Another Fine Mess

It may be my imagination but there seem to be fewer old soldiers collecting stamp nowadays.

After the last war the salerooms were full of majors and colonels, filling their albums with Penny Blacks or 'Red Indians with pointed busts' (the India 1855 1 anna Die III in case you are wondering), their appetite whetted by travels overseas.

Perhaps the bright multicolours of modern stamps have contributed to putting them off, as the preferred colours of the military man tend toward the drab. Some years ago my parents moved into a house purchased from a Royal Marine that had a bathroom suite completely in dark brown. I know that war is scary but this seems excessive.

My own brother retired from the Army recently and I am no longer able to amuse myself by asking him how much he enjoys sitting in his own mess – an old joke and an inappropriate one for several reasons, particularly as soldiers do tend to be exceptionally tidy by nature. The soldier-collector will arrange his stamps in nice neat rows and then only be frustrated when they refuse to march up and down, however loudly the command is given.

'A bit of a mess' is though the normal condition for most philatelists, sorting and classification being a big part of the hobby, establishing order from confusion. A sensible stamp wife will recognize this need early on and allocate at least one dedicated room in the house for this sort of thing. The vacuum cleaner will be banned and the dust will start to build.

The same applies on a rather larger scale for a stamp auction house and visitors to the Grosvenor offices may have noticed quantities of boxes, envelopes and paperwork apparently littering the premises, particularly during a week such as this when the 'lotting up' and numbering of an auction is taking place. Our unfortunate cleaner circulates with her vacuum only with the greatest of care.

This is as it should be and I rather agree with Nick Mansell who told me once how greatly he mistrusted those individuals who habitually maintain a clear desk, and how he would certainly never leave them alone with children.

Some only work to their full potential when stamps and paperwork can be liberally spread around. Chris Lawrence, for example, has developed an ability to occupy at least three desks simultaneously and still complains of lack of space. Chris has been spreading outwards ever since he joined us.

JG