COVER N. 730 - USA 

Postmark: Rattlesnake Island Local Post 01.06.2026/ Port Clinton Lighthouse 125th anniversary 1896 - 2026 Port Clinton Ohio 43452 02.06.2026

Posted on the 1st June;  Received on the 12th June 2026

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The last cover I got from Ravi, from the United States, is a true gem: a fantastic envelope from a little island on lake Erie, Michigan, sent through what is the only private local mail service of the USA: Rattlesnake Island Local Post. Another huge Bohoma Sthuthi, Ravi. You're spoiling me...

Rattlesnake Island is a very exclusive place, it seems. The Island belongs to the members of the Rattlesnake Island Club which are limited in number to 65 and only them or their invitees can set foot on the island, armed security guards making sure there are no trespassers...

Anyway, besides that bit of Hollywoodesque trivia, what is really interesting to stamp lovers is the fact that the Island has had an operating  Local Post Service on several occasions, which until today is still  the only one of its kind in the United States of America, being fully recognised by USPS.

The story of RILP dates back to August 1966, when the then owner of the island started it to overcome the refusal of USPS in delivering mail to the Island.

Since then and up to 1989 the service was provided with air mail from the island being carried first in Ford tri-motors of  Island Airlines,  being rerouted, once it reached the mainland, by USPS through Port Clinton, in Ohio. From May 1979, though, when the Island was sold to a new owner, stamps were no longer used, these being only used for First Day Cover issue purposes.

The second iteration of RILP began in 2005 and ran up to 2010, again under the supervision of the founder of the service, Dr. James Frackleton. The aircraft now used were the DeHavilland Beaver and Piper Saratoga of Griffing Flying Service.

In 2022, RILP was again set in motion, now under the supervision of Post Master Dave Gill, who has been the person responsible for RIPL stamp issues ever since.

Ravi also included a very nice postcard also issued by RILP with an aerial view of the tiny island which from tip to tip measures about 1 km in length.

The green "padded" level area is the airstrip, which doubles as an 18 hole golf course, when planes are not in sight....

The stamps on the cover are the 2024 RILP stamp issue featuring aircraft used for mail services to the island, namely the above mentioned  Piper Saratoga - 50 Cent; DeHavilland Beaver - 75 Cent and Thin Lizzie (Ford Trimotor) -  1 Dollar and they are obliterated by the classic diamond shaped RILP postmark.

I think I also read that the triangular stamps result from an imposition by USPS for them not to be confused with USPS stamps, but I can't go back to where I think I read it...

The cover also carries an USA Forever Stamp, (1794 Compass Rose, issued on 24JAN2025) for the "regular"  international service to Portugal, obliterated with a lovely Postmark celebrating Port Clinton's Lighthouse 125th anniversary.

All in all a fantastic cover. Thank you so much, Ravi!

COVER N. 729 - USA 

Postmark: Boston 2026 World Expo 250th Youth and Family Day - Station Boston MA 02205 30.05.2026

Posted on the 23rd May;  Received on the 11th June 2026

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Third cover I got from Ravi from the Boston World Expo features an amazing line up of  American lighthouses, on a prepaid envelope with an American Flag pre-printed stamp. Bohoma Sthuthi, Ravi.

Looking at Ravindra's cover it is easy to understand why Lighthouses is a popular theme amongst stamp collectors, Ravi being a dedicated one himself.

In fact,  these structures are not only quite frequently located at incredibly beautiful, and often protected sites but they also exhibit a baffling diversity in architectural terms, given that in their essence they are basically a tower with a lantern on top.

Add to this the  conspicuity of the high visibility paint scheme that is also a feature of many a lighthouse, the fact that they  are quite frequently centuries old, often with many a story to tell, plus the romantic aura they exhale (especially on stormy winter days) and there is no escaping their allure... 

Between 1990 and 2021 USPS issued a total of 7 issues based around the same concept: a 5 stamp se-tenant strip (self-adhesive, from 2003 on) dedicated to the lighthouses of a given region of the US (the first issue escaping this categorisation, for it includes lighthouses that cross the full span of the country, from Washington in the Pacific coast to New Jersey, on the Atlantic side).

For this cover, Ravi used precisely the original issue, that of 1990, comprising 5 x 25 cents stamps.

From left to right, the lighthouses depicted in the beautiful paintings are:

- Admiralty Head, Washington  

Now deactivated, this 9.1 m tall lighthouse, was built in 1903.

- Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

Built in 1870 and twice relocated (last time in 1999) Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, is 64 m in height.

- West Quody Head, Maine

Located at the easternmost point of the contiguous United States, this 15 m tall lighthouse was built in 1808.

- American Shoals, Florida

Located off shore of Key West, Florida, the 34 m high American Shoals lighthouse was constructed in 1880.

- Sandy Hook, New Jersey

The oldest operating lighthouse in the United States, the 31 m high Sandy Hook lighthouse was built in 1764.

COVER N. 729 - USA 

Postmark: Boston 2026 World Expo 250th anniversary of the US - Station Boston MA 02205 23.05.2026

Posted on the 23rd May;  Received on the 9th June 2026

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Second cover I got from Ravi from the Boston World Expo features some stamps of a very recent issue celebrating another of the most famous US icons: Route 66. Again, a large Bohoma sthuthi, Ravi.

2026 marks the centenary of this most famous of American routes, originally crossing about 2/3 of the country, linking Los Angeles, (later Santa Monica) California, on the West coast, to Chicago, Illinois, on the shores of lake Michigan.

Today, Route 66 is no longer. Parts of it have been altered, merged, replaced by new infrastructures, due to the exponential increase in traffic since the opening of the original road and, as a matter of fact, Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985. Still its importance as a vital artery for internal migration and especially the role it played in the years following the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl and the post-war boom of the 50s have granted it a place in American history, today crystallised in what is known as the Historic Route 66, which comprises about 85% of the initial road.

On the centenary of Route 66, USPS issued on 05MAY2026 a set comprising 8 self-adhesive USA Forever stamps illustrated with photographs of Motel, Cafe and Gas stations signs existing on Route 66, themselves pretty iconic images too.

Ravi used three of these stamps on this cover, postmarked from the postmarking station of the World Expo dedicated to the Day of the celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the United States. I wonder if he came across any of the Joads or maybe Billy or Captain America in their Harleys....

COVER N. 728 - USA 

Postmark: Boston 2026 World Expo Stamp Collectors Day - Station Boston MA 02205 25.05.2026

Posted on the 10th April;  Received on the 8th June 2026

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Turns out that the Boston Postcard was just an apetiser for the several fantastic covers that Ravi most kindly and generously sent me from the Boston 2026 World Expo. Bohoma Sthuthi, Ravi. Truly appreciated it.

First one was this cover on a prepaid envelope with a printed USA Forever stamp:

 The "World Stamp Show", which took place in Boston, Massachusetts, from the 23 to the 30 May was one of the events integrated in the celebrations of the 250th Anniversary of the Independence of the United States of America.

Previously to the show, on 14 August, USPS issued a  couple of terrific in-taglio printed "Forever" stamps to promote this important philatelic event and also to celebrate the country's anniversary.

According to USPS, the stamps, which when closely analysed exhibit a very fine 3D appearance, were created as replica vintage engravings so as to celebrate the stamps issued in the 19th and the early years of the 20th century, and they are illustrated with images of  the Old North Church, which is oldest church building in existence in Boston, as it appeared during the American Revolution, and of a  “Midnight rider”  galloping with a lantern in one hand, so as to light his way.

These are both symbols of the American revolution for lanterns in the bell tower of the  Church, there placed momentaneously, at the request of Paul Revere, on the night of April 18, 1775, warned patriots of the movements of the British troops.

Paul Revere himself was one of  the "midnight riders" (and the most famous of them all), evoked in one of the stamps, these being patriots dispatched to warn fellow revolutionaries of the whereabouts of the British troops, prior to the first battles of the American revolution: Lexington and Concord, which took place on the 19th April.

The Postmark was applied at the Expo on the 25th May at the "Stamp collectors' day" postmarking station.

POSTCARD N.233 - USA

Postcard sent on the 25th May; received on the 5th June 2026

Postcard image:  Boston skyline from the sky...

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There are images I will keep forever in my cerebral photobook... 

Boston, Massachusetts... that's where they were going to.... whole families, by the end of the summer, after visiting relatives,  in their nicest clothes,  nervously waiting for the boarding call at the airport terminal, with the father always taking with him a couple of bottles bound together, artistically covered in some sort of intertwined plastic straw that would create  patterns on the cover (red and white, being the colours I vividly remember). Binoculars, we called them... inside the glass bottles the aguardente that their families had been producing for ages.... for a special occasion... a birthday, a christening, a marriage... a bit of liquid island to wear off the saudades (they say the word can't be translated, but it means a deep longing, missing something very much).

"Charlie, come here", said the mother to the  little kid running and jumping as kids do, between the rows of the seats of the airport terminal (in those days there was no specific boarding room, just a general pre-flight area, where passengers and general public could be together).

"Charlie, ... come here" said the mother, this time a bit louder and with more assertivness, but Charlie, did not seem to hear, or couldn't care less.

"Charlie, don't you hear me? Come here!", shouted mother... same result

"Eh Carlinhs, nan tás aouvi? vencá!" Charlie, as if hit by lightning, froze and immediately  calmed down and went to join mother at the end of the room...

Massachusetts ranks as the second most important Azorean emigration destination, after California, so flights to Boston were the best transportation option for those that would later regain their communities in Fall River or New Bedford.

Carlinhos should be 5 or 6 years younger than me... In his American home, I wonder if he still keeps  father's binoculars as a souvenir of days gone....

Ravi used a "Forever Global" self-adhesive stamp issued on 24Jan2025, illustrated with a 1794 Compass Rose that was drawn in 1794 by "...Lucia Wadsworth — the aunt of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow — in her school geography notebook...", according to Wikipedia.

Postmark from Boston, the Capital of the State of Massachussets.

Bohoma sthuthi, Ravi, for another great postcard and the opportunity to rememeber happy days....

POSTCARD N.232 - USA

Postcard sent on the 27th May; received on the 8th June 2026

Postcard image:  Gingerbread Cottages at Martha's Vineyard

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Ravi sent me one of his fantastic and much appreciated mail barrages from the United States.

I'll dedicate the next posts to the cards and covers that have been falling into my letterbox rather frequently these last few days.

Bohoma sthuthi, friend. You're spoiling me with all these great pieces of mail.

Martha's Vineyard is an island in the State of Massachusetts, off the coast of Cape Cod, famous as an exclusive holiday destination.

The island, which can only be reached by air or sea, is also famous for its Victorian Architecture , namely the famous gingerbread cottages dating from the 19th century such as those depicted in the postcard Ravi sent me.

The term Gingerbread refers to the elaborate wooden trim that decorates the façades roofs and porches.

Ravi used a "Forever Global" self-adhesive stamp issued on 24Jan2025, illustrated with a 1794 Compass Rose that was drawn in 1794 by "...Lucia Wadsworth — the aunt of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow — in her school geography notebook...", according to Wikipedia.

The stamp was originally cancelled with a large red manual postmark issued at Edgartown, Massachusetts, Martha's Vineyard administrative capital, on the 27th May. The next day, a mechanical cancellation was also applied, this time at Providence,the Capital of the neighbouring State of Rhode Island.

COVER N. 727 - USA 

Postmark: Figures of the American revolution First day of Issue Washington DC2066 10.04.2026 

Posted on the 10th April;  Received on the 8th June 2026

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Thanks A.W. for another excellent cover, and for the nice stamps inside, which I truly appreciated.

2026 marks the  250th anniversary of The United States of America as an independent country, a status emerging from what would go down in history books as "The American Revolution". 

A timeline for this period would put its beginning in 

1765, as this was the year when the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act which for the first time  imposed a direct tax on the 13 British Colonies in North America demanding that “many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper from London which included an embossed revenue stamp” (cf. Wikipedia) (what gave way to a slogan which to this day is every now and then echoed: "No taxation, without representation"),  

and its final in 

1789, the year when the Constitution of The United States became effective.

In between, many were the moments that would guarantee a specific entry in American history compendia, but none the more so than the 4th July 1776, the day the Second Continental Congress, in which the 13 colonies were represented adopted the declaration  of Independence that marked the definitive cutting of  ties with the United Kingdom.

It would be expected that such a round date as a quarter of millennium milestone would produce many celebratory mementos, and commemorative stamps, would, of course, be expected to be issued.

USPS has thus included several issues linked to the celebrations in its stamp issue programme, the first of which is the "Figures of the American Revolution"  issue, dated of  10APR2026, comprising 25 self-adhesive "USA Forever" stamps illustrated with portraits of famous "individuals whose actions were vital in achieving independence and establishing the principles that continue to guide the United States", as claimed in the release notes. Each of the stamps also feature a legend with a short explanatory text.

Three of these stamps, dedicated to

- John Dickinson  - "Penman of the Revolution" whose writings articulated America's revolutionary Ideals;

- Bernardo de Galvés - Governor of Spanish Louisiana who aided patriots drive the British from West Florida;

- Nathaniel Greene -  Quaker and skillful general whose tactics turned the tide of war by ending British occupation of the South

can be seen in this First Day cover, postmarked at Washington DC.