Scandinavia, Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue Part II, 5th edition, 6 x 8-1/2 inches, perfect bound, soft covers, 382 pages, Stanley Gibbons Ltd., London, 2001, ISBN 0-85259-519-0, £24.95.

These special Scandinavia editions of the Gibbons catalogs began in 1970, and the last one was issued in 1994. Countries covered here are Åland, DWI, Denmark with Schleswig, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The publisher has drawn on several recognized experts and updated the previous edition considerably. Some of the catalog numbers have changed since the 1994 edition and a table supplies the new equivalents.

The Gibbons approach to their specialized catalogs is to focus on stamps basically, excluding revenues, stationery, locals, labels, and specimens. However, FRAMA machine labels and stamp booklets are included. The introductory section goes into some details on printing, paper, perforation, gum, watermarks, color, luminescence, etc. and appears to be a common text used throughout their foreign catalog series.

The black and white illustrations are quite good. Major stamp varieties are listed. The Finland listing includes the military fieldpost stamps, and the Norway section includes a listing of the numeral cancels. The section on Sweden concludes with a listing of designs on her stamps, which will interest topical collectors.

For those who collect Scandinavia only, this catalog is a useful reference for the general collector who does not wish to purchase the larger versions of the Gibbons or Scott catalogs that include many other countries.

Alan Warren