Publisher's green softcover binding.
61pp. Illustrated.
Contents clean. Some damage and loss to top corner of rear panel.
'Indeed, there was a siege at the small town of Schweizer-Reneke. It was not a big-time siege, rather a series of besiegements. We have come to regard it as sieges of convenience, an on-off-on-off affair that suited the besieged, who could sit in town without too much risk of battle, and get their supply convoys in, and the besiegers, who could sit outside the town on guard when it suited them and who in any case could go and return at will.
A harsh verdict? The events speak for themselves.
A state of siege prevailed when the stamps were issued, even if the idea of a philatelic recording of a 'siege status' is evident from well before the siege happened.
And although the stamp issue was plausibly explained by the commanding officer, collectors hovered around about its status for decades until John Rathbone, the first serious student of the Schweizer-Reneke 'Besieged' stamps, published research articles in the 1950's. Following the founding of the Anglo-Boer War Philatelic Society in 1958, he petitioned for rightful catalogue recognition of these stamps.
This was achieved in 1960, thanks to Rathbone.
Today we have a much more comprehensive picture of the Schweizer-Reneke 'Besieged' stamp issue, an issue produced with unusual meticulousness.' - author's note
- Binding Condition: Fair
