In the first part of our new monthly series showcasing stamp and postal history exhibits,
we take a look at Dr Arthur Woo’s ‘Guatemala 1879-1881 Small Quetzal Issue’
exhibit which was awarded a Large Gold medal at Autumn Stampex 2015Readers’ stamps
50 JANUARY 2016 http://www.stampandcoin.co.ukGuatemala gold
One of just two recorded covers with the 1881 10c on 1r surchargein association with the Association of British Philatelic Societies
Dr Arthur Woo
Dr Woo in Cleveland,
Ohio at the 1999 USA
National Stamp ShowHow long have you
been collecting stamps?
I started collecting stamps after the
conclusion of the Second World War
in 1945 and I have never stopped.
Stamps were somewhat on the back
burner during my university years
and it was often hard for me to find
quality time to spend on my hobby
during my many years of medical
practice. It was not until my semi-
retirement around the early 1990s period that I was able
to devote the necessary time and effort to seriously work
on my stamp collections and it was during this period
that I started to attend stamp shows also.What attracted you to this subject?
This is, of course, one of many subjects for me. When I
first started collecting I had an affinity for stamps that
featured birds and, as you are aware, there are a great
many of these to choose from, though their numbers
are reduced greatly if we stick to just the classic and
immediate post-classic periods. However, the Guatemala
quetzals have always been a great favourite of mine. They
are beautifully engraved and are a very pleasing two
colour design in appearance. The stamps are really quite
important as they heralded Guatemala’s entry into the
Universal Postal Union (UPU). Also, the actual stamp
production was quite involved and there was a lot of
scope for philatelic research with the set up and multiples
printings of the different values. A lot of potential for a
collection that you could really get your teeth into!What is your favourite item in the collection?
A very difficult question. There are so many pieces that I like.
I am actually going to choose two items as equal favourites:The 5c value with the inverted centre used on a cover
to Salvador: this is a remarkable piece. 5c was actually
the internal letter rate at this date but mail to the other
member nations of the Central American Federation
was also allowed to travel at the domestic rate. The
normal foreign letter rate at the time was 10c so this
consideration did offer a good saving.
Three values are known with inverted centre errors:
2c, 5c and 20c, but the 5c value is the only one knownPlate proof multiple from Vignette Plate 2. Three different vignette plates
were used for the 1881 issues2c Inverted centre. The
largest recorded multiple
showing imprint from
Frame Plate 25c inverted centre. The
unique used pair and the
only recorded multiplep50 Reader stamps.indd 50 23/11/2015 14:35