Tuesday's Cards

Blog Post # 999

Hello again. Hope things are well with you all.
Just in case you missed it, I have a little contest going on. Check out my last post # 998 for the details and see what you can win. I only have 3 entries so far, so if you enter, there's a great chance to win.
On to today's cards.
Let's start with a card from Netherlands, another one from Barbara. It shows " Image of a Woman in a Bath "   by Nico Vrielink.

Barbara used an abundance of stamps, at least they almost covered the whole back of the card. At the top is a mini sheet of one, issued in 2003, celebrating the birth of Princess Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange.  The middle left stamp is from 2004 and commemorates the 150th Anniversary of the Royal Meteorological Institute. The stamp to the right is 1 of 2 issued for the 2006 Winter  Olympic Games. Both featured Gold Medal winners. Featured on this one is Yvonne van Gennip - winner of 3 Gold medals in the 1988 Calgary Olympics. The final stamp , near the bottom, is from 2003 and celebrates the 75th Anniversary of Dutch Stamp Dealers Association.

That's a great selection of stamps. Getting back to the Olympic stamp for a moment - This is a lenticular motion stamp . Back in my blog of April 15 - blog # 995, I asked how often one receives a hologram stamp on ones mail. I guess the answer is about as often as one receives a lenticular motion stamp on ones mail.  As a stamp collector, when you do , it's great and worthy of mention.

Today's second card is from Switzerland. An Aviation themed card showing Swissair in 1939.

Jean Pierre used 2 stamps, including a semi-postal. The stamp on the left, the semi-postal was issued in 1977 and is 1 of 4 in a Castles set. The right stamp , fom 2002, commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the Swiss Federal Railways.

Next we're off to Singapore. Jobbo's card gives us a look at Riverside Point, a waterfront dining venue by the beautiful Singapore River.

Three stamps arrived on this card. On the left , from 1994, 1 of 4 issued to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of Operationally -ready National Servicemen. The middle stamp is 1 of a set of 8 Bird stamps issued in 2007. The stamp on the right is from 1990, 1 of 9 in a Tourism set.

The Royal Museum for Central Africa , also known as the Africa Museum, is the focus of my next card. It was built to showcase King Leopold II's Congo Free State in the 1898 World Exhibition. It is located in Tervuren, Belgium.

Johan used another quite recent stamp on his card. It was issued on March 16th and  celebrates 50 Years of Postal Codes in  Belgium.  My country of Canada was one of the last Western countries to get a nationwide postal code system, in 1971 - 48 years ago.

Now here's a card to end the day with. It's another for my Aircraft and Airlines postcard collection. This time it's an Interflug IL-18. Interflug was the national airline of East Germany from 1963 to 1990. It was based in East Berlin. The IL-18 was a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957. It became one of the best known and durable Soviet aircraft.

 Maria used 2 copies of a stamp from 2018. It celebrates Dessau-Worlitz, a World Heritage Site since 2000. It was the first English-style landscape garden in mainland Europe.

That's another update foryou. Thanks for today's card go to Johan, Jobbo, Barbara, Jean Pierre and Maria. Take care now, drop by again soon.

Audience Participation Required -- It's a Contest Really !

Blog Post # 998

Good to see you back here. Today is a great day for postcards - yesterday we had a spring snow storm, lots of snow on the ground now . Approximately 15 cm, it looks like winter again. It won't last long though.

A Happy Easter is the focus of this first card, and it's not even mine. It arrived for My Lovely Teena.  It's from Barbara in Netherlands. Barbara and I have exchanged cards for a few years now, but this card was a surprise for Teena. Who knows - maybe she'll get the collecting bug ! I do know that she likes cards that have everyday people on them . 

Barbara used a number of stamps on her card. On the left is a stamp celebrating December . It is from 2007 and there were 10 in the set. The middle stamp, from 2015 is 1 of 6 in a set called Children's Stamps. The final stamp, on the right is a Love stamp, although I wasn't able to find out what year it was issued.

Today's second card is fro Myanmar. It's a look at U Bein Bridge. The bridge crosses the Taungthaman Lake near Amarapura. The 1.2 km bridge was built around 1850 and is believed to be the oldest teak wood bridge in the world. The bridge features 1086 pillars stretching out of the water. It was built from wood reclaimed from a former royal palace in Inwa.

 
Jobbo used a Musical Instruments stamp showing a Xylophone on his card. It is from a set of 2 issue din 2017. Thanks Jobbo, it was good to hear from you again - it's been a while.

My next card is from China and shows part of a Chinese painting. In the original there are 3 more birds to be found to the left of the 2 shown. The artist is Pan Tianshou.

A  Postcrosser named Sammi sent this card along. Sammi used a great selection of stamps, all from 2017. On the left is 1 of a set of 6 showing Cultural Relics. The other 3 all show scenes from a Cantonese Opera.

Time for a little fun now with this next card. Audience participation is required. This is a card from Uma who lives in Kingston, in the Hudson Valley region of upstate New York. Her card says Hello ! Not just in English but in an abundance of other languages. 

Uma used a mixture of stamp rates on this one. On the left a 10 cent stamp from 2017. The middle stamp is a Postcard rate stamp from 2019. ( .35 cents but  not quite enough for Canada or international though ) . The right stamp is a Two Ounce rate (  .30 cents ) .

Okay, here's the audience participation part. Let's even make it a contest with a small prize. 

If you see Hello in your language on this card, leave a comment and tell me which language it is and which word or expression you use. If your language or word is not on the card, again leave a comment saying what language and what word you use. Pretty simple actually. All comments must be received by my bedtime on Wednesday, May 1st. The next day I will make a draw from all the comments received and the winner will receive this prize:

A First Day of Issue Special Envelope issued by Canada Post. 

And here it is .

Here's to a full load of comments !

It's time now for a card from Belgium showing some old time buildings in Brussels. I don't know if you will see it with my scan, but at the top, behind the buildings are very faint old postcards. 

Johan used a very recent stamp , from Feb 16th in fact. It shows Solar Winds on the Sun. 

That's all for today. Thanks for cards go out to Barbara, Johan, Jobbo, Sammi and Uma. 

Take care now and don't forget your comment if you want that envelope. 

People On Cards

Blog Post # 997

Today's blog title tells you what you are going to see here this time around. It's a bunch of cards with people, some famous, some not - some clothed , some not, most real , one not.

First up is this card from Belgium  showing Sophia Loren and her hairdo. No doubt a do for spring. Birds, flowers and butterflies. Sophia Loren , one of the most beautiful actresses of all time once said " everything you see I owe to spaghetti " . Guess that's why I love spaghetti so much.

Filip used a nice selection of stamps. On the left is a Dinosaur stamp from a set of 10 issued in 2015. On the right , a stamp celebrating the 400th Anniversary of Mannekin Pis. The middle stamp was issued in 2017 to showcase Comics - Kinky & Cosy. It kind of reminds me of My Lovely Teena and myself as we often make funny faces at each other across a room. Me with the glasses and her with the blond hair.

Next is a fictional character , Captain Britain. You can find him in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in the October 1976 issue.

Heather, from Preston, a small city in the North West of England sent this card. She used a Captain Britain stamp , exactly like the card , from a set of 10 Marvel Comics stamps issued in 2019. Of course , there's also the proverbial Queen Elizabeth definitive, we are all familiar with.

Here's a black and white picture by photographer Ed van der Elsken. The picture is called " Girl in the Subway, Tokyo 1984. van der Elsken was most famous for pictures in grainy, high-contrast black and white.

This card is from Anya who lives in Rostock on the north coast of Germany. She used one of the often seen, never ending Flower definitives and a 2018 stamp celebrating the 800th Anniversary of Lubeck Law Rights for the City of Rostock.

Now it's one more person on a card card. This one is a nude by Louis Jules Dubosq-Soleil from 1851/52. You can find this picture in " Early Erotic Photography " by Serge Nazarieff.

Verena used the same Flower stamp as shown with the previous card. She also used , from 2016, a large stamp issued for Stamp Day 2016.

This next card shows a photo of a couple taken by Robert Doisneau. It was taken in the spring of 1950 in Paris and is one of history's most romantic photos. It is titled " The kiss by the Hotel de Ville " . The couple's identity remained a mystery until 1992 and it was also at that time that the photo was revealed as having been staged. After having to defend himself in court against another couple who claimed he had used their image without permission, Doisneau identified the real couple and said he had hired young actors and actresses to walk around the streets of Paris and he would photograph them. The young couple in the photo had kissed as they walked and Doisneau asked them to kiss again , and that's how the photo came to be.

Even though the card shows a Paris scene, it actually arrived from Germany. Anke used a stamp from this year showing Baby Raccoons.

The lovely Marilyn is the focus of today's last card. There are so many pictures of Marilyn out there, she must have spent most of her short life in front of a camera. As well there are lots of  collectors of Marilyn postcards so they must make a great collection. Milton H. Greene took this photo, he was one of the most celebrated photographers in the world. He took over 3,000 images of Marilyn Monroe.  The image on this card is one of four that the Franklin Mint used to create a Limited Edition porcelain Marilyn Monroe doll.

Anna from St. Petersburg sent this card and she used one of the Kremlin definitive from 2009 , which I don't show anymore, as we've all seen them many times.

So ends another blog update. Thanks for these cards go out to Filip, Heather, Anya, Verena, Anke and Anna.  Good cards all around.
Thanks for dropping by , hope you'll find your way back again soon. Take care.

Supertrees, Mountains, Girls and More

Blog Post # 996

Hello again, Happy Saturday.
Here's a few cards that arrived in my mailbox , maybe a week or so ago. Now they can see the light of day.
I'll start with this card from Singapore. It's a look at Singapore's famous Merlion and Gardens By The Bay , including a number of the 18 Supertrees. You can also see the 128 metre long aerial walkway connecting 2 of the Supertrees.

Jean Pierre used a Early Education For Girls stamp from 2018. Nice clear cancellation.

I have 2 more of Jean Pierre's cards to look at today. The next 2 are from Indonesia. This first one , posted in Sukawati village show Balinese girls sitting around in traditional clothes, waiting for some ceremony no doubt.

The stamp on this card was issued in 2018. It celebrates the Annual Meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group.

Taman Sari Water Castle is the subject of this next card. It is the site of a former royal garden of the Sultanate of Yogyakarta. It dates from the mid 18th century.

This one arrived with the stamp as the previous card, so no need to show it again.


Sofia, Bulgaria is next. An aerial view of St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral. This Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral was built between 1862 and 1912. It is one of the largest Christian church buildings , holding up to 5,000 people. The building covers 34,500 sq. ft.

It's hard to believe that after more than 10 years of collecting postcards , that this is just my 8th card from Bulgaria.

Ana used a set of 3 Aviation themed stamps on her card. They were issued in 2010 and commemorates the 60th Anniversary of Jet Aviation by the Bulgarian Air Force.

Those are 3 beautiful stamps for sure , well at least to me , anyway.


Next it's snow capped mountains of Austria, as seen from the little village of Gran.  The village of 600 or so is located near Lake Haldensee in Tannheimer Valley , considered by many to be " the most beautiful high mountain valley of Europe " .

Dominique used a stamp from 2018 showing the Coat of Arms of Vienna,  1 of 14 in the set of Coats of Arms.

And the last card for today is : one from Spain.
The card shows a small portion of the tiny village of Castellar de n'Hug. It is located on the southern slope of the Pyrenees at 1,450 meters. It is indeed small with a population in 2016 of 157.

A nice FIFA World Cup stamp arrived on this card from Josep & Assumpta. It celebrated the World Cup , held in Russia in 2018.

That's all I have for today, already looking ahead to the next blog. Hope you are , too.

Thanks for today's cards go out to Jean Pierre, Ana, Dominique and Josep & Assumpta.

The TU-154, Bogoda Bridge and Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg

Blog Post # 995

I want to start today off with a  partial cover not a postcard. I received this cover a few days ago from eastern Canada - Kingston, Nova Scotia in fact. It's just another example of stamps ruined on an item for no reason. All stamps on this cover received a circular hand stamp showing where and when posted and then cancelled.

As you can see it arrived with a great selection of stamps. The top row is a selection of Bird stamps, from 2003, 2004 and 2005. They show left to right a Gyrfalcon, a Lincoln's Sparrow and a Double- Crested Cormorant. All beautiful stamps. Sadly all stamps met a fate of defacement with a pen.
On the  bottom are 2 stamps from 1992 - Canada In Space. The right stamp is a Hologram stamp showing the Space Shuttle high above the Earth.

Wonderful stamps all ruined by the Great Stamp Defacer. This really upsets me as a collector. I mean how often does one get a Hologram stamp on ones mail ? And then to have it ruined by some jackass with a pen. Shame  on you and may your pen always be out of ink , whoever you are !

Now that I've had my say again on that subject, it's on to a few postcards.

Let's start with a card from France. Speaking of France - so sad to hear about and to see Notre Dame Cathedral on fire. As I write, it looks like it may be a complete loss, a UNESCO World Heritage Site visited by millions gone.

 Dominique's card gives us a look at the Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg. This medieval castle has towered over the area for more than 850 years. It stands at 757m over the surrounding villages. This major tourist site attracts over 500,000 visitors a year.

Dominique used a 2018 stamp celebrating the Spring Stamp Fair in the Paris area.

Note to Dominique - The card you sent a week later after this one is the same card, so I won't show it here, only the stamp is different.
Thanks though !

Ayubowan ( hello ) from Bogoda Bridge. Built in the 16th century Bogoda Bridge is said to be the oldest wooded bridge in Sri Lanka. It is built entirely of wood, right down to the wooden nails.

I've shown and wrote about 2 of the 3 stamps used on this card before, just yesterday. The new stamp is the bottom right one. It is from the set issued in 2018 featuring Sinhalese Exorcism Rituals.

I also want to showcase the Air Mail sticker on the left. This must be fairly old as Air Ceylon, as shown on the sticker, ceased to operate under that name in 1979.  That should at least make it 40 years old, minimum.


It's another Aircraft card next. This time it's a Tupolev TU-154, a three-engine medium-range narrow-body airliner designed in the mid 1960s. There have been 1,025 TU-154s built with its first flight on October 4, 1968. The postcard shows the TU-154 in Czech Air Force livery in 2006 at Prague.

Terka used a 2011 Greeting Stamp, from a set of 3.

I think that is it for this time. Thanks for cards go out to Dominique, Ravindra and  Terka . Thanks for reading and I'll be back again soon. Take care.