COVER N. 476 - BELGIUM

Postmark: Beernem 8730 06.06.24

Posted on the 6th June; received on the 13th June 2024

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It is not that often that i get mail from Belgium, so this latest cover from the epicentre of the EU was more than welcome, especially since as usual, Guy, kindly sent me some quite appreciated extras. Hartelijk dank, Guy!

Belgium, and especially Brussels,  is full of great museums and all I've visited were absolutely outstanding, be it the  royal fine arts museum or the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History, especially the aviation department, which holds an incredible aircraft collection, spanning the full length of aviation's history.

Belgium was once a colonial power too. so it comes as no surprise that a museum dating back from the last decade of the  19th century, would have been created to highlight what was then regarded  as a synonym of power and greatness.

Belgium hosting the  Exposition Internationale de Bruxelles in 1897, King Leopold II decided this would be a great opportunity to let the colonial might of the court in what was then the Belgian Congo be shown to his peers and so an exhibition was mounted in the purpose built Palais des Colonies, at Tervuren, in  the outskirts of Brussels.  This would in time evolve to a fully dedicated museum that has, of course, evolved in concept and purpose, but still occupies the same palace where the original exhibition was held, being nowadays called Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale (AfricaMuseum, for short), its original designation being Musée Royal du Congo Belge.

In 2013 he museum closed for renovation, the works being carried on up to 2018, when it opened again to the general public.

Celebrating this fact Poste Belge issued on 11JUN2018 a souvenir sheet comprising 5 Tariff 1 Europe stamps, the background of four of them illustrated with African handicraft artefacts  and one with a photo of the museum buildings. The main image on the stamps though is  the logo of the Africa Museum, the characters that make out the word Africa, being highlighted on each of the stamps, as is visible in the stamp on the cover in wherein the letter R is substantially enlarged in comparison with the other letters that make out the work Africa.

Judging from the Postmark, the cover was posted at Beernem, a city in West Flanders with a population of around 14,600 inhabitants.

COVER N. 324 - BELGIUM 

Postmark:Namur 22.09.2023

Posted on the 22nd September; received on the 27th September 2023

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Wow, a stamp album page on an envelope? Man, what a treat! 

I did not have to see the sender's address on the back of the envelope to know that this was another of Eric's fantastic letters. This time from Belgium... If Alex is the Phantom, the Ghost who walks, then Eric has got to be somehow related to the old Flying Dutchman tale for he's all over the place too, from the Caribbean to Africa, from Asia to Europe. 

Thanks a lot, Eric. It's always a pleasure to receive your stamp laden letters.

The Arts and Europe, these could be the main descriptors for the stamps on the cover, given that six off the stamps ar arts related while another three are Europa issues. The remaining one although not being an Europa issue, is  quite European in its content since it celebrates European cooperation in the field of nuclear power through EUROATOM, one of the institutions that were at the root of the European Community in 1965.

In more detail:

The first two stamps are part of a set of four, all denominated at 17 Belgium Francs, issued on 07MAR1998, dedicated to Art in Belgium. 

The top one is illustrated with a fresco painting by expressionist painter Gustave van de Woestijne  (1881 – 1947), entitled Hospitality to Strangers, where he portrayed himself inviting a stranger  to his home. The painting can be seen at the Museum voor Schone Kunsten, in Gent.

Félicien Rops (1833 - 1898) was a prolific painter, caricaturist, illustrator and printmaker whose work is also associated with some of the best known literary figures of his time, whose works he illustrated, like Malarmé or Baudelaire, to cite just two.

He was also known for his explicit erotic and satiric illustrations. 

Hard as I tried, I could not find any information regarding the painting which is replicated in the stamp.

Peace and Welfare through Agriculture and Industry was the theme for the CEPT stamps of 1957. The two stamps on the cover with face values of 2 and 4 Belgian Francs constitute the Belgian issue, which began to circulate on 16SEP1957.

The stamps are illustrated with six corn ears  over  a bridge and what presumably is a manufacturing plant of some kind, the corn ears representing peace and prosperity.

Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640) ... now, Brussels Royal ancient art museum has loads of outstanding masterpieces but what I recall the most from my visiting it quite a few years ago were the rooms full of gigantic paintings by the Flemish master full of rosy fatty cherubins and  beautifully, sensually, detailed bodies, irrespective of the religious or mythological nature of the paintings, all bathed by a gorgeous light that emphasised forms and colours. 

One of the great baroque masters, Peter Paul Rubens was born in Siegen, present day Germany, but moved to Antwerp, in today's Belgium when was only 12. There he would also finish his days, at the age of 62.

Marking the 400th anniversary of his birth on 04SEP1976,  La Poste, now BPost, issued a six stamp set (4,50 + 1,5; 2 x (6,50 + 3); 2 x (10+5); 30+15 Franc) with reproductions of details from paintings by the master, two of which Eric used on the cover:  the stamp on the left is illustrated with a  detail taken form “Madonna and the Child” which can be seen in St. James Church in Antwerp while the one on the right presents a powerful detail image of “The Descent from the Cross”, which can also be seen in Antwerp, this time in the city's Cathedral.

EURATOM is one of the institutions that started the European dream.... come to think of it, it is funny to think that the European Community was initially fuelled by nuclear power....

Established in 1957 by the EURATOM treaty signed by Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and Netherlands, it sought to safely develop nuclear energy in Europe, not only for self-consumption but also for exporting any surplus energy to other non-member European states.

On 08NOV1961, La Poste issued a three stamp set dedicated to cooperation in EURATOM, illustrated with images of two of Belgium's Nuclear Reactors located in Mol: BR2, for the 40 centimes stamp, on the cover, and BR3 for the 3 and 6 Francs.

Going back to the arts,  Henri Vieuxtemps (1820 - 1881) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist and composer from the Romantic Period. He was also famous for owning and playing a Guarneri violin, which would also be later be played by such skilful and genial hands as those of Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Perlman or Pinchas Zukerman.

Anton Bergmann (1835 – 1874) was a Flemish writer and historian, who was born in Lier. 

The two illustrious Belgian figures we included in the four stamp set (4+2; 5+2,5; 7+3,5; 10+5 Franc) issued by La Poste on 06APR1974,  dedicated to Belgium Cultural Celebrities. The set was completed with two stamps paying hommage to painters Armand Jammar (1870-1946) and James Ensor (1860-1949).

The theme for the 1983 CEPT/Europa stamps was Great Achievements of Human Genius. The Belgium issue, which began to circulate on 14MAY1983, comprised two stamps (11 and 20 Franc) illustrated with reproductions of details from paintings by Belgian master Paul Delvaux (1897-1994), “L'homme de la rue” (the man in the street) and “Le train du soir” (the evening train) respectively.

The postmarks were very difficult to read  but the use of a magnifier let me conclude that the letter was mailed from Namur.

COVER N.189 - BELGIUM

Postmark: Antwerpen X  01.12.22

Posted on the 1st December; Received on the 19th December 2022
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What can one say when one opens the letterbox to find  an envelope therein as nice as the one I got from Lieve, with postcard #99 inside? 

Not only is the envelope, hand-made (?) from paper from a children's story book, truly beautiful, but it is also graced with three very interesting stamps. Thank you so much, Lieve. I know I have stated in my postcrossing profile that I'd rather receive my postcards in an envelope, but I wasn't expecting such high standards :-). Thank you so much. I truly appreciated it!

Stamps. left to right:

- Blood... the most precious liquid on the face of earth. an absolutely vital commodity.... and yet, one that is criminously wasted by those who hesitate not to order that their equals be extricated of it by  sheer force and brutality... casualties, they are declared, how obnoxious.. as if killing someone was but a ...casual, mundane act...

And yet again, there are other people who hesitate not to generously donate it, so that others can live.

On 19JAN 2008, BPost, the Belgian Postal Administration issued a single Tariff 1 (domestic) + 0,25 stamp celebrating the Red Cross and the generous act of donating blood, and the message couldn't be clearer for if a cat can donate blood to a mouse, why should we do otherwise?

- Beethoven, surely one of the greatest musical geniuses of all times.  The man who wrote what his ears could not ear, but his brain would perfectly synthesise as if  sound and harmony were but ordinary human senses. 

Freedom and justice are values that are central to Ludwig van Beethoven's works -  after all, Fidelio, the Eroica, the 9th, to name but three of his better known masterpieces are all works that are permeated with the notion that someday somehow, "Alle menschen werden brüder" as Schiller wrote in his "An die Freude" ode. 

Another of his musical monuments traversed by the fire of these ideas is the  set of incidental  music for Goethe's Egmont play that tells the tragic story of Lamoral, Count of Egmont, a nobleman who stood up against the Spanish dominators in the then Spanish Netherlands, an act for which he was  sentenced to death, but whose execution led to mutinies which, in time, would lead to the independence of the Netherlands. 

The Egmont set is fundamentally remembered by its extraordinary overture, which is often executed in concert halls around the world.

The beautiful stamp with Beethoven's portrait and the effigy of the Count of Egmont over  a couple of staves from the Egmont score was issued on 06OCT1990, as part of a three stamp set dedicated to Culture and Music with face values of 10+2; 14+3; 25+6 Belgian Francs.The companion stamps are dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the "Jeunesses Musicales" and to the centenary of the birth of  sculptor Josef Cantré (1890 –  1957).

- The capital of the West Flanders Province, Bruges, is the subject of the last stamp on the envelope. Issued on 25SEP2006, with a face value of 0,70 € it is part of a two stamp set celebrating the 650th Anniversary of the Hanseatic League, a merchant confederation, an avant la letre common market that spread across Central and Northern Europe from the late 12th century until its demise, in the mid 17th century.

Bruges, the city of the bridges from where it gets its name (Brugga in old Dutch), but also of  the many canals, the Venice of the North as it was also called, was one of the most important merchant centres of the League, for its strategic location as a crossroads for the northern and southern Hanseatic trade routes.

Gone are the days of the League, but Bruges is still one of the most interesting cities to visit in Belgium if only for its sheer beauty, as the 8,5 million visitors a year (2019 data) aptly proves.

The stamp is illustrated with an image of the Hanseatic House, the "Oosterlingenhuis", as can be read on the legend, of which today only a section remains.

The companion stamp (0,80 €) s dedicated to another Belgian city, Antwerp, and it is illustrated with an image of the Hanseatic House therein built by the German Hanseatic League in 1564. 

Antwerp is also the place where the letter was mailed from, as informed by the  mechanical postmark.

POSTCARD N.99 - BELGIUM

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 1st December, received on the 19th December 2022

Postcard image: Castle of Retie
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Retie is a city located in the  province of Antwerp in  Belgium. According to some articles I read on the inernet, the area was largely swampy soil until, in 1854, King  Leopold I bought a large expanse of it to create a park and a palace. The former is now a very popular recreation park but the latter was never built.

Also located in Reti is the castle whose image features on the nice postcard which I have to thank Lieve for.

Built in 1906, along bysantine lines, by the Count François de Four, an industrialist linked to the paper milling industry,  the castle and the park could until recently be visited by the public, but from what Lieve tells me, at least the park is now off limits to those that used to be able to enjoy it...

Lieve was kind enough to send me the postcard inside an envelope (cover #189) with some very nice stamps for postage, but since a sent postcard should not go unstamped :-)  she also glued an used stamp on the back of the postcard itself: a self adhesive  Priority stamp issued on 04NOV2002 adorned with a Crocus vernus, a larger than usual species of this beautiful flower, endemic to the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Balkans. 

 COVER N.143 - BELGIUM.

Postmark: Beernem 06.07.22 
Posted on the 11th July; received on the 19th July 2022

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In all reality, stamps cover all sorts of themes and concerns. Who would have thought that DJs would one day be the subject of a stamp emission. And yet, that's precisely what happened on 14JUN2021, when BPost issued a souvenir sheet with five "1 Europe" tariff stamps dedicated to those Belgian citizens most proficient in the art of making people shake their bodies in  large  venues....

The DJ on my stamp is known as Netsky, it seems, and on the souvenir sheet he shares the stage with "The Magician", "Lost frequencies", "Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike" and Yves V.

Thanks a lot Guy, for the such a "loud" cover 😀

COVER N.123 - BELGIUM

Postmark: 89 - BEERNEM 01.06.22
Posted on the 1st June; received on the 15th June 2022
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A cover from the Centre of Europe... from the Belgium of chocolates and trapist beers... Thank you Guy, for letting me add another country to the list, and also for all the goodies inside your nice cover.

Stamps, left to right:

"Ne gravez pas sur cette pierre ce que je fus, ce que j’aimais, ce que j’ai fait sur cette Terre, quand reviendra le mois de Mai, les oiseaux dans leur doux langage le chanteront aux champs et aux forêts".

Do not engrave on this stone what I was, what I loved, what I did on this Earth, for when the month of May returns, the birds will chant it, with their sweet language, over fields and forests. 

The authoress of this moving epitaph was Antonia De Smet de Naeyer (1874-1949), the last Marquise de Pierre. A  passionate avant la letre  conservationist, with a deep love for nature and for birds in  particular, in 1922 she established the Ligue Royale Belge pour la Protection des Oiseaux (Belgian Royal League for the Protection of Birds).

Honouring the centenary of the Royal League, Bpost issued on 24JAN2022 the se-tenant pair of value 1 (non priority domestic) stamps on my cover. The stamp on the left side of the pair showing a portrait of the Marquise de Pierre and the stamp the right a carefully bandaged owl, evocative of the League's activities and commitments.

I first heard Toots Thielemans (1922-2016) play on Paul Simon's "I do it for your love" in the "Still crazy after all this years album", that was issued in 1975.... man, how time passes...

Toots was a well known harmonica player, the greatest ever jazz harmonica player, it is well acknowledged, although he started his career as a guitarist. Over his long and productive life he played with countless stars of the jazz constellation, from Charlie Parker to Miles Davies, from Ella Fitzgerald to Bill Evans...

Celebrating the centenary of his birth Bpost issued on 21MAR2022 a single stamp tariff 1 World, wherein Toots is displayed in two portraits as both an harmonica player and a guitarist. Of note is the fact that the stamp was issued in a curious minisheet format mimicking a vinyl record including 5 stamps.