COVER N. 777 - FRANCE

Postmark: Service des Oblitérations Philatéliques Boulazac Isle Manoir 09.10.2026

Posted on the 9th October;  Received on the 16th October 2026

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What do such disparate contraptions as the sewing machine, the folding umbrella or the hot air balloon have in common?

Once again stamps are happy to provide answers to those of enquiring minds and I have to thank Roland for sending me a cover with a stamp that led me to a possible answer. Un grand Merci, mon ami.

According to la Poste, they all are French inventions; same as the calculator, cinema, soundtracks, radio and the digicode, although I am sure that such an assertion, in some of the cases, must be opened to discussion...

The above mentioned eight inventions were highlighted in a self-adhesive, "Lettre Internationale" stamp set issued as a carnet on 16JUN2025.

One of these stamps, the one featuring the hot air balloon, was used on this particular cover.

It is well known that the principle that governs hot air balloons had been in use long before Pilâtre de Rozier and  Laurent d'Arlandes rose to the sky in Paris, in 1783, aboard an unthetered hot air balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers, for it is, of course, the same principle that was used in sky lanterns in ancient China and other parts of the Eastern hemisphere.

I wouldn't also be a decent Portuguese if I were not to mention the experiments of my fellow countryman and Jesuit priest Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão who, in 1709, proved the feasibility of the concept of manned hot air ballooning, with a  demonstration of his flying apparatus, which he called Passarola and in which he would actually later actually ascend (and descend, hopefully.... :-)), as stated in an article dated of October 1786, in the London Daily Universal Register.

For the purpose of this article let us though assume that the first fully functional hot air balloons for practical human flight were  those of Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, who would lend their family name to their invention - the Montgolfière - the subject of the stamp on the cover.

The stamp was cancelled with the pictorial postmark of the Service des Oblitérations Philatéliques, located in Boulazac Isle Manoir, a commune in the Dordogne department of south-western France.

POSTCARD N.255 - U.S.A.

Postcard dated of the 29th September; received on the 19th October 2026

Postcard image: West Virginia - The Mountain State

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A very nice illustration that would not look out of place on a West Virginia Tourist Board advertising campaign, landed on my letterbox, courtesy of the indefatigable Ghost Who Walks, my friend The Phantom. Danke Sehr, Alex!

The 10th smallest of all the States that are represented by a star in the American Flag  West Virginia, whose Capital is Charleston, a city of about 50 thousand inhabitants, is located within the Appalachian range, in the the Southern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.

Its location and orography  makes it a magnet for outdoor recreation fans something which is also highlighted in the nice illustration of the card, where some rafters are seen going down New River, close to one of the State's Icons, the New River Gorge Bridge, dated of 1977 and  the longest steel span in the western hemisphere.

The flag of the State, a blue bordered white rectangle with the State's Coat of Arms, featuring a farmer and a miner, in the middle is also present in the illustration

Alex used a Global Forever self adhesive stamp issued on 14MAR2022,  part of the circular stamp series dedicated to flowers initiated in 2017.

The flower on it is the African daisy (Osteospermum sp.) numbering 70 species, which can be found in the wild in southern and eastern Africa and also in the Arabian Peninsula.

It is also widely cultivated, cultivars and hybrids of the species being a common sight in gardens all around the world.

Further to the postmark of the Fayetteville Post Office, the card shows green stampmarks from The National Coal Heritage Area and Bluestone Scenic River.

As if 4 manual stampmarks were not enough, an overzealous someone at the USPS processing centre chose to scribble the centre of a cancelled stamp with a ballpoint.... 

On the front the card also bears a rather subdued mechanical cancellation with the slogan "Mail a smile, Smiling at you...."

COVER N. 776 - SOUTH KOREA

Postmark: World Maritime Day / Gangnam Korea 21.09.2026 

Posted on 21st September;  Received on the 16th October 2026

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What a lovely cover, this one from Korea. From the high quality envelope to the equally superior quality cancellations, everything looks fine and dandy! 감사합니다  Jung Min.

IMO, the International Maritime Organisation, a specialised agency of the United Nations, was established in 1958, with a view  "to provide machinery for cooperation among Governments in the field of governmental regulation and practices relating to technical matters of all kinds affecting shipping engaged in international trade; to encourage and facilitate the general adoption of the highest practicable standards in matters concerning maritime safety, efficiency of navigation and prevention and control of marine pollution from ships"

World Maritime Day was celebrated  for the first time ever on  March 17, 1978, marking the 20th anniversary of the above mentioned founding convention. On that same year the IMO Assembly decided that  The World Maritime Day would be  observed on the last Thursday of September each year. 

This year it was also decided  that henceforth the theme for World Maritime Day would be biannual. So the theme for 2026-2027 World maritime Day, which was celebrated on the 24th September, is "From Policy to Practice: Powering Maritime Excellence".

Celebrating this observance date Korea Post issued on 15SEP2026 the 500 South Korean won on the cover, illustrated with a view of  what I believe is Busan Harbour, the busiest in Korea and one of the busiest in the world  with the South Korean Flag and IMO logo superimposed.

The First Day postmark features a nice head-on image of a cargo ship and the regular postmark was applied at Gangnam, a district of Seoul famous for being "a world-class fashion and trend centre and affluent area". (cf. wikipedia).

COVER N. 775 - HUNGARY

Postmark: Balatonalmádi 05.10.2026 

Posted on 5th October;  Received on the 8th October 2026

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Fast mail! Just 4 days between sending and receiving for a much appreciated letter from Hungary, with some nice stamps both inside and out. Not bad at all. Köszönöm szépen, Hóka! 

Hungary is also not that frequent a port of call here on my blog so I was extra pleased to see my box had been served with a cover with some Magyar stamps on it. Nice!

Traditional costumes is a theme that I find quite interesting, since clothes can really carry within themselves (design, materials, shapes, colours)  the distinctive traits of a human group, be it a vey localised, hence small one or of a nation or a country, as a whole.

Add to that the fact that cultures take immense pride in their distinctive symbols and it is easy to understand that sometimes even the humblest garment, made out of the most common and readily available materials  can be  skilfully manufactured and presented as a national treasure, which indeed it can be.

This is of course true for both popular and elite garments and more often than not even if the latter can exhibit more sophisticated or complex designs with better quality materials, constituents of the former are integrated into them, thus protecting their national identity, their national soul.

In our days.  when a large proportion of the world population tends to dress in a totally globalised way (myself included, of course), most times more concerned with manufacturer's labels than with real comfort or durability, traditional clothes, be it high or low end, are a pointer to the history of who we are and can be read as a book... most often than not, a beautifully illustrated one!

In 2016 Magyar Posta issued the first two stamps of a series dedicated to historical dresses that has recently seen its 5th issue, with the two se-tenant 440 forints stamps on the cover, issued on 15JUL2026.

They are illustrated with the male and female version of  a traditional Hungarian court dress of the 19th century, presumably from the times when the country was part of the Dual Monarchy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which lasted from 1867 till the end of the Great War, in 1918.

 

Two more stamps were used to post the cover, these belonging to a set of six stamps with the same denomination - 300 forints - issued on 25OCT2022, designated "Coats of Arms of the King of the House of Árpád".

The House of Árpád was the first royal dynasty of Hungary and it ruled first the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and later  the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1301.

The stamps show the coats of arms of the rulers from 1196 till 1301 inscribed in coins,  the one on the face of the cover being that of  Stephen V (1270-1272) and the one in the back, that of Emeric (1196-1204).

Postmark from Balatonalmádi, a town of about 8.500 inhabitants, located on the shore of... Lake Balaton, of course.

POSTCARD N.254 - PORTUGAL

Postcard dated of 1st October; received on the 7th October 2026

Postcard image: Cabo Espichel, Portugal

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Postcrossing was a good idea and so was World Postcard Day, which I believe, was also the brainchild of the Postcrossing team, who established it in 2020, as a way to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the creation of the Correspondenz-Karte, the first  official post card, issued by the Austrian Post on the 1st October 1869.

Ever since the first edition of WPD, special commemorative cancellations have been created for the event by CTT, the  Portuguese Postal services provider and as usual I do not let pass the date without sending out a few postcards to friends and also one to my own self.

This year I used a postcard with a photograph of a place which I visit every now and then not only because it is absolutely beautiful but also because, come spring, I can find some wild orchids  there, something which is always a matter of joy and pleasure: Cabo Espichel, with its ancient sanctuary and church and its imposing lighthouse.

To send the postcard I chose a N20g (domestic up to 20g) stamp from this year's issue of the "Portuguese Contemporary art" series, dated of  12SEP2026, featuring a mural by Street Artist Vihls done with his trademark technique of surface perforation, part of his "Scratching the Surface" project.

Unfortunately, the work, dated of 2014, which was located in Avenida da Índia, Lisboa, very close to the Tagus river, does not exist anymore, since the building on which it was created, part of a sugar manufacturing plant,  was demolished in 2018.

The celebratory postmark is self-explanatory and was applied at the Chiado (Lisbon) Post office.

COVER N. 774 - GREECE

Postmark: Kolymvarion 21.06.2026 

Posted on 21st July;  Received on the 30th September 2026

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I very seldom get mail from Greece, so this was more than welcome, Still the kind letter, full of much appreciated  stamps inside, is shrouded in mystery, for it has no sender. Judging from the sticker on the front of the envelope, and the use of a quite formal "M." before my name in the address, it must have come from France, so, un grand merci pour l'ami qui m'a envoyé ce pli. J'étais ravi de le recevoir. 

I believe that the large sticker in the envelope with the legend Jardins de France was part of the 2007 issue of that series, which was dedicated to the Parc de la Tête d'Or, at Lyon. I was able to identify it because of the image of the gilded gate, which I could match to one I found on the Internet thanks to Google.

The two "Postcards Worldwide" Greek stamps are part of one of this year's three "Travelling in Greece" issues, dated of 27MAY2026, each one comprising four self-adhesive stamps, meant to be used for postcard sending in worldwide service.

They are part of the set dedicated to teh Cretan city of Chania and the top one is illustrated with a photograph of Elafonissi beach, while the bottom one carries a photo of Samaria Gorge.

The postmark hails from Kolymvari,a  coastal town at the southeastern end of the Rodopou peninsula on the Gulf of Chania, also in the Island of Crete.

POSTCARD N.253 - SRI LANKA

Postcard dated of 19th September; received on the 30th August 2026

Postcard image: Total Solar Eclipse with Corona

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The second "Wonders of the Universe" card I got from Ravi is dedicated to a theme that was pretty hot a couple of months ago, and I suspect will be even hotter next year: Total Solar Eclipses.

 

Bohoma Sthuthi, my friend. 

Quoting again from the card: 

"A solar eclipse's "diamond ring" effect occurs just before or after totality, when a single bright point of sunlight remains visible along the Moon's edge, creating a dazzling spectacle.

The sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, becomes visible, forming a breathtaking cosmic display"

Stamps:

An in the previous case, further to the identification of the country of issue and the face value (50 Rupee), the main stamp carries the same photograph as the card and the legend "Total Solar Eclipse with Corona".

Postage was completed with a 20 rupee stamp with a image of a Pale Ceylon line blue, (Nacaduba sinhala), a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family, endemic to Sri Lanka. 

This stamp is part of the 12 stamp issue dated of 01DEC2022, themed on Butterflies of Sri Lanka, that Ravi had also sent me and was the subject of posts regarding covers # 343/4/5.

Only one word can be inferred from the postmark: Cinnamon, but I know the card was posted at the Cinnamon Gardens Post Office at Colombo.

POSTCARD N.252 - SRI LANKA

Postcard dated of 19th September; received on the 30th August 2026

Postcard image: Galactic wreckage in Stephan's Quintet

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Ravi kindly sent me two postcards issued by Sri Lanka Post in conjunction with the "Wonders of the Universe" issue, dated of 25SEP2025, comprising 10 circular stamps illustrated with beautiful photographs of ... Wonders of the Universe; planets, stars, galaxies, constellations...

Bohoma Sthuthi, Ravi. It is a very nice set of stamps and cards.

These will also be easy to post since the cards contain a pretty detailed summary of the image, so all I have to do is quote :-)

There are several things to like about this postcard and stamp, but who wouldn't be instantaneously grabbed by a title that seems perfect for a surrealist painting or a jazz album review....  Galactic Wreckage in Stephan's Quintet... oh, what a poem!

"Stephan's Quintet is a striking group of five galaxies, four of which are locked in a cosmic dance of gravitational interactions.

This galactic wreckage, located about 200 million light-years away, shows intense tidal distortions, shock waves, and bursts of star formation as these galaxies collide and merge".

Stamps:

Further to the identification of the country of issue and the face value (50 Rupee), the main stamp carries the same photograph as the card (which I believe was taken by the Hubble telescope) and the legend I so much like: "Galactic Wreckage in Stephan's Quintet".

Postage was completed with a 20 rupee stamp with a image of a Pale Ceylon line blue, (Nacaduba sinhala), a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family, endemic to Sri Lanka. 

This stamp is part of the 12 stamp issue dated of 01DEC2022, themed on Butterflies of Sri Lanka, that Ravi had also sent me and was the subject of posts regarding covers # 343/4/5.

Only one word can be inferred from the postmark: Cinnamon, but I know the card was posted at the Cinnamon Gardens Post Office at Colombo.

COVER N. 773 - MOROCCO

Postmark: Premier Jour d'émission Meknès CD  29.07.2026/ Meknès C.D 15.09.2026 

Posted on 15th September;  Received on the 30th September 2026

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The second Moroccan FDC I got on the same day. Encore merci, Pierre, pour ce pli fantastique.

Morocco and Mauritania, before independence both French administered territories in the North of Africa, first established formal diplomatic relations in 1970. These, notwithstanding, would be severed in 1981 after an attempted coup d'état that occurred in Nouakchott, Mauritania's capital, against the government of Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla, who would  accuse Morocco of instigating it.

At the core of the disputes between the two countries was the territory of the  former Spanish Colony of Western Sahara, which Spain  ceased to lay claim to in 1975. In the wake of Spain's decision both countries claimed rights to the territory and invaded it.

Meanwhile in 1973 an independentist movement - the Polisario Front - had been established in Western Sahara with the aim of achieving independence from Spain by political action and also armed struggle. When Spain left the territory, the military effort of the independentists was redirected against the occupying Moroccan and Mauritanian forces.

Mauritania would eventually abandon its claim to the territory, in 1979, recognising, in February 1984,  the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), established in 1976, and its founder, the Polisario Front, as the legitimate representative of the Saharawi people, a position also sustained by the United Nations. 

Morocco would go on to this day without recognising the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and at present a state of low intensity warfare remains, with armed actions from both sides occasionally taking place.

With Mauritania abandoning its claim to the Sahrawi territory and an internal coup in December 1984 that overthrew the pro-Polisario president of the country, the door was opened to the reestablishment of relations with its neighbour Morocco, what would formally take place in April 1985.

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the re-establishment of formal diplomatic relations, the postal administrations of Morocco and Mauritania launched a common stamp issue, comprising two stamps. (I have found no information regarding the Mauritanian issue)

The Moroccan issue, dated of 29JUL2026, is featured on the official First Day Cover that Pierre sent me.

It consists of two stamps with face values of 4.10 and 9,80 Dirham,  illustrated with images of the Ancient Mosque of Chinguetti in Mauritania and the Fort of Ait-Ben-Haddou, Morocco, respectively.

Both structures are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Chinguetti Mosque (constructed of split stone and clay with a roof of palm beams on stone piers) dates from the 13th or 14th centuries, and is located in the Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata, in the Adar region of Mauritania.

The  Fort of Ait-Ben-Haddou, dating from the 11th century, is constructed in earthen clay, and is located in the Ouarzazate Province of Morocco, in the ancient route between the Sahara and Marakesh.

I had the opportunity to visit it in 2023 and seeing it on a stamp prompted me to go take a look at my photos.... always a pleasure remembering places we've been to.... 

COVER N. 772 - MOROCCO

Postmark: Premier Jour d'émission Meknès CD  13.07.2026/ Meknès C.D 14.09.2026 

Posted on 14th September;  Received on the 30th September 2026

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Merci, Pierre, pour les jolis plis premier jour. Two FDCs in one day is a nice score ;-)

One of the joys of stamps is the amount of knowledge they convey to those that care to look at them with a bit more than a "where does this come from?" preoccupation.

In fact, it wouldn't be exaggerated to say that stamps are tiny pages of an ever growing worldwide collaborative  encyclopaedia that is being constantly updated as new sets are issued across the planet.

Take the stamp on this beautiful cover.

I was familiar with the tiny colourful geometric ceramic tiles that are used to compose elaborate motifs that decorate walls and façades in Islamic architecture.

But I did not know where they originated from, neither what were they called.

Today, thanks to this year's Moroccan Euromed Issue, dedicated to this particular icon of Moroccan culture, I was prompted to do some reading and I learned that these tiles (as indicated on the cover cachet and the legend on the side of the 4.10 Dirham stamp issued on 13JUN2026) are called Zellige.

This is particular relevant for me, for the word would go down to my own laguage as Azulejo, this being what we call the ceramic tiles that cover so many of the old buildings of the historic quarters of our cities, in Portugal.

I also learned that for the most part zellige are  manufactured as solid colour square tiles that are then cut to the desired shape, once baked, so that they can be encrusted into the surfaces being decorated in the pre-determined patterns.

Not so with Tetouan's zellige, though, since their tiles are cut in the desired shape before being baked, what imparts durability to the small pieces of ceramic, at the expense of it being a bit harder to get a perfect fitting in a giving design pattern.

The celebrative stamp is illustrated with two images of a fountain, presumably in Tetuan, decorated with Zellige, giving the viewer a perfect idea of the intricate beauty of the patterns achieved with this age-old decorative technique.

The stamps were cancelled with the First Day Postmark, issued at Meknès, the same location that is inscribed in the actual circulation postmark.

POSTCARD N.251 - SPAIN

Postcard dated the 18th, postmark of the 23rd September; received on the 1st October 2026

Postcard image: Nazari Stucco work detail: Vegetable motifs, 14th century, Alhambra, Granada

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Serependity, some would say.... truth is it couldn't have arrived at a better moment.

Moltes graciès, Eva. Absolutely perfect timing, considering that this week's Thursday Postcard Hunt is dedicated to UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The Alhambra of Granada, Spain, is without shadow of a doubt the most famous Islamic palace located outside of today's countries of Islamic religion professing majority.

Located at the top of the La Sabika hill, at the base of the  Serra Nevada range, the construction of the magnificent palace was ordered "in 1238 CE by Muhammad I Ibn al-Ahmar, the first Nasrid emir and founder of the Emirate of Granada, the last Muslim state of al-Andalus". (source: wikipedia).

Over the following centuries, the Palace would be subject to continuous modifications and enlargements, first by Muslim rulers and later by their Catholic counterparts after the Reconsquita, which ended with the conquest of Granada and the fall of Al-Andaluz in 1492.

The physical grandeur and richness of the history of the Alhambra cannot be potted in the few lines of a post in a Mail and Stamp collecting blog. Concurrently, it is quite easy to find information on the internet about this exceptional landmark, systematised  in a much better way than I would ever be capable of, so I invite any occasional reader of these lines to spend a few minutes at the Alhambra's official website and then progress to other obvious reference resources like Wikipedia of Britannica.

Better yet, consider a visit to the actual site on a forthcoming trip to Spain (but book admission tickets well in advance, because this can be a tricky matter....)

Acknowledging the relevance and singularity of the Alhambra as signs of  outstanding universal value, UNESCO inscribed it in the list of World Heritage List in 1984, considering that it fully met three of the ten criteria of which at least one must be met, in order for any landmark to be potentially eligible to integrate the list.

As such it was considered that The Alhambra fully met criteria:

1 - to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius;

3- to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared;

4 - to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history;

Eva's Postcard is illustrated with a  detail of probably the thing that I was most bewildered with when I visited the Alhambra. That is the incredible stucco work that covers columns walls and most of all domes and ceilings, so full of detail that it seemed to have come out of the hands not of masons but  of the most delicate embroiderers that ever lived. Absolutely stunning work.

On the card Eva used two stamps also illustrated with another of the great decorative elements of the palace. This time the Fountain of the Lions, that stands at the centre of the Lions Patio, ordered to be built by  Muhammad V, around 1380.

The 1 Euro stamp, issued on 05MAY2014 is part of a set of  7 (1 x 0, 92 + 6 x 1 €), issued as individual stamps throughout 2014, highlighting "The Brand Spain".

With the exception of ther 0,92 € stamp illustrated with the flag of Spain, all the other stamps carry a letter superimposed on the illustration, so that when seen all together the word ESPAÑA is formed.

As usual with Eva's mail, the stamps wer cancelled with the mechanical postmark of the Automated Treatment Centre of Valencia (CTA Valencia).