COVER N. 378 - HONDURAS

Postmark: Correo Nacional de Honduras -  Administracion de Valle de Angeles - Honducor - date illegible

Posted on (?) ; received on the 2nd January 2024

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The first covers of 2024 landed on my letterbox on the second of the year, and quite an interesting pair, they were.

We'll start by this amazingly stamped Honduran cover, courtesy of The Flying Dutchman, which by itself is worthy of being shown in a philatelic exhibition in the odd mail category.... the problem would be to find a support to exhibit it from both sides... Joni Mitchell comes to mind: "I glue on stamps, from both sides now...." 😅

Thanks a great lot, Eric. What a Wonderful cover!

The face of the C6 envelope is almost entirely occupied by a souvenir sheet issue by Empresa de Correos de Honduras - Honducor -  the Postal Administration of Honduras, on 14AUG2002, celebrating the 500th anniversary of the first ever celebration of a Catholic mass on continental American soil, which took place on Punta Caxinas, in what is now Honduras, on the 13th or 14th August  (according to different sources) 1502, during the fourth and last trip of Columbus to the Americas.

It should also be noted that the first Catholic mass on American soil was celebrated on January the 6th, 1494, in the Dominican Republic.

The souvenir sheet was also the Honduran contribution to the UPAEP  (Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal) common emission of 2002, as indicated by the presence of the  Upaep America 2002 logo on each stamp.

Clockwise from the top left we have:

-10 Lempira Stamp with a detail of a painting by Honduran painter Mario Castillo (1932-2012), entitled 400 Años de História (400 Years of History);

- 10 Lempira stamp with an illustration depicting the celebration of the first Mass;

- 2.60 Lempira stamp with a detail from a painting by naive Honduran painter Roque Zelaya Acosta (1958 -);

- 3 Lempira stamp illustrated with a photo of the ruins of the Trujillo fortress, dating from the second half of the 16th century, Trujillo being the name that was given to the place Columbus called Punta de Caxinas, where the first Mass on continental soil was celebrated. 

On 25SEP202, Honducor issued a four stamp set dedicated to Honduran orchids. One of these stamps can be seen on the upper right corner of the envelope face. With a face value of 1.40 Lempira, it is illustrated with a photo of a Vanilla Planifolia, the plant which produces the fruit from which Vanilla is extracted.

On 03DEC2009, Honducor issued a three stamp set under the motto "Paz, Fe, Democracia, Honduras es Nuestra" (Peace, Faith, Democracy; Honduras is Ours". The 3 lempira stamp on the right centre of the envelope face belongs to this set and it depicts the Honduram Presidential Palace, located in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran Capital.

As for the back of the cover:

A souvenir sheet with an imperforated 2 Lampira stamp, issued on 29SEP1990 celebrating the centenary of the Luis Bogran Technical Institute, which was founded in 1890, during the Government presided by Luis Bogran, as the National Arts and Crafts School of Honduras, with a view to the vocational training of industrial workers needed for the mining operations in the region of the river Guayape.

In 1943, The Postal Administration of Honduras issued a single set of stamps. For use in airmail, as informed by the "Correo Aereo" legend on top of the stamps, the beautifully recessed printed stamps were illustrated with images of related to the Honduran life, places and culture. The 40 centavos stamp on the right upper corner of the back of the envelope is illustrated with a wheat stook.

On 22NOV2004, Honducor issued a souvenir sheet with 4 identical stamps with a face value of 2,60 Lempira each, as the 2004 Christmas issue. The stamp is illustrated with the image of the Holly family on route, Joseph walking along Mary who is holding the Baby, riding a donkey.

The postmark was issued at the Post Office of  Valle de Ángeles, a city in the department of Francisco Morazán, Central Honduras.