Robert Shaw has been a collector of the early stamps and postal history of Paraguay for over forty years, with a particular focus on the War of the Triple Alliance.
This was the deadliest inter-state war in Latin America’s history, with a huge number of casualties, pitching Paraguay up against the alliance of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
Robert was awarded a Vermeil for his exhibit “Land of the Lion and Liberty Cap: a Study of the Lion Essay and the Forgeries” at Stampex, London in 2019.
CLA How did you start collecting stamps?
RS I first started collecting stamps rather late in life (in my late 20’s) and joined the Birmingham Philatelic Society (UK) in 1978.
Having collected coins for a number of years, I traded them in for a collection of Great Britain 1879 Tender Essays. From there I expanded other ideas which led to looking at the stamps of Paraguay.
CLA What got you interested in collecting Paraguay?
RS I read about the early history of Paraguay and became interested in the War of the Triple Alliance which lasted from 1865 to 1870.
I obtained a few early items of postal history, essays and forgeries of the Lion Essay prior to the first issue of 1870 and joined the Spanish Main Society, attending their meetings in London.
CLA Why is Paraguay an interesting area to collect?
RS Paraguay has a fascinating history. Its struggle for independence, its dictatorial Presidents, Francisco Solano Lopez (Paraguay’s president during the Paraguay War) and then the occupation after the war.
There is also the story of Lopez and Elisa Lynch, his Irish born mistress, the set up of colonies within the country and the Chaco War between 1932 and 1935.
And, of course, all those wonderful items of stamps, postal history and ephemera to search and research.
CLA What are your key areas of interest?
RS I am very interested in the Paraguay War. Although it has been a difficult area to collect, I have managed to obtain a number of items relating to the conflict. These include Brazilian Exercito labels (applied to letters from Brazilian soldiers during the war), war correspondence, ephemera and medals.
I also have a particular interest in the story of Elisa Lynch (President Lopez’s courtesan) and have collected ephemera from her marriage to Xavier Quatrefages, her husband prior to Lopez.
I have a copy of Lopez’s last will and testament, death certificates for their children, photographs and more.
Finally, I am interested in the Lion Essay of Paraguay and its use on treasury notes. Also the many forgeries, early postal history, essays and colour trials.
CLA What have been the main challenges in building your collection?
RS The main challenge to collecting Paraguay has been finding the better material. There is an enormous quantity of stamps and postal history out there in the philatelic world but finding covers with fine postmarks, unmounted mint or fine used stamps can prove challenging.
CLA Tell us about some of your favourite items in the collection.
RS I have a number of favourite items…
Firstly, an entire letter sent to Don Manuel Antonio Gil, a merchant in Buenos Aires and written on 19th November 1812. It shows the straight line PARAGVAY mark in red with a manuscript 1½ reales rating alongside.
Next, a cover sent to Roberto Billinghurst, Corrientes in about 1856. It is endorsed “Per Salto Guayra” and it is the only known cover to survive being carried by paddle steamboat along the river Paraguay to its destination. The letter was charged at five reales.
The steamboat “Salto de Guayra” was part of the Paraguayan National Armada during the War of the Triple Alliance. The cover displays the ‘ADMON GRAL DE CORREOS DE LA R. DEL P.’ handstamp which denoted prepayment of postage and was in use until 1865.
Regarding other early material, I managed to obtain the 1864 Moses Stern Arms Essay in all three colours (illustrated above). Stern was a Parisian engraver whose design consisted of the arms of the Republic: it was never adopted.
I also have one of only three known tete-beche sheets of the Lion Essay of Paraguay.
Finally, I have a number of full sheets of early stamps but my favourite is the largest known multiple of the 1885 one centavo dark green issue, overprinted with the large oval cache JUNTA DE CREDITO PUBLICO (Office of Public Debt) in a block of fifty-six.
CLA If you could add one item to your collection, what would it be?
RS There are still a number of postal history items and stamps I desire. The one item I would love to have in my collection is the barred “H” diamond obliterator of Humaita used in the Paraguay War in 1868. Humaita was a fortress on the river Paraguay and much of the town was in the hands of the Argentinian forces by July 1868.
CLA Do you have other collecting interests?
RS My collections range from toy soldiers, yesteryear model cars, model yachts and model steam engines; all of those wonderful toys I wished for as a young boy. But about eight years ago, I began collecting Channel Islands local issues and carriage labels and that has built up to quite a large collection.
My interest for Paraguay though has not dwindled and after over forty years I am as much enthused about the subject as I was when I began.
CLA What advice do you have for those considering starting a Paraguay collection?
RS Paraguay has that kind of history that will entice the collector to want to find out more. Research opportunities have changed over the years for seeking information. I have accumulated over one hundred reference and historical books and now the internet gives everyone the same chance to obtain material to enhance their collections. Lots of material is ‘waiting in the wings’ of the philatelic world for the collector to find.
If I could give fellow collectors further advice it would be that in whatever subject you choose, join a local club or society and learn more about what you collect.
Other members can help with advice and support, notify you of upcoming auctions, local and national stamp fairs, exhibitions etc. They can provide the help and support you need to give you ideas on how to write- up your collection instead of storing it in stock books, out of sight.
Footnote: Since publishing this article, Robert Shaw has written and published a new reference work dedicated to the aforementioned Lion Essay. This well-illustrated work discusses the origins of the essay followed by an in-depth study of the eight different forgery types and the likely forgers.
‘Paraguay: Land of the Lion and Liberty Cap – A Study of the Lion Essay of Paraguay 1854-1890’ can be purchased by contacting Robert Shaw at robertdshaw@hotmail.com at a cost of £15.00 plus postage.
Welcome to Paraguay Mr. Robert Shaw.
We are surprised to find a collector of our country; there are few.
I and Ms. Dila Eaton are collectors of Paraguayan postal history. We would love to see your collection and share ours with you.
I am Mjr. Roberto C Eaton, President of Centro Filatelico del Paraguay (CFP). Ms. Dila Eaton is past V. President of FIP.
Best regards
Hello Roberto Eaton. Can you tell me why 1948 Paraguay Stamp Scott 175 var as inverted is not listed in Scott or Yvert catalogs? Does anyone know how many copies were printed or what the value of this stamp is?
Scott 175 was printed in 1908 Mark. Which stamp do you mean?
I also collect Paraguay and have obtained a Kneitschel 1947 to aid me. I also have Michel ‘specialized’ catalogs, but they do not contain much specialized information. They have pictures of all issued stamps and not some general appearance picture.
I am looking to share knowledge and information. From Joe Hahn I received images of his collection on CD, but still need them on my new PC.
The catalogue values for Paraguay are insane. Most stamps are much harder to get.
So I would like to connect and share knowledge, but maybe also exchange stamps. That is usually not easy among advanced collectors.
Best Regards,
Peter
The 1947 Kneitschel is an absolute essential for the Paraguay collector. Over seventy years old but still the go-to resource.
I also refer to ‘The Stamps of Paraguay’ (Charles Phillips). This is now over one hundred years old but still contains a lot of valuable data.
And you are right about the values for Paraguay being insane. Insanely inexpensive! Paraguay is a really good option for specialising in an under-researched area that won’t break the bank.
Is it true that on November 4, 1945, an envelope and a stamp were issued due to the lack of stamps and now this is a rarity of Paraguayan philately? What was the circulation and how many stamps survived?
This is the Carlos Pfannl Provisional.
I can’t find any record of a 1945 Provisional having been sold but that’s not to say that they don’t exist. Joe Hahn’s notes state:
“There are two “printings” of these locals. The first, in a quantity of 36, was issued on 4 November. The second, in a quantity of 42 were used during the 16th and 17th of November. A small quantity of the second issue which were not used were saved before destruction.”
Where to find one is another matter!
It’s just that in the Kneitschel 1947 catalog this fact and the 1945 dispensary was already valued by Kneitschel at $60 at the level of the main stamp of Paraguay Lion. It seems like he indicated that 36 copies were made by hand on a typewriter on November 4 and were used for a couple of days due to the fact that there were no stamps. As I understand it, not a single envelope with the date November 4, 1945 has survived….?
It would be interesting to hear the opinions of famous collectors about this fact
somewhere it was even said in the 90s that this envelope was in the collection of King Farouk I of Egypt.
Fortunately, I was lucky enough to be the owner of this item on November 4, precisely the first printing. These seals are just like a myth. No one seemed to have seen them in person, but in the 1947 catalog there are illustrations of these two seals. But the pictures show other dates, but not November 4, 1945!!! There you can see that on one envelope there is November 8th, and on the other stamp November 16th. And it’s all.
Please tell me who can I show my item to?
One was sold at Gartner in 2009. See auction catalogue at https://www.stamp-auctions.de/katal…1_band_1.pdf
Originally, the book appeared as articles in the Gibbons Stamp Monthly Journal between 1911 and 1912. The last articles might not have been included in the book as it was published after the book was printed. I can’t check as I do not have the book.
Peter,if you are still around I would enjoy exchanging information on Paraguay stamps. I have a huge collection pre-1900 and I am always looking for something new, or information that helps me understand better my own collection.
Nick, I agree Nick: it won’t break the bank, but some regular stamps I still have not in used condition after 30 years of collecting. So being able to pay for it and getting them is a different task.
I collect Paraguay until the change of currency (Peso -> Guarani). I also try to get the c-overprinted stamps with a good cancellation, but they are very hard to get. I miss a lot of town cancellations as 90% (maybe even higher?) are cancelled at Asuncion. Most towns had populations of less then 1000-2000 people. I am not sure whether everyone could read and write in the classical philatelic times (1870-1940).
I miss some of the expensive early overprints (Sc. 4-9/Mi 4-6), but I would only buy these with a certificate. I have a plate flaw on nr. 3 with a certificate, but that is the only one with a certificate I have.
I still have large amount of stamps to sort, but too little time to do so.
I have perhaps one of the best unknown collections of Paraguay. (11 large binders). I have but one stamp missing from inception to 1960 (with hundreds of errors and usual elements) and that is because I believe it was not issued postally. What I search for is the unusual Paraguay. I don’t buy often. But I have been a collector for more than twenty years.
Hello JM Burr,
Would you care to share your Paraguay collection. I have been enthused with the subjcct for more than 40 years and have material from pre-stamp, the Paraguay War, Lion Essays, proofs, colour trials and more.
Kind Regards,
Robert D. Shaw
Robert Shaw, could we get in contact? Several years ago, Joe Hahn sent me CDs. I did not take a closer look until last Friday. The CDs contained the WORD documents belonging to Joe’s website and scans from his collection (700+).
Since Friday, I am converting his WORD documents into one file creating a Handbook on Paraguay. I want to expand on Joe’s original work. I want to add covers, forgeries, bogus emissions etc. I know you have presentation ExpoFilbras (https://virtuafil.org/public-expo-exhibits-tour.aspx?exID=5019&exhibitID=652). I would like permission to add pics from some of the items from your collection.
A few moments ago, I sent Joe a second draft I completed today. On the website and in the WORD documents, no references were given, but I am adding those.
I guess the completed work would be 400 pages or more. At the moment , I have 115 but most pictures are missing and I still have to add 10 chapters from Joe’s handbook.
Hello Peter, I was not aware you were trying to contact me. Having collected Paraguay stamps and postal history for over 40 years, I have manage to obtain material from pre-stamp P.H. and stamp essays, including the Lion Essays and their forgeries, Paraguay War labels, P.H. and medals through to 1870. Stamps, P.H., essays, colour trials, proofs and much more, to the Chaco War and beyond. I have accumulated some very rare material and would be pleased to share it all with like wise collectors.
Please let me have your thoughts.
Kind Regards,
Robert D. Shaw