EUROPA Wattling symbolising the sun - Switzerland 4.5.1970

Wattle is a lightweight construction material made by weaving thin branches (either whole, or more usually split) or slats between upright stakes to form a woven lattice. It has commonly been used to make fences and hurdles for enclosing ground or handling livestock. The wattle may be made as loose panels, slotted between timber framing to make infill panels, or it may be made in place to form the whole of a fence or wall. The technique goes back to Neolithic times.

These Swiss stamps depict the Sun composed of 24 interwoven fibres in a Wattle. 1 for each 1970 CEPT member. Designed by Irish Artist Louis Le Brocquy.

50th anniv of the Pro Infirmis Foundation 26.2.1970

“Pro Infirmis” is the largest Swiss organization active in the field of disability. The stamp on the FDC depicts the badge or emblem of this organisation.

The 38th International Geneva Motor Show 14.3.1968

The special postmark on this FDC commemorates The International Geneva Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Geneva Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, and is considered an important major international auto show.

First held in 1905, the Salon has hosted almost all major internal combustion engined models in the history of the automobile, along with benzene- and steam-powered cars from the beginning of the century. Exotic supercars often steal the spotlight during their debuts at the show. Prototypes, new equipment, technical breakthroughs, international partnerships, as well as political and social debates, have been announced at the exhibition. The show is regarded as a level playing field for the world's automakers, aided by the fact Switzerland lacks an auto industry of its own.

Current Affairs 15.11.1967

(10c) 50^th Anniversary Cogwheel & Swiss Week badge.

(20c) Hour glass under a stylised sun. 50th anniv. of the Foundation for the Aged.

Events & Anniversaries 21.2.1966

The three commemorative Swiss stamps, shown in the upper part of the image above, were issued on February 21, 1966.

The 10 C. denomination stamp was issued to publicize the International Congress for Conservation, held in Lucerne.  The design pictures a European Kingfisher.

The 20 C. denomination stamp was issued to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Swiss Trade Fair.  The fair was held in Basel from April 16 through April 26, 1966.

The 50 C. denomination stamp was issued to publicize the European Organization for Atomic Research.  The stamp shows the flags of the member nations.

The 20 C. denomination stamp, shown at the bottom of the image above, was issued on June 1, 1966 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Society for Swiss Living Abroad.

National Philatelic Exhibition (NABRA), Bern from August 27 to September 5, 1965

The souvenir sheet on the first day cover was issued for the National Philatelic Exhibition (NABRA), held in Bern from August 27 to September 5, 1965.  This is the companion issue to the regular commemorative 10 C. postage stamp, though the imperforate stamp designs in the souvenir sheet depict differing denominations of the 1854 Imperforate Sitting Helvetia postage stamp series.

The proceeds from the sale of the souvenir sheets benefited the exhibition and the promotion of Swiss philately.

175th Anniversary of the Postage stamp 3.9.2015

Before 1st May 1840, posting a letter was a very complicated and expensive affair. It could cost the equivalent of a days wage, and it was charged by how many sheets of paper were used and how far it had to travel. Normally the recipient had to pay the cost.

Sir Roland Hill was responsible for reforming the British postal system, and as part of this a competition was held for the public to design the world’s first adhesive postage stamp. However none of the entries were thought suitable, so instead they used the profile sketch of a then 15 year old Queen Victoria. This image was used on stamps until the end of her reign. Because the Penny Black was the first postage stamp in the world, it did not show a country of origin, and to this day British stamps are the only stamps in the world that do not state what country they are from.

Thank you Merja.

Pope Paul VI Visits Geneva to address ILO Conference on Fiftieth Anniversary 10.6.1969

Paul VI Visits Geneva to address ILO Conference on Fiftieth Anniversary

Pope Paul VI paid a one-day visit to Geneva Pope today to address the delegates at the International Labour Conference on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Thank you Merja.

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE or ECE) 12.4.1967

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE or ECE) was established in 1947 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states. It is one of five regional commissions under the administrative direction of United Nations headquarters. It has 56 member states, and reports to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Besides countries in Europe, it also includes Canada, the Central Asian republics, Israel and the United States of America. The UNECE secretariat headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland, and has an approximate budget of US$50 million.

Anniversaries & Events 19.9.1974

(15) Centenary of Swiss Constitution. The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation of 18 April 1999 is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the Swiss Confederation as a federal republic of 26 cantons (states). The document contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights (including the right to call for popular referenda on federal laws and constitutional amendments), delineates the responsibilities of the cantons and the Confederation and establishes the federal authorities of government. The Constitution was adopted by popular vote on 18 April 1999. It replaced the prior federal constitution of 1874, which it was intended to bring up to date without changing it in substance.

(30) Badge of Swiss Sport Aid. Swiss Sports Foundation Issue.

(30) Post horn & symbolism. 125th anniversary of Swiss Federal Post: Conveyor Belts, Paths of Mail Transport and Delivery.

Thank you Merja.

Fruits of the Forest 29.11.1973

Pro Juventute is a charitable foundation in Switzerland established in 1912. It is dedicated to supporting the rights and needs of Swiss children and youth.

Since 1913, the Swiss post office has issued an annual charity stamp series to support the work of Pro Juventute. The Pro Juventus stamps who’s surcharge went to children’s charity were in the series “Fruits of the Forest”.

(15+5) Castanea sativa, or sweet chestnut, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fagaceae, native to Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A substantial, long-lived deciduous tree, it produces an edible seed, the chestnut, which has been used in cooking since ancient times.

(30+10) Prunus avium, commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry, bird cherry, or gean, is a species of cherry native to Europe, Anatolia, Maghreb, and western Asia, from the British Isles south to Morocco and Tunisia, north to the Trondheimsfjord region in Norway and east to the Caucasus and northern Iran, with a small isolated population in the western Himalaya. The species is widely cultivated in other regions and has become naturalized in North America and Australia. All parts of the plant except for the ripe fruit are slightly toxic, containing cyanogenic glycosides.

(40+20) The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the Rubusgenus in the Rosaceae family, hybrids among these species within the Rubussubgenus, and hybrids between the Rubus and Idaeobatus subgenera. The taxonomy of the blackberries has historically been confused because of hybridization and apomixis, so that species have often been grouped together and called species aggregates. For example, the entire subgenus Rubus has been called the Rubus fruticosus aggregate, although the species R. fruticosus is considered a synonym of R. plicatus.

(60+20) Blueberries are perennial flowering plants with indigo-colored berries from the section Cyanococcus within the genus Vaccinium (a genus that also includes cranberries, bilberries and grouseberries). Species in the section Cyanococcus are the most common fruits sold as "blueberries" and are native to North America (commercially cultivated highbush blueberries were not introduced into Europe until the 1930s).

Swiss Service stamps in use by the UPU. 16.9.1976

Swiss Service stamps in use by  the UPU.

Swiss - Aland Joint Issue 3.9.2015

On 3rd September 2015 sees the first joint issue between Åland Post and Swiss Post. The two stamps issued by both posts present glittering silver jewellery embellishing traditional folk dresses of the two countries.

The Åland shawl buckle is a so-called woggle in silver designed by Åland silversmith Viking Sundberg on the basis of older finds in Åland. The woggle is used to fastening the shawl and it is used with all Åland female folk dresses. The first Åland folk dresses appeared in 1908 and all 16 Åland municipalities have their own folk dress today.

The Swiss motif is a traditional Bernese Sunday costume brooch. The filigree brooch is made from delicately twisted silver threads and is one of a number of brooches worn with the folk costume. The cantonal dress has remained largely unchanged since the end of the 19th century and is still used for special occasions.

Please see my post dated 15.10.2015 for the Aland FDC.

Thank you Merja.

Folk Dress Brooches - Joint Issue Aland - Switzerland 03.09.2015

On 3rd September, 2015 sees the first joint issue between Åland Post and Swiss Post was issued. The two stamps issued by both posts present glittering silver jewellery embellishing the traditional folk dresses of the two countries

The Åland shawl buckle is a so-called woggle in silver designed by Åland silversmith Viking Sundberg on the basis of older finds in Åland. The woggle is used to fastening the shawl and it is used with all Åland female folk dresses. The first Åland folk dresses appeared in 1908 and all 16 Åland municipalities have their own folk dress today.

The Swiss motif is a traditional Bernese Sunday costume brooch. The filigree brooch is made from delicately twisted silver threads and is one of a number of brooches worn with the folk costume. The cantonal dress has remained largely unchanged since the end of the 19th century and is still used for special occasions.

Thank you Ella.

Walter Mittelholzer 13.2.1977

On November 5, 1919 he co-founded an air-photo and passenger flight business, Comte, Mittelholzer, and Co. In 1920 this firm merged with the financially stronger Ad Astra Aero. Mittelholzer was the director and head pilot of Ad Astra Aero which later became Swissair.

He made the first North-South flight across Africa. It took him 77 days. Mittelholzer started in Zürich on December 7, 1926, flying via Alexandria and landing in Cape Town on February 21, 1927. Earlier, he had been the first to do serious aerial reconnaissance of Spitsbergen, in a Junkers monoplane, in 1923. On December 15, 1929 he became the first person to fly over Mt. Kilimanjaro, and planned to fly over Mount Everest in 1930. In 1931, Mittelholzer was appointed technical director of the new airline called Swissair, formed from the merger of Ad Astra Aero and Balair. Throughout his life he published many books of aerial photographs. He died in 1937 in a climbing accident on an expedition in the Hochschwab massif in Styria, Austria.

Among other Swiss air pioneers, he is commemorated in a Swiss postage stamp issued in January 1977.

25th Anniversary of Swiss Air flights over the North Atlantic 2.5.1972

This First Day Cover was issued to commemorate the 25^th Anniversary of Swiss Air flights over the North Atlantic.

The stamp on this cover was issued by Switzerland in the Pro Aero series in 1972. The Pro Aero Foundation pays the major part of the contributions it makes annually to the Swiss Aero Club for the promotion of aviation and the rising generation in flying. The contributions are then shared out appropriately. The branches of model flying, gliding, powered flying, ballooning and parachute jumping are particularly favoured here.

Thank you Merja.

20th Anniversary of Swissair's North Atlantic Flight 2.5.1967

This cover commemorates the 20th Anniversary of Swissair's North Atlantic Flight. This cover was on the Jamaica-Geneva run on 2^nd May 1967.

Thank you Merja.

1999 EUROPA CEPT - Nature reserves and parks - The ibex in the Gran Paradiso National Park and Vanoise national park 2.5.1999

The theme for EUROPA stamps in 1999 was "Nature reserves and parks". Switzerland issued this stamp about the Ibex and the Reserves in the country.  

The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex), also known as the steinbock or bouquetin, is a species of wild goat that lives in the mountains of the European Alps. It is a sexually dimorphic species with larger males who carry larger, curved horns. The coat colour is typically brownish grey. Alpine ibex tend to live in steep, rough terrain above the snow line. They are also social, although adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate. Four distinct groups exist; adult male groups, female-offsping groups, groups of young individuals, and mixed sex groups.

During the breeding season, males fight for access to females and use their long horns in agonistic behaviours. After being extirpated from most areas by the 19th century, the Alpine ibex was reintroduced to parts of its historical range and all individuals living today descend from the stock in Gran Paradiso National Park in northwest Italy and from the neighbouring French valley of Maurienne, now part of the Vanoise National Park linked to the former. These two national parks are connected and have been especially created to help the ibex to thrive. The ibex is the emblem of the Gran Paradiso National Park and of the Vanoise national park. The species is currently listed as of least concern by the IUCN.

Thank you Maria.

EUROPA 2003 - Poster Art 8.5.2003

This 90c stamp was painted by the famous Swiss posterist Donald Brun in Basel in 1943. Switzerland used this lovely painting entitled “Vergissmargglinit” for its EUROPA series of stamps in 2003. The theme for EUROPA stamps in 2003 was “Poster Art”. If you observe carefully, you will see that the petals on the flowers are in fact postage stams. The cover has a mail box depicted on it too. Very appropriate for a stamp themed issue.
Thank you Maria.

EUROPA CEPT - Switzerland -Historic Events 3.5.1982