The Ionian Islands’ only set of stamps, issued in 1859, comprised the undenominated (½d) orange, (1d) blue and (2d) carmine
Today, the Ionian Islands are a magnet for tourism, inspired by films such as Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.
But in the 19th century, this small archipelago off the west coast of Greece was thought of mainly as a strategic base for a naval fleet.
The islands had been passed from the Venetians to the French, to the Turks, to the Russians and back to the French again, before they were made a British protectorate in 1815.
Albania 1913 25q blue, depicting the national hero Gjergji Kastrioti, better known as 'Skanderbeg'
The 10q value with '7 Mars’ and ‘1467 Rroftë Mbreti 1914' handstamped overprints, issued to celebrate the arrival of Wilhelm of Wied in 1914
It was not until the early 20th century that an independent Albania emerged from the crumbling Ottoman Empire of Turkey, which had dominated the Balkans for centuries.
The new country comprised thousands of tribes who were very suspicious of each other, but the hunger for self-determination was the glue that held them together – that, and the support of powerful allies.
When Serbia and Greece threatened to divide the territory between them during the First Balkan War of 1912-13, Europe’s great powers instead brokered the creation of a buffer state of ethnic Albanians, to be ruled over by an appointed monarch, the German prince Wilhelm of Wied.
Burma 1938 1r purple and blue, with the tail-feathers of a peacock embracing the head of King George VI
The medium values had attractive pictorial designs
Lower Burma had been progressively occupied by the British as part of India in 1826 and 1852, and in 1885 General Sir Harry Prendergast was dispatched with 10,000 troops to acquire Upper Burma and complete the conquest.
In what became known as the Third Anglo-Burmese War, the troublesome King Thibaw, who had hoped to reunify his country, was banished to serve out the rest of his days in exile.
At a stroke, Burma became the largest province in British India, and the use of Indian stamps was extended to the newly annexed territory.
The exact date on which William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon is unknown, but tradition says it was on St George’s Day, April 23, 1564.
The Post Office’s long-standing refusal to countenance stamps in honour of famous people gave it a problem in 1964 when there was agitation for a special issue of stamps to mark the 400th anniversary.
Sir Winston Churchill was 90 years old when he died on January 24, 1965.
Remarkably, he had been a member of the House of Commons until as recently as the previous autumn.
As Britain’s greatest parliamentarian and war leader, not to mention a Nobel Prize-winning author, a journalist and an accomplished artist, he was an obvious subject for a set of stamps, but the Post Office established a new precedent in issuing them.
St Vincent's first high value
The Caribbean island of St Vincent thrived for many years as a simple plantation economy, but after the emancipation of slave labour in 1833 its development required an efficient postal system.
In 1852 a post office was opened at Kingstown, the capital, where British stamps were used initially, cancelled by the distinctive ‘A10’ oval postmark.
But on June 4, 1860, a Post Office Act paved the way for the colony to issue its own stamps.
Abraham Lincoln is considered one of the greatest ever Presidents of the United States.
His time in office was spent trying to abolish slavery, save the Union and reunite the country as the American Civil War raged, and his tragic fame was cemented by the fact that he was assassinated within days of the conflict being resolved.
His austere, bearded face remains instantly recognisable today, and the words of his Gettysburg Address are still quoted regularly.
When rumours arose of a joint stamp issue to mark the 60th anniversary of Indonesian independence, both the Dutch and Indonesian postal authorities were quick to deny them.
That was no great surprise, as the colonial period still touches a raw nerve in both countries.
The last Dutch royal visit, for example, in 1995, was fraught with politics, raising difficult questions about whether Queen Beatrix should apologise for imperialism in what was then the Netherlands Indies (or Dutch East Indies), or voice concern over present-day Indonesia’s poor human rights record.
