Om varianter i Ålands frimärken
(Varieties of the Stamps of Åland), Tom Sarpaneva,
8¼ by 11½ inches, stiff covers, perfect
bound, 74 pages, text in Swedish, Finnish, English, and German; Helsinki, 2003.
ISBN 952-91-5384-8, approximately 20 € from Tom Sarpaneva, Kalliolinnantie 12, 00140
This is a priced catalog of the
varieties and printing errors known on the stamps of Åland issued from 1984 to
2000. The catalog is quite different from Robert Fillips specialized catalog of
that country. Sarpaneva focuses only on the plate
varieties and printing errors of the stamps. The values assigned are based on
retail and auction sales. The book is a flyspecker’s
delight.
A nice feature is a guide at the
beginning of the catalog for additional value if the variety is on a first day
cover, has a bullseye cancel, is on a commercial
cover, or is in a block of four or six. The varieties are all shown
chronologically and in color. The descriptive 4-language text includes the
plate position where the variety occurs.
Although the emphasis is on Åland
stamp issues, there is a brief listing of Frama and
similar labels at the end of the catalog. The best known and scarcest of these
is the label printed in 1992 that reads Suomi-Finland
instead of Åland.
The text and illustrations are very
clear. Recommended for the specialist of modern Åland issues.
Alan Warren