Church Assembly Children’s Council

Church house
Westminster SW1
 

Stamp Album

The albums have a thin card cover and are stapled. Three consecutive years represented; 1959-60, 1960-61 and 1961-62, all belonging to a Paul Fisher attending St. James Sunday School, unspecified town. He was a good attender, missing only five, two or one stamp respectively. The albums measure 109 x 133 mm.
 

Click album images to enlarge

1959-60

1960-61

1961-62

While the covers vary considerably from year to year the pages and stamps are quite similar, the stamps being very simple and designed to appeal to younger children - note the bunny! The stamps are perf 15 and measure 50 x 40 mm

Two copies of the 1953-54 album are in the collection. The majority of the stamp images seem to almost drop Jesus and The Bible and concentrate on what may be an illustration for a modern morality lesson. The price on the back is still recorded as 4d. The first is a bit ‘pocket-worn’ and unfortunately has ball point writing on the cover much of which is obliterated. There are 24 stamps missing, mostly from the second half. What also spoils this album is that a few stamps belong to another, probably earlier or even different publisher’s sets for there are at least three different styles used. The teacher was obviously not a philatelist! A few of the stamps match the style and format of the Shaw Picture Album from around 1960. The second example belonged to Christine Cole who collected a Faith Press album in 1952-53. In place of one stamp she has written Christmas Day 25th Dec Friday, which helps to date the album. There are 44 stamps, attendance tapering off later, with some hand written excuses like ‘had to wait for the doctor but attended’ (she didn’t get her stamp!) and ‘on holiday’. At least these stamps seem to be from a single set.

A job lot of seven albums from one collector, G.E., included five from this publisher including a duplicate (and two SPCK albums). They are said to be from the early 1960s and I presume that they run continuously. However lack of any dating on these albums and stamps makes sequencing by me rather these tentative, however two different covers are dated 1963 and one 1966. As one undated album is a repeat of the presumed 1959-60 album above something is not right. Either for 1961 and 1962 the school swapped to the SPCK albums and then back again in 1963, or that 1959-60 date is incorrect. Perhaps things will be clearer when more albums are available to me. So in the meantime I will put them in a provisional order, without dates, but with some descriptions. All five have stamps of the same design style, showing religious and biblical pictures and numbering. Most albums do not have the stamps in numerical order though.

                    
The stamps in this album are complete but in the wrong order. It is rather worn and with scuffed corners.

              
There are two examples of this album. One has a scruffy and ripped cover and is missing 10 stamps
The other is in quite reasonable condition but there are only 13 stamps. They are different to the other
album suggesting that the same booklet was used for two consecutive years.
The copyright notice is 1963. Also states for use with Kindergarten Lesson Books

                    
There are seven missing stamps, and the cover is scruffy and ripped with bits missing, and showing fold marks
Again, and confusingly, the copyright notice on the rear cover is 1963
Cover says for use with Junior Lesson Books

                  
A new size format is used, slightly larger at 166 x 110 mm. The stamps remain the same.
This is in fair condition, with 23 stamps.
The copyright notice states 1966. Cover says for use with Junior Lesson Books