FINLAND - Lape Finland;Specialised 1856-2009 2010

Published by Philatelic Service of Finland. 862pp. Colour. English/Finnish

Inc Aland 1984-2009, FDCs,;miniature sheets, booklets, Maxi cards, Framas, postal stationery, postal history, cancellations, tete-beche issues, stamps on cover, yearbooks, field post, reprints, specimens, postal rates, perfins, revenues, Christmas seals, Russian stamps and postal stationeries used in Finland;

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Philatelic Exporter review, courtesy of David Rennie (November 2009):

This is an excellent specialised catalogue; it is bilingual Finnish/Swedish throughout, but there are also substantial sections in English as well, including the Postal History and Postmark sections, many of the main definitive sections, as well as all the stamp issue headings.

There are detailed notes on the various printing process used, the various papers and how to recognise them.; The earlier issues popular with English speaking collectors such as the Serpentine Roulettes, the Figure issues, the Ring-type issue, the Eagle types etc all have good English translations or notes. So too do the chapters for Karelia, North Ingermanland, Aunus, Tampere City Post etc.

Other areas covered by the catalogue include Booklets, Post-bus Parcels, Christmas Seals, stamps of the Shipping Companies, Railway Tax Stamps, Revenues, Perfins.; Postal Stationery is also included, as well as the Russian items used in Finland. There are also Tables of Postal Rates.

This catalogue is published every two years and a major revision this time includes the section dealing with the 1856 Ovals.; The prices and listing of the 1917-27 Saaringen; has also seen major amendments, so too the 1975 definitive, in advance of a new handbook being published about this particular issue.

As to be expected, prices are not only given for mint, unmounted mint and fine used, but also for on covers, First Day covers, numerous shades and other less often seen varieties such as marginal watermarks, misplaced perforations, partly perforated items, etc. Useful notes to aid the identification of forgeries, particularly those with postmarks appear as necessary, and are usually provided in English as well as the other two languages.

Over 850pp in a larger paperback format,; in full colour throughout make this an excellent value, Much of it is in single column layout, giving plenty of room for the extensive notes about the commemorative issues, though these are only in Finnish and Swedish.

Recommended.