Pioneers of Philately - Sir Rowland Hill 5.12.1968

The stamp on the FDC is one of a set of 8 stamps, commemorating Pioneers of Philately and very appropriately the first stamp is that of Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879). Sir Roland was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post 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.

Thank you Merja.

The 78th FFAP Congress, Nancy 5.5.2005

The stamp, in panoramic format is a drawing and engraving by P. Albuisson, and it represents the Place Stanislas by night.

From 5 to 8 May, Nancy successfully hosted the 78th congress of the FFAP
It was the occasion to discover the capital of Lorraine which celebrates in 2005 
The 250th anniversary of Place Stanislas 

The 78th Congress of the FFAP exhibition XVIIIth century linked with the 250th anniversary of the Place Stanislas took place in Nancy 2005 with a presentation of the Academy of philately with the Petite Poste of Nancy, pieces of the Museum Of Riquewihr, many French, Lorraine and Polish postal brands. A philatelic animation was set up with transport of mail by mail and balloon.

1984 Filacento Stamp Exhibition FDC First Day Cove 13.6.1984

 1984 CENTENARY OF ORGANIZED PHILATELY IN THE NETHERLANDS AND "FILACENTO" INTERNATIONAL STAMP EXHIBITION THE HAGUE

Stamp Centenary 13.3.1976

Stamp Centenary

Philatelic Congress in Rouen in France 24.4.1976

The stamp and FDC were issued to commemorate the Philatelic Congress in Rouen in France in 1976. 

Rouen is a city on the River Seine in the north of France. It is the capital of the region of Normandy. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, Rouen was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy during the Middle Ages. It was one of the capitals of the Anglo-Norman dynasties, which ruled both England and large parts of modern France from the 11th to the 15th centuries.

Philatelist's Day 11.8.1987

The se-tennant set of stamps on this East German FDC commemorates the "Philatelist's Day" in 1987. The stamps depict Post Offices and the cover shows a postal wagon of old.

Thank you Merja.

1968 National Congress of Philatelic Societies 7.9.1968

France 1968 National Congress of Philatelic Societies, Beziers 1 value stamp depicting Cathedral and Old Bridge, of Beziers.  

Béziers Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Nazaire-et-Saint-Celse de Béziers), is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Béziers, France. The structure dates from the thirteenth century and was erected on the site of an earlier building which was destroyed during the Massacre at Béziers in the Albigensian Crusade.

The cathedral was formerly the seat of the Bishopric of Béziers, which was suppressed by the Concordat of 1801 and merged into the Diocese of Montpellier.

Thank you Merja.

Netherlands Stamp Day 8.10.1993

Netherlands 1993   Stamp Day.    2 stamp set depicts an animated Carrier Pigeon (Dove) with Letter and Radio Dish Aerial.

Definitives with Regional Themes (Wales) 8.4.1981

25th Anniversary of the Spanish Federation of Philatelic Societies 27.9.1988

On the occasion of the 25^th Anniversary of the Spanish Federation of Philatelic Societies, Spain issued this cover and the 20 peseta stamp on it.

The stamp depicts Stamps of the International Year of Peace in a wrapper bearing the Emblem of the Spanish Federation of Philatelic Societies.

Thank you Merja.

50th Congress of the Federation of French Philatelic Societies, Annecy, in France 28.5.1977

On the occasion of the 50^th Congress of the Federation of French Philatelic Societies, which was held at Annecy, in France from May 28-30, 1977, the postal department of France issued this first day cover and the stamp on it with a special postmark.

The Château d'Annecy, shown on the stamp, is a restored castle which dominates the old French town of Annecy in the Haute-Savoie département. It was bought by the town, restored and transformed into a museum, le musée-château d'Annecy. The castle is listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

My friend Merja gave me this FDC.

Britain’s Northernmost Post Office Haroldswick Unst Shetland 1.7.1972

Haroldswick or Harold's Wick (Old Norse: Haraldsvík, meaning "Harald's bay"), is on Unst, Shetland Islands, and is one of the most northerly settlements in the British Isles.

The wick takes its name from the Viking King Harald, and is reputed to be the first landing point for the Vikings on the Shetland Islands. A Viking grave, attributed to Harold, has been found on the nearby Setter's Hill, overlooking the landing point.

The bay is located some 615 km (382 mi) north of the closest UK city, Inverness, in Scotland's Highland region and 1,310 km (810 mi) from London. Even Lerwick, the Shetland's capital and only town, is some 96 km (60 mi) to the south. However, Haroldswick's claim to be the northernmost settlement in the UK is surpassed by the tiny hamlet of Norwick-Skaw, situated 8 km (5.0 mi) to the north.

The Methodist Church at Haroldswick is the most northern church in Britain.

For many years, Haroldswick Post Office was the most northerly in the UK and visitors could get a special postmark. Since the office's closure in 1999, this record is now held by the post office in Baltasound. 

Thanks to Merja, I am now one of the lucky ones having a cover with a special postmark of Haroldswick Post Office.

Singapore - Liechtenstein - Joint stamp issue 10.11.2014

To mark the strengthened relations, Singapore Post and Philatelie Liechtenstein released a joint stamp issue on 10.11.2014. This is the first joint stamp issue between the two postal organisations.

The Singapore-Liechtenstein joint stamp issue comprises two stamp designs "Singapore" and "Liechtenstein" with the value of S$1.30 each.  

Liechtenstein, which is located between Austria and Switzerland, lies at the heart of Europe. It is the fourth-smallest state in Europe and sixth-smallest country in the world. The capital of Liechtenstein is Vaduz which is home to many historical and cultural attractions.

The Liechtenstein stamp is part of a painting, "Looking at Vaduz" by Ms Hong Sek Chern from Singapore who is well known in Asia for her ink paintings. The painting is an attempt to depict the town of Vaduz in a non-homogenous way. It depicts an aerial view of the town of Vaduz, aspects of the national bank and Vaduz cathedral incorporated into the middle portion and suggestions of snowscape in other portions.

Singapore, which lies at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, is a bustling cosmopolitan city with landscape populated by high-rise buildings and gardens. One interesting facet about Singapore is a ubiquitous collage of cultures, where people of different ethnicities and beliefs coexist in unity.

The Singapore stamp is designed by Jens W Beyrich, an artist working in Liechtenstein. It illustrates his perception of Singapore. The stamp design is developed along a mathematical concept. The design looks like a complex structure with six equally sided and sized triangles that can configured into 12 possible different arrangements. It can fit all the 12 different pieces into a surface of a rhomb with a six-fold side length. Rotating the rhomb structure around one of its large angle corners generates a regular hexagon, and with some imagination, a visual of a cube. The artwork symbolises virtues and essentials of Singapore that has equilibrium of amazing progress and growth despite complexity.

30th Anniversary of Aland Postage stamps 20.11.2014

The first Åland stamps were issued 1 March 1984 (please see those first issues under the Label Åland in this blog).
Approximately 15 stamps describing Åland nature, culture, history, society and autonomy are issued every year.

The Åland post office doesn’t issue large stamp editions. An edition of about 300.000-500.000 of each stamp is normal.

The themes are always chosen with great care and artistic sense.  

The Åland postal services have also attracted attention at exhibitions and contests around the world. The greatest merit so far is the first prize in the contest “The most beautiful stamp of Europe 1997.” The theme of the winning stamp was  “Ålands independence 75 years”.
The stamps on this cover have been cancelled with a special postmark marking 30 years of Åland stamps.

Thank you Ella.

Spain 8.10.1980 - ESPAMER-80

The King of Spain, Don Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, declared open on 8.10.1980, at the Palacio de Cristal de la Casa de Campo the most important philatelic exhibition that has been organized so far in Spain, called Espamer 80, where the elite meet Stamp collectors from America and Europe, responding to the motto Spain, bridge between two cultures of America and Europe..

 At the exhibition, which will be the culmination of the four others of this kind that have been held so far, involved, Spain, and twenty European and American countries. Over a hundred million pesetas was the budget for this sample, whose preparation took one year. Government support has been instrumental, through an organizing committee chaired by the Minister of Transport and Communications. The main objectives of the exhibition were designed to serve the promotion of philately in the participating countries and strengthen the bonds of friendship and fellowship.

As is usual in this type of exhibitions, a series of commemorative postage stamps were issued on this occasion a leaf block of four stamps further comprising two bullets, no postal value, with the emblem of the exhibition.

Thank you Maria.

Australia 26.9.1984 - AUSIPEX 84

National Stamp Week 27.9.1976

An 18c stamp and a miniature sheet of four 18c stamps were issued at all Australian post offices and philatelic sales centres on the opening day of National Stamp Week, 27th September, 1976.

This was only the third miniature sheet in Australian philatelic history. The previous two miniature sheets were issued in 1928 during an international philatelic exhibition in Melbourne and in 1970 to mark the Cook Bicentenary celebrations.

Mr. Ray Honisett's National Stamp Week designs feature a portrait of Blamire Young (1862-1935) an English-born water colourist who played a leading part in the design of the 1913 Kangaroo and Map stamp series, Australia's first uniform stamp issue.

The miniature sheet is intended to illustrate progressive colour steps in photogravure stamp printing. The first stamp is printed in yellow, the second has red added to the yellow base and a further colour effect is achieved in the third stamp by the addition of blue

The Kangaroo stamps of Australia, commonly known as Roos, were the Kangaroo and Map series of definitive stamps of the Australian Commonwealth first issued in 1913. They were issued in 1913, over 12 years after Federation. Although the delay had several causes, one of the major reasons was political wrangling regarding the design. There was a considerable amount of opposition to any inclusion of British royal symbols or profiles.

A design completion was announced in 1911, and several designs, including royal profiles were chosen. The government decided on having only one design, and Charles Frazer, then postmaster-general, inspired the basic outline of the new design.

Blamire Young, a local watercolour artist, was commissioned to produce the final design. There was some criticism and minor changes made, and the first issues were released in January 1913. The stamps were issued in 16 values ranging from a halfpenny to a two pound value.

When Joseph Cook took over as Prime Minister in mid-1913, he promptly had issued a series of stamps featuring the profile King George V. However, the Kangaroo and Map series continued to be issued, and was not removed from sale for over thirty years.

Thank you Maria.

Costa Rica and Liechtenstein 6.6.1988 - Joint Issue

This first day cover has similar looking stamps from Cost Rica and Liechtenstein. They were issued to mark the cultural cooperation between the two countries.

Thank you Merja.

Joint issue in 2014 by the eight Nordic Countries - Iceland and the Faroe Islands

Joint issue in 2014 by the eight Nordic Countries - Aland and Greenland