COVER N. 603 -  SPAIN

Postmark: Correos CTA Valencia  Correos la Compañia de todos 30.06.2025

Posted on the 25th June; Received on the 2nd July 2025

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There's something unique in receiving a letter with several stamps on its face. The more so when you look at the overall image and you understand that the stamps were carefully arranged on the cover so that in the company of the address lines, they perform more than a simple  functional duty, that is to say, act as postage, their primary intent. 

In fact, a well arranged cover face turns the humble envelope into a unpretentious and yet  highly pleasant artistic form of expression. The more so when on top of it the address is written in a clear and elegant handwriting, something that is light years away from my horrible personal scribbles....

And that's what I got from Eva the other day. Muchíssimas Gracias, Eva. Lovely cover!

Inside the cover, was the best part, though: a hand written letter, (as well as a quite funny little zine that Eva authored.

It is so rare these days of electronic communication to receive a letter, to give our eyes the immensely rewarding pleasure of going through line after line of hand written news, wishes, longings, recommendations, comments, or just plain cheap talk.... I thoroughly enjoyed it. And again the clear and elegant handwriting.... oh, if only I had something like that..... :-)

On to the stamps:

- Eva tells me that the large souvenir sheet is one of the stamps she likes the most, and I can understand why. Again, the image echoes a time when it was not that unusual to have a couple of letters lying around, just opened and read and left besides an impromptu vase of flowers on the shelf were we keep the everyday necessities of life, like the door or the car keys, small change from our emptied pockets, bills to pay, or a note affixed to the wall with some scotch tape with something important and needing attention (in truth, the urgency of the note would be well past, but it would stay there on the wall until a new urgent matter that needs not be forgotten and dealt with would take its place....)

Letters, envelopes, stamps, notes, flowers, what could be more human, more “everydayish”?...

The Europa/CEPT stamps theme of 2008 was "writing letters". The souvenir sheet with the 0,60€ stamp on it is the Spanish issue, dated of 23APR2008.

- Luis Garcia Berlanga (1921-2010) was a Spanish Filmmaker. I have to confess that I was not in any way familiar with his work, but I came upon  a statue of his on the internet and immediately a bell rang. "Wait, I've seen this statue before.... in Sos del Rey... or haven't I?"

Yes I have.  and I am sure I have proof of it on my photo archives, but couldn't find it now. I'll put it here if and when I come across it again.

The 0,70€ stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Berlanga, illustrated with his image was issued on 12JUN2021.

- The Alcudia archaeological site, is located in the vicinity of the town of Elche, in the Province of Alicante, in the South of Spain. It is notorious for having been the place where the famous "Dama de de Elche" sculpture, a very beautiful and detailed woman's bust sculpture dating from the 4th century BC was found.

The 0,57€ stamp with a picture of a painted ceramic pot found at the site is part of a three stamp set (0,29; 057; 0,78 €) dedicated to archaeology, issued on 06JUN2008.

- On the back of the cover, Eva included a franking label issued in 1998, still denominated in Pesetas , honouring poet and dramaturgist Frederico Garcia Lorca,  one of the most famous  victims of the horrendous Spanish civil war period.

The mechanical postmark hails from Valencia, the capital of the homonymous province, the third most populous city of Spain.