POSTCARD N.161 - SRI LANKA

Postcard sent on the 2nd September; received on the 11th September 2024

Postcard image: Ritigala Mountain 
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Another item of  the postcard set dedicated to Sri Lanka's mountains, which Ravindra has kindly been sending me. Bohomȧ  sthoothi, friend!

Ritigala mountain comprises 4 peaks, the highest one standing 764.25m above see level, what makes it the highest mountain in North Central Sri Lanka.

The mountain is also famous for being the location of an old Buddhist monastery, dating back to the 1st century BC.

The 20th general Conference of World Buddhist Sangha Youth (Sangha designating ordained members of the cult, if I get it right) was held in parallel with the  5th General Conference of the World Alliance of Buddhists on the 22nd June 2024 at Nagadeepa Purana Rajamaha Viharaya,  one of the sixteen most sacred places of worship by the Buddhists in Sri Lanka. 

On the occasion, Sri Lanka Post issued the 50 rupee stamp on the postcard, issued on 22JUN2024, and I have to confess my total ignorance as to what the hand symbols featured in the illustration represent. Can you help, Ravi?

Postage was completed with a 25 rupee stamp issued on 13SEP2017, featuring a nice painting of Dondra lighthouse, which is particular because it is Sri Lanka's tallest Lighthouse (49 m) and also due to the fact that it is located on the southernmost tip of the Island.

As usual, the postmark is from Colombo's PO Headquarters.

COVER N. 506 - SRI LANKA

Postmark: Headquarters P. O. Colombo Mail 26.08.24

Posted on the 26th August; Received on the 8th September 2024

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Gosh...this time Ravindra chose to surprise me with something quite unique: the longest existing stamp, it seems.

This is quite an addition to the collection. I couldn’t be more grateful to you, for making it possible for me to have a cover embellished with  one of these, Ravindra.

From what I read, each year in Sri Lanka, at the Temple of the Tooth Relic, in Kandy, (which houses what is said to be one of Buddha's four teeth which were retrieved from his body upon his cremation)  a 10 day festival is held in honour of Buddha, also as a way to ask for timely rains and good harvests.

The long processions (I read the comments of someone who witnessed one that went on for 3 hours)  are participated by musicians singers, dancers and acrobats and also by elephants. In one of the processions, one of the elephants carries the sacred casket which holds a replica of the tooth relic.

The lengthy procession is now perfectly transposed to a... lengthy stamp, 20.5 cm long, illustrated with images of the event, wherein, as above stated, dancers, acrobats , musicians and elephants parade, the later lavishly decorated in colourful garments, alongside the one tasked (or tusked, should I say...) with the privilege of carrying the holly relic (second elephant from the right). 

Great cover to have in the collection! Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravindra!

POSTCARD N.160 - SRI LANKA

Postcard sent on the 26th August; received on the 4th September 2024

Postcard image: Pidurutalagala Mountain Range
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Ravindra keeps showing me how beautiful his country is, with postcards with images of the country's mountain ranges. Bohomȧ  sthoothi, friend!

This time  the featured mountains are those of the Pidurutalagala Mountain Range, which, as explained in the postcard legend, includes Sri lanka's highest mountain, the one that gives its name to the range - Pi durutalagala - which stands 2524 metres high, near the town of Nuwara-Eliya.

This time,  the featured mountains are those of the Pidurutalagala Mountain Range, which, as explained in the postcard legend, includes Sri Lanka's highest mountain, the one that gives its name to the range - Pidurutalagala - which stands 2524 metres high, near the town of Nuwara-Eliya.

- Dharmadasa Walpola (1927–1983), was a musician and singer, who is considered to be the most important male playback singer of the 50s and 60s, in Sri Lanka, have lent his voice to countless film soundtracks. 

Besides singing, Dharmadasa was also an accomplished multi-instrumentist, playing instruments as diverse as the flute, the harmonium, the violin or the tabla.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his passing, Sri Lanka Post issued the 5 Rupee stamp on the postcard illustrated with Dharmadasa's portrait and a miniature of a flute and  a tabla, in the right lower corner.

- Another stamp of the mini-sheet comprising  20 x 50 Rupee circular stamps, dedicated to fruits and vegetables of Sri Lanka, issued on 15JUN2023, which I have already mentioned here in connection with other sendings by Ravindra. 

This time the stamp bears the illustration of an Okra plant  (Abelmoschus esculentus) which is cultivated in Sri Lanka for its edible fruit.

- The 15 rupee stamp with a taaffeite gem, Taaffeite being one of the rarest gemstone minerals in existence, is part of the 10 x 15 rupee mini-sheet, dedicated to gems of Sri Lanka, issued on 06NOV2021, which I have also already mentioned a propos another of Ravindra's postcards.

Postmark as usual, from PO Headquaters in Colombo.

COVER N. 505 - FRANCE

Postmark: 58 - Corbigny Nièvre 26.08.2024

Sent of the 26th August; received on the 2nd September 2024

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Strangely enough, a letter posted on the same day, in the same place, arrived at my letterbox four days later.

As a matter of fact, the cover I included in the previous post features the same postmark as the one I'll be presenting now, but this last one took much longer to check-in....

Mon sincère remerciement, une fois de plus, Jean-Pierre, pour une autre jolie lettre.

- La Bourse de Paris, Palais Brongniart, conceived in neo-classical style by architect Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart (1739-1813), the name also behind the layout of Paris' and France's, and probably Europe's if not the world's most famous cemetery - Père Lachaise - under a commission from none other than the emperor himself, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Having died before the completion of the building, Brongniart would be laid to rest at the cemetery he designed, and the construction would go on under the supervision of Éloi Labarre (1764–1833), to be finished by 1825, and inaugurated the following year as Paris' Stock Exchange, a function it retained until 1987.

Approaching its two hundredth anniversary, the Palais Brongniart was chosen to illustrate a 1,29 € stamp issued on the occasion of the 94th Congress of the  Fédération des Associations Philatéliques (French Federation of Philatelic Societies ).

The stamp illustrated with an in-taglio image of the façade of the palace, was issued with a se-tenant vignette reproducing a statue by Francisque Duret (1804-1865), an allegory of Justice, dated of 1851, located on the left corner of the façade of the building.

- The washing machine... where would we be without it? One of the great inventions of the 20th century, for sure and one which really helped create more leisure time at home.

Even though manual washing machines had been around since the late 19th century, the great leap forward came in the early 20th, with the first electric operated washing machine, conceived by American engineer Alva Fisher, patented in 1910.

On 30SET2000 La Poste issued a 5 x 3 Franc/0,46 € stamp set dedicated to Great Events of the 20th century, and it is curious to notice that all but one are events that directly resulted in the improvement of living conditions  for the common people. As such,  alongside the stamp dedicated to the washing machine, chronologically identified has having occurred in 1901, the set comprised stamps evocative of the first step on the moon (1969); the right for women to vote (1944); paid holidays (1936) and the Universal Human Rights Declaration (1948).

To complete the required postage, three Marianne stamps (2 x 0,10 and 1x 0,01 €) of the 23JUL2018 issue were used.

Once again, the letter was mailed from the city of Corbigny, Nièvre Department, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, and further to the manual postmark a mechanical obliteration was also applied to the letter.

COVER N. 504 - FRANCE

Postmark: 58 - Corbigny Nièvre 26.08.2024

Sent of the 26th August; received on the 29th August 2024

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As mentioned in my previous post, I could only receive a letter from the Philippines since it was resent me from France, inside a large envelope with very interesting stamps on it, as usual.

Mon très grand Merci, Jean-Pierre pour votre disponibilité et générosité.

- The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movements owe their existence to the thinking and actions of  Henry Dunant (1828-1910) a Swiss humanitarian activist and pacifist, who would eventually be the recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize, in 1901.

Horrified by the horrors of the aftermath of the Solferino battle, after which some 40,000 dead and wounded were left to their fate on the battle fields by the French and Austrian armies, he wrote down his thinking on the need for the establishment of an organisation that, in case of conflict, would take care of the wounded, irrespective of which side they were fighting for, in a book entitled "A Memory of Solverino".

Inn 1863, the President of the Geneva Society for Public Welfare, Gustave Moynier (1826 – 1910), having read Dunant's book, proposed its discussion within the Society and a special Committee - firstly known as the Committee of Five, (for such was the number of its members) was thus created which would in time change its name, first to "International Committee for Relief to the Wounded" and later, in 1876, to the designation by which it is still today recognised: The International Committee of the Red Cross.

In 1864 The European nations as well as Brazil, Mexico and the United States were invited by the Swiss Government for a diplomatic conference that took place in Geneva. France was one of the countries which attended the conference and, as such, also one of the 16 States that signed the first "Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field".

This also led to the establishment of the "Société française de secours aux blessés militaires" forerunner of the Croix-Rouge Française, which was established in 1940, during the Second World War.

In time, as it is well known, the Red Cross and Red Crescent scope of actions transcended the battlefields and  nowadays, first respondents from the Red Cross/Crescent  are a fundamental asset in almost the totality of the world's countries' civil protection plans and programmes.

On 23OCT2023, La Poste issued the souvenir-sheet Jean-Pierre used on the cover, aiming at raising awareness for the  recruitment of voluntary first-responders of the French Red-Cross, as made clear by the legend on the sheet: "Deveir Secouriste Bénévole à la Croix-Rouge Française" (to become a voluntary first-responder for the French Red Cross).

Each of the three 1,16€ stamps is illustrated with an image of a volunteer, identified by his/her name, age and location,  performing some kind of action inherent to his/her activity as a member of the Red Cross.

The price of the souvenir sheet includes an extra charge of 2€ which will be given to the French Red Cross.

- Lyon is the subject of a very nice illustration on the 0,555€ stamp issued on 07APR208 as part of a 2 x 0,55€ stamp set featuring views from French cities (the companion stamp is dedicated to La Rochelle).

The bridge depicted in the stamp is the Passerelle Paul-Couturier, and 87 metres long bridge over the Saône. First built in 1853 and named Passerelle Saint-Georges, it was destroyed during the 2nd World war and rebuilt in 1944. Its current designation dates of 2003 and honours a priest known for the promotion of ecumenism. 

To complete the required postage, three Marianne stamps (0,10 and 2x 0,01 €) of the 23JUL2018 issue were used.

According to the postmark, the letter was mailed from the city of Corbigny, Nièvre Department, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

As frequent, an upside down mechanical obliteration is also present on the base of the  letter.

COVER N. 503 - PHILIPPINES

Postmark: No postmark

Posted on ?; Received via France on the 29th August 2024

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A long and winding road for this cover from the Philippines. As it stands, it seems there is no postal service, at the moment, between the Philippines and Portugal, although I believe that the inverse route is operational. I'll have to resend this circuit to the Philippines, so we shall see...

Anyway, preoccupied that I should still get my letter from her country, Vanessa took the liberty of sending it back to France, where the circuit had originated, asking that the letter be forwarded to me, this being the reason for my having received a letter without any sort of postmark.

I could  not be more grateful for Jean-Pierre's kindness in going through the trouble of resending the letter to me and also for Alexa resourcefulness in trying all she could to make sure I did get her letter.

So, mon très grand Merci pour Jean-Pierre for his kind gesture, and Maraming salamat, Vanessa for your attention and care.

The Philippines, an archipelago of some 7641 islands in southeast Asia, were first touched by an European in the course of the Magalhães/Elcano circumnavigation in 1521, Claimed by the Spanish, who christened the archipelago in honour of King Philip II, it would remain a Spanish possession for more than 3 centuries, until 1898, in the period of the Spanish-American war, when secessionist Emilio Aguinaldo declared the independence of the territory. 

Neither Spain, nor America recognised the  independence and formally, the Spanish would  later transfer the administration of the Philippines to the United States of America as a disposition of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war between the two powers, dated of 10 December, 1898.

Independence from the United States would eventually come in the aftermath of the second world war, in 1946. This fact notwithstanding, the day of the proclamation of Emilio Aguinaldo (12 June, 18989) is recognised in the Philippines as the date of the country's independence and thus celebrated.

On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the Independence, PHLPost, the Philippine Postal Corporation, issued a set of two se-tenant 16 piso stamps, honouring the date. 

The stamp on the cover shows the Philippine flag being waved from a balcony while Emilio Aguinaldo next to the man with the flag, reads the declaration of independence, as explained by the legend "Aguinaldo Proclaims Philippine Independence". 

By the side of the stamp, Vanessa included a sticker of her philatelic club: PSCS the Philippine Stamp Collectors Society.

COVER N. 502 - BRASIL

Postmark: AC Central de S. Paulo SE/SPM 12.08.2024

Posted on the 12th August; Received on the 19th August 2024

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Another welcome cover speaking my own language sent from out brother country. Muito Obrigado Luis, é sempre um prazer receber correspondência sua.

This time Luis used 4 of the 6 x "1º Porte de Carta" stamp set issued on 23ABR2024 by the Empresa Brasileira de Correios e Telégrafos, dedicated to unconventional food plants, this probably meaning plants thatcan be found in the wild and are not cultivated on a large scale. 

I find theses stamps very nice since I love botanical and all natural history illustration, and the drawings in the stamps do look the part.

Left to right, top to bottom, we have:

Jambu (Acmella olearacea)

a Native of Amazonia,  this herbaceous member of the Asteraceae family is used as a condiment or a side dish in several preparations of the local gastronomy. It also has medicinal uses as a pain killer, since its leaves and buds are rich in spilanthol, a natural anaesthetic.

 Vinagreira (Hibiscus sabdariffa)

A member of the Malvaceae family native to Africa but which has been naturalised in many places across the globe, Roselle, as it is known in English, is fundamental in the preparation of "Arroz de Cuxá" (Cuxá rice) a typical dish of the State of Maranhão.

Bertalha (Basella alba) 

native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia and New Guinea, but naturalised in many tropical regions, Brazil included, Bertalha, a member of the Basellacea family,  is used either raw, in salads, or braised as a side dish. 

Mangarito (Xanthosoma riedelianum)

Native to Brazil, this member of the Areacea, which produces large and quite caloric tubers used to be part of the diet of the Amazonian tribes in ancient times, being today almost forgotten, although it can still be found in local markets in the State of Minas Gerais.

The 0,05 Real, illustrated with the image of a seamstress is part of the definitive series issued between 2005 and 2011, dedicated to Professions. It is part of  the first set of three stamps of the series, issued on 30DEC2005.

COVER N. 501 - SRI LANKA

Postmark: Headquarters P. O. Colombo Mail 22.08.24

Posted on the 22nd August; Received on the 28th August 2024

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Another of Ravindra's great covers, this time with a very recent set dedicated to Ancient Incsriptions of Sri Lanka. Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravindra!

The 4 x 50 Rupee set was issued by Sri Lanka Post on 12AUG2024 and it aims at highlighting the historical importance of ancient writings as a way of confirming or infirming theories and speculations on past events already shrouded by the opaque blankets of time.

The four stamps all bear witness to such writing, by replicating them as illustrations. Two are rock inscriptions while the other two are inscriptions in metal, copper, presumably.

Of note is the fact that one of the stamps is illustrated with what is believed to be the world's first written peace treaty and as such also the first inscribed on a rock, this being the text on the vertical stamp on the right corner of the cover. 

The stone bearing the  inscription, is located at the Sangamuwa Rajamaha Viharaya (a Buddhist temple, I believe) in the village of  Udabulathgama village, Gokarella.

An interesting newspaper article on this particular stamp issue can be found here.

As usual, postmark from Colombo's PO Headquarters.

COVER N. 500 - PERU

Postmark: SERPOST Cultura Perú - 07.08.2024

Posted on the 7th August; Received on the 19th August 2024

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500! The number by itself means absolutely nothing more than being one unit above 499, but, for some reason,  we humans, used to decimalising every bit of our existence, are keen on round figures and intra-numeric relations. In fact, even it being exactly the same, five hundred, by itself an interesting, noteworthy  number, gets a whole new dimension when expressed as  half a thousand...

And so I've reached the half a thousand mark, and what's more I do it adding another country to my list, thanks again to international cooperation,  thanks to the care of my friend The Flying Dutchman, who  teamed up with Gloria to get this cover flying to my letterbox. (I first mentioned Matthias as one of the senders, but it turns out I was wrong, and Matthias, who nonetheless has been a great help in getting some very interesting covers before, was not involved this time).

So, Hartelijk dank, Eric y Muchíssimas Gracias, Gloria, for your kind and generous help in making sure my list of countries keeps getting bigger and bigger, this time with the addition of the República del Perú.

To mail me the Andean cover, no condor was used but I am more than happy to see 6 stamps on the face of the envelope.

- The souvenir sheet with 4 x 2 Sol stamps was issued to mark the 50th anniversary of Europa common stamp issues, first appearing in 1956. 

The stamps, issued on 24NOV2005, are illustrated with  photos of pre-Columbian jewels paired with a reproduction of an EUROPA Stamp issued by Spain, highlighting the importance of the relationship between the two Spanish speaking countries.

From left to right, top to bottom:

- Hair adornment of the Mochica Culture and the 1968 issue (Key)

- Ceremonial jewellery of the Chimú culture and the 1960 issue (Roman mail coach wheel) 

- Gold, lapis lazuli and turquoise earrings from the Mochica culture and the 1969 issue ( Ancient temple - 10 years of CEPT)

- Hair adornment of the Mochica Culture and the 1970 issue (Sun)

- FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, is tasked with ensuring food security and access to food for all people on the planet, a mission which is nothing short of impossible, given the obstacles that some regimes are always keen to lay upon not only others, but also on their own people subsistence....

FAO was established in 1945, on the aftermath of the second World War and its first 50 years of existence were honoured by Peru with a single 0.60 Sol stamp issue which began to circulate on 24APR1996, illustrated with a photo of Peruvian farmers (two ladies in the company of three children) and the logo of the Organisation.

- Loincloths of the Paracas is the theme of  a series of 4 x 6 Sol stamps issued on 05NOV2008, of which one can be seen on the cover.

Paracas textiles rose to fame when a burial ground site in the Ica region of the country was studied in the 1920s and many examples of  well preserved textiles were found wrapped around the buried bodies.

The Postmark, other than the country's name,  does not contain any information as to the place of posting.

POSTCARD N.159 - COSTA RICA

Postcard sent on the 28th June; received  0n the 19th August 2024

Postcard image: Agalychnis callidryas (Red Eyed Tree frog)
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Ask me to thin Costa Rica and I will say volcanoes and colourful frogs. 

I got t a lovely card from Eric, the Flying Dutchman, posted in Costa Rica and since it did not have a volcano image, I wasn't at all surprised to see that it had a great picture of one of those amazingly colourful creatures that are endemic to central America, and Costa Rica in particular, a country with a  incredible degree of biodiversity. Muito Obrigado, Eric! Fantástico postal.

The Red Eyed Tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) is an absolute icon of Costa Rica.

An arboreal being, the small frog (females can grow up to 3 inches while males do not exceed 2) is most active at night, when it hunts for insects, its main diet staple, although they are known to eat smaller amphibians too. 

Being such a colourful creature, one would think it to be poisonous, but it seems that is not the fact, Be it as it may, the red eyed tree frog is a tremendously photogenic little creature and the image on the postcard corroborates this.

Stamps., left to right:

- On 04MAY2007, Correos de  Costa Rica issued a 5 x 155 Colones mini-sheet dedicated to pre-Columbian art (the term  Pre-Colombian designating the period before contact with European culture, that is to say up to 1492, date of the arrival of  the first Christopher Columbus' expedition to the  Americas).

Two of these stamps can be seen on the postcard, the one on the left illustrated with a photo of a Ceramic Censer with an alligator figure on top of the lid and the other with the figure of a warrior.

- The centenary of FIFA the Federation Internationale Football Association was celebrated in 2004. 

For the occasion, Correos de Costa Rica issued, on 15DEC2004, the 2 x 140 Colones se-tenant pair of stamps on the cover. The stamp on the left is illustrated with the logo of the organization and the one on the right with a rather subdued image of a soccer player over a soccer field At first sight I thought that the image was some sort of a map, but it doesn’t bear any resemblance to the map of Costa Rica, after a more attentive examination. 

-- The 75 Colones stamp  is illustrated with an image of  a Venus fan (Gorgonia flabellum), a form of soft coral whim can be found in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean sea, as well as in the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is considered to be a vulnerable species, in terms of its conservation status.

The stamp is part of a 4 x 75 Colones stamp set issued on 25SEP2002, dedicated to the marine life of Uvita island or Isla Quiribrí, a small  415 m x 320 m Island, off the Caribbean coast of  Costa Rica.