COVER N.109 - FRANCE

Postmark: Bureau philatélique - 69 Lyon Bellecour 02-05-22
Posted on the 2nd May; received on the 6th May 2022
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Unexpected surprises - yes I know it is a pleonasm, but, somehow, I think it makes sense - always have a special appeal and the ability to enlighten one's day - again, not that today is a particularly sombre day,  but the moment I opened my letterbox and noticed a nice unannounced cover inside, my internal light meter just went up one full scale point!

Thank you so much, Eric, for this beauty!

I have already mentioned the lovely souvenir sheet that constitutes this year's La Poste emission of the Les Trésors de Notre Dame series.

Issued on 18APR22, 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.

The 1,43 €stamp is also a very recent stamp, having been issued on 11ABR22, as a single stamp issue honouring  Henri Rouart, 1833-1912, whom, I read, besides having made a name in the art world as one of the main names behind the impressionist movement, both as a painter and collector and also as a patron, is also connected to the history of the French mail service, since he invented a network of pneumatic tubes for message distribution in Paris, that ran from 1866 to 1984, just shy of the centennial celebration... The importance of this network was such that on its heyday it ran for 427 km of pipes below the streets of Paris, through the sewage channels, with a total of 130 offices.

Rouart was a close friend of Edgar Degas, another of the great impressionists, who painted his portrait which was now used for the evocative stamp.

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