The football World Cup stolen whilst in the care of Stanley Gibbons has been found in South London by Pickles the dog. A little boy of 10 messing around in a drawer finds an old album - a very old enormous black leather album with a lock at the side, the key is missing, curiously he opens it. On the first page he finds a piece of paper about an inch square mainly black in appearance. The little boy is attracted to this item of beauty, a 1d black purchased by his father before World War II for 3/-. The little boy who found that 1d black in 1966 later joins his school stamp club, finding a copy of the 1966 3d Christmas with the ‘T’ missing! much to the amazement of fellow pupils. His interest is hungrily fed by a retired builder who opens up what seems to be a vertible treasure store every Saturday in a spare room. Our growing enthusiast recalls the walls of the ‘shop’ covered with peg boards bearing sheet upon sheet of pretty stamps and a special box that the dealer had containing special pieces. It must have been the year 1970 when he made a joint purchase with his father (who had by then rekindled his own interest) of two G.B. surface printed stamps on cover, the 10d (SG 112) and the 2/- blue (SG 120), both covers still in their possession and still rather nice to this day. Enthusied (check spelling) by the quality printing of Courvoisier a collection is started of modern Channel Isle issues and their war time predecessors which include a prized example of the 1d Jersey chalky paper in an imprint strip of 3! The distractions of teenage life insist stamp collecting is put in the cupboard until 1980 when Stanley Gibbons advertise for staff from beginners to management. Thinking a seat on the Board a progressive step in life our collector accepts a job as ‘tea boy’ in the Great Britain department where he stays for 4 years until starting his own company. Memories of that very enjoyable four years in that Great Britain department include: opening up a small tobacco tin from the Nissen stock and finding it crammed full of British rarities including double prints and most of the surface printed abnormals:handling a bewildering assortment of British stamps and meeting the leading collectors of the time: forming the Stanley Gibbons football team and finishing bottom of the league although winning the Sportsmanship Trophy for the year,and falling in love with a gorgeous red headed secretary who later became his wife !! That company started in 1984 has now become one of the worlds leading retailers in British stamps and postal history, buying and selling from the earliest postal history through to major modern printing errors, specialising in the unusual and items of quality - particularly strong in all things Queen Victoria !! A member of the Philatelic Traders Society since 1984, our integrity and honesty is guaranteed. Also members of ASDA (USA), APTA (Australian), SAPDA (South African), NVPH (Dutch) overseas trade associations. Membership of the Great Britain Philatelic Society since the early 1980’s, the American Philatelic Society since 1985 (member in good standing 138783), the Great Britain Collectors Club and other postal history/collecting groups has ensured an excellent up to date working knowledge.
‘You are certainly the best’ C.P.H. (Norway)
‘And had a difficult time picking and choosing from the range of fine offerings’ J.M. (Canada)
‘I treasure the memory of that day I visited you’ D.M (U.S.A)
‘I will buy them all.I’m satisfied with them very much’ J.M.(Japan)
‘So-cheque enclosed with pleasure’ M.N.(U.K.)
‘An excellent list’ Recent comment from the trade
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