Stanley Gibbons catalogue
The first Stanley Gibbons stamp catalogue was a penny price list issued in November 1865 and reissued at monthly intervals for the next 14 years.[1] The company produces numerous catalogues covering different countries, regions and specialisms; many of them are reissued annually. The catalogues list all known adhesive postage stamp issues and include prices for used and unused stamps.
Stamp prices
Unlike other dealers' catalogues, Stanley Gibbons state that their catalogue is a retail price list. In other words, if they had that exact stamp in stock in the exact condition specified, the current catalogue price is the price that they would charge for it. This contrasts with most other catalogues which are produced by firms that do not sell stamps and therefore base their pricing on an average of market values in the country where the catalogue is published. In practice, the actual price charged by Stanley Gibbons for an individual stamp may be different from the catalogue price because the specimen for sale is of a different grade, the market conditions have changed since the catalogue was produced, the firm has a plentiful or restricted supply of that stamp, or for a variety of other reasons.
Catalogue range
The range includes the following catalogues:
- Simplified Catalogues
- Stamps of the World. (An annual catalogue, first published in 1934, now in six volumes listing stamps from every country in the world.) and its regional subsets:
- Africa, 1st edition (2010)
- Asia Volume 1, 1st edition (2010)
- Commonwealth, 5th edition (2013)
- Western Europe, 2nd edition (2012)
- Regional Catalogues
- Antarctica, 2nd edition (2012)
- North America, 1st edition (2010)
- North-East Africa, 1st edition (2013)
- United Nations, 1st edition (2010)
- Comprehensive Catalogues
- Commonwealth & British Empire Stamps, 1840-1970. (This annual lists stamps from 1840 only till 1970. Sometimes known as 'Part 1'.) Also, its chronological subsets:
- King George V Stamp Catalogue, 1st edition (2010)
- King George VI Stamp Catalogue, 8th edition (2009)
- Elizabethan Specialised Catalogue of Modern British Commonwealth Stamps, 21st edition (1985)
- Individual standard catalogues for Commonwealth countries. (The same content as Part 1 but up to date.)
- Australia, 9th edition (2014). A concise edition was published in 1991.
- Bangladesh, Burma, Pakistan & Sri Lanka, 3rd edition (2015)
- Belize, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, 1st edition (2009)
- Brunei, Malaysia & Singapore, 4th edition (2013)
- Canada & Provinces, 5th edition (2014)
- Central Africa, 2nd edition (2008)
- Cyprus, Gibraltar & Malta, 3rd edition (2011)
- East Africa with Egypt and Sudan, 3rd edition (2014)
- Eastern Pacific (including Cook Islands, Aitutaki, Penrhyn Island, Niue, Pitcairn Islands and Samoa), 3rd edition (2015)
- Falkland Islands, 6th edition (2013). Also, Collect Falkland Islands Stamps, a checklist (2001)
- Hong Kong, 5th edition (2015)
- India (including Convention and Feudatory States), 4th edition (2013)
- Indian Ocean, 2nd edition (2012)
- Ireland, 6th edition (2015). Also, Collect Irish Stamps, a checklist (1999)
- Leeward Islands, 2nd edition (2012)
- New Zealand, 5th edition (2014). A concise edition was published in 1990.
- Northern Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda, 2nd edition (2009)
- St. Helena, Ascension & Tristan da Cunha, 5th edition (2014)
- Southern & Central Africa, 2nd edition (2014)
- West Africa, 2nd edition (2012)
- Western Pacific, 3rd edition (2013)
- Windward Islands and Barbados, 3rd edition (2015)
- Individual standard catalogues for Foreign (non-Commonwealth) countries (New Series).
- Belgium and Luxembourg (Including Belgian Congo and Colonies) (2015)
- France (also covering Andorra and Monaco) (2015)
- Poland (2015)
- Individual standard catalogues for Foreign (non-Commonwealth) countries (Old Series).
- Part 2 Austria & Hungary, 8th edition (2014)
- Part 3 Balkans, 5th edition (2009)
- Part 4 Benelux, 6th edition (2010)
- Part 5 Czechoslovakia & Poland, 7th edition (2012)
- Part 6 France & Colonies, 7th edition (2010)
- Part 7 Germany, 11th edition (2014)
- Part 8 Italy & Switzerland, 8th edition (2013)
- Part 9 Portugal & Spain, 6th edition (2011)
- Part 10 Russia, 7th edition (2014)
- Part 11 Scandinavia, 7th edition (2013)
- Part 12 Africa since Independence A-E, 2nd edition (1983)
- Part 13 Africa since Independence F-M, 1st edition (1981)
- Part 14 Africa since Independence N-Z, 1st edition (1981)
- Part 15 Central America, 3rd edition (2007)
- Part 16 Central Asia, 4th edition (2006)
- Part 17 China, 11th edition (2016)
- Part 18 Japan & Korea, 5th edition (2008)
- Part 19 Middle East, 7th edition (2009)
- Part 20 South America, 4th edition (2008)
- Part 21 South East Asia, 5th edition (2012)
- Part 22 United States, 8th edition (2015)
- Thematic Catalogues
- Collect Aircraft On Stamps, 2nd edition (2009)
- Collect Birds On Stamps, 4th edition (1996)
- Collect Butterflies and other Insects On Stamps, 1st edition (1991)
- Collect Chess On Stamps, 2nd edition (1999)
- Collect Fish On Stamps, 1st edition (1999)
- Collect Fungi On Stamps, 2nd edition (1997)
- Collect Mammals On Stamps, 1st edition (1986)
- Collect Motor Vehicles On Stamps, 1st edition (2004)
- Collect Railways On Stamps, 3rd edition (1999)
- Collect Shells On Stamps, 1st edition (1995)
- Collect Ships On Stamps, 3rd edition (2001)
- Great Britain Catalogues
- Collect British Stamps. Also Collect Channel Islands and Isle of Man Stamps. (Simple colour catalogues - Annual.)
- The Great Britain Concise catalogue. (Intermediate level of detail - Annual.)
- The Great Britain specialised catalogues, comprising:
- Vol. 1 Queen Victoria (16th Edition), published in December 2011
- Vol. 2 King Edward VII to King George VI (14th Edition), published in May 2015
- Vol. 3 Queen Elizabeth II Pre-Decimal Issues (12th Edition), published in February 2011
- Vol. 4 Queen Elizabeth Decimal Definitive Issues Part 1 (10th Edition), published in April 2008
- Vol. 4 Queen Elizabeth Decimal Definitive Issues Part 2 (10th Edition), published in April 2010
- Vol. 5 Queen Elizabeth Decimal Special Issues (13th Edition), published in February 1998 with two loose-leaf supplements in 2000 and 2002
- Channel Islands Specialised Catalogue of Stamps and Postal History, 2nd edition (1983)
- Collect British Postmarks, 9th edition (2013)
All are based on the same numbering system drawn from 'Stamps of the World', apart from the British specialised catalogues which have their own numbering system.
References
- ↑ Phillips, Stanley. Stamp Collecting: A guide to modern philately, revised edition, Stanley Gibbons, London, 1983, p.244. ISBN 0-85259-047-4.