Gibraltar Philatelic Event

Gibraltar philately has been in the news this year with events taking place in London (the Crawford Festival at the Royal Philatelic Society) and Birmingham (Stampex 2025). The focus in September will now be on Gibraltar philately in Gibraltar itself.

Three Days of Philately will be staged at the Garrison Library on Tuesday 16, Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 September. The first day is dedicated to celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the Gibraltar Study Circle, a specialist philatelic society that is based in the United Kingdom but which has members all over the world, including of course Gibraltar. The incoming president of the society, Stan Lawrence, will be co-ordinating the display on that day. The intention is to showcase the depth and breadth of Gibraltar philately.

The material on show will be of interest not just to stamp collectors but also to anyone interested in the commercial and social history of Gibraltar. Stamps used on their original envelopes, and letters sent before stamps were invented (in 1840) tell a story of the international outreach of Gibraltar’s merchants, traders and civilian inhabitants who were sending letters abroad. The subject depicted on more recent Gibraltar stamps gives us glimpses and insights into the history of Gibraltar.

There will be one large tranche of Gibraltar philatelic material including covers, stamps, postal history, postal stationery, revenue stamps and more, on display in the morning on 16 September, from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m., and a different range of material shown in the afternoon from 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. The material on show will be displayed by a number of members of the Gibraltar Study Circle. They include Michael Celecia and Richard Garcia from Gibraltar and a number of overseas members. The Mayor will be hosting a reception at City Hall at lunchtime in honour of the visiting philatelists. There will then be a dinner in the evening to celebrate the golden jubilee of the Gibraltar Study Circle.

The second day of the triduum, 17 September, will be an overseas meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society, London. Visiting Fellows and Members of the Society will join Richard Garcia, himself a Fellow of the society, in displaying a number of collections of international importance. The first display will be from 12 noon to 1.00 p.m., and new material will be shown in the second display from 2.30 to 4.30 p.m.

The final day of the Three Days of Philately in Gibraltar will be a Morocco Day staged by the GB Overprints Society. There have always been strong links between Gibraltar and Morocco, and for many years, up to 1906, it was Gibraltar that operated the British postal service in Morocco. A number of members of the GB Overprints Society from the UK, France and Gibraltar will be showing a range of postal history and stamps used in Morocco at the different post offices operated by the Imperial powers, Britain, France, Spain and Germany. Exhibitors from Gibraltar on this occasion will be Ian Ramognin and Richard Garcia, who is co-ordinating the event. There will be significant displays of Gibraltar stamps and postal history used in Morocco on show. The first display will be in the cabinets from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and a completely different range of material will be shown from 2.30 to 4.30 p.m.

In addition to visitors from the UK, France, Germany and Spain coming to Gibraltar specifically for this philatelic event, there will be a number of Gibraltar participants and exhibitors. It is also hoped that there will be philatelists from Morocco attending. The visitors will include the president of the GB Overprints Society, Tony Stanford FRPSL, and the chairman, Julian Bagwell.

Three Days of Philately has only been made possible by the help afforded by the Garrison Library, the Gibraltar Museum and the Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau. Saccone & Speed have kindly sponsored refreshments for the event, and arrangements are in hand to secure assistance in providing finger lunches for the visitors on the second and third days.

The exhibitions are open to the general public, and there is no admission charge. Make a note in your diary to attend and support this initiative.