Adanaland stamps impress with quality

A couple of weeks ago, I received a letter from a Mr. Alan B. of Essex, England. Alan began his letter by explaining explained that he is a member of the Letter Writers Alliance and a “stamp-fancier.” Seeing that we have some mutual interests, I read on.

In addition to his other pursuits, Alan enjoys letterpress printing and creating “stamps” for his Kingdom of Adanaland and related territories. He sent samples of his work, a few of which I wanted to share here.

3-pence Adanaland stamp picturing D.A. Aspinall — Adanaland stamp

It’s more than a little unusual to see cinderella revenue stamps:

3-pence Adanaland revenue stamp — Adanaland revenue stamp

And then there’s Alan’s Expanded Egyptian Territories, identified on this stamp as an Adanaland Protectorate. Note that the face value of this stamp is in picas; the pica, of course, is a unit of measurement used by printers.

2-picas Expanded Egyptian Territories stamp — Expanded Egyptian Territories stamp

Although Alan’s stamps are not necessarily as colorful as those created by some other stamp-issuing entities, the printing is incredibly sharp—a result, I suppose, of the printing method, and a testament to his skill at operating letterpress equipment. I’m impressed by what he has done, and look forward to seeing more of his work in the future!

Published 2015-03-17

Comments

Happy Day Mail (2015-03-19 19:40):

Fascinating! I so enjoy seeing any kind of cinderella stamps. It was a pleasure to read this post and of course, it's always fun to learn of another fellow member of Letter Writers Alliance.

Kevin Blackston (2015-03-20 06:47):

I like seeing cinderella stamps, too, especially when they’re done as well at Alan’s are. I wonder how many Letter Writers Alliance members make their own “stamps”; there’s obviously some overlap.