So now I had the title and the theme with, to a certain extent, my self made rules: Green/Imperforate/Classics. I began to accumulate all and every stamp but quickly found that if I had the ambition to exhibit, I would be limited in pages. How many countries? I had to think about that. There would be perhaps 50 philatelic classic countries. Then there are some spectacular “local” issues. For important countries like USA there is only one stamp (USA Fig. 7) so perhaps include some important Confederate Postmasters which have a few green issues (USA Confederate Fig. 8). And the rules and inclusions became a flexible “moving” situation to reflect balance, Fig. 8
rarity, and sometimes just to show an amazing or unusual piece (Spain Local Fig. 9). As I now progressed to the first and second exhibitions it became apparent that the theme must become a centrepiece, the “GREEN”, as that was the standout feature. It was quite a chance for me that the world’s first stamp in green should be the Double Geneva of Switzerland, (CH Fig. 10) the central place where the whole idea was born also for me and where the collection is actually residing. It is interesting to note that in early stamp printings, primary colours were chosen like black, red and blue. Green was not so popular as it is itself not a primary colour but a mix of blue and yellow, so it is not found much in first issues unless there is a set of many values for which each value requires a different distinct colour, like the first issues of France (France Fig. 11) and Greece (Greece Fig. 12). So you see that it becomes a very pioneering idea and can provide exciting creativity as it develops.
Fig. 7
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