Stamp Magazine – December 2018

In the December issue we investigate the little North Sea island of Heligoland, which was once a British territory issuing Queen Victoria stamps, and after an explosive 20th-century history is now a German territory celebrated on modern commemoratives.

We also look behind the scenes at Royal Mail’s five-year series of stamp issues commemorating the First World War, which has recently concluded, to see how the concept was developed and how the designers came up with its eye-catching and evocative imagery. And we have the unusual story of Cuba’s 1883 overprints, which were necessitated by a warehouse burglary.

Our regular Commonwealth Classics feature celebrates a gem from New Zealand’s 1920 Victory issue, our Great Engravers slot admires the work of Swiss artist Wilhelm Nuesch in South America, and our GB Themes pages review British stamps on the theme of railways.

In our news section, you’ll find full details of the most interesting new issues from around the world, and of a world record total for a single-day auction. As ever, our columnists and our readers letters offer plenty of thought-provoking opinion.