Sorry I haven't had time to update this lately. My kids have been ill, and my teenage daughter is, in addition, having some "teenage" issues that we have to deal with, so things have been busy in our household.
I have had several inquiries about what a
Thirkell Position Finder is and what it is used for . It is a tool created by Stanley Gibbons-quite a simple tool, but the attraction of it is that it corresponds with their Great Britain Specialized Catalogs (or at least the editions of them that I have in my philatelic library). The Position Finder makes it easier to pinpoint various flaws as described in these catalogs, since the catalogs reference the exact positions of those flaws as viewed in the finder.
Here is a link to the finder on the Gibbons site:
http://www.stanleygibbons.com/shop/index.asp?page=results&keyword=thirkellIt is just a simple grid with letters and numbers denoting the rows and columns, printed on clear plastic. You place it over the stamp, similar to how you would use a clear perforation gauge, except that you must line the stamp up to the upper left corner on the gauge. A typical position reference reads Th.A2-A5 , for example. I think that many people probably don't even know what these notations refer to in those catalogs, as it doesn't seem to be made very clear.
I learned about this tool when I was a member of the Great Britain Correspondence Club. I have found it very helpful in my quest to learn more about printing flaws, retouches, etc. If you aren't at first sure what a retouch looks like on an actual stamp (catalog pix just don't do look quite the same), as I was when I started getting interested in such topics years ago, it is helpful to have the confirmation of knowing that what you are seeing is in the exact spot that the catalog editors have referenced. Therefore you know that you are most likely on the right track!
I have been sorting my pre-decimal Machins lately. I will try to post some of the varieties I find here , if anyone is interested. I haven't gotten far enough to sort for varieties yet. I have been sorting based on 2nd and 3rd level Deegam catalog information, so have been lately looking for various booklet position, direction and type of printing, etc.
Does anyone out there own one of the UV lamps which has both long and short wave bulbs on the same lamp? I am wondering if these work well, and also where a good place to obtain one would be, as prices seem to vary wildly when I search for these. Is the difference in quality, or just pricing variations? I am wondering. I think this might be helpful to me in trying to see the tagging varieties. You can see the printed tags by tilting the stamps until the glare shows you the dull tagging stripes, but that doesn't help in trying to identify which type of tag is actually there, as it is often necessary to see the color of the fluorescence or phosphorence. To that end, I guess I would need a lamp that is good enough to show these variances. If anyone out there is looking at tagging on used Machins, and can recommend a lamp, please let me know.
Obsessed with Machins lately,
Suzi
suziboyer@gmail.com
Using my Stanley Gibbons Great Britain Specialized Catalog, I identified this stamp as Head A, catalog number U14, the 4d bright vermilion.
