La Poste France Honours Jeanne d'Arc

 

LA POSTE FRANCE in 1968 issued a first day cover stamp of Jeanne d'Arc, “The Maid of Orléans” (La Pucelle d’Orléans), departing Vaucouleurs. In 1429, Jeanne d'Arc appealed to Robert De Baudricourt, captain of the royal garrison at Vaucouleurs, to  provide an escort to the court of Charles Valois, Dauphin of France. Jeanne d'Arc, believing she was acting under divine guidance, then led the French army in a momentous victory at Orléans in 1429 that repulsed an English attempt to conquer France during the Hundred Years' War.

Jeanne d'Arc is considered a heroine of France for her role during the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years’ War, and was canonised as a Roman Catholic saint. Jeanne d'Arc claimed to have received visions of the Archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine of Alexandria instructing her to support Charles VII and recover France from English domination late in the Hundred Years’ War. The uncrowned King Charles VII sent Jeanne d'Arc to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission. She gained prominence after the siege was lifted only nine days later. Several additional swift victories led to Charles VII’s coronation at Reims. This long-awaited event boosted French morale and paved the way for the final French victory.

On May 23, 1430, she was captured at Compiègne by the Burgundian faction, a group of French nobles allied with the English. She was later handed over to the English and put on trial by the pro-English bishop Pierre Cauchon on a variety of charges. After Cauchon declared her guilty she was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431, dying at about nineteen years of age.

In 1456, an inquisitorial court authorized by Pope Callixtus III examined the trial, debunked the charges against her, pronounced her innocent, and declared her a martyr. In the 16th century she became a symbol of the Catholic League, and in 1803 she was declared a national symbol of France by the decision of Napoleon Bonaparte. She was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920. Jeanne d'Arc is one of the nine secondary patron saints of France, along with Saint Denis, Saint Martin of Tours, Saint Louis, Saint Michael, Saint Rémi, Saint Petronilla, Saint Radegund and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux.

Osterreichische Post Frequenzsprung Verfahren von Hedy Lemarr

OSTERREICHISCHE POST in 2020 issued a first day cover stamp honouring Hedy Lemarr. The stamp was titled - "Frequenzsprung Verfahren von Hedy Lemarr" (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum inventor - Hedy Lemarr) and "Osterreische Erfindungen"  (Austrian Inventions).

Most people know Hedy Lemarr as a screen goddess from the golden era of cinema, but she was also  a highly gifted inventor whose pioneering inventions are still being used. Together with the American composer George Antheil, in 1942, she devised the frequency hopping technique for the Allies that could be used to steer torpedoes. Switching between frequencies made radio signals difficult to locate and secure against interference. Whilst the complex process was not used by the U.S. during World War II, it became the basis for modern communications technologies like Bluetooth, WLAN and GSM.

In 1997, Lamarr and Antheil were awarded an Electronic Frontier Pioneer Award for their invention. In 2014, Hedy Lamarr was posthumously given a place in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in the U.S.

Russian Post 125th Anniversary on the Invention of Radio

 

RUSSIAN POST in 2015 issued a first day cover stamp marking the invention of radio by Alexander Stepanovich Popov. On 7 May 1895, during a meeting of the Russian Physicochemical Society in St. Petersburg,  Russian scientist-inventor, physicist and electrical engineer Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrated the operation of the world's first radio receiver.

The 1895 radio depicted on this stamp is on exhibit at the A.S. Popov Central Museum of Communications named after him. The maxi card is one of only 10 printed and shows the Russian Physicochemical Society meeting when Popov first presented his invention.

Popov was a contemporary of Guglielmo Marconi, but the two men developed their radio apparatuses independently and without knowledge of the other’s work. Making a definitive claim of who was first is complicated by inadequate documentation of events, conflicting definitions of what constitutes a radio, and national pride.

One of the reasons why Marconi gets the credit and Popov doesn’t is that Marconi was much more savvy about intellectual property. One of the best ways to preserve your place in history is to secure patents and publish your research findings in a timely way. Popov did neither. He never pursued a patent for his lightning detector, and there is no official record of his 24 March 1896 demonstration. He eventually abandoned radio to turn his attention to the newly discovered Röntgen waves, also known as X-rays.

Marconi, on the other hand, filed for a British patent on 2 June 1896, which became the first application for a patent in radiotelegraphy. He quickly raised capital to commercialize his system, built up a vast industrial enterprise, and went on to be known—outside of Russia—as the inventor of radio.

 

Russian Post 100th Birth Anniversary of Alexander Solzhenitsyn

RUSSIAN POST in 2018 issued a commemorative stamp marking the 100th birth anniversary of Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008). He was a prose writer, playwright, poet and publicist, a full member of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1970).

His writings included: “The Deer and Shalashovka” (1954), “The Road” (1952), “In the First Circle” (1958), “The GULAG Archipelago” (1968), “One Day by Ivan Denisovich” (1959), “ Matryonin Yard ”and“ The Case at Krechetovka Station ”(1963),“ Cancer Building ”(1966),“ Red Wheel ”(1969–2000).

 He was awarded orders of the Patriotic War of the second degree (1943), the Red Star (1944), and the Big Gold Medal named after M.V. Lomonosov (1998), awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation for outstanding achievements in the field of humanitarian activities (2007). 

This is rather ironic considering that in 1945 Solzhenitsyn was arrested and sentenced to 8 years in various Soviet gulags for writing derogatory comments in private letters to a friend about the conduct of the war by Joseph Stalin. He also had talks with the same friend about the need for a new organisation to replace the Soviet regime.

The maxi card here features Solzhenitsyn with former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. A postage stamp depicts a portrait of Solzhenitsyn and a gulag observation tower in Matryonin Yard. Only 10 maxi cards with this stamp were printed.

On a side note, the progressive rock group, Renaissance, recorded a song about Solzhenitsyn called "Mother Russia".

Bulgaria Post 30th Anniversary of Mikoyan MiG-29

BULGARIA POST in 2019 issued a 30th Anniversary first day cover stamp and maxi card of the Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter which is still used in the Bulgarian Air Force.

The MiG-29 was a fourth-generation Soviet multi-role fighter developed at the MiG Design Bureau. According to NATO classification, the MiG-29 received the designation "Fulcrum-A". 

MiG-29 export modifications were created with a more simplified avionics, excluding the possibility of delivering a nuclear charge -- the MiG-29A model (for the air forces of the Warsaw Treaty parties and the MiG-29B (for other countries).

Malaysia was one of those countries. In fact, 16 MiG-29N models were purchased for the Royal Malaysian Air Force. Of these 15 are currently in active reserve.

La Poste France Balthaus Turkish Chamber

LA POSTE FRANCE in 1982 issued a first day cover stamp of the Balthus painting entitled "Turkish Chamber". Balthasar Klossowski (or Kłossowski) de Rola  (1908 - 2001), best known as Balthus, was an esteemed but controversial Polish-French modern artist.

Deutsche Bundepost 1st Death Anniversary of John F. Kennedy

DEUTSCHE BUNDEPOST in 1964 issued a first day cover stamp on the First Death Anniversary of former U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. This FDC is postmarked  Berlin, West Germany, 21.11.1964. The cachet is also from that period. JFK was honoured in West Germany for his Cold War stance in his famous speech "Ich bin ein Berliner".

JFK is on a good many postage stamps around the world, not just the United States. And they are not always commemorative stamps from years past. Some are   fairly recent. His ideals and his tragic death apparently have made him somewhat of a legend.

La Poste France Etoiles du Jazz

LA POSTE FRANCE in 2002 issued a set of six first day cover stamps called  "Etoiles du Jazz", dedicated to six jazz musicians, among them being Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Stéphane Grappelli and Michel Petrucciani. Shown is a very large envelope with block set sheet and cachet of these jazz musicians.

Louis Armstrong - Born 4 August  1901 in New Orleans, he learned the cornet in a home for abandoned children, worked from 1914 with various local glories, including King Oliver and the trombonist Kid Ory, then aboard paddle steamers on the Mississippi River. After having accompanied blues singers with whom he made his phonographic debut, he formed his Hot Five (1925) then Hot Seven with which he signed the first recorded masterpieces in the history of jazz. According to the great orchestras, films, tours and festivals, encounters (with Sidney Bechet, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, etc.), his power of melodic invention, his mastery and his instrumental power, his rugged voice, his humor impose him as one of the first "stars" of jazz.

Sidney Bechet - “Creole” from New Orleans (where he was born on 14 May 1897), Sidney Joseph Bechet took part in tours that took him to Europe from 1919, within the Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra, and in 1925 with Joséphine Baker and the Negro Revue. After a series of recordings, notably with the pianist Jelly Roll Morton (1939) and Louis Armstrong (1940), he was one of the stars, in 1949, of a Parisian jazz festival. Installed in France the following year, he made himself known there, on the clarinet, as one of the most popular artists, putting his flamboyant lyricism at the service of songs without denying the New Orleans tradition or the blues. His Petite Fleuret other Onions would become the hymns of his Parisian funeral.

Duke Ellington - Pianist and conductor, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, born in Washington on 29 April 1899, was the first full "jazz composer". From 1926, under his direction, soloists followed one another corresponding to “periods” of his work: “jungle” with the trumpeters Bubber Miley then Cootie Williams and the voice of Adelaide Hall, and soon these pillars that would become the saxophonists Johnny Hodges and Harry Carney, while the composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn was with him until his death in 1967 as a double for Duke. Exoticism, impressionism, almost symphonic compositions, stage and film music, sacred concerts: Ellington has used all forms and musical means to tell the story of his people and to please all the peoples of the world

Ella Fitzgerald - Born sixteen years earlier in Virginia, Ella Fitzgerald won at the Opera House in Harlem, in 1934, the first prize in a singing competition reserved for amateurs. The drummer Chick Webb immediately engaged her to perform in his orchestra. When he died in 1939, she took over the management and kept it until 1942. She then acquired a reputation that went far beyond the borders of jazz, establishing herself as the most brilliant of melodic invention. From Louis Armstrong to Duke Ellington via Count Basie, she associated her voice and her improvisational verve with the greatest jazzmen, and that until the last years of her life. She died in Beverly Hills on 15 June 1996.

Stéphane Grappelli - Born 26 January  1908, the self-taught Stéphane Grappelli received his first violin at the age of twelve and started playing in the courts. In 1934 he formed the Quintet of the Hot Club de France with Django Reinhardt. The two musicians were separated by war in 1939 and then by the death of Reinhardt in 1953. Stéphane Grappelli established himself as a genius of improvisation whose virtuosity erased the boundaries between styles and musical genres. From Yehudi Menuhin to Michel Petrucciani, from Martial Solal to Michel Legrand, from Joe Venuti to Didier Lockwood, he played with countless musicians until his death on 1 December 1997.

Michel Petrucciani - Born in Orange on 28 December 1962, weakened by osteogenesis imperfecta, Michel Petrucciani studied classical piano, then, having discovered jazz, performed with his father, guitarist, and his brother Louis, double bass player. Inaugurated with a first record in 1980, the list of his recordings and partners on both sides of the Atlantic - from Stéphane Grappelli to saxophonists Lee Konitz, Wayne Shorter and, for five years, Charles Lloyd - testifies to the enthusiasm he aroused in less than two decades. When he died, on 6 January 1999 in a New York hospital, he joined the legendary ranks of illustrious jazz men and women.

La Poste France "The Little Prince"

LA POSTE FRANCE in 1999 issued a set of beautiful postage stamps to pay tribute to "The Little Prince (La Petit Prince)". Postage stamps depicted five original illustrations from this famous tale by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote and illustrated "The Little Prince" in 1943 while an exile living on Long Island. He was a well-known French aviator who drew much of the book's content from his experiences in North Africa, WWII and his personal life. Various chapters and characters were deleted in the final draft. The book went from 33,000 words and several drafts till it was finally distilled to a little less than 70 pages.

Although the book is considered a simple children’s tale, it is filled with profound riddles that speak to adults as well as children. The novella has been translated into over 180 different languages and is one of the best selling books of all time.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry died in 1944 while flying a Lockheed P-38 Lightening on a reconnaissance mission over the Mediterranean.

Österreichische Post 40th Anniversary of Österreich Rundfunk

ÖSTERREICHISCHE POST in 1964 issued a first day cover stamp marking the 40th anniversary (1924 - 1964) of their national broadcaster Österreich Rundfunk (ORF). Affixed to a maxim card illustrating the coverage of ORF is this 40th anniversary stamp.

 

USSR & USPS Joint Issue Apollo Soyuz

USSR and USPS on 15 July  1975, each issued stamps honouring the launch of their Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, their first joint space venture. Issued as an attached pair, these stamps illustrate the main objective of the mission, which was a successful docking in space.

After several years of tension and a Space Race to the Moon, the United States and Soviet Union began to adopt a détente policy. This was an easing of strained relations. Out of this policy came the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Apollo-Soyuz was the first mission undertaken by Russian and American astronauts in a joint, peaceful quest into outer space. 

USSR 50th Anniversary of Radio Moscow

USSR Postal Service in 1979 issued a first day cover stamp marking the 50th anniversary of Radio Moscow.

La Poste France Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF)

LA POSTE FRANCE in 1963 issued a first day cover stamp commemorating the opening of the then-new Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF).

India Post Mahabharat

INDIA POST in 2017 issued a series of stamps commemorating the epic tale of Mahabharat. Shown is one of 18 stamps.

The Mahabharata is an important source of information on the development of Hinduism between 400 BCE and 200 CE and is regarded by Hindus as both a text about dharma (Hindu moral law) and a history (itihasa, literally “that's what happened”).

India Post Qutub Mimbar and Tokyo Tower

INDIA POST in December 2013 issued a stamp  and  miniature  sheet  depicting  the  Qutub  Minbar  and  the  Tokyo Tower on the occasion of the Visit of Emperor & Empress of Japan.

The Qutb Minar is a minaret and "victory tower" that forms part of the Qutb complex. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of New Delhi, India. It is one of most visited tourist spots in the city due to it being one of the earliest that survives in the Indian subcontinent. The minaret is unique in that historically it was uncommon in South Asian-Islamic design until the 17th century. This lag is due to the slow adoption of the typical Middle Eastern style in India. It is also detached from the main mosque, showcasing how the native culture affected the design of a Middle Eastern structure.

The Tokyo Tower dominates the Tokyo skyline. Taking many similarities from the Eiffel Tower, the Tokyo Tower is an iconic structure which offers fantastic panoramic views of this buzzing metropolis. Originally constructed in 1957, this communications tower remains a significant symbol of the economic  growth during post-war Japan. The tower is 333 metres high and is visited by millions of travellers each year in search of the best city views.

India Post Princess Suriratna

INDIA POST and South Korea in 2019 issued joint stamps of Princess Suriratna and Queen Huh Hwang-ok. The release of the stamp is based on the mythical story of Princess Suriratna from the Indian holy city of Ayodhya, who married a Korean king in 48 AD, some 2000 years ago, and started the Karak dynasty. After marriage, the princess was given the name – Queen Huh Hwang-ok.  

An anthropologist named Kim Byung-mo has confirmed the widely held belief that Ayuta was actually Ayodhya, as the two names are phonetically similar. People from the Karak dynasty have also preserved the rocks that are said to have been used by the princess during her sea voyage to Korea to keep her boat stable.

Shown here is the India Post stamp depicting the stones and Princess Suriratna.

La Poste France 200th Birth Anniversary of Emir Abd el-Kader

 

LA POSTE FRANCE in 2008 issued this first day cover stamp marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Emir Abdelkader or Abdelkader El Hassani El Djazairi. 

He was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggle against the French colonial invasion in the mid-19th century. An Islamic scholar and Sufi who unexpectedly found himself leading a military campaign, he built up a collection of Algerian tribesmen that for many years successfully held out against one of the most advanced armies in Europe. His consistent regard for what would now be called human rights, especially as regards his Christian opponents, drew widespread admiration, and a crucial intervention to save the Christian community of Damascus from a massacre in 1860 brought honours and awards from around the world.

 

 He embodied qualities I would dare say emulated those of the Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam), Salahuddin al-Ayyubi  and later Omar al-Mukhtar. 

Lebanon Post Khalil Gibran "The Prophet"

LEBANON POST in 1983 issued this stamp sheet of Khalil Gibran featuring artwork from his most famous book, "The Prophet". He is chiefly known in the English-speaking world for this 1923 book, which was an example of inspirational fiction including a series of philosophical essays written in poetic English prose.

The book sold well despite a cool critical reception, gaining popularity in the 1930s and again especially in the 1960s counterculture. 

Gibran was a Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer member of the New York Pen League. His art and poetry has been often likened to that of 18th century British poet and artist William Blake.

In my youth, he was one of those writers, along with Hesse, Nietzsche, Jung, Thoreau and Frost, that I read extensively and owned at one time many of his books.

Bangladesh Post 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore

BANGLADESH POST, along with Sri Lanka and India, in 2011 issued a series of stamps marking the 150th birth anniversary of painter, poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. 

Rabindranath Tagore reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Author of the "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse" of "Gitanjali," he became in 1913 the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Tagore's poetic songs were viewed as spiritual and mercurial; however, his "elegant prose and magical poetry" remain largely unknown outside Bengal. He is sometimes referred to as "the Bard of Bengal". And indeed the national anthems of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka were based on writings by Tagore. His compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems: India's "Jana Gana Mana" and Bangladesh's "Amar Shonar Bangla". The Sri Lankan national anthem was inspired by his work.

Liechtenstein Post Portrait of Famous Vistors - Hermann Hesse

LIECHTENSTEIN POST in 1981 issued commemorative stamps of "Paintings of Famous Visitors to Liechtenstein", among these being the German writer Hermann Hesse. Shown in this issue was the "Portrait of Emil Sinclair", a pseudonym Hermann Hesse used in 1917 after being severely criticised for his pacifist writings. Artist Cuno Amiet rendered this particular portrait of Hesse in the Swiss  modernism  style in 1919.

Color: multicolored with gold 

Watermark: none N

Nominal value: 1.00 Franc

Stamp picture size (printed area without signature line): 28.0 x 27.5 mm