The Philastrip collection
Between 1994 and 2012, the BCSC has been publishing valuable mini-albums for collectors to accompany the issue of special stamps by the Belgian Post Office dedicated to comic strip characters or illustrated by comic strip authors.
The aim of the albums in the Philastrip collection is to pay tribute to the authors and the world of the comic strip. They generally include a biography of the author along with new adventures never before published in album form.
These valuable mini-albums - numbered and, where possible,signed – also contain a first-day cover of the stamp or stamps in question and are highly sought after by stamp collectors and comic strip collectors alike. In the light of the success of this venture, the BCSC has decided to gradually expand publication of these Philastrip albums to include other subjects outside the comic strip associated with the works of a comic strip author.
Album form:
Size 215 × 155 mm, in four colours, numbered and including one or more first day covers.
Normal version: hard cover – luxury version: cloth-bound hard cover.
Each album is published in French and, until 2008, usually also in Dutch (album XIII in 2004 was also published in German).
Finally specially for France (and available in French only), the BCSC has published a series of mini-albums devoted to Boule et Bill ("Envois de toutes les couleurs", Fête du Timbre 2002), Lucky Luke ("Envois Express", Fête du Timbre 2003) and Spirou ("Envois de Fête", Fête du Timbre 2006)
The Philastrip collection is on sale in all good comic book sellers, at the BCSC and in the Philaboutiques of the Belgian Post Office.
