COVER N.45 - Thailand

Postmark: No postmark
Posted on the 23rd September; received on the 14th October
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Another uncancelled cover, which is a pity on the one side, because nice covers should have postmarks, but, on the other hand, allows the stamps to be appreciated in their full glory: And no less than 4 beautiful stamps were used on this cover that will allow me to add another entry to my country roster: Thailand. Thank you so much Chakorn.

It is the second cover I receive in one of those beautiful classic red white and blue bordered envelopes which is something that we don't see anymore in my home country, at least, but which were the norm for airmail before the advent of letters through electrons.... I remember using them to write to my pen pals and also to my father when he was living in the Azores and I was studying and working in the mainland... time flies... and so do covers...

Stamps, left to right:

Bhumibol Adulyadej ruled Thailand for 70 years, between 1946 and his passing in 2016. According to wikipedia he was the second longest reigning monarch in history, only surpassed by le Roy Soleil, Louis XIV. He was loved by his people even though during his long reign Thailand was often ruled as a military dictatorship, with about 20 coups d'état having occurred ever since the beginning of the constitutional monarchy in 1932.

On the occasion of his cremation, that took place on the 26th October 2017, Thai Post issued, on the 25th, a stamp set in minisheet from with 9 painted portraits of His Majesty the King Rama IX (as he was also known), probably based on photographs of the monarch. The nine stamps all have the same face value of 9 Baht. The two stamps on my cover are  the left and centre items of the first row of the minisheet.

The 5 Baht black and white stamp was issued on 01AUG2008 as part of a 5 stamp set celebrating the 125th Anniversary of Thai Postal Services. As far as could investigate the stamp therein depicted is the 1 Att carmine stamp with the effigy of  King Chulalongkorn, part of the first set of stamps (6 values) issued by the Kingdom of Siam (as Thailand was then called) on 04AUG1883. There's also the image of a building on the stamp, which I unfortunately was not able to identify. Help, anyone?

The last 5 Baht stamp was part of a 4 stamp set (2,3,4 and 5 Baht), issued on 02 APR1991, dedicated  to Hanging Decorations, commemorative of the 1991 Heritage Conservation Day. The stamps were also issued in minisheet form, each containg the four different items.