• Right Stamp: NIPPON 40 (40 Japanese Yen). It features the Great Purple Emperor (Sasakia charonda ), which is recognized as the national butterfly of Japan.
The antique postcard from French Somaliland (Côte Française des Somalis), now Djibouti, featured a scene labeled "12 - Martyre de Saint Pierre (à gauche) and de Saint-Paul (à droite)" (Martyrdom of Saint Peter on the left and Saint Paul on the right), flanked by the two aforementioned stamps from the territory. The illustration was credited to Cliché J. B.
• 1901 Le lave-linge: Commemorates the invention/spread of the washing machine.
• 1944 Le droit de vote des femmes commemorates women's right to vote in France.
• 1969 Le premier pas sur la lune commemorates the Apollo 11 moon landing.
• Les congés payés commemorates paid leave holidays.
• Vintage red emergency fire truck "Véhicule de premier secours".
• Comic book character Fantasio from Spirou et Fantasio, running with a megaphone/clock.
These were official, often free-of-charge stationery items issued to Imperial Japanese soldiers during WWII to write letters home to family members in Japan or occupied territories.
The Japanese woman featured on this postcard is Kinuyo Tanaka who was a powerhouse actress and a pioneering director whose career spanned over 50 years. She starred in Japan's very first talkie film, The Neighbor's Wife and Mine (Madamu to nyōbō), a 1931 Japanese comedy film, and frequently collaborated with legendary directors like Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujirō Ozu.
During the WWII era, postcards featuring prominent film stars and theatre beauties were highly popular inclusions in wartime military mail packets to boost the morale of deployed soldiers.
Additionally, Kintoto Cosmetics (a pre-war Japanese cosmetics brand that produced items like face powders and hair oils) sponsored postcards like this one.
As for the illustration of the soldier, in the centre of the postcard, there is a caption or a morale-boosting poem designed to comfort soldiers serving in freezing northern regions (such as Manchuria or Northern China).
The poem reads In the freezing cold, even the cloak turns white. Protecting under the Orion constellation, it pierces the body, but holding the rifle, fighting spirit burns.
Lyrics to wartime Japanese songs
OPERATION PLUNDER was a massive World War II military operation launched on the night of 23 March 1945, to establish a major Allied foothold across the Rhine River into the German heartland. Planned and executed by the 21st Army Group under the command of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, it stood as one of the largest and most meticulously coordinated assault crossings of the war.
The operation went practically like clockwork, completely fracturing the German defense north of the industrial Ruhr region. Within four days, the Allies consolidated a bridgehead 35 miles wide and 20 miles deep, capturing over 30,000 German soldiers.
This successful breach shattered Nazi Germany's final hope of a prolonged western defense, prompting high-ranking officials like Joseph Goebbels to declare that the situation in the West had entered a "deadly phase". It directly paved the final path for the Allied "blitz" toward Berlin.
John Bauer's famous folklore and fairy tale illustrations shown here include:
- "Here is a piece of a troll herb which nobody else but me can find" (1912) — Depicting an enormous troll mother sitting near a small child in the forest.
- "Princess Tuvstarr gazing down into the dark waters of the forest tarn" (1913) — One of Bauer's most iconic works, showing the blonde princess sitting at the edge of a reflective woodland pool.
- "Leap the Elk and Little Princess Cottongrass" (1913) — Showing the massive moose ("Skutt") standing over the tiny princess resting on the moss.
- "En riddare red fram" ("A knight rode forth") (1915) — Featuring a small, shining knight riding a charging horse beneath a starry sky.
These scenes were originally published in the famous Swedish fairy tale anthology Bland tomtar och troll (Among Gnomes and Trolls).
The postcard highlights the "Piegans" (painted in 1918), depicting members of the Piegan Blackfeet band on horseback by Charles Marion Russell (1864–1926) who was famous for his depictions of the American Old West.
Nasu-no-Yoichi was one of the most prominent archers in feudal Japan. He was a samurai archer of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods (1169–1232), known for his exceptional skill with the bow.
Nasu no Yoichi is best known for his remarkable feat during the Battle of Yashima in 1184, part of the Genpei War between the Taira and Minamoto clans.
During the battle, the Taira forces placed a fan atop a pole on one of their ships, challenging the Minamoto to shoot it. Nasu no Yoichi, on horseback, stepped forward and, with great precision, shot the fan from the ship. This impressive display of archery skill and coirage is often depicted in Japanese art and literature.
NIPPON POST on 6 October 1992 issued a stamp commemorating The Heiji Monogatari Emaki (The Illustrated Tale of Heiji) is a masterpiece of Japanese narrative handscroll (emaki) painting created during the Kamakura period (13th century). It vividly depicts the brutal political and military clashes of the Heiji Rebellion of 1159, a brief but pivotal civil war that set the stage for the rise of samurai dominance in Japan.
- Top Left & Middle Right (62 yen): Features pears labeled "二十世紀梨・鳥取県" (20th Century Pear, Tottori Prefecture).
- Top Right (62 yen): Commemorates the 450th anniversary of Japan-Portugal relations (平成5年・1993, 日本・ポルトガル友好450年記念), showing a traditional lacquered box.
- (Middle Left (62 yen): Features a stylised character with glasses and a hat, labeled "めがね・福井県" (Glasses, Fukui Prefecture) from a regional/letter-writing collection.
- Bottom Left (62 yen): Commemorates the 100th Tenno Sho horse race (第100回天皇賞競走記念, Heisei 1 / 1989).
- Bottom Right (70 yen): Commemorates the Europalia Japan festival in 1989 (平成元年 1989, ユーロパリア日本祭記念), featuring a traditional performer with a fan.
The stamp on the left was issued in 1964, whereas the two on the right were first printed in 1956. The circular postmark stamped directly over the left-hand side of the postcard has a cancellation date of 27 September 1967.
The postcard shows a beautiful sunset (Magnifique coucher du soleil) in Tiva, Tahaa, French Polynesia.
The First Day of Issue Ceremony was held at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, home of the Atlanta Braves baseball team.
Hank "Henry" Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021) was a professional baseball player who was part of Major League Baseball (MLB) for 23 seasons. He played from 1954 to 1976, with most of that time spent on the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves (he spent two seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers). Aaron played as a right fielder and designated hitter, becoming famous for breaking Babe Ruth’s long-time home-run record in 1974. He held the record for 33 years.
Aaron grew up in Mobile and Toulminville, Alabama, with his seven siblings. When he was young, his family was too poor to buy baseball equipment, so Aaron used a stick and bottle cap for his bat and ball. After high school, Aaron signed with the Negro American League. Not long after, Aaron signed with the Braves and worked his way up through their farm teams. On 13 Apri 1954, he made his MLB debut.
Throughout his career, Hank Aaron faced many obstacles, including varying degrees of racism. He often couldn’t stay in the same hotels or eat in the same restaurants as his teammates. When he was about to break Babe Ruth’s home run record, he received death threats. But hatred didn’t stop Hank Aaron. He persevered and remains one of the most talented and beloved baseball players of all time.
Source: Mystic Stamps
