Category: Thematic postage stamps

Thematic postage stamps from around the world

Italian Anna Magnani Postage Stamp – 1997

Nobody living in Italy could have failed to notice that 2008 is the centenary year of the birth of one of Italy’s greatest and best loved actresses, Anna Magnani, with numerous television documentaries, exhibitions, DVD releases and book publications accompanying the event. Sadly, Nannarella as she was affectionately known in Italy, died in 1973 but […]

1959 Ceylon – Institution of Pirivena Universities

This commemorative stamp from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) was issued in 1959 to celebrate the Institution of the Pirivena Universities, distinguished Buddhist centres of learning, which had been given university status following the University Act No 45 of 1958, namely Vidyodaya Pirivena, at Maligakanda, Colombo, and the Vidyalankara Pirivena in Kelaniya. The stamp depicts the […]

Winston Churchill at Race Track

World leaders have always been an obvious choice as subjects on commemorative stamps but this stamp issued on 25 November, 1974 by Dominica on the occasional of the Centenary of Winston Churchill’s birth on 30th November, 1874 is unusual in the informality of the setting. The one-half cent issue pictures Winston Churchill at the Race […]

Amphibian philately!

1 Comment on Amphibian philately!

Did you know that 2008 is The Year of the Frog? Zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums around the globe are joining in a massive public awareness campaign to highlight the amphibian extinction crisis. This 1974 North Korean postage stamp illustrates the Rana catesbeiana … better known as the Bullfrog! It was part of a set […]

1964 CCCP stamp celebrating Tokyo Olympics

This 1964 stamp featuring the equestrian sport of show jumping was issued by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (CCCP) on the occasion of the Tokyo Summer Olympics (the Games of the XVIII Olympiad). Tokyo had won the rights to hold the games in 1958, having previously been awarded the games in 1940 then eventually […]

Abraham Lincoln 1965 US stamp

5 Comments on Abraham Lincoln 1965 US stamp

It probably won’t come as a surprise that I have a particular liking for small stamps that have the feel of the very first stamp – the Penny Black! This 4 cent US postage stamp featuring President Abraham Lincoln was issued on 19 November, 1965 as part of the Prominent Americans Issue between 1965 -1978 […]

Sima Guang ‘Breaking the Vat’ on Chinese stamps

Here’s a great example of why it’s nice to get international snail-mail now and again! My writer friend Adam Williams sent me some documents from China a couple of years ago in a large envelope covered with commemorative stamps. The large block of twenty stamps on the right depicts an anecdote about the early life […]

Pluto, Donald Duck and Goofy on the moon!

The recent space shuttle mission reminded me of this set of stamps, although I waited till the crew got home safely before posting this! Issued by Saint Lucia in 1979 – The International Year of the Child – the set of seven stamps was issued on the 10th Anniversary of the Moonwalk and features several […]

Italian Post Office Entertainment Celebrities

More Italian stamps! This time a brand new souvenir sheet issued on 18 October 2007 with a print run of 2 million. I picked this up at the Poste Italiane stand at the Rome Film Festival. The set was designed by R Fantini and depicts three anniversaries of celebrated entertainment figures on three separate 60 […]

50th Anniversary of Italian Cycling Championships

I’ve lived in Italy since 1994 so I thought it was time that I listed some Italian stamps. I picked up this 1967 Italian First Day Cover at an antiques market at Piazza Cola di Rienzo in Rome; Primo Giorno di Emissione (first day of issue) is printed in red. It celebrates the 50th anniversary […]

Extinct Birds on 1974 Cuban Stamps

This 1974 set of Cuban Postage Stamps featured five notable examples of extinct bird species – namely the Dodo (1c), Macaw (3c), Passenger Pigeon (8c), Moa (10c) and Great Auk (13c). The Dodo – This meter-high flightless bird was found on Mauritius. It is one of the world’s most infamous examples of how man’s impact […]

Japanese Mandarin Duck

This 5 yen Japanese Mandarin duck (or in Japanese oshidori) postage stamp was in use from 1952 – 1968. By no means rare – it sells by the bag-full on eBay – I’ve always found this little postage stamp extremely attractive. Photo: philspics

Vietnam & the Tay Son Rebellion

1 Comment on Vietnam & the Tay Son Rebellion

1971 Postage Stamp issued in North Vietnam to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the Tay Son Rebellion led by the Tay Son Brothers in 1771.

Dutch Elvis Stamps – 6 June 2006

2007 has seen a series of anniversaries and celebrations – the pilgrimage to Memphis by Elvis fans from around the world on the 30th anniversary of his death and the concert held at Wembley Stadium to celebrate Princess Diana’s birthday in the year of the 10th anniversary of her passing were major media events. Last […]

More GB Stamps

The way we were … European flags in 1979

EU Assembly 1979 – 41mm x 30mm Inaugurated in 1958 as the Common Assembly, the European Parliament originally consisted of representatives selected by the national parliaments of EU member countries. Beginning in 1979, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected by direct universal suffrage to terms of five years. Britannica.com When I saw that today’s theme over at Sunday Stamps, hosted by See it on a Postcard, was Maps/Flags my mind went right away to this set of GB commemorative stamps from 1979. Recent turbulent events in the UK over Brexit make this particular issue a poignant piece of political history. This isn’t intended as a political post, however, although as a British citizen who has lived almost her entire adult life in Italy, I have always considered myself thoroughly ‘European’! Issued on 9 May 1979 to mark the very first Direct Elections to European Assembly, this set consisted of four very similar stamps featuring subtle variations of the main design of hands – all conspicuously white – placing flags of member nations into ballot boxes. This is the 9 pence stamp, with a blue background, with the other denominations seeing different directions and colour changes of the background. I don’t own this entire set, and only have this used stamp, which I carefully steamed off an envelope as a child. The post mark seems particularly quaint, with its ‘REMEMBER to use the POSTCODE’ slogan. The flags featured include the original six member nations – Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy, and the Netherlands – as well as the three nations that joined later in 1973 – Denmark, Ireland, and the UK – with the UK Union Flag the very first in the top left hand corner. The four stamps were designed by Stafford Cliff, best known as the creative director of the Conran Design Group in London. Don’t forget to head on over to See it on a Postcard and visit the other Sunday Stamps bloggers today!

[…]

Speed, Regularity and Security – 200 years of the Royal Mail

Bicentenary of First Mail Coach Run, Bath and Bristol to London When I first read that the theme over at Sunday Stamps today would be “transportation”, I knew right away that this wonderful se-tenant set celebrating the 200th anniversary of the inauguration of the Bristol, Bath, London Mail Coach Service in 1784 would be my choice. This five stamp set of GB commemoratives issued by the Royal Mail on 31st July, 1984 was a childhood favourite of mine, and as usual, I’m presenting them exactly as displayed in my teenage stamp album (nearly forty years ago), in a row of five black Hawid mounts. I still remember the excitement of obtaining the full strip including selvedge at the very end! The souvenir pack summed up the themes illustrated on the stamps with some enticing titles that evoke the romance of stagecoaches: Taverns & Turnpikes · Floods & Footpads · Highwaymen · Travellers’ Tales · Blizzards & Blunderbusses. The stamps were designed by Keith Bassford and Stanley Paine, and all carry a value of 16p. So let’s take a closer look at the individual stamps: The Original Bath Mail Coach of 1794: The first stamp, on the far left, shows the very first mail coach, the idea of theatre-owner John Palmer from Bath, as it leaves the Swan with Two Necks in 1794. An Attack on the Exeter Mail 1816: The next stamp shows a lioness, which had escaped from a local menagerie and attacked the Exeter Mail in 1816. Happily everybody survived the attack. The Norwich Mail in a Thunderstorm, 1827: This dramatic illustration beautifully showcases the work done on this set by prolific stamp engraver and designer Csezlaw Slania (1921-2005). The Holyhead & Liverpool Mails, 1828: The stage coach is depicted in front of the historic inn The Angel, in Islington, London. The inn also was the subject of William Hogarth’s 1747 drawing, The Stage-Coach, Or The Country Inn Yard, which also depicted the busy coaching inn’s customers and traffic. The Edinburgh Mail Snowbound in 1831: This illustrates the story of the Edinburgh to Dumfries Mail which was brought to a halt by a terrible blizzard on 1st February 1831. Both the guard and driver perished in their attempt to continue carrying the mail on foot. Don’t forget to head on over to See it on a Postcard and visit the other Sunday Stamps bloggers today!

[…]

World Thematic Stamps

Still Life Painting by Eranuhi Aslamazyan on DDR Stamp

The theme over at Sunday Stamps today is “food”, so allowing myself a little wiggle room here, I have chosen a thematic stamp from my childhood album featuring a traditional still life painting depicting arrangements of food – grapes, pomegranates, a lemon, and I think, some oranges, alongside a large pitcher, and other tableware in what looks like pewter or melchior. This postage stamp would have been bought in one of those mixed thematic bags sold by weight, that were so popular with fledging philatelist when I was young. While it was a quite recent commemorative at the time, fast forward to today, and it is suddenly half a century old! Modern Masters – E.A. Aslamasjan This 20 Pfennig stamp features a still life painting by E.A. Aslamasjan and was issued as part of a two-stamp set celebrating Russian and Soviet Paintings – Modern Masters Picture Gallery. (The other 5 Pfennig stamp featured a portrait by D.K. Sweschnikow.) It was issued in 1969 by what was then the German Democratic Republic or East Germany (often abbreviated to simply the DDR from Deutsche Demokratische Republik). Vahan Kochar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons My background is in Art History so I could not leave my research there, so I dug a little deeper to see if I could find out a little more about the artist or painting featured. A rewarding half hour on Google led me to the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD) online archive of Modern Masters, and a 1967 oil on canvas by Eranuhi Aslamazyan (1910 – 1998), an Armenian and Soviet multi-genre artist, who like her equally famous sister Mariam, painted landscapes, portraits and still life paintings, as well as producing graphic works, ceramics and pottery, always including strong cultural references to Armenia in her art. Although they both mostly lived in Russia. She was both a member of the Artists’ Union of the USSR and an Honored Artist of the Armenian SSR. Do head on over to See it on a Postcard for more Sunday Food Stamps!

[…]

Cats big or small… on stamps big or small!

Most of my childhood stamps were acquired in those big, mixed country bags, divided by themes rather than country, and mostly date from the mid-1970s and earlier. Animals and birds seem to proliferate and there are a great many stamps featuring big and domestic cats. Here are a just a few […]

[…]