Cinderellas, You Shall Go To The Auction

The urge to collect stuff is a noble instinct and should be embraced in all its forms, however odd they might at first appear. A true collector will show himself through many forms of gathering - my office is littered with old rock samples, postcards and various obscure ephemera. I can even be a bit of a tegestologist*. My coffee mug is sitting on something rather unusual right now.

In Devon such enthusiasms are well accepted. An old classmate of mine there  runs the national Gnome Reserve and in my father's old parish of Merton you will find Barometer World, a museum for barometers which famously announced in its publicity leaflet that it offers parking "for one or two cars". There is perhaps nothing finer than such examples of letting one's enthusiasm go all the way.

We are delighted then to be presenting this Spring the Jim Mullett collection of British Islands, to be sold as a separate auction on April 26th, which includes one of the finest collections of Lundy material ever formed. This will be the most important group of what some will call 'cinderella' material since 2000 when we were proud to offer the extensive collection of Norman Williams, one of the famous 'Williams Brothers' whose writings did so much to further the hobby over many decades.

But this 'cinderella' material is not worthy of the attentions of serious philatelists, some will be thinking. On the contrary, many of the most advanced collectors embrace material that falls out of the reach of the main stamp catalogues and the movement toward non-traditional patterns of collecting is strong.

It can also be fun. One of my favourite philatelic experiences was some years ago when I visited the Principality of Hutt River Province, a self-proclaimed sovereign state in Western Australia, in order to buy stamps directly from their post office.  I was served by HRH Princess Shirley herself, wife of the ruler Prince Leonard, who we had disturbed from her mid-morning rest, and who was still wearing her slippers.

Some will also be asking what is a "Lundy" ? Well, for the very few who do not already know, Lundy is the largest island in the Bristol Channel, 12 miles off the coast of North Devon. It has a small resident population and has been issuing its own stamps since 1929, the G.P.O. having withdrawn two years before. The recurrent theme of the stamps has been that most amiable of birds the puffin, but there is other thematic interest as well as booklets and even airmail issues.

The puffin theme is not the result of some unhealthy obsession, for "lundi"was in fact the old Norse name for the bird.

For the tourist today the island is a beautiful spot to visit, full of history and character. So if you are going to Devon next summer and have had your fill of clotted cream, barometers and gnomes . . .

JG

* Tegestology - from the Greek tegestos, a small reed mat - the collecting of drink coasters and beer mats.