COVER N.102 - ITALY

Postmark: 21047 Saronno (VA) - Postaitaliane - Filatelia 1104.22 
Posted on the 11th April; received on the 20th April 2022
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It has been a while since I last got a cover from Italy, so getting two on consecutive days felt like the old portuguese adagio "Não há fome que não dê em fartura" (there's no hunger that won't bring about abundance) had been proven right.  

Thank you Giuseppe

Stamps, left to right:

400 Lire stamp, part of a 4 stamp set with the same face value issued on 28MAR1983, in souvenir sheet form ,dedicated to italian aircarft. other than the caproni C22J, the set comprises the SIAI 21, the A.129 Agusta Helicopter and the AMX.

The Caproni C22J was conceived as a low cost jet trainer for the air force, but the design, of which the prototype flew in 1980, with only 3 aircraft being ever built, never got any orders and was eventually cancelled.

750 Lire stamp part of a joint Issue Italy/San Marino including 2 stamps in souvenir sheet form issued on 08OCT1994, celebrating the 9th centenary of the dedication of the world famous St. Mark's Basilica, in Venice,  which took place on 08 October 1094, one for use exclusively in Italy, the other for use exclusively in San Marino.

0,60 € stamp, issued on 21OCT2009, celebrating the day of the Italian Language, a joint issue with the Vatican State. The stamp contains the reprodution of what I presume to be an illustration of the original 1491 edition of Dante's La Divina Comedia, with a vignete containing the last verse of the first stanza: Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita / mi ritrovai per una selva oscura, /ché la diritta via era smarrita

Midway upon the journey of our life /  I found myself within a forest dark, /  For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

COVER N.101 - ITALY

Postmark: 52015 Pratovecchio - Arezzo 05.04.22 (?)
Posted on the 5th April(?); received on the  19th April 2022
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Europa stamps are highly sought by collectors, so it is always a pleasure to get a cover with the stamps form one of the issueing ountries. Thanks a lot Roberto!

Italy's 2021 EUROPA emission comprises two self adhesive stamps issued on 15NOV21. Rated at B and B50g tariffs they are illustrated respectively with photographs of  the Orso Bruno Marcicano (Ursus arctos marsicanus), a subspecies of brown bear, endemic to the region of Abruzzo which is classified by the IUCN, Iinternational Union for the Conservation of Nature, as critically endangered, with less than 80 in the wild and the Lucertola delle Eollie (Podarcis raffonei), an also critically endangered little lizard with a total population of an estimated 1000 individuals, not exceeding 25 cm in length , endemic to the Aeolian Islands, a volcanic archipelago, located north of Sicily.

 COVER N.100 - AUSTRIA

Postmark: ILZ 8262 - 15.04.22 
Posted on the 15th April; received on the 27h April 2022
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Were it not for the words of my cardiologist hanging over me like the incarnation of Jiminy Cricket and I'd pop open a bottle of good Portuguese sparkling (who cares about champagne, when we have so good and so many nectars?)

One Hundred. And what a cover it is!

I have to confess that this past week I have received a number of covers that I have yet to enter into my blog, but yesterday, when opening my letterbox upon arriving at home from work, I spotted this blue banded classy envelope inside and I immediately knew where it had come from. So this had to be #100 and it immediately jumped the line, with my apologies to the covers therein waiting 😀

Today, April the 28th, is exactly one year past I entered my first received cover in this humble blog of mine. At the time I wrote "I couldn't be happier" for I was aware that a journey had started and I have always liked the feeling of "going" even if the destination might be unclear. In the immortal words of the Spanish Poet Antonio Machado "Caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar" (Walker, there is no pathway, you make your own path as you walk), so you just take the first step and hope for the best.

And the best it has been so far. Not only have I received mail with lovely stamps and images from quite a number of origins, but (and I've said it before here) I've learned a lot from these 

unsuspected vectors of culture and understanding. 

I've also corresponded a couple of times with people whom I don't know personally, but with whom I easily established a common ground of understanding, some sort of bond that speaks for our capacity as humans to relate with equals whatever the constraints geography or social organisation might impose.

This makes it even harder to understand the conscientious denial of this capacity and the transgression of  our social nature that in the meantime has led to the horrendous episode that is devastating a sovereign country in Eastern Europe. And what for? Why all the horror? Will any light come out of the rubble (hmmm..words sometimes also create their own path...)?

The first cover I received was embellished with the same blue band carried by the envelope in the above image, and how could it not, since it came from the same person. Thank you so much, Florian. How fitting that I should be writing this exactly one year after I thanked you for cover #1 in my collection. I'll be looking forward to receiving cover #200 from you, next year  😀

Stamps

mention the word Belladona and one is immediately guided to a foggy universe of witches, dark ages, obscure intentions from even more obscure people....

Although highly toxic, so much so that the ingestion of its leaves or seeds can lead to death,  Atropa Beladona, which has a widespread distribution in Europe, Northern Africa and Western Asia, and belongs  to the same solenaceae family as the tomato or the eggplant, has long been used for pharmacological purposes, and even recreational uses since its alkaloids  can induce psychoactive effects.

On 05MAR2022, Austrian Post issued a 0,85€ stamp illustrated by the image of a "schwartze tollkirsche", the deadly nightshade, over a yellow background, this being a special issue on offer only to people with a Austrian Post philatelic subscription plan, what makes it a  pretty uncommon stamp to have outside of Austria, another reason for me to be thankful to Florian, who kindly used it on my cover.

The other two stamps (5 and 10 cent) are part of a 16 stamp definitive issue themed on accessories used in conjunction with traditional costumes, issued on 01APR2020. The 5 cent stamp shows an astrakhan cap from the region of Seewinkel, in the province of Burgenland and the 10 cent a Wheel Bonnet typical of the Bodensee-Voralberg region.

COVER N.99 - FRANCE

Postmark: 58 - Corbion - Nièvre  14.04.22 
Posted on the 14th April; received on the 19th April 2022
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This was the second cover from France I got on the same day and just like the other one, I do have a lot to thank its sender for. Thank you so much Jean-Pierre for this lovely cover full of interesting stamps.

As it so many times happens in aviation, Maurice Noguès can claim an entry into both wings of the pantheon of French aviation, i.e. the military and the civil.

Born in 1889, like many of the pioneers  he would teach himself to fly. A lad of 25 when the War to End All Wars (talk about wishfull thinking..) broke up, he joined the Service Aéronautique and he would get his military Brevet in February 1915. He would eventually rise to the post of Flight Commander, commanding SPA-73, although only for a one month period, for he was downed in action. 

After the war in 1922 he started his very impressive career in civil aviation, joining the Compagnie Franco-Roumaine de Navigation Aérienne. Later we would be associated with Air Orient and in time we would become vice-president of Air France. Always interested in expanding the reach of air transport, especially to the eastern French colonies, in 1933, he planned a proof of concept  Paris/Saigon flight using a Dewoitine D.332 prototype. On the last leg of the return flight he crashed during to severe weather, all people onboard being killed.

La Post honoured Nogues with a beautiful in taglio printed 12 Franc stamp  issued on 13OCT1951, that can be seen in the  marvellous block of 4 stamps on my cover. Nogues' Portrait appears on the foreground while on the background a globe with a path line between Paris and Saigon invokes his last aviation dream.  

Say Marcel Dassault (1892-1986)  and Mirage will immediately come to mind. But the companies founded or directed by Marcel Bloch, for such was his true given name, changing fist into Bloch-Dassault and, finally in 1949, to Dassault were at the fulcrum  of successful designs in French aviation history, from the first heroic days of wood and canvas trough the dawning of the jet age to the present. Rafale, anyone?

A life as rich as Dassault's is pointless to pot in a few words, so I'll leave it to what should be a quite authorised biography on Dassault Aviation website.

La Poste celebrated the man behind the name with the beautiful in taglio printed 3,60 Franc stamp on my cover issued on 23JAN1988.

One of the first books I remember being offered me by my father was "O Princepezinho", the Portuguese translation of Antoine Saint-Exupèry immensely famous "Le petit Prince". Obrigado, Pai!

To celebrate the 75th aniversary of the publication of this great monument to humanity and friendship, La post has issued a 1,08€  stamp on 12APR2021with one of Saint-Exupèry's illustrations of the little prince, themselves also a work of absolute wonder.

It should also be noted that On 21JUN2021 La Poste issued a carnet of "Lettre Verte" stamps on the same subject equally with the original illustrations by the famous pilot writer.

Two postmarks were used on the cover to cancel the stamps, and I really wish the postal services could have the cover go without the machine applied postmark for the stamps were already nicely cancelled.

 

COVER N.98 - FRANCE

Postmark: La Poste - Trésors de Notre Dame - Paris - Premier jour 18.04.22 
Posted on the 18th April; received on the 19th April 2022
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Merci Pierre! 

I think I can say, without falling prey to false modesty, that I am not terrible with words. In fact I like them a lot and also to use them as I think this little blog of mine illustrates. But (and this time hoping not to fall prey to cliché....) there are times when I look at the word vault and I find it empty.... Thank you so much Pierre for your cover and for what was inside! I really appreciated it.

This fabulous C5 envelope is embellished with two copies of la Poste latest souvenir sheet emission, issued on 18APR22. Part of the ongoing series Treasures of Notre Dame, started in 2020, with a souvenir sheet dedicated to the façades of Notre Dame and continued last year with a souvenir sheet dedicated to the Adam and Eve stained glass window, the very beautiful sheet encapsulating one 1,65€ stamp is dedicated to the Great Organ of the cathedral that is at present being restored following the unfortunate fire of 2019.
The main Organ of Notre Dame was completed in 1867 and it shares the title of  biggest musical instrument of France with the organ of the Sainte Eustache Church, also in Paris, both instruments having more the 8000 tubes each. 
Of note is the fact that prior to the fire, every Sunday afternoon, the great organ could be played by anyone who wished to do so, although the waiting list ran into more than two years.
Luckily, the organ was not touched by the fire, and was dismantled for a complete overhauling, and should be back to its former glory before 2024.

 POSTCARD N.74 - FINLAND

Postcrossing postcard sent on  (?)  April; received on the 15th April

Postcard image: Somewhere in Finland in winter
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The land of the thousand lakes can be a land of deep cold, I presume, not having visited it. And it couldn't be any other way since we all know that Finland is one of the Headquarters of Santa Claus and science has it that he only sets up office in extreme cold places, so seeing ice sculptures clinging to tree branches on the postcard I received from Suomi, comes as no real surprise. Thank you so much Sari, I'd love to see it "in the tree"...

Stamps, left to right.

I have to say (and I hope I'm not offending anyone) that I dislike the rather current fashion for some postal administrations of issuing stamps in all formats and shapes. Not that I'm against creativity but if you'd ask to chose, say, between the two first stamps on the postcard Sari sent me, the Duck stamp would win hands down. First and foremost stamps should have perforation teeth, not look like a miniature  decorative bumper sticker, even if they are of the sticker type.... 😃

This said 

0,30€ auto-adhesive stamp, part of a two stamp set (0,20€; 0,30€) themed on the birch tree, issued on 24JAN2011.

0,20€ stamp, part of a four  stamp set issued on 09MAY2017, dedicated to artic birds. The 4 stamps were also issued as a souvenir sheet. 

The birds depicted were: 0,10€ - Long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis): 0,20€ - Velvet Scoter (Melanitta fusca); domestic (no facial value) - Brent goose (Branta bernicla); domestic (no facial value) - Barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis).

Stamp with no face value (1,85€ at the date of issue) part of a three stamp set celebrating Christmas, issued on  03NOV2021, Besides this stamp that showcases the Northern Lights, the other two in the set feature a Bullfinch and a Christmas tree.

The machine applied cancelation fell on the black areas of the bird stamp, so it is mostly illegible, though very clearly printed. I can make out the beginning of the word Helsinki, so probably the postcard was mailed from the capital. 

COVER N.97 - CANADA

Postmark: Canada Post Postes Canada Toronto, ON. Toronto's First Post Office 04-04-2022 
Posted on the 4th April; received on the 15th April 2022
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Jeff was one of the first kind persons who accepted to swap covers with me when I first started this blog, so I was elated to open my mailbox and find an unannounced cover again sent by him from Canada. 

And what a cover it was. From the layout of the stamps and labels to the colour of the envelope, everything was thought to create a sense of harmony with undeniable good taste. Thank you so much, Jeff!

Canada Post has, for quite a number of years now, maintained a tradition of issuing an annual stamp set  dedicated to flowers. 

This year the honour fell upon the world famous Calla lily, of which the white Calla Lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) is the most common and generally known. The Zantedeschia genus comprises eight species (and several cultivars), and it originated in the South and Centre of Africa and is now globally disseminated (I'm thinking of my little garden...) and doing so well, that in some places it is considered a pest.

The Calla edition stamps were  issued on 01MAR2022, being offered on coils or booklets or in a lovely souvenir sheet containing the two P rate (Permanent Domestic) stamps.

This souvenir sheet would also be issued with the CAPEX 22 logo overprinted on it, 

with a view to promoting the International One Frame Stamp Championship Exhibition CAPEX 2022, that will take place in Toronto, from the 9th till the 12th June, this year, this being the sheet used on my cover.

Queen  Elizabeth II, celebrated her Platinum Jubilee on February, this year, what clearly illustrates the longevity of her reign. A quick consultation over Wikipedia and I'm informed that Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, "is the longest-lived and longest-reigning British monarch, the longest-serving female head of state in history, the oldest living and longest-reigning current monarch, and the oldest and longest-serving incumbent head of state".

It came as no surprise then that her Platinum Jubilee should be celebrated by the Commoweath Realms of which she is the Head of State with a stamp emission as it was the case for Canada.

The all silver P rated stamp featuring the well known Munchin profile used on UK definitive stamps was issued on 07FEB2022.

The distinctive postmark used on the stamps belongs to the oldest Post office in Toronto, which also houses a small postal museum if I recollect well from what Jeff once told me.

 

One year has passed.

Simple realisation, but a truly meaningful one. The simple fact that I acknowledge it, means, first and foremost, that I am still breathing. Not that I ever felt or am at risk of anything, but the future is a closed box for everyone and so one never knows what is coming round the bend… thus anniversaries are for me always an occasion for introspection and for admitting the fleeting nature of all we  appreciate, study, write, read, see, love, because we ourselves are but shooting stars that shine bright for a while and then are gone.

I started this blog with an interest in stamps rekindled by surfing on the internet and discovering that in spite of email, there are still those that like to inspect their letterboxes daily in the hope that someone, somewhere might have sent him or her  an envelope graced with what is now an obscure object of desire: a stamp.

And I think I can say I was well succeeded. Making good use of the opportunities that technology provides us with, I came to the right places, met the right people and have now gathered  a very interesting collection of postal items that over the year have given me countless moments of happiness and what’s more, have decidedly contributed to enrich my general knowledge about the world we live in.

An this, for me, is the greatest benefit I can take from this rather pleasurable activity. Each and every cover or postcard I received in the past year has made me search for information on the whos, hows and whys of each stamp used to mail them to me. 

And I’ve learned a lot.

Some of a more pragmatical bend would say, “well, what good is that for? Who cares about a special purpose excavator in the alps, a Russian second world war pilot, an endangered coleopter, or an underground station?

Well, knowledge fosters understanding. Every bit of it, I solemnly believe. And stamps are knowledge spreaders, so they must also be vectors of understanding. 

Understanding is a competence that is inherent to our species. The problem is that we are able to rationally cancel it, leaving it in a dormant state while we actively promote other not so positively oriented competences of our amazing catalogue of competences and skills…

Knowledge helps counteract this. Knowledge fosters empathy. Learning about the other is fundamental to understand  our differences, the more so since they are all of cultural nature, given that we are all one single race, the single species of a genus.

One year past the starting day and I have received mail from almost 50 different countries, so I’ve investigated topics that are relevant to at least 50 different nationalities. How could I not be richer for this? How could this not be a relevant contribution to my everyday praxis as a human being? 

Now that a year has gone past, I can only say that I'm looking forward to the next year of covers and postcards in my mailbox, and I take this opportunity to again thank all of you who have sent me the lovely items  this blog is built upon. Without you, it woud all be empty pages...

Ah, and last but not least….

Thank you Mr. Postman!

POSTCARD N.73 - USA

Postcrossing postcard sent  the 3rd(?) April; received on the 12th April
Postcard image:Statue of Liberty
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Over the centuries, France has given a lot to the world, but perhaps nothing as simple and powerful as the three humble words on which the French Republic was erected: Égalité; Fraternité; Liberté.

These are beacons for Humanity. Evergreen ideas that will not subside in spite of men and their petty misconducts centred on the idea that the world revolves around one's navel; on the belief that empathy is the nicest concept provided it comes from others unto us; on the simple lack of awareness to the fact that we are transient and that others will come to take our place, so we'd better leave it better than we found it and not the opposite.

For me, not a French nor an American, the iconic statue that is implanted on an island in  New York's harbour, although being called La Liberté éclairant le Monde, is much more than that: it represents all that is contained in the three little words that the light of its torch somehow illuminates.

May her light be perennial!

Donated by the People of France to the United States the project was the brainchild of Eduard René de Laboulaye a French jurist, writer and ardent abolotionist who saw in it a way to celebrate the centennial of the American Independence and what it represented on the aftermath of the American civil war.

Laboulaye called on the mastery of his friend sculptor Frédéric  Bartholdi to conceive the statue which would be supported on a metal framework drawn up by none other than Gustave Eiffel. Fund raising issues led to delay in the coming into being of the project but Liberté would finaly éclaire le monde on the 28th October 1886, that is to say a decade after the centennial celebrations.

In 1984 is was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO

Thank you so much Rosanne for such a nice postcard (sent inside cover #96) from your hometown.

 COVER N.96 - USA

Postmark: No postmark, 
Posted probably on the 3rd April; received on the 12th April 2022
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I have to say I was completely awed by this cover I got from Rosanne, an American postcrosser that really went the extra ten miles to send me  not only a nice postcard (#73) bus also an amazing envelope full of very interesting vintage stamps, no less than nine. Thank you so much Rosanne, you're too kind!

I have heard that American bank notes do not come out of circulation ever. I'm not sure if this is true or not but if that is the case, then the same must be applicable to stamps, judging from the amazing specimens Rosanne used to send me her outstanding letter.

in these days of computer generated graphics and cheap multicolour printing, one tends to forget that it was not always like that and being able to admire these lovely stamps of  last century's 40s  vintage can only foster respect and admiration for the artists involved in their creation.

 

Stamps left to right, top to bottom:

4  Cent stamp issued on 26AUG1959, drawing attention to the theme of soil conservation, with the three colour illustration highlighting the contribution of natural and introduced  elements to soil erosion, namely rain, wind, coastal water but also cities and farming.

15 Cent stamp, part of a four same face value stamp set issued on 28SEP1979, celebrating the 1980 summer Olympics. Further to swimming  as illustrated by the stamp on my cover, the set has stamps  illustrated with images of the Olympic disciplines of running, rowing and equestrian.

Ironically, the 1980 Olympics held in Moscow were marked by the absence of the delegations of several countries, following the call for boycott issued by the United States, which, of course, did not participate either, as a response to the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan....

History goes full circle, they say, don't they?

8 cent stamp, issued on 16FEB1973, dedicated to the then on going bicentennial celebrations, which would reach their apex on the 4th of July 1976, the 200th anniversary of the signing of the American declaration of Independence. The illustration in the stamp shows a group of patriots working on pamphlet printing with the legend "Rise of the Spirit of Independence"

The most recent stamp on this particular cover was issued on 09MAR2021, and it is a surcharge stamp for "non-machinable" mail, i.e, mail that has to be sorted outside of the normal mail process, according to the USPS. I had never seen one before, neither was I familiar with this concept. 

Depicting a Colorado Hairstreak (Hypaurotis crysalus), the official insect of the State, and the sole species in the genus Hypaurotis of the Lycaenidae family, this beautiful butterfly illustrates the stamp that is part of a long running "Butterfly" stamp series started in 2010.

A true classic: 3 Cent stamp issued on 03MAR1949 to celebrate the Minnesota territorial Centennial 1849-1949, according to the legend in the stamp that is illustrated by the image of a "red river ox cart".

In 1947, the State of Minnesota appointed the Minnesota Historical Society as the body charged with the organisation of the celebrations of the Territorial Centennial. 

In the words of  Julius M. Nolte, dean and professor of the General Extension Division of the University of Minnesota, who was appointed director of the Centennial  "The plan for this Centennial commemorative program gives an opportunity to Minnesotans collectively to look back and take stock, to consider this state that they have built, to measure what has been accomplished and how, and, most important of all, to determine in what direction they are headed". What I believe to be maybe a (rather interesting) presentation speech to his society peers laying the objectives for the celebrations can be found here. In it, mention is made to the issuance of this particular stamp within the framework of the celebrations. 

Another classic and the oldest stamp on my cover: 3 Cent Stamp issued on 19NOV1948, on the 85th anniversary of Lincoln’s most famous speech, delivered for the  dedication of the Gettysburg Civil War Cemetery on November 19, 1863.

I confess my ignorance and the fact that I had never heard about this speech, but after reading it, I can perfectely understand why it rose to its landmark status... here we go again, learning from stamps.... joy, oh joy....

The internet is a priceless information warehouse, it is well known, but I am always amazed as to where one can find what one is looking for.....

I could go and write on this particular stamp but why paraphrase when you couldn't put it better, for this next 4 Cent stamp issued on 31AUG1962? so I will just quote form the  Journal of Hand Surgery site (of all places....): "On August 31, 1962, United States issued this commemorative stamp to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the National Apprenticeship Act (“Fitzgerald Act”) and honor the National Apprenticeship Training Program. This stamp depicts an elder's hand offering a micrometer (the instrument of the journeyman machinist) to an outstretched young hand, which symbolizes the transfer of skill witnessed through apprenticeship".

Another truly beautiful single colour intaglio printed stamp with a face value of 3C, issued on 30DEC1953.

Quoting from the Smithsonian National Postal Museum site: the stamp " commemorates the centenary of diplomat James Gadsden’s purchase of territory from Mexico for the United States in 1853. Gadsden’s purchase, which included land from present day Arizona and New Mexico, was the last major territorial acquisition in the contiguous United States. The land was important for the development of the Southern Pacific Railroad, a transcontinental route. The stamp features an image of a map of the territory and a pioneer group traveling through the desert."

2 Cent stamp, dedicated to Navajo Jewellery. The original stamp was issued on 20AUG2004, but the one on my cover is a variant issued on 08DEC2005.

Unfortunately, again the stamps were not cancelled and I wonder if the "non-machinable" surcharge had something to do with it? could it be? does anyone know?

COVER N.95 - SÃO TOMÉ E PRINCÍPE

Postmark: No postmark
Posted on the ?; received on the 12th April 2022
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Once again my daughter helps me to add another country to my philatelic atlas, by sending me back a self-addressed envelope from where she is now working for a couple of weeks: São Tomé and Princípe. A tiny two islands and quite a few islets archipelago, nested on the gulf of Guinea, right along the Equador, which runs across one of them, the Ilhéu das Rolas, where, incidentally, I already had the pleasure of putting one foot on the Northern hemisphere and another on the Southern, at the same time 😀.

Before becoming independent in 1975, São Tomé e Principe was one of the Portuguese colonies in Africa, and history has it that the inhabited Islands were discovered by the Portuguese sailors João de Santarém and Pedro Escobar in 1470.

The main economic driver of the islands whose economy was for a long period of time based on the slave trade and slave labour was the production of sugar cane first and then of cocoa and coffee.

Although slavery would be officially abolished in the Portuguese colonies on the 25th February 1869, exploitation of the local labour  force under conditions not that different would continue well into the 20th century.

Nowadays, Tourism is becoming ever more important and the oil reserves that were found offshore in its waters will, probably and hopefully, play a vital role in  the development of the country, one of the more political stable in the African continent. As I type I read that the first drilling on the EEZ of S. Tomé e Princípe, that was to have occurred in March, will now take place in May, this year.

A very poor country, facing all the challenges that developing countries have to deal with, both internally and externally, S. Tomé e Principe  and its warm and friendly people have all it takes to becoming the former a visiting destination for all those who love nature or just want to enjoy some days of peace and relaxation on lovely warm and calm sea beaches, and the other, their proud and affable hosts.  I, for one, will never forget the first time I ever saw a baobab ... and I was at a beach... who would have thought that the savannah could go all the way to the sea?  

Stamps

From the sheer number of yearly emisions and the themes thereby covered, São Tomé and Principe is, I believe,  one of those countries that have outsourced their postal stamps to a foreign agency somewhere that sells them by the lot to "collectors". I'm not very well versed on the hows and whys of this trade, but this is apparent just by consulting any online catalogue.

30,000 Dobra stamp, part of a 8 same value stamp minisheet, issued on 16MAR2015, featuring beaches and cliffs of S. Tomé. 

The two 10,000 Dobra stamps are part of a 4 stamp set issued on 20NOV2012 in souvenir sheet format and as single stamps, dedicated to the birds of São Tomé and it depicts a Sao Tome Fiscal (Lanius newtoni). This particular species is endemic to the archipelago and classified as critically endangered by the IUCN.

I have one single regret, regarding this cover and  that is the obvious fact that unfortunately the Post Office did not cancel the stamps... but there's nothing I can do now 😞

POSTCARD N.72 - NETHERLANDS

Postcrossing postcard sent  the 4th April; received on the 11th April
Postcard image: Landmarks of Norg
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According to Roelof, whom I thank for this nice card sent inside Cover #94, Norg is a small village in the North of the Netherlands, and although rural it lies close to some large cities, like Groningen, for instance.

According to Wikipedia, there are six communal pastures in Norg around which the city developed itself. A bit of searching over the internet and I was able to  identify most of the buildings on the postcard photos that encircle the central self-explanatory image of  cows and pastures. 

As such, right to left, we have the Noordenveld mill of the smock mill type, built in 1878. In modern times, this particular mill was subject to restoration works in 1990/91 and since then it has been grinding flour - mainly rye - for a local bakery. The mill can be visited on Saturdays.

St. Margareta Church, of the Dutch reformed Church. It dates back to the XIII century.

Typical thatched roof houses on a street.

A local restaurant ?

Dolmen D2.

COVER N.94 - NETHERLANDS

Postmark: Zwolle - 4APR22
Posted on the 4th April; received on the 11th April 2022
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A rather ..Royal cover, landed on my letterbox today.  Although being a firm believer in the Republic, I of course have nothing against those  who still defend the monarchy as the best  political system for their countries, and I can understand people feeling attached to their royals  as a cultural and social trait, even if I wouldn’t trade my right to vote for the one who represents me rather than being  represented and the subject  of someone who inherits that  particular circumstance..anyway,  again stamps can further  thoughts, discussions, debate... not bad for a little square of printed paper, right?

Thank you so much Roelof, for a nice cover with several stamps on it and a nice postcard (#72) inside.

Stamps, let to right:

Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand, born in Utrech in 1967, married Maxima Cerruti, an Argentinian, born in Buenos Aires in 1971, on the 2nd february 2002. After the abdication of his mother, Queen Beatrix, William would be crowned King of the Dutch on April 2003.

 

The first two stamps are part of a minisheet of 2 rows of 5 0,39€ stamps celebrating the Royal family, issued on 23JUN2004, and they depict the Royal couple with their youngest of their three daughters, princess   Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria, the Princess of Orange, and heir to the throne, born on the 7th December 2003.

Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria, is also the subject of the souvenir sheet  with a single 0,39€ stamp issued on 16DEC2003, celebrating her birth.

The last stamp shows the National Monument in Amsterdam and was issued on 09AUG2005 as part of series called Mooi Neerland under which 10 0,39€ stamps were issued in 2005.

 COVER N.93 - SWITZERLAND

Postmark: Zürich-Mulligen (?)
Posted on (?); received on the 6th April 2022
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The second Swiss cover I got on the 6th April (Thanks a lot, Urs) intrigued me. On first look I thought the image on the very large stamp to be just an excavator, but then I looked more carefully and I realised there was more to it.

This is a specialist tool.... an excavator for the rough and steep terrains that are so common on mountainous areas... small wonder then, that its design would come the pen of a Swiss. 

Ernst Menzi (1897–1984) was the man behind the invention that would become known as the walking excavator. According to the notes on the Swiss Post website the excavator chassis is fitted with  "spider-like legs to which both wheels and stabilizers can be attached", thus ensuring that the vehicle can negotiate and hold on to the difficult terrains it is meant for. 

The 2 Swiss Franc stamp on this little souvenir sheet, issued on 09SEP2021, has several areas covered with a special granulate varnish to mimic soil, thus imparting a 3d feel to it.

COVER N.92 - SWITZERLAND

Postmark: Nesslau 18MAR2022
Posted on the 18th March; received on the 6th April 2022
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On the same day, I got two covers from Switzerland, one being this one adorned with two stamps from a particularly well achieved (from my point of view, of course) set, composed of four monochromatic stamps dedicated to trees. Thank you so much T.S.

The 85 Swiss Franc cent stamp, printed in brownish red, depicts a larch. Not any larch, though. According to the Swiss post site, this larch is 900 year old and is located in "Valais, beneath the Dent de Nendaz, at an altitude of around 2,000 metres".

The 1 Franc blue printed stamp is dedicated to one of my favorite trees, the oak. Again quoting the Swiss Post site, it depicts a tree "located to the south of Delsberg and is called “Chêne des Bosses” – presumably because of its distinctive bumps. The tree is around 430 years old and has grown in a distinctive, unusual shape typical of solitary oaks" .  The text goes on to inform us that the trunk of this particular tree is nine metres in circumference. It must be a joy to behold!

 

I would love to have the other two stamps in the series. They depict a Sycamore (1.50 Franc) in green and a sepia Swiss stone pine (2 Francs) and  I'll be hoping that the  Swiss friends of the London Cover Circuit Club will use them if sending me a cover in the future.

Of note is also the very poshy Munken paper used for the stamps, that adds to the beauty of this little works of art.

The postmark is also very nice, with a miniature contour drawing of the village of Nesslau with mountains in the background.

COVER N.91 - GERMANY -

Postmark: Briefzentrum 53 - 01APR22
Posted on the 1st Aril; received on the 5th April 2022
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It has been sometime since I last received a postcrossing postcard, so I was really happy to get this envelope on my letterbox, hailing from Germany, with postcard #71 inside. Thank you so much Gabriele!

Germany must be the country with more users of the postcrossing platform since of all the cards I receive a large percentage comes from Teutonic lands.

A simple and yet nice envelope proving that even the simplest of things can make an interesting addition to any collection.

Gabrielle used the 0,15€ stamp issued on 10JUL2019, as part of the long standing definitive emission started in 2005 themed on wild flowers. it shows a wild gladiola (Gladiolus illyricus) and it is the first one of this denomination I see on mail I have received from Germany.

As many of the postcards I got from Germany in later times, the machine applied cancellation includes the  "Gemeinsam Gegen Corona sich selbst und andere Scützen..." (Together against Corona, protect yourself and the others...) vignette that began to be appplied on the 1st June 2021. The letter was processed in the letter centre for the Bonn region, located in the city  of  Troisdorf.

 POSTCARD N.71 - GERMANY

Postcrossing postcard sent  the 1st April; received on the 5th April
Postcard image: a Blue Tit
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Blue tits are wonderfully photogenic birds, so it comes as no surprise that one was chosen for the image on this postcard I got from Gabrielle, in Germany, inside cover #91. Thanks a lot Gabrielle!

Although quite common and resident, non-migrating, birds, the little yellow and blue passerines  are always a joy to behold.

COVER N.90 - FRANCE -

Postmark: Clanecy - Nièvre 30MAR2022
Posted on the 30th March; received on the 4th April 2022
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Sometimes all it takes is a simple clean background to let a work of art shine. It surely is the case with the nice clean cover I got from France today. Thank you so much Jean Pierre!

A magnificent stamp honouring a magnificent craft: the Luthier. 

I suppose that the concept of luthier is usually  synonymous with the manufacturing of instruments of the violin family, but I like to think of luthiers as chordophone craftsmen. 

I love chordophones. Generally speaking they are probably, at least in the western tradition, at the fulcrum of the dissemination of our musical tradition since they have the ability of being polyphonic, hence harmony capable, without being hugely cumbersome  (well, double basses are but violins for giants, right?), thus lending themselves effectively to the role of supporting that most natural music form: singing.

Chordophones are also usually made of wood, and wood working is in itself a craft of wonder, calling on  all our senses to fully appreciate it. It's the wood itself, its grain, its colours, its textures, but also all the other raw materials of the woodworker's alchemy: glues, varnishes, polishes (usually all volatile...)

And then there's the tools of the trade that range from the humble hammer to the countless chisels needed for detailed work, that cry out "mastery" and call on our admiration and bewilderment.

A Luthier is a specialist woodworker and he or she has the ability to perform miracles, since they make wood sing... if this doesn't deserve the recognition of a beautiful stamp, what does then?

The 1,65€ in taglio printed stamp, part of the "Métiers d'art" series, was issued on 14FEB2022. Its image shows a finished violin with the hand of a luthier driving a chisel through the scroll of another violin being made in the background.

COVER N.89 - FRANCE - Terres Australes et Antartiques Françaises - TAAF
Postmark: Dumont D'Uurville - T. Adelie - T.A.A.F. 21DEC2021
Posted on the 21st December 2021; received on the 1st April2 2022
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It must be the weather .... as I write, I hear (and feel it) that there is a polar air mass influencing the current European weather , so it must have something to do with it. If not, why would I get a letter from North Pole one day and another from the equally cold opposite side of the globe on the other.... 😃

Thank you so much, Roland. Amazing surprise, as ever!

The Terres Australes et Antartiques Françaises - TAFF (French Southern and Antarctic Lands) include  several territories organised into 5 districts, all located well to the South of the Equator. 

They include (and again I'm quoting Wikipedia):

- The Scattered Islands (Îles Éparses), a dispersed group of islands around the coast of Madagascar;

- The Crozet Islands (Îles Crozet), a group in the southern Indian Ocean, south of Madagascar;

- The Islands of Saint Paul and Amsterdam (Îles Saint Paul et Amsterdam), a group to the north of the Kerguelen Islands.

- The Kerguelen Islands (Archipel des Kerguelen), a group of volcanic islands in the southern Indian Ocean, southeast of Africa, approximately equidistant between Africa, Antarctica and Australia;

- Adélie Land (Terre Adélie), the French claim on the continent of Antarctica.

It is precisely from the latter, that the absolutely delightful cover Mr. Postman dropped on my letterbox, flew in from (at least part of the way, because I suspect that ship transportation must have been involved too), and I can even pin point the place of expedition using the coordinates stamped in on the cover, corresponding to the Dumont D'Urville Station, a French scientific base established in 1956.

 

The cover, as I said, is nothing short of beautiful with a lovely illustration of the "La Curieuse", a French oceanographic research vessel launched in 1989 and based on the Kergulen Islands, which, curiously, (pun intended 😉) has already been chosen to illustrate a TAAF stamp issued in 2019.

If the envelope is nice, the stamp follows suit. It shows a lovely intaglio printed drawing of an Heron (Egretta dimorpha) endemic to specific regions the Southern hemisphere (including the Scattered Islands). With a face value of 1,55€, it was issued as a single stamp set on 02JAN2020. I noted a very small legend on the bottom left corner of the stamp that says EUROPA, (îles Eparses) and I wonder why it is there. I know that Europa is the largest of the Scattered Islands, but usually there is no such mention on any of the TAFF stamps.. could it be that the Heron is only endemic to Europa?

The postmark tells us that the cover was mailed from the  Dumont D'Urville base and it did take a while to get to my letter box as it always happens with mail coming from such weather dependent origins,

COVER N.88 - USA

Postmark: NORTH POLE AK 06MAR22
Posted on the 22nd March; received on the 28th March
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Wow! what a nicely and carefully laid out cover, hailing from a quite curious origin - North Pole, Alaska, and devoted to my theme of choice. Thank you so much, A.M. not only for the cover but also for the immensely appreciated goodies inside.

North Pole is a small town of some 2.200 inhabitants in the greater area of Fairbanks, with a relevant philatelic connection as it is home to one of the traditional Santa Claus offices that are yearly flooded on that particular time of the year with letters from children (big and small, alike) from across the globe, hoping to get an answer from the old man in red. (Note to self: Can't forget to nag Santa at North Pole, later this year...)

Stamps:

On the right top corner in blue ... no, wrong sport....

On the right top corner the two stamps issued to celebrate the centenary of the establishment of regular Airmail Service in USA, the blue issue coming to light on 01MAY2018 and the red-brown on 11AUG2018. 

The stamps echo, but do not mirror, the design of the infamous " 24 cents Jenny" issue (on this "Forever" self-adhesive stamps the aircraft is pictured from head-on as opposed to a side view on the former) that was the first ever air mail stamp produced and which originated the most famous stamp printing error of history: The Inverted Jenny.  

History has it that the blue Curtiss jenny image on the centre of the stamp was printed upside down on at least four of the 100 stamp sheets, three of them being immediately discarded, but one having inadvertently survived, of which the whereabouts of 94 stamps are still known.

Alfred "Chief" Anderson did not learn to fly in a Jenny, as so many pilots before him. In fact he only learned to fly because he would not let himself be discouraged  by bigotry and prejudice. In times of racial discrimination he, like Martin Luther King later would say, had a dream, and he would do everything to fulfill it. So, he took the advice I once saw on a photo in old National Geographic magazine of a picture hanging on a wall of a house in some remote area of the USA: "Do you need a helping hand? look at the end of your arm!"

Alfred Anderson bought his own aircraft, a Velie Monocoupe, and self thought himself to fly.

To cut along history short, in spite of all the racial discrimination he had to go through he would become the first black american to hold a Civil Aeronautics Administration licence, which he got in 1932.

The second world war saw him rise to fame as the Chief instructor for the famed Tuskgee Airmen, a term identifying the first all-black air force units that would become famous for  their role in WW2, as part of the "red tails" group, flying P-51 Mustangs. their score at the end of the war was nothing short of significant. According to wikipedia "the 450 Tuskegee Airmen who saw combat flew 1,378 combat missions, destroyed 260 enemy planes, and earned over 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses, among numerous other awards."

The 70 cent self-adhesive stamp honouring the memory of Charles Alfred "Chief" Anderson, was issued on 13MAR2014, as part of the emission "Distinguished Americans" that ran from 2000 to 2017.