Madame Joseph

The wooden cancels were thought to have been made in France, while the zincograph and copper-plated implements may have been created originally for use as book or catalogue illustrations.

"Madame Joseph" was probably not the name of one person but the nom de guerre used by this group, who operated in utmost secrecy with the aid of SOE.

It has been said that the fake cancels were also hired out to unscrupulous dealers for them to manufacture their own fine used stamps; however, that has been disputed by the postal historian Ted Proud.

[6] Three sheets of paper containing 120 different impressions have been found in the Stanley Gibbons reference collection and they appear to have previously been folded, so as to possibly make a booklet of samples.

[1] Eventually, the business devolved to Gordon Rhodes, who traded from 17A Lime Street, London, and whose shop is recorded in Kelly's Directory from 1935 to 1960.

He served as a Lieutenant at the shore-based HMS Goshawk, Piarco, Trinidad, during WWII – he also sold stamps.

Circa 1963 he removed to the Jersey Rose Farm, where he sold his stock to Harry Martin Jr. of the Empire Stamp Corporation, Toronto.

[13] In the early 1990s, the retired stamp dealer Derek Worboys purchased the Joseph instruments and paraphernalia from Clive Santo in order to prevent their further use.