Australia Post Kalkadoon Dreams by Artist Chern’ee Sutton

AUSTRALIA POST on 15 October 2024 issued the beautiful set of four First Day Cover stamps based on the artwork  of acclaimed contemporary Kalkadoon (Kalkatungu) artist Chern’ee Sutton. The stamps represent the artist’s traditional Country in the Mount Isa region of Queensland.  The typography is by Jo Muré, Australia Post Design Studio. RA Printing printed the stamp susing Offset lithography. The postmark originated from Mount Isa QLD 4825.

The Stamps/Maxicards:-

$1.50 - Kalkadoon Bush Food and Medicine shows the importance of bush tucker and medicine, represented by a coolamon containing berries and other tucker. Edible and medicinal plants growing on Kalkadoon Country include the bloodwood apple, the conkerberry bush, kurrajong, bush banana and gidgee tree. The undulating lines that flow across all the stamps represent the journeys of the Kalkadoon across the land, as do the footprints. The circular motifs indicate gatherings of people.  

- $1.50 - Kalkadoon Community and Storytelling  highlights the importance of community and storytelling. Men, women and children gather together in a circle to share cultural stories. The boomerang symbolises a return to Country.  

- $1.50 - Kalkadoon Animals are of great importance to the Kalkadoon, and are the subject of the third stamp, which shows mammals, birds and fish – the inspiration for stories, dances and art, including rock art and petroglyphs. Chern’ee Sutton’s great-great-grandmother, Annie Connelly, was known as the Dancing Queen because of her skill in ceremonial dance. The emu is particularly important for the artist, as it is her personal totem.  

- $1.50 - Kalkadoon Landscape shows the artist’s Country, with its vital waterholes, rivers, rugged mountains, bushland and dry scrub. The radiant sun appears overhead, giving life and warmth to the world.  

The artist, Chern’ee Sutton, held her first exhibition at the age of 13, at Queensland’s Parliament House. She has since been recognised with a legion of awards and honours. These include National NAIDOC Youth of the Year, Queensland Pride of Australia Award, Queensland Tourism Industry Council Ambassador, Queensland Day Ambassador for the Arts, and Queensland Reconciliation Awards Ambassador.

Her work has been commissioned by numerous national sporting organisations, commercial brands and many government departments. Chern’ee Sutton’s artwork is held in national and international collections, including the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, United Kingdom. 

Source: Australia Post

Postes Morocco Solidarity 1949

POSTES MOROCCO on 1 January  1950 issued a series of four stamps to promote Charitable Solidarity 1949. The stamps highlighted traditional Moroccan know-how: carpets, ceramics, book binding and copper work.

Postes AlgeriePictorial Cover 1936-1937

POSTES ALGERIE between 1936-41 issued a set of 31  pictorial stamps. Six of those stamps were affixed to this cover in 1937. The cover was sent to Cambridgeshire, England from Arzew Oran, Algeria.

- 50c red - Algeria - 1937 World Expo Paris. Issued in 1937.

- 20c dark green - Sidj Bon Medine Cemetery at Tiemcen. Issued in 1936.

- 40c brown violet - Kings' Tombs near Touggourt which is located next to an oasis in the Sahara. Issued in 1936. 

- 25c rose violet - El-Kebir Mosque, Algiers is the great Mosque of Algiers was built in 1097 CE. Issued in 1936.

- 10c green - Admiralty Building, Algiers. Issued in 1936

- 65c red - Centenary of Constantine in 1837. Issued in 1937.

Sarawak Early Charles and Vyner Brooke stamps - 1889-1918

SARAWK, in 1841, proved to be subject to piracy and lawlessness until British adventurer James Brooke helped to subdue the rebellion, for which the Sultan of Brunei ceded Sarawak to him to govern. The Brooke dynasty lasted until Sarawak became a British colony in 1946, gained independence in July 1963 and joined the Federation of Malaysia in September of that year

The first stamp for Sarawak was issued 1 March 1869 with a portrait of Sir James Brooke, posthumously, as he died 18 August  1868.

As Sir James Brooke never married, the second White Rajah in 1868 was Charles Anthoni Johnson Brooke, his nephew and sister's son.

Sir Johnson Charles Brooke appeared on all Sarawak's stamp issues between 1871-1908. A  fourteen stamp typographed set was released between 1888-97 (four shown here).

The Kingdom of Sarawak became a British Protectorate in 1888, as did Brunei. North Borneo had already been a British protectorate since 1882.

With his passing in 1917, his son, Charles Vyner Brooke became the third (and last) White Rajah. Vyner appeared on Sarawak's stamps between 1918-1947.

The third "White Rajah", Charles Johnson's son, Sir Charles Vyner Brooke, was enthroned in 1917. An unwatermarked twenty-one stamp typographed issue for him was released between 1918-1923 (four early stamps are shown here).

Of interest the usual, shown here, 1c slate blue & rose (CV $2+) was also printed by mistake in slate blue & slate in 1918. This stamp colour combination was never released for use, but can be found in the philatelic marketplace.

Postes Republique Francaise Centre des Hautes Études sur l'Afrique et l'Asie Modernes

POSTES REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE on 14 April 1986 issued a First Day Cover stamp marking the 50th anniversary (1936-1986) of Centre des Hautes Études sur l'Afrique et l'Asie Modernes, or the Center for Advanced Studies on Modern Africa and Asia (CHEAM). This red, green and black stamp with a face value of 3 F 20 c was intended primarily for simple letters to foreign countries. A total of 5,744,816 stamps were printed using gravure. They were available for purchase until 31 July 1986. Rene Dessirier designed the stamp.

The Center for Advanced Studies on Modern Africa and Asia, created in 1936 by the Popular Front and abolished in 2000, was known until 1973 as the Center for Advanced Studies in Muslim Administration.

As its initial name suggests, it was initially an intelligence, resource and training service for French colonial officials (including the military).

Since its creation, CHEAM  evolved several times (in 1958, 1973 and 1996). After decolonisation, it notably organised training for French diplomats and businessmen .

USPS "Let's Dance/Bailemos

USPS on 17 September 2005 issued four First Day Cover stamps dedicated to Latin Dances: Mambo, Cha Cha, Salsa and Merengue. The series was called "Let's Dance/Bailemos". The stamps were initially issued  in Miami, Florida, and New York. Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland designed the stamps. 

 

Four Latino artists present their personal interpretations of the dances.  

 

For the Merengue stamp, Rafael Lopez used a warm palette of colours, from red and orange to yellow and lime green, all suggesting the tropical sunlight and vegetation of the Caribbean islands  

 

Capturing motion in the billowing skirts of a salsa dancer, José Ortega used palm leaves to refer to salsa's tropical roots in the Caribbean, and a cityscape to suggest its New York City birthplace. 

 

In creating his design for the Cha Cha stamp, Edel Rodriguez juxtaposed the warmth of the dancers' suntanned skin and the sinuous line formed by their bodies with the coolness suggested by their white clothing and waving palm fronds.

 

Sergio Baradat evoked elegance in his design for the Mambo stamp. The red of a woman's dress offsets the nighttime purple and gold hues of the ambient light, while a drum-shaped moon seems to join the orchestra's saxophone and timbales. 

 

Designer Ethel Kessler borrowed the dance-school convention of step patterns for the margins of the stamps. All descriptive texts and headers are in English and Spanish. Sennett Security Products printed 70 million stamps in panes of twenty in the gravure process..  

 

Latin-American dances developed from a mixture of native American, European and African cultures. The mambo, for instance, came from the French contre danse and the Spanish contradanza (country dance), brought to French and Spanish Caribbean colonies in the eighteenth century. In addition, African slaves on the islands contributed their rhythms to these  dances.

 

 After World War II, the mambo became the rage in New York, coming north with Cuban musicians and tourists who had frequented Havana night spots. Dominican immigrants brought their national dance, the fast-paced merengue. People from Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Haiti brought their music and dances as well.dances.

 

The cha cha, a version of mambo, became a favorite in night clubs during the 1950s. A faster and more dramatic style of Latin dancing, called salsa, started in the 1960s in Latin night clubs. The disc jockeys would call out, “Salsa, salsa!” (“Spice it up!”).

 

 

 Source: Smithsonian National Postal Museum and Mystic Stamps

 

Correos Cuba Folklore Artwork by Concepcion Ferrant

CORREOS CUBA on 26 January  2000 issued four First Day Cover stamps entitled Folklore. The stamps featured the artwork of Cuban artist Concepcion (Concha)  Ferrant.

The stamps included:

"Rumba Caliente." (shown on this maxim card) face value 10; 

"Cachumba." face value 15;

"En Casa de un Babalao." face value 65;

"Tata Cunengue." face value 75.

Concepcion (Concha)  Ferrant was born on 28 February 1882 and studied at the San Alejandro Academy. Over lifetime she won prizes, certificates, medals and proved that a woman could paint as well or even better than her male colleagues.

The themes of Concha's oil paintings were mainly Cuban and European landscapes and Afro-Cuban elements. 

She won a competition for a position as a professor of artistic anatomy at the Academy of San Alejandro. She lived with great simplicity, dedicated to teaching, transmitting her knowledge with exemplary modesty to all who approached her in search of advice or an authoritative opinion.

"Beloved Daughter of Guanabacoa", a work for which she was awarded in 1943, is the same town where she died at age 87, on 27 May 1969.

USPS "To Form A More Perfect Union" Souvenir Sheet

USPS on 30 August 2005 issued 10 First Day Cover stamps to mark the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The set was called "To Form A More Perfect Union" which alludes to the opening preamble of the U.S. Constitution. The stamps traced the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

This souvenir sheet of 37-cent stamps "To Form a More Perfect Union" featured ten designs portraying key events in the Civil Rights Movement and various postmark locations where each occurred: the 1948 Executive Order 9981, 1960 Lunch Counter Sit-Ins, 1955 Montgomery (Alabama) Bus Boycott, 1964 Civil Rights Act, 1963 March on Washington, 1965 Selma (Alabama) March, 1954 Brown v. Board of Education, 1961 Freedom Riders, 1957 Little Rock (Arkansas) Nine, and 1965 Voting Rights Act.

This issue recognised the courage and achievements of the men and women who fought for equal rights during the years of the Civil Rights movement. The issue presented an artistic representation of several pivotal events from the 1948 Executive Order ending segregation in the military to the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Ethel Kessler of Bethesda, Maryland designed the stamps.

Source: USPS 

Hellenic Post 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles

HELLENIC POST on 30 April 1984 issued a set of five First Day Cover stamps to mark the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The stamps showed an ancient Olympic stadium crypt, athletes preparing for the games, flute player with discus thrower and long jumper, and  Pierre de Coubertin.

Hellenic Post Aristotle Edition

HELLENIC POST on 10 July 1978 issued a set of four First Day Cover stamps honoring Aristotle. Postmark originated from Athens.

Around 387 BC, Plato (c.427–347 BC) founded his school in a part of Athens called Academy. Here he wrote and directed studies, and the Academy soon became the focal point for mathematical study and philosophical research. It is said that over the entrance appeared the inscription: 'Let no-one ignorant of geometry enter here' .

Plato believed that the study of mathematics and philosophy provided the finest training for those who were to hold positions of responsibility in the state. In his Republic he discussed the Pythagoreans' mathematical arts of arithmetic, plane and solid geometry, astronomy and music, explaining their nature and justifying their importance for the 'philosopher-ruler'. His Timaeus includes a discussion of the five regular solids – tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron and icosahedron.

Aristotle (384–322 BC) became a student at the Academy at the age of 17 and stayed there for twenty years until Plato's death. Fascinated by logical questions he systematized logic and deductive reasoning. In particular, he referred to a proof that that Ö2 cannot be written in rational form a/b, where a and b are integers, and he discussed syllogisms such as: 'All men are mortal; Socrates is a man; thus Socrates is mortal'.
            

In Raphael's fresco The School of Athens, Plato and Aristotle are pictured on the steps of the Academy. Plato is holding a copy of his Timaeus and Aristotle is carrying his Ethics.

Another stamp featured a map of Halkidiki, the birthplace of Aristotle, as well as the ancient Aristotle edition of Stagira.


Source: Hellenic Post, 1978

Hellenic Post 2300th Anniversary of Alexander the Great's Death

THELLENIC POST on 23 July 1977 issued a series of seven First Day Cover stamps dedicated to the 2300th anniversary of Alexander the Great's death. A special postmark cancellation of the great Macedonian king's profile originated from Athens for these two outstanding FDCs. Why the cachet of a mermaid? There is a Greek myth that the Mermaid was the sister of Alexander the Great. 

The stamps depicted respectively:

- a Roman coin with the Lighthouse of Alexandria (0.50 drachmas)

- Raphael's fresco "Alexander the Great placing the works of Homer on the tomb of Achilles" (1 drachma)

- Flemish miniature "Alexander the Great diving into the depths of the sea" (1.50 drachmas)

- Indian plate "Alexander the Great seeking the water of life" (3 drachmas)

- Coptic carpet "Alexander the Great on horseback" (7 drachmas)

- Byzantine manuscript "Alexander the Great receiving the oracle of his imminent death" (11 drachmas)

- Persian miniature "Death of Alexander the Great" (30 drachmas)

Poste Republique Francaise 25th Anniversary of Nazi Germany's Capitulation

POSTE REPUBLIC FRANCAISE on 8 May 1970 issued a First Day Cover stamp marking the 25th Anniversary of Nazi Germany's Capitulation in Berlin. Marshal de Lattre de Tassigny (1889-1952) represented France on the occasion. This grey-green and purple stamp was designed and engraved by Georges Betemps. It featured Marshal de Lattre and German capitulation in Berlin. An intaglio print method was used to issue 4,325,000 copies. Special postmark shows a profile of Marshal de Lattre, which originated from Paris.

The maxim card depicts the signing of the surrender in Berlin Karlshorst. Left at the table is Soviet Marshal Zhukov and at the head is German Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel. Representatives of the Wehrmacht surrender in Reims, Karlshorst Lueneburg, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany (1933-1945) after WWII.

Marshal de Lattre held a staff commission early in World War II, becoming commander of an infantry division in May 1940. After France collapsed in June 1940, he was imprisoned by the Germans but escaped to North Africa in October 1943. He then commanded the French 1st Army in the Allied landing operations in southern France (16 August 1944) and the subsequent drive across France and into southern Germany and Austria. On May 8, 1945, he represented France at the signing of the German capitulation.

Belgian Congo Ba-Tetele Woman

BELGIAN CONGO on 23 May 1942 issued three stamps, each with a different color and denomination, on a profile image of a Ba-Tetele woman. Waterlow & Sons Ltd. London printed between 400,000 to less than three million copies, depending on the stamp, using a Recess method. The same image of the Ba-Tetele woman, blue color with different border design, was issued in 1943.

The name "Ba-tetela" is now accepted as the name for people living in the region between Lusambo and the Upper Congo River, in the provinces of Sankuru and Maniema.  They live by  hunting-gathering ,  fishing ,  farming , and raising  cassava ,  bananas , and  kola nuts . They are understood to be related to the then "Wakussu" people who remained in Maniema only separating from them in the late 1800s after the arrival of  Arabs  and  Belgians  in the region.  Many understood as "Tetela" and some of today's Kusu are subgroups of the larger  Mongo  group. 

The Kusu people are concentrated between Kibombo and Lubao. In the mid to late 19th century they were under the rulership of the Kilembwe rulers and chief Kasongo Lushie where some came under the influence of Arab traders while the "Sungu" and other bilingual populations ventured inland towards the eastern section within the Kasai basin.

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Wikipedia