First cover from Qatar

Yesterday I have shown you my first cover received from Bolivia. Today another first : my first cover received from Qatar !

Here it is.

The postmark from Doha is unfortunately heavy and is impossible to read. But let’s speak about the stamps. The one located on the right is part of a set of six stamps printed se-tenant and issued on the 19th of July 1996 to celebrate the Summer Olympic Games of Atlanta. The stamp pictures the Olympic emblem and the map of Qatar. The other stamps of the set pictures various sport.

Here is a picture of the full set retrieved from Qatar Philatelic Bureau website.

To be noted that Qatar did not win any medal during the Atlanta Olympic games.

The second stamp of the cover was issued on the 20th of July 1998 and belongs to an impressive set of twenty stamps (!) and two souvenir sheets picturing insects. The stamp used on the cover pictures a Labidura riparia whose common name is a Shore earwig and not Shore earwing as written on the stamp (a new example of an error on stamps !).
Earwig is the common name of the insect order Dermaptera which contains ten families and more than 1800 species ! One of their particularity is that the abdomen extends well beyond the wings, and frequently, though not always, ends in a pair of forceps-like structures.
The name, earwig, is derived from Old English “eare” (ear) and wicga (insect). They take their names from old frightening tales according to which they could enter a human brain through the ear. This seems to be only a legend, which is sometimes used in some sci-fi or horror movies.
Here is a picture of the full set of twenty stamps and two souvenir sheets.

First cover from Bolivia

Today I’m glad to show you the first cover I received from Bolivia. I must admit that I have a big number of stamps and covers in my collection, but so far I never got any from this country. I was thrilled when I got it, as you can imagine.The cover is franked with two large stamps that are related to very different subjects. But let’s show first the picture of the cover.

The stamp located on the right side has been issued on the 28th of August 2007. It belong to a set of two stamps, itself belonging to a series of eighteen stamps, all issued in 2007. The subject of this series is “Birds from Bolivia”. The series is made of nine set of two stamps : on set per department. Effectively Bolivia is divided into nine departments : Santa Cruz, La Paz, Tarija, Cochabamba, Pando, Beni, Potosi, Chuquisaca and Oruro. Each set of two stamps has been issued at a different date from the 20th of July until the 28th of August.

The stamp on the cover belongs to the set of stamps issued for the department of Oruro. It pictures a Roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja). This is a bird that can be found in South America, and in the Caribbean area. This pink bird sometimes mixed up with pink flamingo (even though they really look different) is 80cm tall has a wingspan of 120cm. It eats fishes, frogs :-( and all sort of water creatures.The second stamp that was issued in the set of Oruro is the following one.

It pictures a Black necked stilt. Interestingly the stamp mentions the scientific name as Hymantopus mexicanus but it seems it should be Himantopus. I don’t know if this is really an error on the stamp, or if both ways are accepted. I will not show you the complete series of eighteen stamps, don’t worry ;-). If you are interested you can see those stamps on a very interesting website Birds of the world on postage stamps.

Let’s come back to the cover. The stamp located on the left side belongs to a set of three stamps issued on the 21st of September 2006. Here is the complete set.

The subject of this set is the evolution of the flag of Bolivia. The first stamp in the set (the one on the left) pictures the flag at its creation on the 17th of August 1825, shortly after the creation of the republic of Bolivia. At this time the flag was green and dark red, with five ovals formed by laurel and tree branches with a star in the middle. Each star representing a department (at this time there were only five of them). The flag is pictured on the façade of the “Casa de la libertad” located in Sucre.

At this time, people (including government) thought the aspect of this flag did not really reflect what the country was. The laurel branches looked too “European” and not “South American” enough. So on the 25th of July 1826 (less than one year after) a new flag was introduced. This is the subject of the second stamp of the set. This new flag was yellow, red and green and contained the coat of arms in the middle. The flag is again pictured on the façade of the “Casa de la libertad”.

Finally, on the 5th of November 1851 a new version of the flag was chosen : same colour but in a different order : red, yellow and green, with still the coat of arms in the middle (but they had changed in the mean time). Here is a picture of the current coat of arms that is pictured in the centre of the state flag of Bolivia.

This new flag is pictured on the last stamp of the set which is the one on the cover. This time the flag is pictured on the façade of the “Palacio legislativo” located in La Paz and where the senate and the chamber of deputes regularly meet.
To be noted that we often see the flag of Bolivia without the coat of arms included in the middle.

One last remark about the cover : see the large cancel which seems very characteristic of cover from a South American country.

More covers from Japan

I am currently on holidays for one week. I don’t have any specific plan, I’ll stay at home. I’ll try to take opportunity of this time to sort out my stamps. I already started sorting the covers I have received these last years. I also took some time to scan the covers I got recently. I will share them with you over the week.
I realised that the country which is the most often represented in my collection is Japan ! I don’t know the reason. So today I selected two letters I received from Japan through the Asian Covers Collector Club.

Here is the first one.

When I first saw this cover I was quite sure that the stamp located on the right was a recent stamp. May be I was confused by the face value which is not so common for stamps issued these years by Japan. But as you will see this is not the case.

But let’s start by the stamp on the left side. This stamps was issued on the 3rd of December 1965 and celebrates the Chichibu night festival. Chichibu is a city located in Saitama prefecture. Every year, on the 2nd and 3rd of December, the city holds a night festival. The main attraction of this festival takes place on the 3rd. Two ”kasaboko” floats which are large parasol-like objects decorated on top with weapons such as spears, and artificial flowers together with four “yatai” floats shaped like small houses are paraded through the city streets.
In the afternoon, the floats are transformed into stages by pulling out wings on either side, where Kabuki plays are performed. The most exciting scene of the festival unfolds on the evening of the 3rd when kasaboko and yatai floats, weighing 10-20 tons each and lit up with countless lanterns, climb up a steep slope with a “mikoshi” (a portable shrine). The stamp pictures a scene of this festival. I got difficulties to find more information about this festival : for instance whose shrine is it ? what is symbolized by this parade through the city ? If you know more about it, I would be very happy to hear from you.

The second stamp was issued on the 25th of August 1977 and pictures the Matsumoto Castle. This castle is also known as the Fukachi castle. It is located in the city of Matsumoto, in Nagano prefecture. It is rather easy to reach from Tokyo, making it a very popular destination for tourists from Japan and other countries. This castle is also called the Crow Castle because of its black walls and spreading wings. The construction of the castle started in 1590, most of it was completed in 1594. Some parts of the castle have been re-constructed in 1990 and 1999. The tower is listed as a National Treasure of Japan.
This tower has actually six floors, even though it looks like if it only has five from the outside. The third floor of the tower on the inside has no windows and was designed as a secret floor to the castle's enemies. It was used to hide soldiers during wartime. The sixth floor was used as a watchtower, but includes a shrine in the ceiling dedicated to the god Nijuroku-ya-shin (god of 26 nights).
If you know Japanese philately, you know that such castle is a subject that is rather common on Japanese stamps.

The second cover is quite different. Here it is.

The small stamp is a part of a definitive series about fauna and flora that I already mentioned in a previous article. This specific stamp was issued on the 28th of November 1997. The other stamp was issued on the 18th of April 2008 (therefore this cover is a first day cover since it was postmarked on the 18th of April !). It is a part of a nice set issued for the philatelic week. Here is a picture (coming from the website of Japanese post) of the full set issued in the form of a souvenir sheet.

I also like the postmark of this second cover which is rather unusual with this open circle. By the way both covers are nicely cancelled, which is always the case for covers I got from Japan so far. This is not the case for other countries (including France) !

The new seven world wonders : the story goes on

Last year, I have written about the vote that took place to choose the new seven world wonders. Click here, here and here to read my previous articles. Gibraltar postal administration is going to issue soon a set of seven stamps, picturing the winners of the vote, which are, just to remind you :

- The Christ redeemer in Brazil

- The coliseum in Rome, Italy
- Petra in Jordan

- The great wall in China

- The Machu Pichu in Peru
- Chichén Itza in Mexico

- The Taj Mahal in India

Here is a preview of the stamps that are going to be issued by Gibraltar post. I do not know the exact date of issue.

I must admit that I like the one with the Taj Mahal, which is definitely my favourite in this list of famous places.

Beaded stamp !

Singapore post has added its name to the list of postal administrations that have issued innovative stamps : innovative by their design, their printing process or the material used for the stamp. Effectively, on the 8th of April 2008, Singapore post has issued the first beaded stamp! Here is a picture of the souvenir sheet, taken from their website.

What is it exactly ? This is a souvenir sheet in the shape of a pouch where the stamp is beaded : the beads are stuck on the stamp manually ! This consists on a world Premiere according to the information available on the Singapore post website.

This souvenir sheet is part to a set containing the eight following other stamps

This whole set is in fact illustrated with items from the Peranakan Museum Collection. The word Peranakan means 'local born' in Malay. It refers to the Peranakan Chinese as well as other Peranakan communities which developed in South-east Asia. Peranakans are known for the beauty of their crafted furniture, jewellery, embroidery, beadwork, textiles, garments and porcelain. The Peranakan Museum houses the best collection of Peranakan artefacts in the world.

The four first stamps of the set picture details of embroidered items. The four other pictures details of porcelain work.

It gives a very colourful and attractive stamps set. But I wonder if a beaded stamp really answers to the postal need ;-) ? After the scented stamps, the stamps in wood, in metal, in plastic, the embroidered stamps, the moving stamps, now the stamp with beads. What will be next ?

American scientists (additional information)

Last week I wrote about a FDC I received from the USA bearing two of the four stamps issued recently by USPS and honouring American scientists. I forgot to mention one interesting information related to the stamp picturing Gerty Cori. It appears that this stamp contains an error in the chemical formula displayed on the background of the stamp. I’m not qualified to explain you more in details the error, you can read more about it here.

Italian cover

I’m back from a 4 days weekend in Rome where I had a very nice weather. Rome is definitely a wonderful city. Naturally, today, I have chosen to share with you cover coming from Italy, just to stay in the mood ;-)

Here is a cover, bearing a mixed franking with stamps denominated in Lira and in Euro.

Let’s start by the stamp located on the left. It belongs to the rather famous and very nice series about “Italian castles”, started in 1980. This specific stamp is a part of the first set of the series. It was issued on the 22nd of September 1980 and pictures the castle of Rocca Di Calascio. This castle is located in Abruzzo, in the territory of the commune of Calascio. It was founded around the year 1000. It originally consisted of a single square tower. Then between the 15th and 16th centuries, there were several additions consisting of four cylindrical towers that are very typical of this castle. This castle and the surroundings have been used several times as a movie set. Among the various movies that have used this place, there is a movie that I really like : Lady Hawke (1985). Also some scenes of The name of the Rose (1986) were shot there.
To be noted that this castle, located at an altitude of 1460 meters is the highest castle of Italy.

The second stamp located on the right of the previous one belongs to a set of two stamps issued on the 12th of June 1971 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Italian republic. The stamp pictures a portrait of Giuseppe Mazzini, with the Italian flag as a background. Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872) was an Italian philosopher and politician. He was an ardent patriot. His activities have helped creating the modern Italian state from the several separate states that were, for many if them, dominated by foreign powers until the 19th century. He is therefore a good choice to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of the Italian republic that was created following a referendum held on the 2nd of June 1946, a day which is now celebrated as Republic Day. This was the first election in Italy allowing women to vote !

The last stamp was issued on the 17th of September 2007. It belongs to a set of three stamps, that are a part of a series about Schools and University. The stamp is dedicated to the "S. Pio V" institute for political studies, located in Rome. It features the institute's emblem.
Here is a picture of the full set.

The two other stamps are dedicated to :
- Marco Foscarini High School located in Venice : the stamp pictures a view of the school’s cloister.
- Salernitana Medical School located in Salerno : the stamp pictured a reworking of the iconography known as “Doctor at the bedside of a patient” taken from the manuscript entitled “Galeni in Ippocratis Aphorismos et in Librum Pronosticorum" kept in the National Library in Naples.

This is a nice echo to my very relaxing weekend in Rome !