La Poste France Commmemorative of George Sand

LA POSTE FRANCE on 22 March 2004 issued a first day cover stamp of  19th century French  author George Sand. The stamp depicts Sand in her youth and at the home she inherited from her grandmother. The method of printing is Taille-douce.

Aurore Dupin (George Sand), was the daughter of an officer of the imperial army who died in 1808. She was born 1 July 1 1804, and was taken in by her grandmother, in Nokant, in Berry, France.

A Parisian convent enabled her to complete her education. She returned to Nokant in order to marry Baron Dudevant at the age of eighteen. From this union were born Maurice and Solange. Very quickly, Aurore, regaining her independence, discovered her way thanks to Jules Sandeau with whom she wrote Rose et Blanche. It was then that she adopted the pseudonym of George Sand as a sign of gratitude.

In the 1830s the romantic works, Indiana, Valentine, Lélia and Mauprat, were written. George's work eventually turned towards social inspiration with Le Meunier d'Angibault. A keen interest in the peasant cause made her write novels like La Mare au Diable, La Petite Fadette, or François le Champi.

The year 1848 saw her pen political writings. With Les Maîtres Sonneurs, in 1853, she inaugurated a new genre: the regionalist novel. After having hit the headlines with tumultuous loves, "the honorable lady of Nohant" put her humanitarian ideals into practice with the very people who gave her this sweet nickname. Charity, beneficence, generous impulses, did not hinder her intense intellectual activity until her death.

This great lady who rubbed shoulders with Dumas, Sainte-Beuve, Taine or Gautier, Flaubert, Tourgueniev, Victor Hugo and Chopin, knew how to reach the hearts of men, understand them and paint them with infinite respect. Of writing, she said: "We believe that the mission of art is a mission of feeling and love."

 George Sand died in 1876, at age 71.

La Poste France Commmemorative of Jacques-Yves Cousteau

LA POSTE FRANCE on September 10 2000 issued a first day cover stamp of  Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Artist  Marc Taraskoff provided the illustration, whereas layout design was provided by  Jean-Paul Cousin. The printing method used was Héliogravure.

Cousteau was born in Saint-André de Cubzac in Gironde, France on June 11, 1910. He died in Paris on June 25, 1997. He was a member of the French Academy, naval officer, explorer, filmmaker, he opened the eyes of the world public to the beauty of the seabed submarines. Thanks to the knowledge accumulated during forty years of campaigns aboard the Calypso, he sensitised political leaders and populations on the need to safeguard the seas and oceans for future generations.

Isle of Man Post Honours Manxman Sir Barry Gibb

ISLE OF MAN POST on 3 November 2021 issued a set of seven first day cover stamps to celebrate the iconic superstar singer/songwriter/producer and Manxman Sir Barry Gibb. IOM worked closely with Barry to select these most personally-significant images from his life and career and the Bee Gees 1969 Cucumber Castle TV special, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band film and his Music Legend spot Glastonbury 2017 are particular highlights.

The set was presented on a superior envelope and completed by a black postmark for the day of issue in Douglas, Isle of Man. Housed within the envelope is an informative text card detailing Sir Barry Gibb’s fascinating life and career.  

Only a limited edition of 3,500 FDCs was released.

USPS Commemorative of Robert F. Kennedy

 

USPS on 12 January 1979 honoured former U.S. Senator and U.S. Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy (RFK).  The stamp design was taken from a family photo suggested by his wife, Mrs. Ethel Kennedy. The cachet is a facsimile of a similar photograph/pose with a George Bernard Shaw  quote he is most famously noted for: "Some men see things as they are, and say why. I dream of things that never were, and say why not."

Robert F. (Bobby) Kennedy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 20, 1925, though the family moved to New York two years later.

Bobby was the seventh of nine children born to Joe Kennedy, Sr., a businessman and leading figure in the democratic party who hoped one of his sons would grow up to be president. While he focused on preparing Bobby’s older brothers for such a feat, he encouraged the younger siblings to study current events so that they too could enter public service.

Beginning in 1959, Bobby began devoting his time to running his brother’s presidential campaign, as he had done in 1952 during John’s senatorial campaign. After John won the 1960 presidential election, Bobby was appointed attorney general and also acted as the President’s closest advisor. These roles gave Bobby considerable influence in both foreign and domestic affairs. He had greater power as attorney general than anyone else who has held that position and used it to pursue leaders of organized crime and the mafia. During his term, convictions against these people rose enormously.

Bobby used his influence to push for civil rights reform. He supported the Freedom Riders and sent US marshals to enforce a federal court order to integrate the University of Mississippi.

In 1965, following his term as attorney general, Bobby ran for a seat in the US Senate, representing New York State. After three years as a US Senator, sensing the vulnerability of Lyndon Johnson, Bobby decided to run for President of the United States. He was immensely popular, as people saw him as the embodiment of his slain brother.

Bobby won the California primary on June 4 and delivered his victory speech. Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, a Jordanian immigrant (Palestinian) named Sirhan Bishara Sirhan shot him. Bobby died on the morning of June 6, 1968, at just 43 years old.

Source: Mystic Stamps

Kenya Post Origins of Mankind

KENYA POST & TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION in 1982 issued four first day cover stamps dedicated to early man, entitled "Origins of Mankind'. The four stamps featured fossilised skulls found in various regions of Kenya  --  Australopithecus Boisei,  Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus, and Proconsul Africanus. These complete fossilised skulls were discovered in Kenya by anthropologists Richard Leakey, Mary Leaky and Louis Leakey.

Kenya Post Ceremonial Tribal Costumes

KENYA POST & TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION on 18 December 1981 issued five first day cover stamps dedicated to the "Ceremonial Costumes" of Kenya tribes. Featured in this series included the Kamba, Turkana, Giriama, Masai and Luo. Unfortunately the FDC shown has only four of the five stamps released. In subsequent years and up till 1987, additional traditional tribal costume stamps were issued.

USPS 150th Birth Anniversary of Henry David Thoreau

USPS in 1967 honoured American naturalist, essayist and poet Henry David Thoreau on his 150 birth anniversary. The design featured an illustration by American multi-genre artist Leonard Baskin, who drew it in one of his familiar styles. In 2017, another first day cover stamp of Thoreau was released on his 200th birth anniversary. Shown here is a maxim card with FDC postmark affixed to the 1967 commemorative stamp of Thoreau.

Henry David Thoreau spent most of his life in Concord, Massachusetts, west of Boston.  He attended Harvard University, taught for a short time, and worked at his father’s pencil factory.

After a few years, Thoreau was asked by Ralph Waldo Emerson to be his live-in handyman.  The author and philosopher helped Thoreau improve his writing and influenced his worldview towards Transcendentalism (a philosophical belief in the importance of the senses and intuition over scientific knowledge).  The new writer was able to publish some of his first poems and essays with Emerson’s help.

When Thoreau returned to his parent’s home and factory, he desperately sought quiet to continue his writing, but could not find it.  In 1845, Emerson offered him a part of his land near Walden Pond.  Thoreau built a small cabin and stayed there for two years. During this time, the author began writing "Walden" to answer neighbors’ questions about what he did at the pond.  He stayed there a total of two years, two months, and two days. 

Source: Mystic Stamps

UN Postal Administration (UNPA) 50th Anniversary of the Recording of “Imagine”

UN POSTAL ADMINISTRATION (UNPA) on 21 September 2021 issued a series of first day cover stamps and souvenir sheets marking the 50th Anniversary of the recording of “Imagine” by John Lennon. The stamps and souvenir sheets feature photographs by Bob Gruen, Iain Macmillan and David Nutter and the stamps were illustrated by Martin Mörck based on those photographs. The stamp issue was designed by the UN’s Rorie Katz. A surcharge has been added to the stamps to help fund UN peacekeeping operations worldwide. Shown here all three stamps on FDC envelope and postmarked UN offices in New York, Geneva and Vienna.

The souvenir issue includes the lyrics of John Lennon’s classic anthem to world peace, “Imagine”, together with his signature, and three different photo portraits of the former Beatle from the later stages of his life.

The song has been performed at some of the world’s biggest events, including concerts for peace, hunger, New Year celebrations, and the Olympic Games - always a hopeful message during troubling times. Its lyrics encourage us to put aside all differences and unify to imagine a world of peace, without greed, hunger, or barriers separating people and nations, UNPA noted.

The International Day of Peace was created in 1981 to underscore that all people have the right to live in peace. People are being encouraged to best honour the occasion, said UNPA, by “standing up against acts of hate, and by spreading compassion, kindness, and hope so the world can “live as one”, just as Lennon’s iconic song imagined.

Source: UN News

Pitcairn Island via Bounty Post of the Women of Pitcairn

PITCAIRN ISLAND via Bounty Post on 30 March 2017 issued a series of first day cover stamps dedicated to the Women of Pitcairn. Three stamps of various denomination (from NZ$1.80, NZ$2.20 to NZ$2.80) were released. The stamps depict and list the names of the 12 Polynesian women and a baby girl who left Tahiti with the crew of the Bounty. One of the activities they maintained on Pitcairn was the weaving tapa which is shown as well in these stamps. Shown here is the souvenir sheet in this FDC set.

The souvenir sheet was purchased directly from Pitcairn Island. It was literary shipped aboard the island's monthly mail ship and delivered to New Zealand where it was dispatched to my residence in Malaysia.  It was sent by Mike and Brenda Christian, presumably descendants of Fletcher Christian.

In September 1789, after the mutiny and while staying briefly on Tahiti, Fletcher Christian became concerned that some of his men were ready to rebel against him. Spurred also by fear of discovery and arrest from Britain, he made a hurried departure. He and eight members of the Bounty crew sailed from Tahiti with six Polynesian men, 12 Polynesian women and a baby girl.

Searching for a new home took four months until uncharted Pitcairn was sighted on 15 January 1790. A decision was made on 23 January to burn the Bounty and the fate of all to remain on the island was sealed. The women consorts soon adopted a survival mode by growing crops, fishing, making tapa for warmth and clothing and ensuring Tahitian culture remained an integral part of Pitcairn's identity through music and dance.

Pauline Reynolds in her "Textile History" article* writes how the production of tapa and gifting "reveals information regarding their social, ritual and innovative activities, and their contribution to the Bounty/Pitcairn story". This activity was exclusively a female role but one that gave them a degree of power, status and prestige (depending on the fineness of the cloth). It also provided an outlet for their creative talents and helped bind social relationships.

Reynolds added, "The making and felting of cloth by the women of the Pitcairn community was symbolic of the binding and weaving of relationships, particularly amongst the women and their children". Their innovative designs and experimentation led to unique Pitcairn tapa cloths which are different to those from Tahiti (French Polynesia) and very recognisable today. Reynolds concluded that the Bounty women were "active agents in their community, playing a dynamic role in shaping the social landscape".

Designer: Lucas Kukler, Bangkok, Thailand.
Printer:     Southern Colour Print, Dunedin, New Zealand
Process:     Offset Litho
Stamp size:     40.0 mm x 30.0 mm vertical.
Format:     Miniature sheet containing 3 vertical stamps
Perforation Gauge:     13.33 x 13.60
Denominations:     NZ$1.80, NZ$2.20 and NZ$2.80
Paper:     106gsm Tullis Russell Red phosphor stamp paper.
Period of Sale: 30 March 2017 for a period of 2 years.

*Source: Tapa Cloths and Beaters: Tradition, Innovation and the Agency of the Bounty Women in Shaping a New Culture on Pitcairn Island from 1790 to 1850. - Pauline Reynolds, 2016.

Solomon Islands 20th Anniversary of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union

SOLOMAN ISLANDS on 2 July 1982 issued four first day cover stamps marking the 20th anniversary the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union. Among the stamps featured was Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) studio, SIBC Broadcasting House, village drummers and Radio City Guadalcanal. The stamps carry the British Crown Head of QEII with spiral perforation. The cachet depicted the SIBC logo along with the ABU  initials.

Radio broadcasting in the Solomons was first established by US military forces in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (BSIP) during World War Two. In 1944, the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) developed small, mediumwave stations at Lunga on Guadalcanal and Munda, New Georgia.

By 1952, the broadcasts were on a much stronger footing, and the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service (SIBS), an arm of the Government, was established. In 1976, new legislation converted the SIBS into the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC), a totally independent public service broadcaster charged with providing national radio coverage and a full range of news, educational, and entertainment services.

Instrumental in the development of the station was Dr. Martin Hadlow. He worked with SIBC from 1982 to 1984. He had been recruited by the Australian aid agency to help the SIBC board and management as the Advisor. He did much more than advice. He trained and mentored and even recorded the very first group for an audio cassette titled ‘Solomon Bamboo‘ at Ughele on Rendova. He is remembered fondly and with great respect by many of us at SIBC.

SIBC remains on air transmitting via shortwave, medium wave and FM.

Aereo Ecuador 50th Anniversary of Radio Station HCJB

AEREO ECUADOR in 1981 issued three first day cover stams marking the 50th anniversary of Radio Station HCJB

Save perhaps for Vatican Radio, which was founded in February 1931, the earliest major religious shortwave station was HCJB, in Quito, Ecuador. The creation of American evangelists Clarence W. Jones and Reuben E. Larson, it too began broadcasting in 1931, on Christmas Day. Starting out with a 200 watt transmitter, it increased power over the years, reaching 500 kW in 1982. Over the years HCJB developed a major shortwave presence.  It had  strong technical and production capabilities, and its extensive English and foreign-language schedule served listeners throughout the world. 

For decades it was one of the first stations a new SWL -- including yours truly -- would hear, and it was very friendly toward the SWL community.  It's DX programme, "DX Partyline," was on the air for over 40 years, and the related HCJB-sponsored ANDEX club was similarly long-lived (1974-96).

Starting in 1997, budget constraints, plus the need to remove its antennas due to nearby airport construction, brought about a rethinking of the entire HCJB ministry, and the next decade saw major cutbacks.  Although today the station operates on but a single 10 kw. channel, and only in Spanish and a few other Latin American languages, it boasts a legacy as one of the world's true shortwave pioneers.

Bangladesh Post 75th Anniversary of Bangladesh Betar

BANGLADESH POST on 15th December 2014 issued a single first day cover stamp marking the 75th anniversary of Bangladesh Betar.

Bangladesh Betar or BB is the state-owned radio broadcaster of Bangladesh established after Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971. It was also known as Radio Bangladesh between 1975 and 1996.

Radio transmission in the region now forming Bangladesh started in Dhaka on 16 December  1939 as part of All India Radio. Initially, the station was located in Nazimuddin Road, old Dhaka. Its maximum transmission range was 45 kilometre. In 1954, broadcasting started in Rajshahi. On 8 September 1960, the radio station was moved to a modern office in Shahbag with six professional studios and renamed to Radio Pakistan. More regional stations were opened in Sylhet in 1961, Savar in 1963, Rangpur in 1967 and in Khulna in 1970.

The station played an important role during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. On 26 March 1971, the broadcasting centre of Radio Pakistan was used to transmit a declaration of independence, which was picked up by a Japanese ship in Chittagong Harbor and retransmitted. During the war, the Pakistan Army took over the Radio Station in Dhaka and the Bangladeshi operated Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra (Independent Bengal Radio Station) clandestinely. Because of heavy shelling, the station had to be relocated several times, and ultimately moved to Calcutta on May 25, from where it would broadcast until the end of the war. On December 6, it was renamed Bangladesh Betar. Its current headquarters were completed in 1983 at National Broadcasting House, Agargaon

Denomination : 20.00 TK
Stationary Value : 10.00 TK
Size : 20x10 cm
Color : Multicolor
Process of Printing : Offset
Printer : Postal Prtinting Press, Tongi, Gazipur
Designer : Anowar Hossain
Post Office Issued : Dhaka Gpo, Chittagong Gpo, Rajshahi Gpo, Khulna Gpo, + All Head Post Offices (H.O.)

 Sorce: Wikipedia