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At the time of his death in 2010, RPSNZ Life Member Allan P. Berry FRPSNZ, FRPSL, was working on a new monograph The Patriotic Covers of New Zealand.

It was based largely on his collection and display which he had shown to various philatelic societies in the preceding few years, but it remained in an incomplete and unedited state.

A draft copy had been presented to the RPSNZ for consideration as to publication, but fate intervened. After Allan's death, the executors of his estate were approached to see if they would agree to placing Allan's draft manuscript on the RPSNZ website in its final form. This permission was granted.

The collection itself was sold in two lots at Auckland City Stamps' inaugural public auction on March 19th 2011. Estimated at $1,250, it was knocked down at $2,325.

Allan's Introduction is reproduced below:

My specialised interest in New Zealand Stamps and Postal History was until recently concentrated on the Stamps and Postal History of the Government Life Insurance Department, and the Official Mail of other Government Departments up to the end of 1906, definitive stamps overprinted OFFICIAL having to be used from 1st January 1907, thus introducing a whole new era of the Philately and Postal History of New Zealand.
It proved difficult to make additions to the two collections, so I sought another field of study. I decided to concentrate on the usage of the stamps issued to celebrate 100 years of British Sovereignty of New Zealand. Most of these stamps were issued on 2nd January 1940, with the 8d value issued on 8th March 1940, and the 10d surcharge on 1½d on 1st May 1944. The stamps were not demonetised until 1950, so cover an interesting period of New Zealand's Postal History.

It was not long before I started coming across illustrated covers, or covers with cachets, on which stamps of the issue were used. Some of these were clearly Patriotic Covers, and these as a subject on their own took my interest, and I started to collect them in their own right.

Patriotic Covers are those with printed cachets and/or slogans promoting the efforts of the country in which they were published to win a war or other conflict, and to help maintain morale. It can be difficult to decide if such a cover is Patriotic. Many had the letter 'V' or the word 'Victory' or the Morse code for 'V' ---- incorporated in their design. However, the same symbols were used to publish Victory Covers, some hastily prepared, some carefully prepared in anticipation of the event. The distinction can be somewhat blurred, and some have been included that may not be classified strictly as Patriotic Covers. Nevertheless, I would rather be criticised for including an item than for excluding one. Of course, some Patriotic Covers were used as Victory Covers, many so endorsed. To be considered as Patriotic Covers, usage has to be shown before the final end of all hostilities. Victory in Europe Day was 8th May 1945, and Victory in Japan was 14th August 1945. Therefore, any covers used before the latter date must be considered Patriotic Covers. As will be seen, Patriotic Covers continued to be used after the end of the Second World War for various purposes - ordinary correspondence, to collect special date stamps, as First Day Covers, and so on.

Download the PDFs here: http://www.rpsnz.org.nz/our-writings/patrioticcovers.html

As an admirer and collector of New Zealand stamps, I hope this fellow had a broader range of interests as, narrowing down to this specialty, I wonder how he ever added much to his collection and sustained his interest. I have a general NZ collection and am having trouble finding missing items - now looking elsewhere to keep my interest at a higher level.

Allan Berry had many interesting collections, notably NZ's Government Life Insurance stamps & covers, NZ Official mail, Militia covers and more. Not to mention one of the largest Philatelic Libraries in the country. This Patriotic cover collection was a small side-bar.
Adam.

Thanks Adam- glad this got bumped up. Missed it the first time round.

Forgive my earlier glib post - have googled Mr. Barry and now realize he was probably a much respected philatelic scholar. His work illustrates the difference between the true philatelist and a hobby stamp collector like me - not meaning to belittle the average collector - but individuals like him take the pastime to a completely different plane. His commitment is not for me but he deserves much admiration.

To greidp
Your comment " I have a general NZ collection and am having trouble finding missing items - now looking elsewhere to keep my interest at a higher level."

May I suggest there are two additional forms of New Zealand stamps since postal deregulation there in 1998.
The first is Alternate Mail stamps.
Companies listed with NZ department of Economic Development
can deliver letters and issue their own (destinct) postage stamps.
These were initially priced to undercut NZ Post price, and some of these operators wern't sufficiently organised to compete.
The result was they either went broke, or sold out to another mail company. There are numerous stamps with names such as DX Mail, Postie's Choice, Black Sheep, NZM (New Zealand Mail),Pete's Post, Fastway Post, Today's Post, Kiwi Mail, National Mail, Croxley Mail, and an international post card operator called Universal Mail.

An example is this group featuring seals issued by NZ Mail.

The other, differing new type of postage stamps are designed by individuals who submit their design to NZ Post for approval.
They specify what value postage, if sheetlet or peel-and-stick, and how many they require. Once NZ Post are paid, they print & deliver the stamps that are ordered. The individual uses the stamps & perhaps creates First Day Covers & sells some items to collectors.

Two 50¢ stamps issued for Te Akau racing stud.

So you can continue to collect NZ stamps. They often appear on eBay, the NZ internet site http://www.TradeMe.com, and there is a large band of stamp collectors around the world who swap and sell these items.

Thanks Stampmogul - shows how little I know and it does open up another possible area of interest - not that I have completely given up on NZ - every once in a while I see something that will enhance my collection and I go after it if I can afford it. While Mr. Barry's specialization is beyond me, I could veer a little more towards specialization in some issues like the ads-on SSF Queens.

Greidp,

I have a lot of commercial covers with alternate post stamps.
There are a number of duplicates I could sell to you if you wanted to branch out that way.
You could email me on Stampboards if interested.

Hi Greidp

Ironically I chose to collect NZ for the sheer breadth and depth of the issues- Health, Fiscals, Arms, Defins, Commems, Xmas, Postal History, FFQ and SFQs, Airmail, Cinderellas, Ross Dependency, Life Insurance etc etc- it really is a wonderful country to collect.

Hi Slayer
Agree completely on the fascination of N.Z. stamps and I too have tried to cover all the major categories. I have the majority of major varieties, mostly mint except for the Chalons. I haven't tried yet to get too specialized but am contemplating buying a CP catalogue which may change things. Right now, I'm watching for perf 13 Chalons - recently acquired a couple, a one pence and six pence.

HI
If NZ is the area you want to delve into a bit deeper I (along with others on here I'm sure) would recommend CP as the next step- mine is in constant use and I would be lost without it- whereas I find the ACSC (for Oz) quite complex, the CP is clear and very well laid out- indeed my only concern is the exchange rate between the NZ$ and GBP which has increased dramatically the cost of the CP updates!

Good morning from a sunny Palmerston North, New Zealand!

Stampboards readers may recall that I have worked in the New Zealand stamp trade for over 35 years. Currently I work for Mowbrays, based in Otaki. In their monthly postal stamp auctions are a whole range of types of NZ stamps (including alternative postal service providers, FFQs, healths etc) as well as periodically patriotic covers as per the start of this thread. We also offer good Pacific Islands, British Commonwealth and foreign material each month.

Currently we are gearing up for our annual public stamp auction to be held in Wellington on 3 November. Stampboard readers may be interested in viewing our online stamp catalogues : [www.mowbraycollectables.co.nz] or they can contact me to be added to our mailing list for complimentary stamp catalogues. Yes, we use REAL stamps for postage!!!

We use CP, SG and other stamp catalogue numbers in our descriptions so becoming familiar with a new (CP) catalogue is not necessary. Help is also available from staff members, so give Mowbrays a try if you are looking to fill gaps in your New Zealand collection. Thank you.

David

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David Smitham
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Upper Hutt 2013 Stamp Show 13 - 15 September 2013 Upper Hutt, NZ.