• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Classic Latin America logo

CLASSIC LATIN AMERICA

News, commentary and opinion on Central and South American philately

  • Home
  • Resources
    • Introduction
    • Central America : Philatelic Societies & Specialized Catalogues
    • South America : Philatelic Societies & Specialized Catalogues
    • Fakes and Forgeries
  • Auctions & Shows
  • Absolute Beginners
  • About
  • Contact
  • STORE

Bookshelf Essentials – The Mainsheet

The Mainsheet

If there is one thing philatelists are not short of it is reading material.

Decades of book publishing has produced a wealth of literature on every subject imaginable and each month brings a swathe of new titles. Coupled to that, society magazines, articles, catalogues and the multitude of websites and forums and, well…you get the picture.

One particular publication that I think should be high on any Latin America collectors list though is The Mainsheet.

Produced quarterly between 1972 and 2004, The Mainsheet ran to 104 issues and covered every aspect of Latin American philately with a strong emphasis on the early years.

The Mainsheet was launched and published by John and Molly Fosbery with Brian Moorhouse as Sales Manager. Brian took over the editorship in 1981 when John Fosbery stepped down.

The journal of The Spanish Main Society

It was the journal of The Spanish Main Society, a UK based organization that catered for collectors of Latin America and included meetings, an auction, club packet and specialist sub-groups.

Contributors included many advanced collectors of the day who would supplement their own findings with data from the past to provide fresh insights into the key issues with numerous side trips into various philatelic backwaters.

The articles are as relevant today as they were when published: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia and Peru are particularly well catered for although all countries are represented across its thirty-two year existence.

I had amassed a reasonable selection of back issues until I spotted the full series, professionally bound, in a recent auction. Too good an opportunity to miss, the five volumes now provide a readily accessible reference source to dip into.

They still crop up from time to time in stamp auctions and are thoroughly recommended. Get in touch if you are looking for back issues; I usually have a selection to hand.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jim Baird says

    29th September 2018 at 2:27 pm

    I am writing an article about the Pacific Steam Navigation Co. for the journal of the Western Cover Society. Brian ran a number of articles relating to its history and postal history which I would dearly love to put my hands on. I may have missed something,but I haven’t found a digital offering of the issues of The Mainsheet – and I am writing to see whether you might offer information on where they might be found. I know that Brian offered a CD of the first 100 issues, which would of course solve my problem.

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Nick Salter says

      29th September 2018 at 11:05 pm

      Hi Jim. Other than the CD, The Mainsheet hasn’t been digitised (to the best of my knowledge). There are three key PSNC articles from volumes 1, 3 and 7. I’m happy to forward images of the relevant pages if that would help with your article. Unless you have them, the Charles Wooster PSNC Census and his 2009 article from The London Philatelist on the Peyton Collection would also be useful documents to refer to. Let me know if you need them.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Never miss a new post

Receive an e-mail alert when new posts are published

Your e-mail address will not be published and will only be used for sending you notification of new posts

Upcoming Events

Aug 4
August 4 - August 9

Jakarta | Indonesia 2022 International Stamp Exhibition

Aug 25
August 25 - August 28

Sacremento | Great American Stamp Show

Oct 13
October 13 - October 16

Liberec | Liberec 2022 Stamp Exhibition

Dec 8
December 8 - December 12

Capetown | IPEX 2022 International Stamp Exhibition

May 25
25th May 2023 - 28th May 2023

Essen | IBRA 2023 International Stamp Exhibition

View Calendar

Featured Posts

  • GJ Specialized Argentina CatalogueNew specialized Argentina catalogue published
  • The Bustamante 2022 'Catalogo Especializado De Las Estampillas Del Peru'The Bustamantes of Peru
  • Mexico National Express CoThe Collector | Peter Bamert | Mexico
  • RPSL Latin America bookletRoyal puts on a Latin American show
  • 1868 genuine trial color proof in greenCollecting and selling Mexico (Part 2)
  • El Salvador proofEl Salvador finally makes it to London
  • Neal West NicaraguaThe Collector | Neal West | Nicaragua
  • Stockholmia 2019Exhibiting Latin America…from Denver to Stockholm (Part 2)
  • Brazil Bulls Eye ForgeryThe Numerals Issues of Brazil – Fakes, Forgeries and Counterfeits
  • John Shaw RPSLThe Collector | John Shaw | Paraguay
  • One of the most prolific forgers in philately - Placido Ramon de TorresDiscovering the lesser-known forgers of Latin American stamps
  • FIAF logoPhilatelic Societies – a review
  • ABNC Steel PlateOriginal ABNC steel plates come to market
  • The 10 pesos top value of Mexico's Mail Transportation issueThe Collector | Eric Stovner | Mexico
  • Central American NewsletterBookshelf Essentials Part II – The Central American Newsletter
  • 1866 Tres Centavos EagleCollecting and selling Mexico (Part 1)
  • Stanley Gibbons' Latin American catalogues have not been published since 2007/8Part 20, Part 20, wherefore art thou Part 20…?
  • Buenos Aires stamp forgeriesFakes, forgeries…and buying online
  • Brasilia 2017 Stamp Exhibition logoBrasilia 2017 – is this the future for major stamp exhibitions?
  • Stamp Market IndexeBay disrupts catalogue publishing with Stamp Market Index
  • Venezuela AR39 stampScott Specialized adds another 67 listings to Venezuela
  • Old Central Post Office Buenos AiresStamp Dealers in Argentina and Uruguay
  • Haiti 1898 President Sam, 50c Rose Brown Sunken Die ProofABNC proofs – understanding the different types
  • Composite proof of the Paraguay 1879 lion issueThe Collector | Joe Hahn | El Salvador & Paraguay
  • Granadine Confederation 1859 1 Peso Carmine Block of 15, to be auctioned by Siegel on 30th September (est. $3k-$4k)Forthcoming auctions and initiatives in the hobby
  • ELASCA websiteIntroducing ELASCA – The European Latin American Stamp Collector Association
  • The Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue: a review
  • Lazy PostmanWhich country has the world’s worst postal service?
  • London 2022 - The Main HallLondon 2022…from a Latin American perspective
  • SOFICH Chile catalogueSOFICH, so good

No interest in Latin American stamps?

For news and opinion on the broader stamp market, click on the General Philately category below

Categories

  • Analysis
  • Auctions
  • Dealers
  • Events
  • Forgeries
  • General Philately
  • People
  • Philatelic Societies
  • Post Offices
  • Publications
  • Stamp Issues
  • The Collector

Recent Comments

  • Tomas on Which country has the world’s worst postal service?
  • Nick Salter on The Bustamantes of Peru
  • Gary Liggett on The Bustamantes of Peru
  • Nick Salter on ABNC proofs – understanding the different types
  • bob on And the second most expensive Latin American country to collect is…Honduras. And the least expensive? Guatemala. Debate!

Archives

  • April 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • April 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • March 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016

Footer

Menu

  • Home
  • Resources
    • Introduction
    • Central America : Philatelic Societies & Specialized Catalogues
    • South America : Philatelic Societies & Specialized Catalogues
    • Fakes and Forgeries
  • Auctions & Shows
  • Absolute Beginners
  • About
  • Contact
  • STORE

Recent Posts

  • The Bustamantes of Peru
  • London 2022…from a Latin American perspective
  • Collecting and selling Mexico (Part 2)
  • Book Review | The 19th Century Issues of El Salvador 1867-1900. Guillermo F. Gallegos & Joseph D. Hahn
  • The Collector | Joe Hahn | El Salvador & Paraguay

Categories

  • Contact

© Copyright 2018 www.classiclatinamerica.com