COVER N. 278 - FRANCE

Postmark: 58 Clamecy - Nièvre 05.07.2023 

Posted on the 5th July; Received on the 11th July 2023

_________________________________________________________________________________

About time I resume normal activity here on my cover and postcard collecting blog, after some pretty joyful and agreeable days travelling through places I had never been before.

And while I travelled, my friend Mr. Postman kept dropping mail into my letterbox, so to the significant stash of covers I had left at home to post here on the blog I was very pleased to add quite a few more upon returning.... looks like I will not be impaired on my posting by lack of subject matter in the coming weeks....

I have to confess that no day passed while I was abroad that I didn't think about that truly anticipated moment in the morning when, outside, the noise of an idling motorcycle engine by my door indicates that mail is being delivered, but reality exceed my best expectations so it will be a long time before I get up do date with all the covers and postcards I received. 

So without further ado, let's start with a  cover I received more than a month ago with some very interesting stamps on the outside and a couple of truly interesting aviation related FDCs inside.

Thank you so much Jean-Pierre! Truly appreciated!

Stamps left to right

Stamps are privileged billboards for showcasing a country's achievements, history, places, heroes, villains... in one word: culture.

So it comes as no surprise that art and artists  has been a preety recurrent theme for stamp issues all over the world.

- The first stamp on the cover, with  a face value of 1 Franc,  dates back to 22FEB1969 and although having been issued as a standalone stamp  is part of a series dedicated to French Art that ran for some years, while I was coming out of infancy into youth, I notice, so quite a few years ago 😀

It is illustrated with an image of one of the Bas-reliefs located at the base of the right portal of the main façade of the Basilique Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens (Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens), according to the information available at "Les Timbre de France" website, dating back to the beginning of the 13th century.

The bas-relief series is dedicated to the Zodiac and the Seasons and the image on the stamp is that of an old man by the fire, evocative of winter.

- According to Wikipedia, Jean Hay, known as le Maitre de Moulins lived between 1475 and 1505,  and was "an early Netherlandish painter"  who lived and worked in France.

His is the painting illustrating the second stamp on the cover, entitled "Pierre II, Duc de Bourbon, Presented by St Peter" is part of a triptych executed by the master in 1492-93.

The 2 Franc stamp was issued on 14OCT1972.

- France's administrative regions have also featured in several  stamp issues. The 2,80 Franc stamp dedicated to the Region of Nord-Pas.de-Calais, issued on 13DEC1975, is part of one such series which ran from 1975 to 1984.

- The Abbaye de Fontvraud, whose first structures date back to the early 12th century and wherein some rather prominent  members of the Anglo-French royalty, namely Richard I, the Lionheart and Eleanor of Aquitaine were interred is the subject of the 1,70 Franc stamp issued on 03JUN1978.

- Millau, a commune of the Aveyron department in the Occitanie region in Southern France is the subject of the 3 Franc stamp issued on 15MAR1997. 

Of note is the fact that Millau has its own dialect, the Rouergat, a variation of the Occitan idiom.

The stamp is illustrated with images of the Bellfry of Millau, on the left, the church of  Notre-Dame-de-l'Espinasse (on the right) and of the Gorges du Tarn (Tarn canyon) in the background.

- Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette,  (1873-1954), or simply Colette, as she would forever be remembered, was a multifaceted artist. 

Although being better known as a writer, she was also an actress, a mime and a journalist. She was also a member and President of the Académie Goncourt and one of the nominees for the Nobel prize of Literature in 1948, which ended up being awarded to the poet T.S. Elliot.

The 0,50 + 0,10 Franc stamp featuring her portrait was issued on 01JUN1972.

- The coat of arms of the city of Niort, located  in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Centre west of France,  illustrates the 0,01 Franc stamp that was issued on 27JAN1964 as part of the French Cities Coat of Arms series that ran for several years.

- The postage on the cover is rounded up by one last 3.80 Franc Marianne du 14 Juillet stamp, issued on 14JUL1997.

The postmark indicates that the cover was mailed posted at Clamecy, a city of the Nièvre Department, in Central France.