COVER N. 592 - FRANCE - SAINT PIERRE ET MIQUELON

Postmark: 975 - St. Pierre et Miquelon 20.05.2025

Posted on the 20th May; Received on the 26th June 2025

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It is always a pleasure to receive a cover from the small insular enclave encroached in  Canada's vast expanses of land and sea, where baguette and croissant are the proud norm. The more so since almost without exception, the stamps  are always rather beautiful and interesting.

Such is the case with this nice cover I got from Roman,  Dziękuję bardzo, Roman! 

- Tranchage de la Morue, (Fileting cod) reads the caption of the 0,85€ stamp issued on 22MAY2027, illustrated with a photograph of two fishermen preparing cod to be later salted and dried, I presume.

As a side note, this is something that I, as a Portuguese, can immediately relate to, since we are the number 1 consumers of dried cod in the world; so much so that the once humble (and far from that nowadays) main staple of fishermen and other working class families made its way up to our Christmas supper, wherein it has to take centre stage or else it simply won't be Christmas... 

The industrial remains of some "secas do bacalhau" (cod drying facilities) can still be found around here  (in fact I have one not more than a 10 minute drive from where I live), as a reminder of the days when the white luggers of the Portuguese cod fishing fleet would spend months in the treasonous waters of Newfoundland (same as the fishermen of Saint Pierre and Miquelon) and Greenland, until their holds would be filled with salted cod, that would then be sun dried in the drying facilities I mentioned above.

For a number of years Portuguese fishing vessels were barred from fishing in Newfoundland, and most of our cod is imported from Norway  these days, but  the ban was lifted this year, I've read, so who knows if there might be some Newfoundland cod on my table this coming Christmas...?

- Russulas have always caught my eye, ever since I started looking at mushrooms with a more inquisitory and photographic eye, on my walks in the woods nearby.

Although there are many colours for their caps, red, deep red and  very dark red, are quite common on members of these genus and you just can't avoid looking at them, since they so often contrast with the general appearance of the soil from where they pop up.

  

Since 2018, St. Pierre and Miquelon has been issuing an annual stamp illustrated with a local mushroom. 

The Russula peckii was the species chosen for the 2021 issue, with a face value of 1,28€, which began to circulate on 12JAN2021, and which can be seen on the cover.

and here's a Russula from my woods....

COVER N. 291 - FRANCE - SAINT PIERRE ET MIQUELON

Postmark: 975 - St. Pierre - St. Pierre et Miquelon 17.07.2023

Posted on the 17th July; Received on the 1st August 2023

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 My country used to be an empire, which stretched over  continents and oceans, reaching as far as what is now East Timor.

Today, and quite rightly so, Portugal is confined within the limits of its natural territorial boundaries, be it in the European Mainland, or in the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira, both archipelagos having been claimed by Portugal following the arrival of Portuguese navigators to its islands, which were, at the time, totally devoid of population.

Not so with several European countries, though, which for several reasons maintain territories that, on first thought, would look somewhat "out of place", given the geographic distance between them and their father state and/or their colonial nature.

I am not sure if  Saint Pierre and Miquelon were inhabited when the French claimed it, but the small archipelago  lies so close to Newfoundland that on first sight one would think it part of the Canadian Province. That is not the case though and, as far as I know, relations between Canada and France have never been scratched because of this territory, so croissants and baguettes  will continue to be  eaten  and paid in Euros for a long time to come, if not for ever😀.

Thanks a lot, Jeff, for the very nice cover. My friend Mr. Postman must have been wondering why I do receive mail from such unusual places....

 

On 17JUN2023, la Poste issued a souvenir sheet containing a stamp commemorative of the 60th anniversary of the creation by General de Gaulle of the Order of Merit.

For ease of exposition I'll translate the rather lengthy note on the souvenir sheet itself:

The National order of Merit (Ordre National du Mérite) was established on 3 December 1963 by General de Gaulle. Its aim is threefold: to emphasise the dynamism of society and to further individual energies, to serve as a role model and to acknowledge the diversity of French Society. Complementary to the  Legion of Honor (Légion d'Honneur) this universal order can honour French citizens in all activity domains. 

The stamp is illustrated with the decoration and the ribbons of its grades. 

The Postmark indicates that the letter was posted in Saint Pierre.

 

COVER N.56 - France - Saint-Pierre et Miquelon

Postmark: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon 23-11-21
Posted on the 23rd November; received on the 3rd December
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Saint-Pierre et Miquelon..., Saint Pierre et Miquelon.... Saint Pierre et Miquelon... (sound of fingers turning the electronic pages of Atlases and Encyclopaedias...)

Hmmm.... Discovered by  Portuguese navigator João Álvares Fagundes (well done, the Portuguese!😀) who called it the land of the eleven thousand virgins (we, the Portuguese, are so immensely creative....) in honour of Saint Ursula whose day  coincided with the date of discovery:  the 21st October, 1520. 

Hmmm,... The last remaining hold of France in what was once a huge North American territory - New France - that started to be colonised in the 16th century and that ran from as North as Newfoundland to as South as Louisiana. Over the years at the centre of the colonial dispute between France and England in the North  American continent, compounded by the emergence of the united States of America in 1776, New France would dwindle in size, its territory being either integrated into Canada or absorbed by the USA, with only 2 tiny islands in the southern extremity of Newfoundland retaining its allegiance to the European power: Saint-Pierre et Miquelon.

Today SPM is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France, with a population of around 6000, its economy, as would be expected, having been deeply rooted in fishing. In later years, though, the restrictions imposed by Canada on cod fishing (something that would also affect Portuguese fishing traditions) and the results of overfishing have had an important negative impact on the Islands' main economic activity and the Islanders are now turning to fish farming and tourism as viable sources of income and employment.

Another curious thing about SPM is that Basque was one of the languages spoken on the islands until the late 50s of last century,  Basque presence (as well as Norman and Breton, the three flags included in the unofficial flag of SPM) dating back to the 19th century as the Islands were again resettled under French ruling. Today, a Basque festival takes place every year and the unaware visitor might be surprised to see people playing Pelota Basca at such northern latitudes...

I couldn't be more happy to have received a cover from such an uncommon origin. Thank you so much Roland. Again and again, your contribution to my collection is outstanding.

Roland used what I consider to be a tremendously beautiful stamp on this letter. Issued on 06MAR2021 as a single stamp issue, denominated at 1,55€, this beautifuly engraved stamp depicts the trawler Béarn of the SPEC - Societé de Pêche et de Congélation, a  mixed capital local fishing company that finished its activity in 1974.

Unfortunatley I could not find any information specificlly related to theis particular ship but a document concerning the insdustry of fishing at SPM stated that as of 1960 SPEC had 4 chalutiers (trawlers) with another joining in in 1961. (the image of  the Béarn does seem to fit this vintage origin)

The general features of these ships were: lenght: 34 -40 m; Moulded depth 7m; speed: 9,5 - 12 knots and they were built upon a Dutch design deemed as fit for te local conditions.

SPEC Béarne is shown on the stamp against the backdrop of the East coast of Saint Pierre with SPEC's own fish freezing facility, now also decomissioned, being clearly identifiable on the shore line.