THE FRENCH CONNECTION

Since 1066, the Brits have always had a connection with France.

French food, wine, Brigitte Bardot, all well loved aspects of our nearest neighbour. As for De Gaulle, maybe more problematic.

In 1849 France introduced her first stamp, depicting Ceres, the goddess of agriculture. This was replaced by a portrait of Napoleon III when he became emperor, but the design remained a classic, with elegant artwork and fine production. Shades and proofs offer pleasure for the traditional philatelist, and the wealth of numeral "lozenge" cancels provide the possibiities of finds for towns of Algeria, Levant, China, as well as metropolitan France.

The Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 was a disaster for France. Mail had to be flown out of Paris by hot air balloon, and the territories of Alsace-Lorraine were lost to Germany until 1918. Despite this dint to Gallic pride, stamps of the war and the lost lands under German occupation are one of the most keenly collected areas by French philatelists. If this subject interests you, let me know, and you can usually find some Alsace-Lorraine material on our Germany web site.

From the 1920s through to modern times, France has honoured countless writers, thinkers, musicians, statesmen and scientists. A fairly complete collection of France is like a pictorial Wikipedia of French culture. Since 1961, the Art series has been particularly popular with collectors.

Our monthly COLLECTION list always offers a good selection of France lots for all periods. Over time, I can help you build up a good collection of this interesting country, and more lots and collections are always arriving for future lists.