"War Canoe"
Bud's Big BlueBud's Observations
Headhunters -- angry warriors aboard ornamented war canoes -- ethnic upheavals! Yikes!
Oh well. That was a hundred years ago. Today the only war canoes are in museums or on postage stamps. And headhunters have long been suppressed by the British and friendly Melanesians. Skull Island, where victims used to be entombed, has become a tourist attraction. After all, these are the people who rescued a shipwrecked Jack Kennedy. So maybe it’s now the West Pacific’s Shangri-La.
Before I order plane tickets, I’d better check the UK website on Solomon Island safety and security. Hummmm. It reports “robberies involving violence, handbag snatching, pick-pocketing, distraction thefts and harassment…. Civil unrest and drunken behaviour can occur. Foreigners and expatriates may be attractive targets for violence. Salt water crocodiles…. Big sharks….” Yikes!
It also says “Mostvisits to Solomon Islands are trouble-free.” (Italics mine).
Collecting Solomon Islands stamps is mostly trouble-free, too. A common mistake found in feeder albums, though, is among the 1913-1931 series where BB sometimes wants “postage -- postage” inscribed and other times asks for “postage -- revenue.”
Census: 34 in BB spaces, four tipped in.
Jim's Observations
There is a bit of a puzzler in Big Blue's stamp space layout that might confuse. The 1913 King George V issue is inscribed "postage-postage" and is wmk 3. No problem there. Then Big Blue presents the 1914-31 King George V issue inscribed "postage-revenue", wmk 4. But take a look at Scott 23 1/1/2p scarlet: yes it is wmk 4, BUT it is inscribed "postage-postage". There is no alert in Big Blue that the "postage-revenue" design for the spaces DOES include the 1 1/2p scarlet "postage-postage" stamp. Now you know.
Solomon Islands Blog Post and Checklist
Page 1 (Click and enlarge for examination)
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Page 2
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