Michel Katolg

    Last year I bought the 2004/2005 Michel Nord & nordwesteurope Katalog but was extremely disappointed when I found out that it no longer lists the designers, engravers nor printers. This was one of the main reasons I bought it in the first place and at $100 I feel I was ripped off. I always found Michel far superior to Scotts but not anymore . I realize that its a question of saving space but then again whats the purpose of the katalog, surely not just for listing ridiculous prices. Collectors buy catalogs for info regarding the stamps not just pricing and if more & more info gets removed I'm sure Michel wont be selling too many more catalogs.
    This is just my opinion, others will probably differ.

    PS. I sent Michel an email, but no reply.

    Various criticisms are levelled at the Michel catalogues for any number of reasons.

    That you have received no reply from them is not a surprise.

    If you can let us know which countries you collect we should be able to guide you as to which catalogues will best suit your purpose. Generally the catalogues produced by the country you collect are best, though this does necessitate having to deal with several languages. Though for some countries collectors are reliant upon Michel, Stanley Gibbons or Yvert as some countries do not produce any kind of catalogue "in house" so to speak.

    I also agree that you were ripped off, $100 for a catalogue now four years old is excessive.

    Ask away and we will try to assist where we can.

    regards

    Nigel

    Sammeln wie es einem Spaß macht

    Hi Nigel

    Thanks for your response. I do realize that specialized catalogs for particular countries would probably provide me with the info I'm looking for but I really don't want to spend a lot of money. I still buy the newest Michel Deutschland every second or third year which thank god still lists designers, engravers & printers, also Austria Netto which does not list them & never did but since all Austrian stamps until recently were printed by the State Printer and die Stecher und Entwerfer are printed on the stamp it doesnt really matter.
    I bought the Nord & nordwest europa katalog because I collected (stopped buying them a few years ago) and still am interested in Sweden, Denmark, Norway & Great Britain and one of the things I found fascinating was to see if for instance I could guess who the engraver of a particular Swedish stamp was even though Slania's work would stand out. The engraver "makes" the stamp in this case. With GB stamps its in the design. You have & always had excellent designers: David Gentleman comes to mind, all his work is a pleasure to look at. Most British stamps are truly little works of art.
    Actually in the last few years also our Canadian stamps have much improved, some even world class & excellent printing by Lowe - Martin. We have a very good domestic catalogue called Unitrade Specialized Catalogue of Canadian Stamps which also lists designers, engravers & printers.