GBLA Imitations European Ships GBL
Peter Valdner (2016, updated)
Fourteen merchant ships were trapped on the Great Bitter Lake in the Suez Canal during the Six-Days War in 1967. One of them was the Lednice of the Czechoslovak Danube Navigation Company Bratislava. They left the lake after eight years in 1975.
The crews formed the GBLA (Great Bitter Lake
Association) and issued stamps to use them on correspondence and as souvenirs, too. I have prepared a book on them, so here just a warning.
On the philatelic market, there are labels of Italian provenience, which are confused by unaware collectors with GBLA stamps. They were produced by the Italian Dr. Zappala, who sent some to the GBLA upto summer 1971, so they exist also on real GBLA items. They are considered to be GBLA items only if mailed to or from GBLA.
Majority of his issues was produced after most crews left the Lake and their goal was only to be sold to the collectors. Their value is just a small fraction in comparison with real GBLA stamps.
They can be distinguished at first sight by their high quality print, most of them are inscribed European ships
(there were not only European ships in the GBLA), some of them have inscriptions even in Italian (there were never any Italian crew in the GBLA).
They are multicolored, both perforated and cut, with text in various languages. Here are shown some of them.
Most of them were issued as mini-sheets, some as greetings, too.
Many were sent to fake addresses and returned to Europe.
Naturally, everybody can collect anything he likes, but to pay GBLA stamp prices for labels from Italy is rather strange and I do not recommend it.
Captain Hill in his Postage Stamps of the Great Bitter Lake Association warned against them. His book is only black and white, but the best one that was published before my Catalogue.
Captain Hill in his Postage Stamps of the Great Bitter Lake Association warned against them. His book is only black and white, but the best one that was published before my Catalogue.
The first issue of March 1968 was numbered on the back. Issues from 1968 to summer 1971 can be used as spacefillers in ASFE collections.
Some real GBLA stamps were shown in my article Ship Mail and GBLA.
All GBLA stamps will be shown and valued in my GBLA Catalogue, which I have been writing for my fellow ASFE collectors.
All GBLA stamps will be shown and valued in my GBLA Catalogue, which I have been writing for my fellow ASFE collectors.
Sources: Internet a archives of the author
Contact to the author: valdpete@yahoo.com
