Mistakes in the Scott listing for the Netherlands

1. it is a dove

Take a look at the stamp on the left. It is a classic design by Chris Lebeau and was used for a great number of Dutch stamps from 1924 to the 1940s (NvPH nrs. 144-148, 169-176, 356-373, 379-391 / Michel nrs. 146-150, 171-177, 357-374, 380-391 / Scott nrs. 142-146, 164-171, 226-243, 243A-Q). The NvPH catalogue lists it as "flying dove" as does Michel. Scott however thinks it is a gull.

The mistake may have been caused by the first airmail stamps from 1921, also designed by Lebeau, shown on the right. These stamps are described as "a seagull flying over sea" and are clearly a forerunner of the 1924 design. Although there are clearly similarities between the designs the differences are also obvious. This was recognised by all catalogues except Scott's where the dove design is misdescribed as gull until this day.
By the way, the design with the dove has a weird doublelife: look at it a bit more. Don't you think there is a vampirebat with wide open mouth in it as well?

2. it is a duck

The Scott publishing Company obviously does not employ staff with a feeling for zoology. Netherlands # 562 from 1976 is described in the 2000-edition as "sea gull over coast". Take a look at the stamp on the left. Is that a gull? I would say not. A duck more likely.

3. draughts not checkers

Draughts not checkersOK, I have to admit that this is a minor mistake, but still...
According to Scott this stamp commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Dutch Checkers Association. Little problem: there is no such association. Checkers is a boardgame for 2 played with 12 pieces each on a chessboard (8 x 8). Popular in the USA but not in the Netherlands. If you look at the picture you can count 10 fields from the left to the right. The game that is shown is "dammen" (draughts). It is comparable with checkers, but played on a 10 x 10 board with slightly different rules. It is particularly popular in the Netherlands, Russia and parts of Africa.