My parents, in seeking a hobby for their daughter, thought postage stamps would be a good one. It didn’t take me long to realize how many postage stamps there were, or the variety that could be sought when printing mistakes and the like were taken into consideration. And I really loved the engraved stamps, the delicate lines revealing so much beauty and detail. Not until the advent of the photo like stamp (photogravure) did the dog really begin to become an option for postal authorities, and the Clumber appears to have made its debut in 1973/8 (publication date is not clear), the first dog was featured in 1840 (Newfoundland on a Canadian stamp).
Nagaland is a northern Indian state and issued their ‘cinderella’ to feature Sally Anne Thompson’s photo of the famous ShCh Anchorfield Bonus for local use only (they had no greater authority) and it’s primary role was as a state fundraiser.
Then another suitable number of years passed, when Western Sahara released their 1995 issue, this time the design is obviously based on the National Geographic illustration by Walter Weber, published in 1947.
Guyana (South America) also released a head study stamp in 1995.
b&w scan from my reference archives
In 1993, Chita, a Russian state, overprinted Russian issued stamps with a figure of a Clumber across four stamps.
Then, Ingueshetia, another Russian state, set the ball rolling, with the release of a photographic portrayal, in 1999.
The same year, Kalmykia’s artist’s impression with the royal blue background appeared.
These releases were undoubtedly state fundraising exercises, but with legal postage stamps, so the dog stamp collector could really evolve and even specialize in their own breeds. Issues have been fairly regularly since then, so I am afraid this article can not be absolutely complete, I am happy to add issues to the end as and if readers notify me. Anyway, here is the information I have managed to collect at the time of writing.
ISSUES
The ones I don’t have issue dates for are shown first.
 Fujeria – souvenir sheet |
 Nicaragua – head study (now a very common machine embroidery design) and a silhouette free standing Clumber, white background |
 Nevis – artist impression two free standing in autumn woodland looking to right |
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1973/8 Nagaland – photo of Anchorfield Bonus by S-A Thompson
1995 Western Sahara – artist impression pointing (based on Weber)
1995 Guyana – head study – artist impression
1999 Ingueshetia – photograph (same dog/photo as Bashkortostan 2001)
1999 Kalmykia – artist impression free standing show pose
1999 Republic of Somaliland – artist impression free standing show pose – shares stamp with English Springer
2000 Koriakia – photo free standing dog looking towards left
2001 Bashkortostan – Clumber free standing, show type pose (same dog/photo as Ingueshetia 1999)
2002 Benin – Clumber lying down looking at you, see issue released 2008!
2002 Congo – photo, sitting looking forward, blue background, scout logo
2003 Udmurtia – photo free standing looking to right, white background
2005 Touva – photo, free standing looking to right
2006 Karakalpakia – photo free standing looking to left
2007 Kuril Islands – photo, free standing looking to right
2008 Benin – photo, lying down looking towards left, red leaves on ground, a less cropped version of the photo stamp issued in 2002
2008 Congo – photo, lying and looking back to left. This was sent in by Stanislava Forejtov� and is a photo of the bitch Alison Darling z Jirkovsk� osady — copyright Stanislava Forejtov�, but used without permission – a factor you will find common in the Local Post issues but rarely in official country releases.
2008 Congo – photo sitting, photo also appears on one of the featured local post issues
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DOGS THAT MIGHT BE CLUMBERS
This 1972 issue is sometimes sold and listed as featuring a Clumber pup, personally I think it is probably a Cocker pup, note the nose colour.
I am never sure about this 1999 Tuvalu stamp, there is a lot of Clumber about the dog, but the long front legs throw me off.
CUSTOM STAMPS
Custom stamps are legal for use, they allow a creative user to upload their own image and purchase printed stamps, stamps like you get from the post office. The USA has adopted this, and custom stamps are available through several third parties such as stamps.com and Zazzle. Several countries aren’t quite as generous but allow you to order the regular stamp issues with your own image to be appended or printed in the gutter, Australia has offered this option.
This is Judy Hiller’s current (2011) version.
http://www.zazzle.com/purple_swirl_clumber_spaniel_postage-172944240252146939
http://www.zazzle.com.au/i_love_clumber_spaniels_postage-172100780107499535
Typical Zazzle shops with custom Clumber stamps
And actually you can find a few of my own paintings as custom stamps at Zazzle – http://www.zazzle.com/erinrac+stamps
LOCAL POST
This is a vast and growing field, and fundraiser, not just for small countries and states, but also private entrepreneurs. Of course, the Nagaland stamp belongs here. In more recent times collectors have acquired the following. I note a few familiar photos appearing and assume copyright releases were not obtained, but may be they were. The regular formats found on Ebay are USA Man’s Best Friend, Hunting Dogs, and the European issued AUT, several samples are given here. They are often sold as strips or parts of sheets rather than individual stamps. They also tend to be produced on less than archival quality paper and with inks prone to rapid deterioration in light – so store them carefully.
AUT
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Hunting Dogs 80c
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Man’s Best Friend $1
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Year of the Dog USA$1
CINDERELLAS
Amongst the collections a few first day covers with Clumbers featured have been noted.
The Westminster Best of Breed commemorative envelopes
The Dog on the Tucker Box (Australia)commemorative envelopes
my b&w archival reference copy
1987
2004
Year of the Dog
cinderella – not legal postage tender beyond the state’s borders, used as fund raising, some have values printed on them, some do not, some look like stamps, some do not, rarely appearing in stamp collecting catalogues. Cinderella is also used to cover stationery such as envelopes, and any related postal item.
first day cover – a printed envelope for celebrating the release of an issue, postmarked with the day of release, the envelope can feature any design, and there are a few covers to feature Clumbers in this fashion
local post – a fairly common term for small states or countries, see cinderellas, of no legal use beyond their own jurisdiction, but often a profitable source of income for the issuing organization. They appear regularly now on auction sites like Ebay, and I have noted many more than likely breaches of copyright of the image.
sheetlet – a group of legal postage stamps, usually featuring a number of designs
souvenir sheet – fund raising, a valid postage stamp is in the design and could be used legally, the sheet usually bears more of the design or a design enhancement, primarily a fund raiser for the issuer and a novelty for the collector, souvenir sheets often make nice framed home decor accents.
THANK YOU!
Special thanks to those who had a look at their collections, Jacqui Pickering, Judy Hiller, and others!
references
Jan E Irving THE WHITE SPANIEL
Domfil’s Dogs Stamp Catalogue 1st edition