The Pyongyang published Korean Postal Stationery & Maxicard Catalogue of 1999 was an eye-opener for most of us in revealing the richness of postal stationery issued there over the years. It followed on Todd’s pioneering Catalogue of North Korean Postal Stationery 1947-1961 of 1997, and some listings in this Journal (Korean Philately, 34, No.2, 4-9; 34, No.3, 4-8; 35, No.1, 4-14; 35, No.3, 3-5; 45, No.2, 8-20; 45, No.3, 15-19). Occasional items still surface that are not to be found in any of these compilations, I report on a few such here.
The first two are ‘virtual’ items, known only from cutouts (see Fig.1). The first, which has some writing on the back, is probably from a letter sheet. It carries a stamp design that is almost identical to the 1951 10 won stamp celebrating cooperation with Chinese Volunteers, SG N49 (Mi 51, Sc 46)–it doesn’t reproduce well—but in a different, red color and a larger format. The postmark records the month and day, but unfortunately not the year. This design has not been recorded on any other postal stationery.
The same is true of the second candidate, also shown in Fig. 1, although this one is more problematic. The design is a slightly re-drawn version of the 10 won Arms type issued in 1958 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the DPRK, SG N155 (Mi 155, Sc 147) in a very dark brown shade, and a somewhat larger for-mat. It’s problematic because it is on rather better quality paper than was common at that time, almost like a cutout from a magazine – but why a redrawn version? It also has adhesions on the back, suggesting that it was pasted onto an envelope, but with no cancellation. Something for the back of the book?
Past few weeks, spent many hours trying to identify the stamp that was on eBay, 40 chon Revolutionary Museum Pochonbo. I was unable locate the stamp on Korea Stamp Catalog or the Scott’s Catalog. I had never thought that it was a cutout from an envelope until I read this article. The item is no longer available on ebay but I’d saved the image.