COVER N. 325 - CROATIA 

Postmark: No postmark

Posted on (?); received on the 27th September 2023

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A stamp can trigger great memories.

Thank you so much Nikola. 1998 was a great year indeed, and seeing this little souvenir sheet on the cover you sent me just made me remember a lot of things about the great EXPO 98 World Fair that took place in our capital city.

When I was a lad of four, my father would take me on long walks to up to the riverside from where we lived. I loved to see the Flying boats... I remember. These were Aquila's Airways Short Solent that were left to languish on the dock after the folding of the company by the end of the 50's of last century.

How was I to know that some 35 years later I would go to the same place to see not the Flying Boats but a myriad of dazzling spectacles which included street parades by the craziest machines one could ever think of, light and sound displays, concerts of all kinds of music, pavilions with the best that every participating country had wanted to show us of their culture and geography... and yet, there I was with my wife and daughters and millions of other visitors, happy to have the chance of a lifetime to visit such a thrilling and varied cultural showcase.

Nowadays the old derelict yards, which had accommodated an oil refinery, rusty containers and all kinds of neglected spaces, upon which the Expo was erected, are occupied by housing, with a density that probably could match that of Hong Kong or Macao, but the river front is totally unimpeded, safe for some of the infrastructures that were left in place after the Expo, like Lisbon's Oceanarium. All in all a great trade off in my opinion, even if, as I said, housing density in the area is, in my view, absolutely exaggerated.

see..? all these thoughts just from looking at a stamp...   

Within the programme of the Expo an international Stamp Exhibition was also organised, although I have no recollection of visiting it.

The souvenir sheet on the cover Nikola sent me was issued by the Croat Postal Administration celebrating this event on 03JUN1998. It depicts a Gajeta Falkusa, a type of traditional fishing boat in use in the Croat Island of Viz.

The theme of the Expo being the Oceans, boats of all types participated in the event. One of them was a Gajeta built expressly for the Expo, which is the vessel that features on the stamp in the souvenir sheet.

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. 323 - FRANCE 

Postmark: Bureau Philatélique 48 - Mende R P 19.09.2023

Posted on the 19th September; received on the 26th September 2023

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I have an imense backlog of covers and postcards to post on this humble blog of mine.

I have been away for quite a few days now and then but (thankfully) the flow of beautifull covers finishing their journey on my letterbox has not dwindled during these intermissions, so I haven't been able to catch up with time.

I am a slow writer, too. Writting, at least for me, is hard work, the more so when you try to do it in a language which is not your native one and on topics generated by the simple exercise of looking at an envelope or a postcard, so I'm not that surprised to  see that I normally can't manage to complete more than one post a day.

This said, I also have to find a way of getting back on track or else things will only get worse, which, again, is not a bad thing, since it is an indicator of how successful my decision to start collecting covers from all over the world has been, thanks to the many friends who have been kind enough to contribute to this aim, either by direct mail or through cover circuits.

One nice example of this is the beautiful cover I received from Daniel. Absolutely tops, from the stamps to the rather classy envelope with that lovely "Par Avion" band on the bottom. Un grand Merci, Daniel!

Stamps Left to right:

Between 1975 and 1984 the French PTT, issued on a yearly basis a series of stamps dedicated to the then existing French Administrative Regions which were redefined in 2016. The stamp on the cover was issued on 21JAN1978 and is dedicated to the region of Haute-Normandie, being illustrtaed with an image of the Normandie cliffs, a stilised seagul (?) a ship and a refinery, hinting at the main industrial activities of the region, and a flax flower, for linen is also one of the main products of the region.

Marianne smiles at us on the 0,10€ stamp part of the Marianne et la Jeunesse issue of 15JUL2013.

On 23APR2001 La Poste issued a four stamp souvenir sheet dedicated to woodland animals. The red squirrel on the 0,41€ or 2,70 Franc, for during the transition to the Euro phase stamps carried both denominations, was included on that sheet which also had stamps illustrated with a Roe Deer (0,46 €, 3 Franc), a Stoat (0,69€, 4,5 Franc) and an European hedgehog (also denominated at 0,46 €, 3 Franc).

On 11JAN2021 la Poste issued another four stamp souvenir sheet dedicated to Island birds. The 1,08 € stamp on the cover illustrated with a painting of a male (females have dark brown upper plumage and a streaked breast) Reunion cuckooshrike (Lalage newtoni) was part of that set. The Reunion cuckooshrike, endemic to Reunion Island is  critically endangered, the existing birds living within a 16 square km area. 

The very clear postmark informs us that the cover was mailed from the Bureau Philatélique of Mende, in the Lozère department in the South of France.

POSTCARD N.114 - LICHTENSTEIN

Postcard sent on the 09th September; received on the 26th September 2023

Postcard image: Buttercups (Ranunculus sp.)  
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A  Maxim card with lovely buttercups. A touch of spring on a dull, grey, rainy afternoon of autumn. Thank you so much, Eric.

According to biographical notes in several art minded websites, Ferdinand Gehr (1896-1996) was a Swiss painter whose work was deeply influenced by the outlook of stained glass windows.

In fact he would try to convey the high contrast and colourful nature of stained glass in his paintings, mostly of landscapes, religious figures (for he was a devout Christian) and  flowers, such as the beautiful painting of some wild buttercups against a deep blue sky, which is replicated on the stamp on the card, which, as per maxim card rules, is glued unto the face of a postcard with an image totally correlated with that on the stamp, for it equally shows some buttercups in the wild.

The Lichtenstein 1,80 Swiss Franc stamp was issued by the Swiss Post (which was responsible for Lichtenstein's postal services from 1921 to 2000)  on 03JUN1996 as part of four stamp set (0,70; 0,90; 1.10; 1.80 Franc) illustrated with flower paintings by Ferdinand Gehr , thus celebrating 1996 as the year of the centenary of the birth, which, sadly, was also the year  of  his passing.

The postmark, also as mandatory with maxim cards, is also correlated with the stamp since it was applied at Vaduz the capital of the Principality.

Eric used the following two stamps as postage to mail me the card:

- "Integration as Seen by Young People" was the theme for the Europa stamp issues of 2006. The Lichtenstein entry, which began to circulate on 06MAR2006, comprised two stamps with face values of 1,20 and 1,30 Franc, the latter having been utilised by Eric as part of the postage used to mail me the maxim card. The integration theme is clearly evident in the illustration of the stamp, conceived by Elisabeth Müssner, who, at the time, was 16 years old.  It depicts a face "integrating" several skin and hair tones, set against the flag of Lichtenstein, on which the yellow crown is replaced by the face value of the stamp. Quite clever and effective, in my opinion.

- Ruggell is the northernmost city of the Principality of Lichtenstein, quite close to the border with Austria and Switzerland, on the banks of the Rhine river.

The 0,50 Franc stamp on the cover is illustrated with  an image highlighting the  city's Parish Church and was issued on 06MAR2000, integrated in a five stamp set (0,50; 0,60; 1,10; 1,40; 1,60 Franc) with Lichtenstein village scenes.

The postmark indicates that the card was mailed from Triesenberg .

The postmark indicates that the card was mailed from the post office at Trisenberg 

COVER N. 322 - FRANCE - UNESCO

Postmark: Premier Jour - UNESCO - La Poste - Paris  08.09.2023

Posted on the 8th September; received on the 26th September 2023

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Pierre was immensely kind in sending me not only the Conseil d'Europe cover form the previous post but also this nice UNESCO first day cover, which differs from the one I had already received thanks to the help of my French friends in that it uses what I think is an official UNESCO Envelope.

Thank you so much, Pierre.

UNESCO headquarters are located at Place Fontenoy, in Paris, France. By an agreement with the French postal authorities, UNESCO service stamps, denominated in Francs first and now Euro, have been issued since 1961, these being only usable on mail posted from the UNESCO headquarters.

On 11SEP2023, celebrating 20 years of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage adopted on the 32nd Session of UNESCO's General Conference, held in Paris from the 29 September to the 17 October 2003, La Poste issued the UNESCO service stamp on the cover.

Fittingly, it is illustrated with a photo depicting a Zaouli dancer. the Zaouli being a traditional dance of the Guro people of Ivory Coast, which has been inscribed in the Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2017. 

Although officially issued on the 11th, the First day Postmark states 08.09.2023,  which I presume was  the date of advance sale.

 

COVER N. 321 - FRANCE - EUROPEAN COUNCIL

Postmark: Conseil de L'Europe Premier Jour - 67 Strasbourg - 08.09.2023

Posted on the 8th September; received on the 26th September 2023

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Ukraine... these days, if you turn on the TV, it might seem that there is nothing happening there with all the mediatic attention shifted towards the other atrocity arena in Palestine.... but yes, the same brutality that obliterates innocent lives in Gaza after the coward, vile and  and absolutely unjustifiable hamas terrorist attack in Israel still rages strong in Eastern Europe.

Hatred is a very productive sentiment.... the bad news is that it generally generates but.... an enhanced replication chain of itself...

"...

When will they ever learn?

When will we ever learn.....?

"

Europe has been standing behind the Ukraine, even if voices of dissent have been making their way amidst the initial general consensus. And so it should, until the day when either by attrition of by sheer force the conflict finally subsides to reason, 

And come that day, all will have lost, for there is no victory in war, even if there might be victors.

Hatred, on the other hand....

Thank you so Much Pierre for a great addition to my cover collection!

On 11SEP2023, La Poste issued a 1.80 2€ service stamp for the European Council at Strasbourg, illustrated with a detail of a street art painting by artist C215 (Christian Guemy) who has done several interventions on buildings in war torn Ukraine cities, like Kyiv, Lviv and Jytomyr.

The painting on the stamp, though, graces an apartment block in Paris13th arrondissement.

The postmark on the stamp and on what I believe is an official European Council Envelope, dates of the 8th, so that's probably the date of advance selling of the stamp for philatelists.

POSTCARD N.113 - SRI LANKA

Postcard sent on the 04th September; received on the 22nd September 2023

Postcard image: Temple of the tooh relic, Kandy (17th-18th centuries A.D.)  
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Postcards are indeed a bygone habit these days. I do remember the times we would go into any main town and there would always be a kiosk selling newspapers, cigarettes, chewing gums and candy, and, of course, postcards....

Not anymore. Much as "video killed the radio star", email killed the postcard and the letter... I'm sure that if it was today, the  Box Tops hit would be called "The email" and the chorus would go "My baby, just wrote me an email..."

That being said, I would not be surprised if postcards would make their comeback, fuelled by nostalgia first and then by discovery. Nostalgia for those like me who still remember writing them at least while on holidays to friends and relatives or prospective sweethearts, and discovery for the young people who   "discover" the enchantment of analogical existence and suddenly crave for vinyl records, video tape recording, analogue photography, lego blocks, and so on, as marks of  socio-intellectual differentiation and modernity....

The fact is that I do love to receive a postcard. And there are those who do like it much more than me. Sometimes I peruse Postcrossing statistics and it is not uncommon to find people who have sent and thus received thousands of postcards. Now if we translate this into economic terms, is means that they have injected thousands of their currency units into the system just by putting a stamp onto a 10x15 piece of card with a photograph.

Economies never let go of business opportunities, so maybe Postcard sending will reach its critical mass point again in the future... who knows?

Meanwhile, it is always a joy to receive a classic, tourist postcard, illustrated with a view of a local landmark, such as this one. Thank you so much, Ravindra. Truly appreciated.

Postcards are also sources of knowledge. I did not know of the existence of  temple  consecrated to the safeguarding of a tooth of Buddha, and of the legend associated to it which says that the keepers of the tooth are those that are entitled to rule the country. 

The legend, the relic and the temple are of such prominence that UNESCO, in 1988, declared the complex, in fact the whole Sacred City of Kandy, a World Heritage Site, based on evaluation criteria IV and V:

(iv)

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.

(v)

to be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change.

As for stamps, Ravindra used the following (left to right):

- "The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) was founded in 1911 as the Empire Parliamentary Association, which later became the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in 1948", states a document on  CPA's website.

Its 58th conference took place in Sri Lanka in 2012 and to mark the occasion Sri Lanka Post issued, on 11SEP2012, a 5 Rupee stamp featuring an image of the Parliament Building, with the parliament ceremonial Mace the logo of the conference in the foreground.

-

As Armas e os barões assinalados 

Que da Ocidental praia Lusitana

Por mares nunca dantes navegados

Passaram inda além da Taprobana
... 

The feats of Arms, and famed heroick Host,⁠

⁠from occidental Lusitanian strand,

⁠who o'er the waters ne'er by seaman crost,

⁠farèd beyond the Taprobáne-land
... 
(source: The Lusiads (tr. Burton)/Canto I - Wikisource, the free online library)

Tapobrana... the distant land beyond which the Portuguese fared as narrated in the first stanza of our National Epic, The Lusiads, by Luís de Camões ... Tapobrana...the kingdom of Ceylon.

A former British colony, Ceylon became independent in 1948 and changed its designation to Sri Lanka in 1972.

The 75th anniversary of  independence was  celebrated by Sri Lanka Post with the 50 Rupee stamp on the cover, issued on 02FEB2023, which features the slogan "A step towards the centenary 1948-2048" alongside a miniature image of the Independence Hall, a monument in Colombo, completed in 1953, which celebrates the independence of the country from British Rule.

- 2019 was proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations as the International Year of Indigenous Languages, calling on the attention of the world to a vast heritage, of which part is in danger of disappearance either by reverse assimilation of by erosion of speakers.

Of note here is the fact that amongst these languages (although not strictly an indigenous language, I believe,  since it is the product of the interaction and inter-development of a bridge idiom between existing different idioms)  one could possibly count Sri Lankan Portuguese Creole, which to this day is still spoken by a very small number of Sri Lankans.

Highlighting the UN General Assembly decision, Sri Lanka Post issued a 15 Rupee stamp on 06OCT2019, illustrated with the logo chosen to represent the International Year of the Indigenous Languages.

The stamps are cancelled with a postmark from The headquarters of the Post Office at Colombo, the economic capital of Sri Lanka.