COVER N. 243 - CROATIA

Postmark: Hrvasta Posta P5121 26.04.23 

Posted on the 26th April; Received on the 3rd May 2023
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Nikola could not have been more kind, when I asked him for a stamp swap and promptly sent me the 2021 Europa  Croatian stamps I was looking for.

To do so, he also carefully composed an envelope with some nice art Croatian art stamps and sent it my way. 

Thank you so much Nikola!

Unfortunately, one of the stamps came off during transit, so the cover only exhibits two of the three stamps that constitute the set on  Croatian Painters, issued on 12OCT1994 by Hrvasta Posta (Croatian Post)

The stamp on the left is illustrated with a still life by Marino Tartaglia (1894 – 1984), a painter and a teacher at Zagreb's Academy of Fine Arts whose works show an evolution from the figurative to the abstract, probably reflecting the influences of his crossing of the Modernist period in Italy and France.

The fact that he is a well respected painter in his home country can be also inferred from the fact that his works are featured on stamps both of Yugoslavia and Croatia.

The stamp on the right end corner bears a reproduction of a painting by Milan Steiner (1894-1918).

Unfortunately Steiner lived a rather short life. It always makes you wonder when you see works of great quality, made by artists who sadly passed away in the prime of their years, what would they be producing later in their lives, had  the grim reaper chosen to go cut elsewhere...

He graduated from the Transitional Advanced School of Arts and Crafts (today’s Academy of Fine Arts) just two years before his unfortunate demise and as such he only publicly exhibited his work once, in the graduation exhibition of the works of the academy students. A sad story, but a very fine modernist artist, judging from the images I've seen of his work on the internet.

Steiner was a victim of the Spanish Flu, at the tender age of 26, in 1918, much as our great Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, who was also only 30 years old... 

I cannot find any indication of provenience in the postmark other than code P5121, which probably makes some geographic sense...

COVER N. 242 - LATVIA

Postmark: RIGA - 5?   LV-1057 - Date illegible 

Posted on ?; Received on the 2nd May 2023
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I am seriously thinking about having a column on the side of my blog, identifying friends that are as part of this blog as I am, such is their contribution to my aim of having as many postal administrations and origins represented as possible.

They are silent partners to these pages... but for them, how on earth would I be able to add some of the more exotic locations that so frequently drop in  leter form into my mailbox?

Alex, is one such case, and on top of that he reminds me of the lyrics of Sandy Denny's beautiful song "Listen"... in fact it's almost as if he was "a traveller by trade", since it looks like  he's always on the move, visiting post offices in the most unexpected places.

Thank you so much, Alex. I really appreciate your kind attention and care.

This time, I got a cover from him, from Latvia,  although the ride must not have been easy, judging from the wrinkled envelope  corner.... rain along the way, probably.

Latvia, once again stamps conjure to evoke times, good times.... 

I visited Riga once, quite a few years ago. To this day I still have the memory of an outstanding soup my wife and I would always have at the self-service restaurant where we always dinned, not far from the centre ... an esplanade, a blanket on the knees, sipping mulled wine, my first visit to an Eastern Europe  Orthodox temple ... all that and the gentle, immensely elegant sound of a  dulcimer masterfully played by a young lady who filled the late afternoon air with the beautiful intermezzo from Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana.... an avenue full of outstanding Art Nouveau buildings in need of restoration, the museum of soviet occupation full of sad stories, like occupations always entail....

as far as I can tell, using deepl translator, the legends on the souvenir sheet, comprising two 1 € stamps, issued on 15JUN2021, featuring one the flag and the other the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Latvia, read :

100 (years) Latvian Flag and Coat of Arms 

15 June 1921 - the Constituent Assembly of the Parliament of the Republic of Latvia legislated on the flag and coat of arms of the Republic of Latvia. 

On the flag, the dark red stripes represent the vital fluid of all those that died fighting for the country, flanking the pure white stripe of peace... I'm sure that the difference in proportion between the two can also be symbolically read...

As it is usually the case with heraldry, the coat of arms would take a full blog page to describe, so I'd rather let Wikipedia do the work for me... all it takes is to click  here.

Alex mailed the letter from the Capital,  whose name if one of the few things that is clearly readable on the postmark.

About a week without a working scanner, so I’ll revert to ranting, instead.

Peace, a Value for Humanity, so reads the legend used on the Portuguese stamps of this year’s EUROPA issue.

A very nice set of three stamps and three souvenir sheets as usual, one for mainland Portugal and another two for our Autonomous Regions of Madeira and Açores.

Image Credit: Facebook page of CTT Filatelia

But there’s something that….annoys me.

I know companies have to cover their costs and make money… such is the essence of the game, but I can’t help but feeling that  the issuing of EUROPA sets should almost be regarded as Public Service in what they intrinsically celebrate: the notion of an European Identity, a common ground for diverse and plural peoples and cultures, one of the most striking and uplifting ideas of modern history, a way of saying that utopia might one day come true, all in all A Value for Humanity…

... At 3 Euros a pop, for each souvenir sheet!

Usually CTT would issue the souvenir sheet with 2 stamps with the Europe 20g tariff, what made perfect sense.

If this practice had been followed this year, that would lead to a two stamp sheet with a price of 2,10 € but instead, CTT opted for a single stamp of a tariff that corresponds to nothing on their pricing table.  

The difference is that if the ancient practice would be followed, I'd be not only be able to mail 3 different friends with each complete set, thus helping out to  spread the ideia of Peace as a Value for Humanity  for much less than I now have to pay to mail just two other collectors....

This has happened before, and of course is but a way of increasing the philatelic desk revenues, which is debatable from our consumer side, but totally legitimate in what concerns the company’s management….but on this particular issue?  Especially regarding what it stands for, in the current international state of affairs?

Ethics, a Value for Humanity?

COVER N. 241 - PORTUGAL

Postmark: Filatelia 2675 - Odivelas -  24.04.2023 

Posted on the 24th April; Received on the 27th April 2023
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It is rather nice to see that whenever I receive any ordered products from the philatelic section of the Portuguese Post, they are mailed back inside envelopes with actual stamps on top of the "postage paid" pre-printed marking  of the official CTT envelopes.

This time, the kind people at the philately office went even further and sent me some airmail stickers I had asked for in a rather nice cover through Correio Azul (Blue mail - next day delivery - the 25th was an holiday here), as the corresponding sticker indicates. So let me revert to my precious mother tongue to express my most sincere

Muito Obrigado!

 

I quite like the CTT logo. The Postal service in Portugal just completed 500 years of existence in 2020, and has such, throughout its long operational life, many have been the changes . Still, for me and as far as I can remember, the image of the Correios, Telégrafos e Telefones, as the service was named when I was a lad, long before its privatisation and its re-designation as CTT  Correios de Portugal, S.A., has always been and will always be, that of the valiant postilion galloping and blowing his horn.

The original image of a postilion of the logo, created by the Portuguese painter Jaime Martins Barata, from which the current one derives, was selected in 1953, and slighty modified in 1964 and 1983.  In 2004 it would receive a more profound updating (the logo on the envelope corresponds to this version)  followed by another slight revision in 2015. 

I have to say that the very modernist logo of  1935 was a smasher too.... 

Wasn't it?

Here's the Postilion logo evolution in its 1953; 1964; 1983;  2004 and 2015 guises.

               

By way of disclaimer, I shall say that the logos were copied from available references (mostly from here) on the internet, so I expect them to fully respect the originals.

The 0,86€ stamp on the cover is part of the 1st group of  definitive stamps themed on Portuguese numismatics,  comprising 5 stamps (053; 0,78; 0,86; 0,91; 2 €) issued on 03AUG2020.

Although CTT's Philatelic service is based in Lisbon, the postmark is from Odivelas, a city that is part of Lisbon's Metropolitan Area.

COVER N. 240 - MALTA

Postmark: Marsa Malta -  18.04.2023 

Posted on the 18th April; Received on the 26th April 2023
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Marsaxlokk.... my wife and I waiting at the bus stop, after an afternoon strolling along the waterfront and dinner in one of its many restaurants (probably the cheapest...)... - spaghetti with mussels and two rather overcooked rachitic shrimps, If I remember correctly -  and the bus wouldn't come..

...and yet it was not that late,   the sun had not gone down.... 

We were seriously beginning to think that we'd have to find another way of returning to  Sliema....we did not have much money with us (or without us, for that matter....) so a taxi was out of the question....

Suddenly, coming from the end of the road a growing sonic disturbance began to impinge on the late day still air ... ah ah!, we're safe... it's the bus... the last for the day, as the driver would confirm as we boarded and asked.

To this day, I never went anywhere again by public transportation without first checking the appropriate transport schedule.

I can't really remember, at the time, there was a great variety of Bus types operating, but the one we took back to the hotel, might have been quite similar to the one  on the stamp on the cover that Albert sent me. Thanks a great lot, Albert!

Stamps, Left to right:

 - Malta buses are as famous as Cuba's American cars. Over the years, since the introduction of buses on the Islands of the archipelago, in the beginning of the 20th century, many were the types, all single deckers, I believe, that circulated in Malta and Gozo. Many would carry on to the second half of the 20th century, well into the last decades,  parading their classic complexions and shapes all along the sun drenched roads.... Malta can be very hot and humid... these buses had no air conditioning, but ridding on them with the guillotine windows fully open was a treat! 

Things have changed, though, and even if  one might miss the rather photogenic silhouettes of the old buses, ridding inside modern and air conditioned buses, protected from the 30º C and 90% humidity outside, is certainly much more comfortable...

Yet, wisely, the characteristic buses of yore were not all scrapped, I read, and in the wake of a huge restructuration of the public transport sector, many of the old buses are now still running, but as restored heritage pieces. Well done, Malta!

Acknowledging the importance of the Bus as a tourist icon, Malta Post, over the years, has issued several sets dedicated to the theme.

The 1 € stamp on the cover is part of the 2002 issue, comprising 4 stamps (0,30; 0,51; 0,59; 1 €), which began to circulate on 12FEB2022. 

The bus on the 1 € stamp is a Ford Thames in the green Sliema Livery (it seems that according to the city they were based in, the colour of the buses changed, and I do have a distinct remembrance of the buses at the place where I was staying -  Sliema - being green. Aside from green,  I remember seeing red, and yellow (at the very least) buses.

- The 0.05 € stamp, is part of a definitive issue which began to circulate on 29DEC2009, comprising 17 stamps, which were also issued together in a souvenir sheet. it depicts a stone carving from the late temple period, this period having taken place between  approximately 5.8 to 4.3 thousand years ago. 

- The 0,35 £ stamp is part of a 4 stamp set (0,09; 0,35; 2.5; 3 €)  issued on 28APR2009, themed on  Vintage Postal Transport and it is illustrated by my friends, Messrs. Postmen, leaving for the distribution run mounted on their – colorised - motorbikes. 

The postmark is rather hard to decipher but Marsa is clearly legible in one of them, and the date of expedition can also be deciphered.

COVER N. 239 - CHINA

Postmark: ?  07.04.2023 

Posted on the 7h April; Received on the 24th April 2023
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What could be better to affix a full set of aircraft related stamps than a blue envelope?

Thanks a lot Xu ! What a great cover!

There was a time when the People's Liberation Army Air Force was lagging behind the world's most developed armed forces air branches.....something which in itself was not a bad thing and even an example to be followed by the world's most developed armed forces air branches, if not for the fact that armies will always be the supreme contradiction. 

They are expensive, very expensive, way too expensive..., their primary mission is rather nasty and hopefully theoretical.. but then comes a day when, for no apparent reason, someone decides to trespass onto your backyard....and then... glory to the heroes, we shall sing, while they will unfortunately succumb.

Millions of years of evolution, and we still behave like apes! Damn! 

I like aircraft. I have always been fascinated by the way they conquer gravity and shorten distances and their  evolution  is also a measure of Man's ability to always go one step further in our relation with the physical universe in which we dwell. I am also aware that most developments in civil aviation (as a good deal of  the technologies that are so present in our daily lives that we take them for granted), from the moment someone thought about using an aircraft in a conflict context to this day, have mostly been side effects of  military activity and research, which in time have led to front page pictures like the ones that come out of  Ukraine these days, Sudan, Yemen, Syria......

Still, all the beautiful machines on the excellent cover Xu sent me could be used for other purposes then playing a stupid war game in real time, with real people.

I'm sure the Chinese Government is aware of this fact and will no doubt exploit the full capabilities of them (surely such a mean machine looking aircraft as the Chengdu J-20 can have its use outside of a war envelope: research and development, other scientific purposes, although I am not naive to the point of forgetting that Taiwan is un unsettled question...)

There was a time when the People's Liberation Army Air Force was lagging behind the world's most developed armed forces air branches.... not any more, or at least large steps are being taken to ensure that is not so....

The stamps on  the cover  constitute a set of four 1,20 Chinese renminbi yuan stamps issued on 17APR2021, dedicated to Chinese Military Aircraft.

From left to right:

- The Chengdu J-20 "Mighty Dragon" is at the forefront of the Chinese military industry. Conceived as a twin-jet all weather air superiority fighter with stealth capabilities,  the J-20 made its maiden flight in 2011 and was introduced operationally with the PLAAF in 2017, China thus becoming the second only power to field stealth aircraft, after the introduction of USAF's F-117, in October 1983.

According to the potted notes on Wikipedia, more than 210 J-20 have already been built.

- The Xi'an Y-20 Kunpeng "Chubby Girl" is a military transport aircraft, designed and developed by the Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation.

The Y-20 can transport a payload of up to 66 tons over a range of 7800 kms. First flown in 2013, in entered operational service in 2016.

- The  AVIC AG600 Kunlong "Water Dragon" is an amphibious aircraft developed by AVIC - Aviation Industry Corporation of China, which is still under development, its first flight having occurred in December, 2017. 

It has a Maximum Take Off  Weight of 53.5 Tons and a range of 4,500 Km and it will see operational use with the Chinese Coast Guard.

- The  Harbin Zhi-20 "Divine Eagle" is a medium-lift utility helicopter produced by the Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG). 

It's maiden flight took place in 2013, and in entered service with the Amy, Navy and Police forces in 2019.

Unfortunatley, I cannot decipher the postmark, although it is very clearly apposed

POSTCARD N.104 - COLOMBIA

Postcard sent on the 23rd January, received on the 18th April 2023

Postcard image: Mona Lisa and Couple Dancing by Fernando Botero 
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I have told the story before: My daughter was on holiday in Colombia and since mailing letters was too expensive and she had not enough money with her when she went to the post office, she sent some postcards to a list of friends I had given her. Of course my name was on that list too, so knowing my admiration for the works of Fernando Botero, she not only sent me this lovely postcard but also went some days later again to a post office and got me a sheet of beautiful stamps honouring the artist, on the occasion of his 90th anniversary.

My first recollection of Botero's work dates back to the eighties of last century, when Lisbon municipality organised an exhibition of the artist sculptures in what I believe is one of the most beautiful squares in the world: Praça do Comércio, in downtown Lisbon.

I remember I was totally in awe while contemplating the incredible human and animal bronze statues that filled the huge square to the joy of locals and tourists. At the time, I had to go by Praça do Comércio twice a day on my way to and from work, so I had more than a good opportunity to examine and be marvelled by those huge round and generally good humoured shapes, shinning in the early morning or late afternoon sun. 

On my travels, every now and then I come across one of his works and it's always like meeting an old friend. 

Some artists are revolutionary to the point of creating something unique, personal, unrivalled. Of course this can be said of art in general, but there are artists and there are those whose degree of uniqueness completely sets them apart from others in the compendiums of art history.... one might of course argue that all this uniqueness of style is but a way to explore the same recipe time and time again with obvious economical gain, once a certain threshold is attained…The well known Dali example springs to mind….

But before Dali the crook, there was always Dali the genious!

Picasso, Dali, Vasarely, Paula Rego, David  Hockney. to name just a well known few,.. 

Much of their work follows the same conceptual lines, themes, palettes, style, to a point of being so clearly identifiable that if the author of the piece in front of your eyes is not one such name, you feel somehow cheated, and the name of the poor painter, no matter how good he/she actually is, will never linger in your memory, overshadowed that he/she is by the monster....

Botero is one such Monster! and I would love to visit the Museum in Bogotá that bears his name to which he gave a lot of his work and personal collection.

In the meantime, I can always take a look at Marta’s card, The nice set of stamps she gave me, or the amazing fountain in campo Grande Garden, here in Lisbon, (do check by googling it, because I have never taken a photo of it).

- Covid-19, no need to tell anyone about it. all over the world, public health structures and all the vast plethora of professionals that keep them alive fought a merciless battle against a new foe, so small it could not be seen, but deadly none the less, as the 142 thousand deaths registered in Colombia up to now, so clearly illustrate.

Many were the postal administrations all over the world that issued stamps as a way of honouring all that were directly involved in the fight against the new Corona Vírus, or raising awareness on public health measures, or other public concerns, such as the tremendous effort that had to be made so that students could still have access to education when confined at home. The  10,000 Colombian Pesos stamp issued on 26AUG2020, honours this effort,  while also trying to raise funds to support the "Computers in education" programme, under the legend- “Colombia reescribe su historia - Colombia rewrites its history.

Unfortunately The origin of the Postmark is barely legible - El Poblado (Medellin) - although the  date (23JAN23) and the legend Servicio de Envios de Colombia are quite clear.