I am sharing with you today is courtesy of Vox Political and while I would the first to acknowledge that Tory lies are no longer (if they ever were), the stuff of headlines, the scale and extent of the lying that Mike Sivier exposes is even by the standards of the political home of Mr Shapps/Green/Fox scandalous as the full post reveals.

When I wrote my intro to the Mike Sivier piece it was going to be the last link I included, but this story from the Independent about food banks, which I picked up via twitter was too important not to include – it exposes the sheer nastiness of how the DWP conducts itself these days.

TWO HECTIC DAYS

I was aware that Thursday and Friday were going to be hectic, since I had decided to attend an evening meeting in Norwich (of which more in a later post) in between two work days, and on the Friday evening I would be calling in at my parents house to pick up the post since they are currently away in Greece. What I did not factor in was losing half an hour at Castle Meadow, central Norwich not because a bus failed to show, but because the bus did show but failed to stop! This is at a very important stop, and with me approaching the bus with the fare already in my hand ready to hand over. I absolve Norfolk Green as a company of any blame for this incident, especially given the high standards of service I have generally received over a decade of being a regular user of their buses, but they clearly have at least one rogue driver. This meant that instead of arriving at my desk at 9:30 and being able to ease into Friday’s work I arrived on the dot of 10 and had to get stuck in rather quicker. Also, the down-time immediately post work was reduced by the necessity of getting a haircut (being on the rostrum with Antiques Road Trip filming and having a jungle on top of my head would not have been a great idea!).

Thursday was taken up with imaging in the main, although I did get a press release out early in the day, and created a poster near the end of they day. This was to advertise an antique Enfield-Snider percussion cap rifle which will be in the May auction (n.b. it is of a calibre that is no longer manufactured and hence can no longer be used as a firearm)…

poster

Much of the rest of Thursday’s imaging was mundane stuff, but some is worth sharing…

252 252a 253 253a 253b 255 255a 255b 341 341a 535 558a 558b 719 719a 719b 721 721a 721b

Friday morning was taken up with imaging lots for a Timed Bid auction, conducted via www.the-saleroom.com, not many of which were of any great interest. In the afternoon, in between starting to load the van ready for going down to the Racecourse on Tuesday, I imaged a handful of lots which needed special attention…

This gold coin, lot 218 in our May auction, was a particular challenge as it had to be imaged through plastic casing.
This gold coin, lot 218 in our May auction, was a particular challenge as it had to be imaged through plastic casing.

218a 218b

The only other imaging I got done in the afternoon was of the Soviet Union badges which comprise the last three images of this post.
The only other imaging I got done in the afternoon was of the Soviet Union badges which comprise the last three images of this post.

301 302

Yesterday at James and Sons

This is the first of two blog post I shall be putting up in the course of today. The other relates to an important meeting that I attended in Norwich last night. I have three things to cover from yesterday at work, after I have shared a few links with you…

LINKS

My first link is to a very interesting post in support of the tax dodging bill.

The other links I am sharing here rather than saving for my next post are all concerned with petition seeking to get Katie Hopkins sacked, about which I have already blogged. At present it has just passed 270,000 signatures, as you can see by visiting its home page. As well as the petition, complaints have been flooding in to IPSO, the press watchdog – more details can be found by checking out this piece from Huffington Post. Finally, both Ms Hopkins and the editor of the filthy rag that published her imitation of the Third Reich have been reported for incitement to racial hatred – more details in this piece from The Independent.

YESTERDAY AT WORK

My day at work yesterday featured three different strands, a press release, the official post about which can be viewed on the James and Sons website. I now reproduce the jpg version of the original document and a link to the word document…

Antiques Road Trip

The composite image I created for the press release.
The composite image I created for the press release.
The press release in picture form.
The press release in picture form.

The second strand was resolving queries, which involved taking a picture of some old writing so that it could be sent to someone for translation, and also getting some close ups of stamps to resolve a query about lot 491 in our April sale…

DSCN4132 DSCN4133 DSCN4134 DSCN4135 DSCN4136 DSCN4137 DSCN4138

Finally, the greatest part of my day was spent imaging new stuff for our May auction (27th, Maids Head Hotel, Norwich):

511 518 518a 519 519a 520 520a 520b 525 525b 525c 526 526a 529 529a 537 708 708a 758a 760b 760c 760d 774a 774b 774e

Please share widely and do look out for my next post which will be about the Save Ashcroft Campaign.

Antiques Road Trip Comes to Fakenham

The BBC Program Antiques Road Trip will be at James and Sons’ auction at Fakenham Racecourse on April 29th. The program pits two experts in a head to head contest to turn a starting kitty of £200 each into as much money as possible. A total of twelve lots will be going under the hammer, and one of the things I did in the course of yesterday’s work was to image them…

This is lot 603A, the first Antiques Road Trip lot, which will go under the hammer at 2PM.
This is lot 603A, the first Antiques Road Trip lot, which will go under the hammer at 2PM.
And yes, you can open up the bonnet to check out the engine.
And yes, you can open up the bonnet to check out the engine.

??????????

The last of the Antiques Road Trip lots, number 700A (three images)
The last of the Antiques Road Trip lots, number 700A (three images)

??????????

Lot 687A, a stuffed pheasant.
Lot 687A, a stuffed pheasant.

??????????

Lot 685A - two images
Lot 685A – two images
A close up of the decoration on lot 682A
A close up of the decoration on lot 682A
Lot 682A - letter opener with enamelled penny black handle
Lot 682A – letter opener with enamelled penny black handle

??????????

Lot 675A, two images
Lot 675A, two images
Lot 669.
Lot 669.

?????????? ??????????

This toy car, lot 660A also warranted three images
This toy car, lot 660A also warranted three images

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????

The next three images are of lot 630A
The next three images are of lot 630A

?????????? ??????????

Lot 625A - three images
Lot 625A – three images

??????????

Lot 619
Lot 619

?????????? ?????????? ??????????

Lot 612A (four images to do it justice)
Lot 612A (four images to do it justice)
A close up of the bottom
A close up of the bottom
A close up of the top.
A close up of the top.

If you are anywhere near Fakenham on April 29th do not miss this auction. A full catalogue can be viewed online. The lots shown above will start going under the hammer at 2PM.

More May Imaging

As is now quite frequently the case I start by sharing some important bits and pieces…

LINKS

First of all, a shocking story from across the pond concerning an 11 year old autistic boy who has been convicted of assaulting a police officer. The story, from which no one in any position of authority emerges with the slightest shred of credit is the subject of a petition, courtesy of change.org, which I urge you to SIGN AND SHARE. Further details of this truly appalling story can be found by following this link. Another unpleasant story concerning autism features a 12 year old who was beaten up (to the extent of spending five days in hospital) by a known and reported bully. An up to date account can be found here.

After these horror stories, some more positive autism related stuff. Firstly, a piece on the subject of inclusion, which deserves to be read in full. My final autism related piece is by way of introducing you to a site called the art of autism and it concerns somebody named Jason.

Moving on, and interesting science piece from the Independent about an early, major collision and its role in shaping our planet. The very last item in this little collection comes courtesy of journeyaroundtheglobe.com and concerns the town of Volterra.

MAY IMAGING

Today I got to image a variety of items, some of which I shall now share with you to conclude this post…

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? 352 352a ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????

Thursday and Friday

On Thursday, the printed catalogues for James and Sons next auction got to the shop. Here is a cover shot…

Catalogue Cover 001

A full catalogue can be viewed online by following this link.

As well as producing images to resolve queries, I imaged a couple of lots that had not previously been done.This gave me some good pictures to choose from…

This is the first image for lot 452, which needed 18 images in total.
This is the first image for lot 452, which needed 18 images in total.

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????

The relevant detail from the front cover
The relevant detail from the front cover
This is one of the ten maps mentioned on the front cover.
This is one of the ten maps mentioned on the front cover.
Lot 497 was a box full of stamps and postal history items. I have included only the small high quality bits in this blog.
Lot 497 was a box full of stamps and postal history items. I have included only the small high quality bits in this blog.

?????????? ?????????? ??????????

This vast collection of buttons was hard to do anything approaching justice to, so it was no surprise to get a query about it them. This was the main image I produced in response.
This vast collection of buttons was hard to do anything approaching justice to, so it was no surprise to get a query about it them. This was the main image I produced in response.
I then produced a close up shot of some of the finest items in the collection.
I then produced a close up shot of some of the finest items in the collection.
The label on this toy was just one thing that was requested in addition to the original image.
The label on this toy was just one thing that was requested in addition to the original image.
One of the two new images I produced to show the toy in its full glory.
One of the two new images I produced to show the toy in its full glory.

??????????

The bus journey home that day was not a good one (n.b. Norfolk Green usually provide an excellent service – stories like this are very much the exception) since the engine of the bus were on overheated and shut down. Since were on Queen Elizabeth Way, in between Knight’s Hill and the hospital, the driver tried to keep it going to reach the hospital where we could pick up other buses into town. Sadly, he was not able to achieve this, and we had to wait within sight of the hospital for a replacement bus to pick us up, while the driver of the original then had to wait for a maintenance vehicle to arrive and tow his bus to the depot (I presume). Opposite Gaywood Tesco, someone having failed to spot that the destination board on the front of the bus said “PRIVATE HIRE” by way of indicating that it was not picking up tried to get on and had to be told twice that this bus was not picking up. Meanwhile, to put in perspective how unimpressive it was for someone who was not apparently incapacitated in any way to want to get a bus in to town from there, one passenger (’twas I) had decided that as it was bright and sunny outside he was going to walk the rest of the way to the town centre.

After attending to matters at Nelson Street, I got some close up pics of decorated windows at King’s Lynn Minster…

?????????? ??????????

Friday featured both some imaging to resolve queries relating to the April auction and starting to image for the May auction. It also featured in a big way one of other regular duties, that of porter. I have some good images to share, including a map from just outside Fakenham Library…

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????

However, I did get away early owing to the fact that none of the people who had keys could stay on beyond 3 o’clock. The bus home did this time survive the journey. Queen Elizabeth Way was slow again, but this time that was caused by nose to tail traffic, and the bus was stationary long enough for me to snag two excellent shots of the ruins of Bawsey Abbey…

?????????? ??????????

Banknotes Press Release

Before I get into the main meat of this blog, here is an important and interesting piece from Tom Pride, political blogger and satirist.

Given that banknotes played a starring role in James and Sons last auction on March 26th, and that those notes were part of a very large collection, the second and third parts of which will be sold on April 29th and May 27th, it was inevitable that a press release focussing on banknotes would be required, and yesterday was the day I sent it out. The official post on the James and Sons website can be viewed by clicking here and has already been widely shared on twitter. Meantime, here is the press release itself in both word and jpg form…

Banknotes Reach High Prices at Norwich Auction

This is the press release in jpg form.
This is the press release in jpg form.

Also yesterday I had to produce some images of a new donation for the Great Charity Centenary Auction, some of which I now share…

These five shots are of the same item, in two different settings and with various degrees of editing.
These five shots are of the same item, in two different settings and with various degrees of editing.

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????

Also yesterday I dealt with some of the very few items for the April auction that have yet to be imaged. A full catalogue for this auction is available for viewing by clicking here. Here are the highlights from the lots I imaged yesterday…

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????