The Stuart Rossiter Memorial Lecture 2008
The Belgian Colonies
The research, funding and production of the book
"From the Azores to New Zealand" By Patrick Maselis
October 31st 2008
Royal Philatelic Society 41 Devonshire Place London
This
is a Pdf of this Report of the Lecture
This
is a Pdf of the slides used in the Lecture
To order a copy, please contact: info@maselis.be
The price of the book is 37,50 euro or 30 pounds postage included within
the EU.
Languages: English, French, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese.
Patrick Maselis described the processes he used to research, create
and publish his magnificent lavishly illustrated book, in 5 languages,
which describes the 14 Belgian Colonies.
Because of the scale & high design cost of the book which has hundreds
of illustrations, it had to be produced in two printings, in total 10,000
copies. It was offered at a very low price of 37.5 € so that it could
be attractive to both philatelic and non-philatelic audiences. By the
date of the Lecture, 8,850 copies had been sold. The Stuart Rossiter
Trust Fund paid for the translation into English and Pro Post assisted
in the translation costs.
The book covers every place in which Belgians settled. Belgium only
came into existence as a state in 1830. Prior to that the country comprised
the principality of Liege, the country of Flanders, and the duchies
of Brabant & Hainault. Settlements by people from any of these four
areas are regarded as 'Belgian' colonies.
Patrick described the economic structure of the publication. There were
two printings, each of 5,000 copies.
The first print of 5000 copies
There were 160,000 € fixed costs, and additional variable costs of 6€ per copy. The breakdown of the fixed costs was: Development 50,000 Translation 40,000 Copyright fees 20,000 Print set up fixed 50,000 Total 160,000
The first printing cost 190,000€ [160,000€ fixed, and 30,000€ variable]. There was a net loss of 30,000€ on this printing, after receiving revenue of 160,000€.
The second print of 5000 copies
The second printing cost 80,000€ [50,000 fixed and 30,000€ variable]. There was a net profit of 70,000€ on this printing after revenue of 150,000€.
The overall result will be a profit of 40,000€ when
all copies are sold. The breakeven point is 8,666 copies, which has
been passed! 8700 copies were sold by approx. mid 2008.
Currently, in October 2008, there are 1,150 copies to be sold, which
will be the 'profit' on the entire publication. At this point it has
passed the break even point.
The copies in stock comprise, by language: 150 each, English, Spanish,
Portuguese [ total 450] 250 French, 450 Dutch Total 1,150
Marketing the book was a major undertaking. Fortunately Patrick has
very substantial business experience.
The book was launched on 1st November 2005, and the first 5000 mainly
sold out by 15th December 2005. 2005 was the 175th Anniversary of the
creation of the Belgian state, so the content was suitable and topical.
It was therefore decided to print a further 5000 copies.
Forecast sales of the second printing:
Bookstores 1,600
Christmas Gifts purchased by Petercam & Bank v.Delen & others 2,500
Philatelists [Belgium 500, abroad 300] 800
Total 4,900
Actual sales of both printings to mid 2008:
Readers Digest 500
Philatelists 1,500
Bookstores 4,200
Gifts 2,500
Total 8,700
Patrick described his motivation in writing the book. He is a fourth
generation philatelist, collection prephilately, postal history & stamps.
He is a member of the Royal Philatelic Society of London; Board member
& treasurer of the Belgian Academy; first vice-president of the AEP;
and secretary-general of the Club de Monte Carlo.
There were only a few books covering perhaps 4 - 5 of the Colonies.
To present a more complete picture, a book would have to be written.
Once he had the book written in his head, the actual typing etc took
7 months. [This was a part time activity, as Patrick runs a major company.]
The layout was done by the lady responsible for this function in his
company. Editorial & printing services, & translations comprised a substantial
additional part of the book production process.
The research methodology included reading hundreds of books, consulting
other philatelists, visits to museums & national archives in Belgium,
Zambia, Brazil & Argentina, and mail, phone & on-line contact s with
Holland, the UK, New Zealand, the Canary Islands, and the USA. The results
were recorded on file cards. The book went through detailed peer reviews.
The book has won numerous awards including:
Belgium - Paul De Smeth medal
Europe - FER & AEP Medals for literature
USA - Chicagopex, Gold medal
FIP - Grand Vermeil, Valencia
An excellently produced and illustrated full colour brochure was given
to all who attended the lecture. It contains a page about each of the
Colonies describing the Colony, with an illustration of a cover or similar
item.
Web site : www.rossitertrust.com
Notes by Nick Hackney
From the Azores to New Zealand by Patrick Maselis.
Publisher: Roeselare [Belgium] : Roularta Books, c2005.
419 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.) ; 33 cm.
Notes: "This book was produced with help from the Stuart Rossiter
Trust Fund."
Includes bibliographical references (p. 410-416) and index.
ISBN: 9054668741
9789054668749
Patrick MASELIS, Kaaistraat 19, B-8800 Roeselare, Belgium
To order a copy, please contact: info@maselis.be
The price of the book is 37,50 euro or 30 pounds postage
included within the EU.
Languages: English, French, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese.
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