Åland – Frama Series of Postal Labels

The 3rd and last part of the FRAMA series featuring various types of buoyage systems were issued on 1.2.2011. First presented was the Russian system and, this year, a system of A buoys were illustrated. The 2011 issue completes the three-year series featuring buoyage. Ella sent this nice cover.

Nordic Countries -The North By the Sea - Life at the Coast

Nordic Countries -The North By the Sea - Life at the Coast

The Nordic countries are separated, or united, by the water surrounding them. The coasts offer great variation with long stretches of sandy beaches or smooth rocks for swimming and sunbathing. Leafy archipelagos, deep fjords and dramatic coastlines with barren rocks and ice offer splendid nature experiences, while the coastal towns turn their most attractive side towards the water.

The people living along the coasts have always adapted to and drawn on their proximity to the sea for both their enjoyment and their livelihood as well. My friend Ella sent me this lovely stamp book, which has the 2010 issues of stamps of ‘Life at the Coast’ series of stamps of the Nordic countries in minisheets. This was a joint issue on 24 March 2010. Over the next couple of days I shall display these gems for your pleasure. A word of advice – please click on the pictures to enlarge them and derive the maximum out of the display.

Yugoslavia – International Maritime Organization (IMO)

The First Day Cover commemorates the 25^th Anniversary of the Organisation Maritime Internationale or better known as International Maritime Organization, UN. The stamp and cover was issued on 17.3.1983 by the erstwhile Yugoslavia. This cover was sent to me by Karoly from Serbia.The International Maritime Organization (IMO), formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO), was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959. The IMCO name was changed to IMO in 1982. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, the IMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations with 169 Member States and three Associate Members. The IMO's primary purpose is to develop and maintain a comprehensive regulatory framework for shipping and its ambit today includes safety, environmental concerns, legal matters, technical co-operation, maritime security and the efficiency of shipping. IMO is governed by an Assembly of members and is financially administered by a Council of members elected from the Assembly. The work of IMO is conducted through five committees and these are supported by technical subcommittees. Member organizations of the UN organizational family may observe the proceedings of the IMO. Observer status is granted to qualified non-governmental organizations. The IMO is supported by a permanent secretariat of employees who are representative of its members. The secretariat is composed of a Secretary-General who is periodically elected by the Assembly, and various divisions such as those for marine safety, environmental protection, and a conference section.

Finland – Sailing Ships

The stamps on the FDC displayed were issued on 19.5.1997. The six sailing ships on the stamps were: -

(a) Astrid - Astrid, built in 1918 in Scheveningen, the Netherlands, was built as a cargo ship, and traded in the Baltic until the mid seventies. A period of dubious trade under the Lebanese flag followed, until a fire destroyed the ship and she was found off the English coast in 1984. Her strong hull survived, and she was saved by two British ex naval officers, who used her as a sail training ship for young people. She was given her imposing rig and made Atlantic crossings. Since 1998 Astrid is back in her native Holland and she has been fully restored and equipped as a luxury sailing ship.

(b) Jacobstads Wapen - The Jacobstads Wapen is a modern replica of an 18th century galeas built in Jakobstad, Finland between 1988-1994. She is built according to blueprints by the Swedish warship architect Fredrik Henrik af Chapman (1720-1808) dating from 1755, the oldest vessel blueprints found in Finland. She is classified by the Finnish national board of navigation as a passenger, special-purpose vessel. The 18th century galleon Jacobstads Wapen was sold off in Amsterdam. She has been used as a symbol for Jakobstad but as of late has had financial problems. She participated in the festivities at the 300-year anniversary of St. Petersburg, Russia in 2003. In 2005 it was discovered that some of the woodwork had deteriorated and is currently awaiting renovations.

(c) Suomen Joutsen – The fullrigger Suomen Joutsen (ex Laënnec, ex Oldenburg)
Ship was built in St Nazaire 1902 and sailed as a cargo vessel under French and German flags until 1930. She was purchased by Finland as a training vessel for the Finnish navy in 1930 and renamed Suomen Joutsen (The Swan of Finland).
She made eight training voyages in 1930’s and served as a mothership and support vessel during the WWII.
In 1960’s she was rebuild as a stationed Naval trade School. The Suomen Joutsen became a museum vessel in 1988. She is currently stationed at the Forum Marinum, Turku, Finland.

(d) Tradewind - The Tradewind is a Dutch topsail schooner. She was built in the Netherlands in 1911 as a herring lugger named Sophie Theresia. In 1952, she was refitted for use as a coastal merchantman and an engine was added. She was renamed Aaltje en Willem. In the 1970s, when it was no longer economical to run her as a commercial vessel, she was converted to a house-boat, then later to a charter boat.

(e) Merikokko lifeboat - 1997 The Finish Lifeboat Society celebrated its hundredth anniversary. The society has over hundred vessels and boats, and more as 10.000 members. To honour the society one of their lifeboats is shown, she is the MERIKOKKO and was built in the 1930s, she operated from Utö. She has an engine, but is also fitted out with sails

(f) Sigyn - Sigyn, built in Göteborg 1887, now museum ship in Turku, is the last remaining wooden barque used for trade across the oceans. At the time she was built there were thousands of similar vessels, but she was one of the last ones built. She was quite small even for her time, considering she was built for long-distance trade, but well built and considered fast and beautiful.

This lovely FDC was sent to me By Brita.

Biodiversity Issue

Malaysia – Suzuki Cup 2010

The 2010 AFF Cup, sponsored by Suzuki and officially named the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, took place on December 1–29, 2010. Indonesia and Vietnam hosted the preliminary stage from 1 to 7 December for Group A and 2 to 8 December for Group B. The semi-finals were played home and away with the first legs on 15 and 16 December 2010, and the second legs on 18 and 19 December 2010. The final was played over two legs on 26 December 2010 and 29 December 2010. Indonesia appeared in their fourth final while the Philippines qualified for the semi-finals for the first time under the management of Simon McMenemy. Malaysia subsequently won their first ever title since they first appeared in the final in the inaugural edition, beating Indonesia 4-2 on aggregate in the finals. Malaysia became the first nation to win the AFF Cup (including tournaments held under earlier formats), despite losing two games in the tournament (both to Indonesia). This nice FDC with the lovely commemorative stamps was sent to me by Budin.

Åland - M/S Alandia & Apollo 1.2.2011

Viking Line is a Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of ferries and cruiseferries between Finland, the Åland Islands, Sweden and Estonia. The 2011 Passenger Ferries stamps feature two of the ships that have been used during the years for the Aland Route and these are the M/S Alandia and M/A Apollo. My friend Ella sent this nice FDC.

Canada - "Fergie" Jenkins

Chinese Folklore

These two lovely FDCs were sent to me by Zhang Tianyu. The paintings on the stamps tell the folklore of the popular tale “The Cowherd and the Weaving Maid”.

Greetings 18.3.2009

This FDC with five stamps was issued by Finland on 18.3.2009. It symbolises personal greetings and acknowledgement on different occasions. The translations of the words on the sides of the stamps are as follows :-

Hei – Hello

Tervetuloa – Welcome

Onnea – Congratulations

Terveisin – With Best Regards

Kiitos – Thank You

The translation and the very pretty FDC was given to me by my Friend Ella.

Ukraine - The Ukrainian "Michelangelo”

Western Ukraine is the homeland of one of the most profound and intriguing altar sculptors of the 18th century – the famous artist known as Master Johann Pinzel (1751 – 1770s). Master Pinzel, whose real name remains a mystery, is most known as the founder of “Lviv Rococo” style in art and the author of beautiful altars and sculptures he made in Buchach and Horodenka. The famous sculptor, was rightfully named the ‘Ukrainian Da Vinci Code.’ “Mysterious” he is, in a very literal meaning of this word. We do not know where the sculptor was born, where he was trained, to which lands he traveled, where and when he died. We do not even know for sure how to spell correctly his first and middle name. The Polish spelling gives us “Jan Jerzy” (pronounced yan yezhi); the German spelling suggests “Johann Georg.” But if he was of Ukrainian descent he could have been “Ivan.” Pinzel is all we have for certain. And his amazing sculptures which can be seen on the facade of the Cathedral of St Jura (George) in the city of Lviv, in the Museum of the Sacral Arts, in the Art Museum of the city of Ternopil, and in the town of Buchach. We know that Pinzel’s art flourished in the mid-eighteenth century and that he must have died in the 1770s. We know that he decorated with his sculptures churches and city halls in the towns and villages of Monastyryska, Horodenka, Hodovytsya, Pidkamin and Zolochev. We know that he worked mostly in Buchach in the 1740s and 1750s, and spent the final years of his life in Lviv. We know that he created sculpture for the City Hall in Buchach for both Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Pinzel’s works are so original that they do not fit any art trend of the eighteenth century and no other sculptor of his time can be found who would rival the power of his images. They are distant echoes of High Baroque in Pinzel’s works, and at the same time they look like precursors of the twentieth-century art movement of Expressionism. Pinzel produced a series of works of unrivalled virtuosity, completely emancipated from the material in which they were created — plasterwork, stone and wood. Pinzel’s characteristic formula of sculpture can be described as throwing the draperies into a violent turmoil, the complicated and broken involutions of which are not rationally explained by the figure’s real bodily movement but seem paroxysmally informed by the miracle itself. The stamps depicting the paintings of Pinzel, namely ‘Mother of God” and ‘The Angel’ were released in Ukraine to commemorate this great Artist. Michael sent me this FDC.

Malaysia – Stamp Week 1996

1996 Stamp Week was the first stamp week organised by POS Malaysia from 2 - 7 December 2006. It was held in GPO Kuala Lumpur. The Stamp Week was a really great event with more than 15 booths of stamp dealers (if I remember clearly) from local and other Asia countries participated. The artist for this set of stamps on Wild Life on the Miniature Sheet was Mr Tay Yew Kiang,

Moomins 27.1.1994

Moomins once again. I simply love those characters. Brita sent me this delightful First Day Cover.

Bird's

This miniature sheet of 6 bird stamps was issued in China in 2008. It was given to me by Gong some time ago. I had published it on a friends web page some time back. It became an overnight hit. I was surprised at the number of swap request letters and mails I received.

Kiribati - Commonwealth Day 1983

Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations held on the second Monday in March, and marked by a multi-faith service in Westminster Abbey. Kiribati celebrated Commonwealth Day in 1983 by issuing these four delightful stamps and the nice First Day Cover. Normally attended by Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, with the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth High Commissioners in London. The Queen delivers an address to the Commonwealth, broadcast throughout the world. Also, in the year before the quadrennial Commonwealth Games, the Queen starts the Queen's Baton Relay on Commonwealth Day at Buckingham Palace, handing the baton to the first relay runner to start a journey that will end at the Opening Ceremony of the upcoming Games, which were held in Delhi in 2010. While it has a certain official status, Commonwealth Day is not a public holiday, and in most Commonwealth countries and there is little public awareness of it.

Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. It is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, (1,351,000 square miles) straddling the equator, and bordering the International Date Line at its easternmost point. The name Kiribati is the local pronunciation of "Gilberts", derived from the main island chain, the Gilbert Islands. Kiribati became independent from the United Kingdom in 1979. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the IMF and the World Bank, and became a full member of the United Nations in 1999.

Mauritius - Extinct Mauritian Giant Tortoises

The Mauritius Post Ltd issued on 16 July 2009 a set of 4 postage stamps depicting the extinct giant tortoises of Mauritius and Rodrigues. The Mascarene Islands of Mauritius, Réunion and Rodrigues once harboured 5 species of giant tortoises, with 2 occurring on Mauritius and 2 on Rodrigues. The name Cylindraspis actually means Cylinder-shaped. They differed from any other giant tortoise species, with modified jaws, reduced scales on the legs and shells averaging 1 mm thick. The need for protective armour was no longer required because of the absence of predators on the islands. With the arrivals of humans in the 16th century and the subsequent introduction of domestic animals, especially pigs, the tortoises were rapidly hunted to extinction.

Malaysia - Highland Tourist Spots

Pos Malaysia released the second stamp issue for year 2011 on February 21, 2011. Four stamps depicting popular tourist spots in Malaysia were issued - Penang Hill (50s), Cameron Highlands (60s), Mt. Mat Cincang (90s) and Kundasang (RM1). Pos Malaysia also released a set of four maxicards for this issue.

Åland - Mariehamn 150 years - Jt Åland-Russia Issue 27.2.2011

2011 marks 150 years since the founding of Mariehamn. Åland Post celebrates the anniversary by issuing a miniature sheet featuring Empress Maria Alexandrovna as well as part of the first town plan for Mariehamn. The issue is a joint issue with the Russian Post. The Åland miniature sheet to be issued 21 February is a unique joint issue in cooperation with the Russian Post. The Åland and the Russian miniature sheets will have a similar if not identical design, both featuring the Empress Consort. In connection with the issue, a presentation pack holding both the Åland and the Russian miniature sheets and FDCs will be made available. Åland Post will also be producing an exclusive additional edition of 4000 numbered and gold embossed Åland miniature sheets. a certificate signed on Feb. 20, 1861, establishes the status of the city. On the mail box on a map of Mariehamn is a portrait of Empress Maria Alexandrovna (1857) Brush FK Winterhalter from the Hermitage collection.

In 1859, Tsar Alexander II of Russia recommended that a town be established in Åland close to the Svibyviken bay. Two years later, he issued a charter of foundation and the town was named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Maria Alexandrovna was born in 1824 in Darmstadt, Germany, and Empress Consort of Tsar Alexander II of Russia from 1855 until her death in 1880. Mariehamn was founded around the village of Övernäs in the parish of Jomala. County architect Georg Theodor von Chiewitz prepared a four-part town plan with grid-based street network. Ella sent me this wonderful First Day Cover.

Falkland Islands – Death Centenary of Sir Rowland Hill

Falkland Islands issued this wonderful FDC and the miniature sheet with the stamp honouring Sir Rowland Hill KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 - 27 August 1879) on his 100^th Death Anniversary. Sir Rowland was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of penny postage and his solution of prepayment, facilitating the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters. Hill later served as a government postal official, and he is usually credited with originating the basic concepts of the modern postal service, including the invention of the postage stamp. Gowri gave me this nice FDC.

Canada - Native Artist Daphne Odjig

Canada Post has issued three new stamps featuring the artwork of Canadian aboriginal artist Daphne Odjig on 21.2.2011. The minisheet on the cover sent to me by Guy Dorval feature three of Odjig’s acrylic pieces. Each painting, Spiritual Renewal (1984), Pow-wow Dancer (1978), and Pow-wow (1969), is a representation of Odjig’s passion for the arts and love of her native heritage. “Daphne’ Odjig’s colourful palette evokes strength and power,” said Jim Philips, Canada Post’s Director of Stamp Services.

Daphne Odjig, CM, LL.D. (b. September 11, 1919), is an influential Canadian First Nations artist of Odawa-Potawatomi-English heritage. Her many awards include the Order of Canada and the Governor General's Award. Her painting is often characterized as Woodlands Style. Daphne Odjig was the driving force behind the Indian Group of Seven.First Nations is a term of ethnicity that refers to the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The total population is nearly 700,000 people. Under the Employment Equity Act, First Nations are a "designated group", along with women, visible minorities, and persons with physical or mental disabilities. They are not defined as a visible minority under the Act or by the criteria of Statistics Canada. The term First Nations (most often used in the plural) has come into general use for the indigenous peoples of the Americas located in what is now Canada, except for the Arctic-situated Inuit, and peoples of mixed European-First Nations ancestry called Métis. The singular, commonly used on culturally politicised reserves, is the term First Nations person (when gender-specific, First Nations man or First Nations woman). A more recent trend is for members of various nations to refer to themselves by their tribal or national identity only, e.g., "I'm Haida," or "We're Kwantlens," in recognition of the distinctiveness of First Nations ethnicities.

Drops of Happiness 22.1.2008

Ella sent me this lovely FDC which depicts all that is good in us humans. Each of the five stamps in the shape of a drop represents a different facet of human attachment for another person. On one stamp, the designer represents the love between two people with two swans embracing. Eternal friendship is expressed by a teddy bear hugging a heart. Valentine’s Day is celebrated with a layer cake. Magical enchantment is depicted by a stamp on which the god of love Cupid is shooting an arrow. Togetherness is shown on a stamp on which three friends are celebrating their friendship. The stamps were designed especially for Valentine’s Day greetings.

Pitcairn Island - Green Turtles on Henderson Island

Chelonia mydas, commonly known as the Green turtle, is a large sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The range of the species extends throughout tropical and sub tropical seas with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific. With a flattened body, a beaked head at the end of a short neck, and paddle-like arms well adapted for swimming, it derives its common name from the green fat underneath its shell. Adults are known to grow to 1.5 m long and the average weight of mature individuals is around 200 kilograms. Males are larger than females and neither can pull their heads inside their shells. The carapace of the turtle is known to have various colour patterns that change over time. Hatchlings are mostly black, while juveniles are dark brown and adults are entirely brown, spotted or marbled. Sea turtles spend almost all their lives submerged but must breathe air for the oxygen. With a single exhalation and rapid inhalation, sea turtles can quickly replace the air in their lungs. They can rest or sleep underwater for several hours at a time, but submergence time is much shorter while diving for food or to escape predators as their breath-holding ability is affected by activity and stress. Although their habitat is the sea, Pacific green turtles are known to crawl onto secluded beaches during the day to bask in the sun. The ecology of Chelonia mydas changes drastically with each succeeding stage of its life history. For instance, newly emerged hatchlings are carnivorous and pelagic (ocean going), while immature juveniles and adult turtles are commonly found in sea-grass meadows closer inshore as herbivorous grazers. Gowri gave this minisheet to me.

Albert Einstein 4.3.1979

Today is this great scientist's 132nd Birth Anniversary. The FDC displayed was issued to comemorate his Centenary. Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who discovered the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics. He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect".

Cyprus through the Ages

Merja sent these lovely Miniature sheets. The Department of Postal Services issued a series of four commemorative stamp issues, one every year, entitled "Cyprus through the Ages" from 2007 to 2010, on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Cyprus. The stamps of this series, as well as the Definitive stamps of 2007 are the first to be denominated in dual currency, i.e. in Cyprus pounds and euro. The fourth and final issue in the series commemorating Cyprus' 50th Anniversary of Independence. Miniature sheets depict: -

The Treaty of Sevres (1920) and Lausanne (1923), The Government House, The Imprisoned Graves, Gregoris Afxentiou (1928-1957), The Presidential Palace, The Turkish Invasion (1974), Cyprus' accession to the European Union (2004), Fifty Years of the Republic of Cyprus (1960-2010).

The Archaic period (750-480 B.C.): During the Archaic Period, Cyprus was divided into cities-kingdoms, which minted their own coins, on which the symbols of the kingdom and the king were represented. The island knew a period of prosperity because of the commercial contacts with Greece and the eastern Mediterranean.

Classical period (480-310 B.C.): The Classical Period was marked by the struggles between the Greeks and the Persians for the conquest of Cyprus. Despite the superiority of the Persians, leading figures, such as the Athenian General Kimonas and the Phil Hellenic king of Salamis, Evagorasj succeeded in keeping alive the Hellenic orientation of the island, both in the political and cultural life of Cyprus.

The Hellenistic period (310-30 B.C.): The Persian rule on the island was definitely terminated in 332 B.C., with the conquest at Cyprus by Alexander the Great who replaced the local coinage with his own. Alter his death, Cyprus fell into the hands of Ptolemy I, Macedonian king of Egypt and was integrated into the Hellenistic Kingdom of Egypt (310-30 B.C.), resulting in the suppression of the kingdoms of Cyprus and the predominance of Alexandrian patterns in the architecture and art of that period.

The Roman Period (30 B.C.-324 A.D.): Cyprus enjoyed great prosperity during the Roman Period. The bronze statue at the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus, the biggest ancient statue found in Cyprus until now, is a sample of this prosperity. In 45 A.D., Christianity started being spread in Cyprus by Apostle Paul, who included the island in his missionary journeys.

The Early Byzantine period (324-481 A.D.): In 324 A.D., Cyprus became part of the Byzantine world. The most noteworthy event of the beginning of the Byzantine period (324-481 A.D.) was the granting of autocephaly to the Church of Cyprus in 448 A.D. and the attribution of imperial privileges to the Archbishop of the Island by the Byzantine Emperor on the occasion of the discovery of the holy relics of Apostle Barnabas and Saint Mark's Gospel on top of them.

Moomins 9.10.1992

Once again I have the pleasure of displaying a wonderful First Day Cover with Moomin stamps. This was issued on 9.10.1992. Brita sent me this cover. The picture on the cover is also very sweet, with those three characters, who seem to be very afraid of something. Brita sent me this wonderful cover.

USA - Martin Luther King, Jr13.1.1979

These stamps and the First day cover were issued on 13.01.1979 to commemorate the 50th Birth Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968), who was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. King is often presented as a heroic leader in the history of modern American liberalism. A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history. In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.