Re: Fw: Kemrese Philately

[Padraic Brown <pbrown@nova.umuc.edu>]

On Mon, 20 Jul 1998, I. R. Joll wrote:

> A quick reply. I'll save these messages and savour them at my
> leisure (what leisure?)
>
>
> Sorry, by "printed" I meant "issued". That will teach me to type in a hurry.

No problem.  "Issue" and "print" are two different things.  A private
company can print but not issue; a government can issue but not print.
Issuance means "authority to make something into legal money" printing
means "has the presses, inks, etc."  The situation in Kemr could be either
way.  I rather like the multiple issuer scenario, personally.

>
> >
> [snip]
> >
> > Most current British stamps show an embossed, often gold or silver,
> > medallion
> > portrait of the Queen tucked discreetly into a corner. Perhaps the most
> > useful
> > line of enquiry would be to work out what the contemporary fashion was
> with
> > regards to face fungus.
>
> I should think regular washes will take care of fungal growths on the
> face.  Or am I missing something?
>
>
> face fungus = beard or other facial hair

Oo, I did miss something!

>
> It turns out that the gwleskin is 2 1/2 shillings; so it is either _very_
> expensive to send a letter, or the wrong name was given to the right coin.
>
> - Before Rowland Hill's reforms in 1840 (the issue of the first postage
> stamps was only a very minor part of these reforms) it could cost up
> to 2/6 to post a letter within the UK! The main thrust of his reforms
> was to drastically lower the price of sending a letter (from 30 pence to
> 1 penny!) and the economies of scale would make it feasible. Incredibly,
> they did.

A smart move; it should work in Kemr, too.

> of being the Diana stamps - full credit to NZ Post for deciding not to issue
> a Diana commemoration stamp due to the outrageous commercialization
> of her name and likeness... grumble grumble (yes that is an axe grinding
> that you can hear)).

Good for them!

>
> Indeed.  I am assuming that the world Kemr inhabits is not the car-crazy
> place the US has made out of this one.
>
> The US may have made the world car crazy but cars themselves
> evolved from the scientific melting pot of the 19th century. Henry
> Ford may have finished the job but Karl Benz and his contemporaries
> started it. What Ford did was make cars affordable decades before
> they would have been otherwise. But if he had not done it, surely
> another would have come up with a similar idea.

This is true, of course.  My overall contention is that the USA has had
much to do with making the world the way it is; and that Kemr's world must
be different (because there is no USA).

>
> > During the "brainstorming" I came up with a cruel and unusual idea:
> > what if the EEC "persuaded" Kemr to start using European style
> > notation on its stamps - £0,05 or suchlike?
>
> You'd probably get "Down With Decimal" protests in the streets.  You'd
> probably also get "Down with the EEC" protests as well.  Then we'd all
> head for the pub, where we could spend _proper money_ on a long pint of
> stout, as it's hard work protesting the ills of society. ;^)
>
> - Andrew, looking over my shoulder at the time, declared
> my comment something along the lines of "sick, twisted and
> positively evil"

I agree!

>
> > >I didn't take into account any sales taxes that may be charged; nor
> > >whether they may be included in the price or added in at the cashier.
> >
> > I'm not particularly familiar with Kemr, but if it is significantly less
> > "modern" then property and sales taxation would be more important
> > than income taxation.
>
> I think it would have to be.  Certainly there are areas where it would be
> equally modern; there are also areas where it would not be so modern.  One
> particular area I can think of, besides motor cars, is air travel.
> Without the world wars to spur on development of aeroplanes; they would
> probably remain something of an oddity.  Most air travel would probably be
> accomplished via dirigibles (helium, not hydrogen filled!!): Castreleon to
> Berlin aboard AirZeppelin, can't beat it!
>
> Just imagine. A world where Zeppelin stamps are *not* one of the
> pre-eminent US philatelic rarities :-)
>
> > Andrew is now thinking about the Brithenig for "value added tax"...
>
> Can't wait :-S
>
>
> Regards
>
> Dave Joll
>
>
Padraic.