An Open Ended ( Card Wise ) Update

I'm back with another update. I'm making no promises as to how many cards I'll get to this time, but let me just say that any that are featured , are great cards indeed. Here's the first one.

I am starting with what I consider to be a classic card, a beautiful aircraft card , one that has found a home in my Airlines on Postcards collection. It is a BOAC B707 Jetliner from the 1960s.
This 707 was powered by 4 Rolls-Royce Conway engines and had a cruising speed of 575-600 m.p.h. These 707s entered service with BOAC in 1960. For anyone who doesn't know, BOAC was British Overseas Airways Corporation. In 1974 BOAC merged with BEA ( British European Airways ) to form British Airways. I had the privilege of flying on a B707 back in 1975. It was actually a B707-320B , operated by Tap Airlines of Portugal. Pam of Kingston, Ontario, Canada swapped this card with me. She even used 2 copies of an aviation related stamp. The stamp was issued in 1987 and commemorated the 50th Anniversary of Air Canada. Featured on the stamp is an Air Canada Boeing 767-200. Thank you Pam for this most wonderful postcard. It made my day when I found it in my mailbox.

Here's another great card. When I saw it first I thought someone was sending me a card of The Calgary Stampede, The Greatest outdoor Show On Earth. It would have been quite appropriate as this year the stampede is celebrating it's 100th anniversary. Of course when I saw the Finnish words on the top I knew it wasn't related to our stampede. The translation goes something like this " Say you are coming to the adventure ". Well it's a nice card and these little cowpokes are certainly dressed for the stampede. Come July, there will be thousands of cowboys and cowgirls dressed like these little guys all over the city of Calgary. Now back to the card, it's from Liisa in Finland. She's a Postcrosser who lives in Southern Finland. I have no idea as to the adventure mentioned on the card. Perhaps there is a rodeo or stampede that takes place in Finland. Maybe I'll find out in the comments , if someone leaves one. Anyway I still think the card would make a great advertisement for our stampede. Liisa used a new stamp issued on May 7th of this year. It commemorates Bothnian Sea national Park. The park consists of approximately 98 % water.

We've all seen postcards and stamps featured here, now it's time for one of the guys who bring them to us. An old time postman from Russia with a stamped letter in his hand ready to deliver it to someone. This card from a Postcrosser in St. Petersburg has a number of large stamps on it from a number of different years. The top left and center stamps were issued in 2004 and are from a set of 3 featuring Ladies & Horses. The top right stamp, issued in 2011 , is 1 of 4 different stamps in a Clocks multi sheet. The large stamp on bottom left is from a 2002 set of 6 featuring different Government Ministries. Finally, the small definitive is from a set of 15 Animals issued in 2008.

The Nude Maja painting by Francisco Goya is next. The postcard shows 1 of 3 stamps issued by Spain in 1930. The painting from 1797 to 1800 is considered the first totally profane life-size female nude in western art. The Nude Maja is 1 of 2 Goya paintings featuring this lady. The second painting dated 1803 shows the same lady in the same pose but fully clothed and it is called The Clothed Maja. Incidentally , I happen to own the set of 3 stamps issued by Spain , so here they are. As a stamp, like on this postcard, The Nude Maja has been featured on stamps of Albania, Ajman, Paraguay, Guinea-Bisseau and Sao Tome. So, she does get around. One more note, when the Spanish stamps were issued in 1930, the US government barred and returned any mail bearing the stamps. I have no information as to when or even if that ban has been lifted , but at least the card got through. The card is part of a private swap with jt from Wisconsin. He used a nice assortment of stamps on this card. Jt posted his card from the small town of Van Dyne, Wisconsin. The 2010 census gave it a population of 279. Jt says that just about the only things left in the town are the post Office which was established in 1894 and the Fire Hall. Even though he doesn't live in Van Dyne, I think it's great that he goes to this small town to mail his postcards. One benefit must be next to nil lineups , so there.

The 2 large stamps are from a 1974 set of 8 featuring different Minerals. The 2 animal stamps are from a souvenir sheet of 8 issued in 1978 for CAPEX 78. The final stamp featuring the Palace of The Governors in Santa Fe is 1 of 28 in the 1954-61 Liberty Series.

Blackpool, England is the topic of my next card. It features the Blackpool Tower, which was completed in 1894 at a height of 158m. Blackpool is a seaside town in North West England by the Irish Sea. Interestingly a post box was opened at the top of the tower in 1949. I wonder if it is still operational. David used 3 stamps to mail this card including 2 Machin definitives. The larger stamp on the right is from the set of 6 Thomas The Train Engine series of 2011. It's not Thomas though, it's James.

Let's end today with Brazil- Buzios, Brazil in fact. This quaint resort town is located in the State of Rio de Janeiro, just 3 hours north of the city of Rio. The area and town was popularized by legendary movie star Brigitte Bardot in the 1960's. A statue of her sits along the main street , the Rua das Pedras ( Street of Stones ) . Bardot reportedly fell in love with the town and stayed for months longer that she planned. We can see on the card the Rua das Pedras, but not Bardot's statue. My brother Dale, travelling in the area since February sent this card along. Dale used a 2002 Trumpet stamp from a set of 10 Musical instruments , along with a 2011 stamp that I couldn't find any information on.
I think that will do for today. Some really good cards I think. Hopefully I might hear from you about one of them . Don't be shy, leave a comment or two.
Thanks to Dale, David, jt, Pam and Liisa for their cards.