COVER N. 737 - FRANCE

Postmark: Métiers D'Art - Caligraphe - la Poste, 1er Jour Paris 11.06.2026

Posted on the 11th June;  Received on the 25th June 2026

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It is 10 years since la Poste started a new anual stamp series dedicated to "Les Métiers d'Art" (Arts and crafts).

I think this was an excellent idea, because whenever we see a particular piece from one of the professions highlighted in the series, we always seem to take it for granted, never sparing a thought about the usually long learning curve associated with some very specialised professions that demand absolute control over several rather uncommon skills.

The 2026 issue of this series is dedicated to the Calligrapher and Eric kindly sent me an FDC with the beautiful stamp on it. Un grand merci, Eric.

The market for Calligraphers must really be one very tiny high-end niche, these days. In fact, with the advent of word processors and typography software, hand written messages in a beautiful typeface is something that is reserved for very special occasions like invitations for official ceremonies or banquets, marketing campaigns, certificates or diplomas, etc.

In an era which we can already classify as remote, so fast has been the advancement of technology, Calligraphy was also the work domain of the Copists, an extinct  profession, I presume.

Copists, as the name implies,  used to do what the photocopier first and then the home printer now enables all of us to do. So they had to be good calligraphers... and I can't help but marvel at those huge handwritten books created by calligraphers and illuminators that we see in museums, palaces and libraries, with all those letters that always look as if drawn, not written...

These days though, irrespective of skill and ability, there is a calligrapher inside us all, thanks to technology, but the sheer beauty of human calligraphy will always outclass the too perfect and emotionless letters that computers generate out of electrons...

On 11JUN2026 La Poste issued the 18th stamp of the Métiers d'Art series started in 2016,. Dedicated to the calligrapher, the 2.25€ stamp is illustrated with  concentric messages in four different scripts.

Unfortunately I can only make out the word Calligraphie on the outer circle. The second circle reads "Exchanger; Beauté; Mémoire; Culture; Unité; the third Paix; Lien; Mot; Écrire, while the centre is occupied by the letter Phi, the symbol of the Golden Ratio, as a reminder of the  precision and exactness but also aesthetics that are inherent to calligraphy.

The Phy and the third circle are printed in gold, a metaphor for preciousness, and value, I’d say.

This was also one of the stamps issued in the course of Paris Philex 2026, and the First day Postmark  exhibits examples of the word "Calligraphe" in two different scripts... 

COVER N. 736 - FRANCE

Postmark: George Sand 1804 - 1876 La Poste Paris 13.06.2026

Posted on the 13th June;  Received on the 25th June 2026

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Another of Eric's Paris Philex 2026 posted FDC's, and again one with strong literary connections. Un grand merci, Eric.

Ask anyone about Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil, and I bet that 9 out of 10 (if not 10 out of 10, ) answers (and this would include mine) will be "Don't know..."; "Never heard about her..." "Can't really say I have heard this name ever"...;

Things will take a sharp turn though if you ask the same people (me included) if the name George Sand rings a bell.

Lucille de Francueil (1804-1876), who would reclaim a place in history as George Sand, her literary pseudonym, was a woman far ahead of her time. 

A well established and consecrated writer in her days, she was also an advocate for women's rights,  a socialist and a republican and someone who really did not give much of a damn about what people thought of her life options, be it in the way she dressed, adopting men's clothes, smoking in public or leading a  rather turbulent love life with several well known lovers, like Prosper Merimé, Alfred de Musset or Frederic Chopin, to name the more resonating names.

On the occasion of 150th anniversary of George Sand's passing, la Poste honoured her memory by issuing, on 13JUN2026, a beautiful in-taglio printed 4 €  stamp with her portrait,   in a souvenir sheet with silver printed elements, comprising  3 identical stamps and a quote from her: "Il n'y a qu'un bonheur dans la vie, c'est d'aimer et d'être aimé" (There is but one joy in life: to love and be loved).

The First Day Postmark bears a floral element in the centre, in line with the decorative elements on the souvenir sheet.

Now, I have no recollection of having ever read one of Sand's books..... maybe in my university years, but I really can't recall.... will have to make amends for this....

COVER N. 735 - FRANCE

Postmark: Salon Paris Philex 2026 - la nature à Paris - La Poste Paris 11.06.2026

Posted on the 11th June;  Received on the 25th June 2026

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NFT stamps... an absolute mystery to me. 

I bought the first Portuguese  NFT stamp and readily made a mess of all the registering process right away, so when I noticed that Eric had kindly sent me  a cover with one of the La Poste NFT stamps issued in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the publication in France of  Le Petit Prince, (pour laquelle que je te remercie enomerment, Eric) I began to get a bit shaky...

Contrary to the Portuguese stamp, though, the 8€ NFT stamp illustrated with an image of the Little Prince flying his own aircraft, has a QR code inscribed on it. Reading the QR code, returns a 3D-ish animation of the image on the stamp, so at least I was able to get to this part, which is a lot more than I was able to do with the Portuguese stamp.

As far as I think I understand, NFT stamps should be "stored" online but this is where I have no idea how to progress in order to create one's own "album". Maybe one day, i'll understand it, even though I think I cannot recuperate my original Portuguese NFT stamp which is living somewhere in a digital limbo....

Anyway, the Petit Prince NFT on the cover is part of a set of four single stamp souvenir sheets (4 x 8€ - NFTimbre 8.1-8.4)) issued on 19MAY2026, celebrating, as above mentioned, the 80th anniversary of the French publication of Le Petit Prince, by Galimard, in 1946. The stamps are illustrated with an image that is essentially a frame from the video accessible through the QR code inscribed on their surface.

The physical stamp was cancelled in the course of the Paris Philex 2026 philatelic show with the First Day Postmark of a Lettre Verte stamp that was issued during the event, on 11JUN2026, as the 2026 Philex CNEP (Chambre syndicale française des Négociants et Experts en Philatélie) issue, dedicated to the theme of the event: La nature à Paris (Nature in Paris).

As I was able to read on the internet, CNEP has been  issuing souvenir sheets with a lettre verte stamp  for each of philatelic shows it organises or participates in, since 1980.

COVER N. 734 - FRANCE

Postmark: Les 80 ans du petit Prince - le Petit Prince - 80 - 1er Jour La Poste Paris 11.06.2026

Posted on the 11th June;  Received on the 25th June 2026

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The second "Le Petit Prince" themed cover that Eric sent me was also an FDC, featuring the 2.25€ stamp illustrated with a recreation of Saint-Exupéry's magnificent character.

Un grand Merci, Eric.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is mainly remembered as a writer  and as one of the pioneers of French Intercontinental airmail services, (Africa and later South America) through his collaboration with Aéropostale, the  company founded, with that aim in mind, in  the wake of the first world war, by aircraft  manufacturer (mainly flying-boats and seaplanes) Pierre-Georges Latécoère, as “Société des Lignes Latécoère”, which would  be rebranded in 1927,as “Compagnie Générale Aéropostale”.

The story of Aéropostale is an epic odyssey in itself  and several of its pilots would be forever remembered as examples of tenacity, endurance and  courage, so many were the hurdles, challenges and life threatening situations they had to overcome while carrying mail in their planes over the Andes or the African deserts.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Jean Mermoz, Henri Guillaumet, probably the most famous of all the Aéropostale pilots. They all lived a life devoted to aviation.... so much so that they all died while flying... Saint-Ex over the Mediterranean Sea while on a photo reconnaissance flight in 1943; Mermoz in 1936 over the South Atlantic, while crossing it from Senegal to Brazil and Guillaumet also shot down over the Mediterranean, in 1940.

Saint-Ex's own experience with accidents was instrumental in his writing of the Little Prince, for the plot draws on the situation he went through when crashing in the Sahara desert during what was supposed to be a record flight between Paris and Saigon, in 1935. Hhe and his co-pilot spent 5 days in the desert, with almost nothing to drink, being finally rescued by a Bedouin who happened to be passing close by.

80 years past the publication in France of his most beloved book, on 11JUL2026, La Poste once again decided to honour this man of many talents, with a 2,25 € stamp with a digital recreation of  the little boy who tamed a fox, originally drawn in ink and painted in watercolour, which sits on many a bookshelf across the whole world.

 

POSTCARD N.236 - FRANCE

Postcard sent on the 12th of June; received on the 25th June 2026

Postcard image: Le Petit Prince

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Le Petit Prince, the Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s magnum opus... the first book I have the recollection of it being offered me by my father, in its Portuguese translation, of course: O Principezinho.....

And somehow, in the beginning of the current week, I felt that Saint-Ex's famous illustration of a boa digesting an elephant could be a perfect metaphor form my letterbox, for after Mr.Postman's visit, it too became immobile for the rest of the week, while trying to digest the huge load of French First Day Covers I got from Eric, and which I will be, of course, posting here these coming days.

Un gran merci, mon ami. Tu m'as bien apprivoisé....

The Little Prince is the world's most translated book after the Bible, having been published in more than 600 different languages and dialects.

The history of the Little Prince, the only living boy in asteroid B612, who ended up on Earth after  abandoning his little celestial body to escape a pretentious rose and to find a way of keeping baobabs from occupying all its surface, only to be taught by a fox that we are responsible for what we tame (sounds confusing? well, not a bit.) has been read, cherished and loved by generations of people willing to be tamed in all corners of the world  ever since it was first published, in 1943, in both French and English, by  Reynal & Hitchcock, in New York

The first French Publication would  sadly be a posthumous one, for Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's had been banned from publication by the Vichy Regime. Thus, when the book was finally published in France, by Galimard, in 1946, his author had already lost his life, what sadly occurred in April 1943, during a flight in a  F5B,  a reconnaissance version of the American Lockheed P-38 Lightning, over the Mediterranean, not far from Marseille.

The 80 years of the French publication of Le Petit Prince were chosen by La Poste as one of the events and places to be honoured with stamp issues during 2026's Paris Philex  a well established stamp exhibition and competition held annually in Paris.

To this view,  La Poste issued both a 12 x "Lettre Verte" stamps booklet and a single 2,25 € (International 20g) stamp, both illustrated with images inspired by the fabulous original watercolours also authored by Saint-Exupéry, used to illustrate the book.

Two of the "Lettre Verte" stamps, cancelled with the first day postmark dated of 11JUN2026,  can be seen on the Petit Prince themed postcard Eric sent me.

The postmark featuring the portrait of the famous character superimposed on a 80 and the legend les 80 ans du Petit Prince (80 years of the Little Prince) was applied at Philex 2026, I presume.

POSTCARD N.235 - SPAIN

Postcard sent on the 12th of June; received on the 25th June 2026

Postcard image: The Guinness Paella World Record 

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Lately, if you're in the habit of dropping by to see what's cooking (pun intended....) you might have noticed that Paella has been a theme for friendly Iberian discussion with Eva, the dedicated keeper of the Mail Adventures blog, from across the border.

To wrap up our exchange on such a relevant icon of Iberian gastronomic culture, Eva good-humouredly sent me a postcard that is exemplary of the pride that Valencia puts in its most famous dish. 

Interestingly enough, I think there is more in that postcard than the simple fact it showcases: the cooking up, in 1992, in Valencia (where else?)  of the biggest paella ever made, (in what is probably also the largest paellera ever built)  enough to feed 100000 souls, under the supervision of chef Juan Carlos Galbis, a feat acknowledged by the supreme registry of unusual, curious or downright idiotic accomplishments: The Guinness Book of Records.

And it is this passion for food related record breaking and for its inscription in the Guinness Book of records that I find is very much an Iberian thing.

When I first looked at Eva's postcard, I immediately thought of a portuguese counterpart for the Guiness paella: The  biggest Feijoada à Portuguesa (Portuguese bean stew) ever served, that was consumed by 17000 people on the longest table ever laid (5 km) - also a Guinness record - on the inauguration of Vasco da Gama Bridge linking Lisbon to Montijo, over the Tagus, in 1998.

But then, as far as Portuguese gastronomic Guinness records are concerned,   there is also the largest chestnut roaster in Vinhais, the Largest Omelette ever made, in Ferreira do Zêzere; the biggest limpet rice, in Madeira, the biggest sardinhada (grilled sardines) in Setúbal; the biggest Bolo-rei (our version of the French Galette des Rois), in Matosinhos, and I am sure, a handful more...

And if on our side, there are so many records,  Eva's side does not fall behind with the largest ‘bocadillo de jamón’ (ham sandwich) in Huelva, the biggest gazpacho (cold soup) in Almeria ; the biggest tortilla de patata (potato omelette) in Vitoria, and some other, I'm sure.... even the original  Paella record has already been broken by the same chef, this time cooking in Madrid, not in Valencia...

Be it as it may, food is something that it taken very seriously in all of the peninsula and people are indeed very proud of their traditional gastronomic heritage on both sides of the border. 

I would even say that the Portuguese and the Spanish are as related in kind in their languages as they are in their cuisine, which in essence is as simple and creative as it is hearty.

In fact, if you never been to the Iberian Peninsula and never tasted any of the dishes that people call theirs, you really don't know what you are missing....

- Tourism represents 15.5 % of Spain's GDP. Such an high stake in the country's production of value does not come without its share of inconvenience, and achieving sustainability in tourism has to be an ever present goal for the government either at national or regional or even municipal level.

Sustainable tourism in Spain is also the theme of the A (domestic 20g) Tariff stamp on the cover, issued on 20FEB2026 as part of a set of two (1 x "A" + 1 x "D") self-adhesive stamps dedicated to Tourism in Spain.  The stamp is illustrated with  the image of a mother and a child cuddling a cow, with the legend Turismo sostenible y regenerativo (Sustainable and regenerative Tourism).

- The 23rd world Handball Championships took place in January 2013 in Spain. Incidentally, the end result could not be more satisfying for the organisers, since Spain was also the team that won the event.

Celebrating this fact, Correos de España issued  the 1 € stamp on the cover on  09JUL2013, the stamp being illustrated with a hand holding a handball ball in Spain's national colours: red and yellow.

- Felipe VI became the King of Spain on 19 June 2014. The first definitive series featuring his portrait was issued on 19JAN2015, and the 0,04 € stamp on the cover is part of that issue which comprised 6 values (0,01; 0,04; 0,10; 1;L 2; 5 €), the stamps being all equal but printed in different colours.

COVER N. 733 - UK - BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES - BRITISH ANTARCTIC TERRITORY 

Postmark: British Antarctic Territory - Rothera  05.03.2026

Posted on the 5th March;  Received on the 6th June 2026

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Antarctica. The last bit of land still relatively protected from international abuse, thanks to an international treaty that froze all territorial claims so as to ensure that Antarctica is a territory devoted to science and peace.

The Antarctic Treaty was signed on the 1st December 1959 by the 12 countries who had and have since maintained scientific missions in and around Antarctica - Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (now the Russian federation), the United Kingdom, and the United States of America - and it effectively puts a ban on any new territorial claims, while maintaining the current status quo (but not formally recognising) as to existing territorial claims on the continent.

One of the original treaty signers was the UK who, since the beginning of the 20th century, maintains a claim for what is known as the British Antarctic Territory, for the  region south of 60°S latitude and between longitudes 20°W and 80°W,  a claim that in itself partially overlaps those of Chile and Argentina (an example of how important this treaty is....)

UK presence in the continent is managed under the auspices of the British Antarctic Survey established in 1962, which operates five research stations in the claimed territory; Rothera on Adelaide Island; Halley Research Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf; Signy Research Station on Signy Island; Fossil Bluff logistics facility on Alexander Island and Sky Blu logistics facility in Ellsworth Land.

With the help of the Phantom, I was able to secure a cover from the British Antarctic Territory, namely from Rothera Station, to my collection. Danke Sehr, Alex!

- RRS Ernest Shackleton was launched in 1954 in Sweden as MV Arendal (III), having been bought by Falkland Islands Dependency Survey, the predecessor of the British Antarctic Survey, in 1955, when it was refurbished and renamed as RSS Ernest Shackleton. She stayed with the British Antarctic Survey until 1969, and after having passed through several owners, she was finally scrapped, as Sea Profiler, in 2011.

- Royal Research Ships was also the theme of a 6 x 76 p stamp set issued on 20NOV2017, illustrated with photographs of ships that have operated for the British Antarctic Survey. 

RRS James Clark Ross Icebreaker as launched in 1990  and served with the British Antarctic Survey until 2021, when it was sold to the Ukraine, where it now operates under the name Noosfera. Her final voyage as James Clark Ross, in 2021,  is the theme of a set of 4 stamps (68; 78 p; 1.04; 1.26 Pound) issued on 23NOV2021, illustrated with photographs of the vessel.

Postmark from Rothera Research Station, on Adelaide3 island  - 67°34′08″S 68°07′30″W .