The Banbury Stamp Society welcomed at their most recent meeting, collector and dealer Philip Cant for an enjoyable presentation and display entitled “I Don’t Do Thematics and Other Nonsense.”
Philip began by challenging the notion that thematic collecting is somehow separate from traditional philately, arguing that almost every collector, knowingly or otherwise, follows themes that reflect personal interest or experience. Of his stock of some 17,000 items, he explained, only around 200 cannot be categorised by theme. The most popular single subject among thematic collectors, he noted, is birds, followed closely by transport and animals. Often, the chosen theme has a deep personal resonance: Philip described two collectors who both specialised in bridges on stamps, each having an engineering background.
Illustrating his talk with material from his own collections, Philip displayed stamps depicting early Australian birds, marine life, animals, transport, aircraft and trains. He observed that while his stock may resemble that of other dealers, his method of categorisation—by subject rather than by country or catalogue—allows him to see patterns and connections that others might miss.
In the second half of his presentation, Philip used the iconic British PUC £1 stamp to demonstrate how a single issue can embody numerous themes, including philatelic congresses, postal events, heraldry, legends and weaponry. He went on to show an impressive and detailed display on railway artillery, culminating in material on the German “DORA” gun—the largest artillery piece ever constructed, requiring over a thousand men and 24 trains to deploy.
Further displays featured military aircraft, with Polish issues providing a philatelic timeline of the Second World War, and a concluding section on factual design errors—such as a Ghanaian stamp depicting a Stuka dive-bomber with impossible retractable undercarriage, the Jersey Titanic issue showing smoke from all four funnels when only three were capable for that use, and a Somalian stamp depicting a 1926 aircraft on a World War I theme.
The Society extended its thanks to Philip for an engaging and stimulating evening.
The next meeting of the Banbury Stamp Society will be held on Tuesday, 18th November 2025, at 7:30pm at our temporary home, Jubilee Park Hall, Bloxham OX15 4NJ. The Banbury Stamp Society is on-line at ‘www.banburystampsociety.co.uk’, or contact John Davies on 01295 255831.