COVER N. 429 - GERMANY

Postmark: Scheinfeld 91443 19.03.2024 

Posted on the 19th March; received on the 22nd March 2024

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A request for help with getting a postmark..... that's one of the joys of being "exposed" here with my little blog: just as I every now and then ask people to help me with a stamp or a postmark, I also sporadically get the same type of requests from other collectors.

I always do my best to live up to their expectations. After all I'll be doing for others what I love to have others do for me and this is quite an axiomatic way of understanding our place in this ellipsoidal globe of ours....

What's more, Wolf-Peter's request came in a nice cartoon themed cover, so how could anyone say no?  😀

Children’s cartoons are a great way to introduce little ones to reading, since their characters they most times benefit from such popularity that they are multi-platform products. 

I remember when my daughters were  in their infancy I would coach them through the first letters with such classics as the three little pigs and the bad wolf, snow white and the 7 dwarves, Mickey, Donald, the cookie monster, road runner, Pepe le Pew, Asterix, just to name a few, since they knew the characters from TV so they felt connected to them and to what I was trying to pass on to them.

Of course I too had a good time reading or re-reading the stories so, all in all, it was a win-win situation, to put it using today's lingo.

I have never came across Pumuckl, the hero on the stamp on the left side of the cover, though.  Resorting to Wikipedia, I read it was the creation of German writer Ellis Kaut (1920-2015) and that it started as a radio series in 1961, Pumuckl being a Kobold ( a goblin) who can only be seen by the person he lives with, Eder, a carpenter.

The radio series grew very popular from its origins in the 60s of last century  and originated books, TV series, a musical and films.

The Smurfs (Schlumpfe in German or Schtroumpfs in the original Belgium French) are a totally different matter since even before my oldest daughter was born they were already a common household name here. In fact, I remeber my wife and I buying a huge stuffed strumpf to decorate the soon to be occupied baby's room. Later on, this would be joined by Susaninha, a little stuffed she strumpf my little daughter loved so much.....oh... I'm getting soft here.... 😀

Les Schtroumpfs were the brainchild of  Belgium author Pierre Culiford, (1928—1992), who signed his works as  Peyo. 

The two stamp set on the cover dedicated to children’s cartoons was issued by Deutsche Post on 01SEP2022

The Postmark hails from Scheinfeld, a city in the State of  Bavaria.