A Review by Alan Warren
Service Stamps of Denmark 1871-1923, Danmarks Tjenestemærker by Henry Regeling, approx. 7 x 10 inches, hardbound, 186 pages, illustrated, in Danish and English, Copenhagen Philatelist Club (KPK), Copenhagen, Denmark 1999, ISBN 87-983015-4-3.
The so-called service stamps are better known to collectors here as the officials. During this period official mail was not free, but rather required the stamps that are considered back-of-the-book material by many. A distinct advantage, which makes this book useful to a wider audience, is the bilingual feature of presenting the text side by side in English and Danish. This is a detailed study of the stamps, which are discussed chronologically in six groupings by period of issue.
In the introductory section the author explains how the stamps were printed, the arrangement of the stamps in the sheets, the settings of the clichés, perforation, paper, watermarks, and a table of rates for letters and post cards during the period of use. The major part of the book is devoted to a detailed analysis of the various printings or settings and the plate flaws that can be identified, and where they are found in the sheet. Very good illustrations pinpoint the flaws for each issue.
Most of the book is devoted to the stamps, including the overprints, but a few pages address the official postal cards also. The book ends with a bibliography that lacks the basic elements expected such as place and date of publication and publisher's name for books, and the volume and issue numbers for periodicals. However, the collector of the official stamps and cards of Denmark will find just about everything he or she needs in this well presented book.
See also Book of Danish Ore Letters 1875-1902
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