User:Jacquesverlaeken


 * I was born in 1944 when my father was in Vorarlberg for nearly 2 years forced electrical work for Illwerke (without any permission to assist in person my mother)! His was a passionate silver coins collector.
 * I learned electrical engineering and am specialized in nuclear power plants safety.
 * My main hobby is the collection of classic (< 1940) stamps, especially the British Empire Victoria stamps, the "Deutsches Reich" with some of the Old States, and the Austria-Hungary monarchy (empire before 1867 only!!), with emphasis on history of cancellations. Most of my documentation comes from a German vendor.
 * I have developped databases, in part because the identification of (partial) cancellations locations is then made possible. They include all historical post offices listed in Mueller, Klein (Austrian Monarchy) and several sources for the "Deutsches Reich" area (Feuser, Grobe etc). In other words, nearly all central Europe is listed (> 11000 data entries).
 * I have created a multi-lingual (en-fr-nl) Thesaurus for my job area, so I understand clearly why the Categories in Wikimedia Commons are so often mis-used!
 * The regions with a multi-cultural influence attract me. I want to create interest (and respect) for the past.

=Galleries of stamps=

Below a gallery of stamps (none of these fake, in my opinion) I have scanned. I hope they may raise interest in the study of postmarks (rather than this obsession about the gum virginity...)!

Selected pictures by region
Moved to my Wikimedia user page in September 2015.