Isle of Man Post Motor Racing Magic

ISLE OF MAN POST Holiday Greeting Card featuring Thomas the Tank Engine, which  was one their stamp sets issued for 2021. A complementary stamp sheetlet on Manx Motoring Racing Magic from The Isle of Man Post, valued at approximately £6, if I'm not mistaken, was sent along with the card. I received these as a result of making a few purchases from IOM Post this year. Gotta love the old fashioned "Thank You", personally signed by the staff at IOM Post. That's a touch of class! And I certainly will purchase from them in future, God willing.

 

USPS 400th Birth Anniversary of William Shakespeare.

USPS on 14 August 1964 issued a first day cover stamp commemorating the 400th birth anniversary of William Shakespeare. Over 123,000,000 were printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The method of printing was Rotary Press with 10 1/2 x 11 perforations. The colour was black brown on tan paper. Cancellation was in Stratford, Conneticut.

It was first issued at the home of the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre and Academy in Stratford, Connecticut. The stamp pictures the legendary playwright on the stage of an Elizabethan theatre. He holds a quill in his right hand, next to which is the famed skull of Yorick from the play, Hamlet.
 
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford, England, in 1564. So it was only fitting that Stratford, Connecticut, bearing the name of Shakespeare’s hometown, became the site of the American Shakespeare Festival Theater.
 
The American Shakespeare Festival Theater opened in 1955. During the 1960s, its performances earned the theatre an international reputation. It featured many world-renowned actors and actresses, including Katharine Hepburn, Jessica Tandy, and Hal Holbrook. Unfortunately the theatre is no longer used for performances.

Shakespeare produced the majority of his works between 1589 and 1613.  Many of his early plays were comedies and histories.  He then transitioned to tragedies (such as Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth) until about 1608.  After that, he spent his final writing years on tragicomedies, also known as romances, and worked with other playwrights.

Shakespeare spent much of his life between time with his family in Stratford and as part of the theatre scene in London.  It’s believed he retired to Stratford in 1613 but continued to visit London in his later years.  He died in Stratford on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52.  Today, Shakespeare is considered the greatest English writer, England’s national poet and the Bard of Avon.  Over the course of his life, he wrote about 39 plays, 154 sonnets, and two long narrative poems.

Source: Mystic Stamps

USPS Legends of Hollywood - James Stewart

USPS on 17 August 2007 honoured actor James Stewart as the 13th honoree in the Legends of Hollywood Series. The stamp was postmarked Universal City, CA. The quantity issued was 55,000,000

 

James Maitland Stewart (1908-97) was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania. After graduation from Princeton University in 1932, a friend asked him to join a young theatre group performing on Cape Cod. The budding actor continued on to Broadway and then to Hollywood.
 
Stewart’s first film was “Murder Man” (1935). He was nominated for an Academy Award for “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939). In 1940, he received an Oscar for his performance in “The Philadelphia Story.” Stewart projected an all-American-boy image – rural, righteous, idealistic, always ready to defend the underdog. The actor’s unique, hesitating style made his characters natural and believable. Stewart left America a legacy of more than fifty years of memorable performances.
 
A licensed pilot, Stewart enlisted in the Army Air Corps in March 1941, months before the U.S. entered World War II. Despite his stardom, he requested the same combat duty as other pilots and flew 20 combat missions. He remained in the Air Force Reserves after active duty and retired in 1968 as a brigadier general.
 
After the war, Stewart starred in “It’s A Wonderful Life”, directed by Frank Capra. Since its release in 1946, the film has become a Christmas tradition. The cachet shown here refers to that movie.

USPS Cover of 1970s Postage

 

USPS 1970s cover stamps received from a seller/collector in the United States.

Helvetia Set of Notable Swiss Personalities

SWITZERLAND (HELVETIA) in 1979  issued a set of first day cover stamps honouring Paul Klee, Rainer Maria  Rilke, Hermann  Hesse, and Thomas Mann. The FDC ser was postmarked Bern. Each of these four men at one time lived in Switzerland, and hence were so honoured.

René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (1875 – 1926), better known as Rainer Maria Rilke was an Austrian poet and novelist. He is "widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense German-language poets". He wrote both verse and highly lyrical prose. Several critics have described Rilke's work as "mystical". His writings include one novel, several collections of poetry and several volumes of correspondence in which he invokes images that focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude and anxiety. These themes position him as a transitional figure between traditional and modernist writers.

Paul Klee (1879 – 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented with and eventually deeply explored color theory, writing about it extensively.

Hermann Karl Hesse (1877 –  1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include Demian, Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Paul Thomas Mann (1875 – 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas are noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European and German soul used modernized versions of German and Biblical stories, as well as the ideas of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Arthur Schopenhauer.

Netherlands Antillies Opening of Radio Netherlands' Relay Station on Bonaire

NETHERLANDS ANTILLES on 6 March 1969 issued a first day cover stamp marking the opening of Radio Netherlands' relay station in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. This particular cachet features a watercolour of the relay station and Radio Netherlands logo.

The most memorable aspect of Radio Netherlands was their interval signal, which was a version of the Eighty Years' War song Merck toch hoe sterck played on a carillon. The original recording was made at the cathedral in Den Bosch. It was replaced in August 1987 by a recording of the carillon in Grote Kerk (Breda).

On 11 May 2012 at 20:00 GMT (22:00 CEST), the Dutch service signed off at the end of a 24-hour radio marathon broadcast. This included several interviews with past staff members of the station, including the former Director General Lodewijk Bouwens. On 29 June 2012, Radio Netherlands ended broadcasting in English at 20:57 GMT (22:57 CEST) after a similar celebratory 24-hour broadcast. The final show was posted online by Jonathan Marks, the former Radio Netherlands Programme Director (1992–2003) and host of Media Network.

Source: Wikipedia

La Poste Cameroun Folklore Set

LA POSTE CAMEROUN on 21 April 1972 issued a set of first day cover folklore stamps. Two from this set are featured here, including

La Poste Monaco 225th Birth Anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

LA POSTE MONACO in 1981 issued three first day cover stamps marking the 225th anniversary of the birth of classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)..  The stamps feature a portrait of Mozart by F. Ch. Baude, Mozart at age 7 with his father and sister, and Mozart conducting "The Requiem".

 

Egypt Honours Slain Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat

EGYPT in 1981 issued two first day cover stamps honouring the late Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat. The set entitled "Lived for Peace and Martyred for Principles" depicted an illustration of Sadat and the Great Pyramid of Giza with a Cairo cancellation.

Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat (1918 -1981) was an Egyptian politician who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981. Sadat was a senior member of the Free Officers who overthrew King Farouk in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and a close confidant of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, under whom he served as Vice President twice and whom he succeeded as president in 1970. In 1978, Sadat and Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel, signed a peace treaty in cooperation with United States President Jimmy Carter, for which they were recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize.

In his eleven years as president, he changed Egypt's trajectory, departing from many of the political and economic tenets of Nasserism, re-instituting a multi-party system, and launching the Infitah economic policy. As President, he led Egypt in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 to regain Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967, making him a hero in Egypt and, for a time, the wider Arab World. Afterwards, he engaged in negotiations with Israel, culminating in the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty; this won him and Menachem Begin the Nobel Peace Prize, making Sadat the first Muslim Nobel laureate.The peace treaty was also one of the primary factors that led to his assassination; on 6 October 1981, militants led by Khalid Islambouli opened fire on Sadat with automatic rifles during the 6 October parade in Cairo, killing him.

Sadat’s death set in train the disastrous road to the war in Lebanon in 1982, the creation of Hezbollah, and the seeds of al-Qaida.
Ariel Sharon embarked on the disastrous June 1982 invasion that led to the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps massacre in September, the April 1983 suicide bombing of the U.S. Embassy that killed 63 people including seven CIA officers, and the October 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks at Beirut airport that killed 241 Marines, sailors, and soldiers. The invasion also led to the creation by Iran of Hezbollah, which ultimately drove the Israelis out of even the most southern part of Lebanon in 2000. President Ronald Reagan withdrew the Marines after the bombing of the Marine barracks and Syria and Iran were triumphant.

On the fringe of the assassination plot in 1981 was a prominent Egyptian doctor named Ayman al-Zawahiri who was arrested in the police sweeps after Sadat’s murder. Because of his language skills and demeanor, Zawahiri became the spokesperson for the plotters in prison. Released for lack of evidence, Zawahiri has been on the run ever since.As Osama bin Laden’s deputy and eventual successor, Zawahiri has been the leading ideologue of al-Qaida since its birth. He articulated its goal as being to destroy America’s will to support Israel. 

Source: Wikipedia and Brookings Institute

USPS "Hawaiian Missionaries" Souvenir Sheet

USPS on 24 October 2002 issued a first day cover "Hawaiian Missionaries" souvenir sheet, postmarked New York. This water-activated gum (WAG) souvenir sheet contained four 37-cent stamps. The sheet, designed by Richard Sheaff. Sales were restricted to the full pane of stamps. No individual, single-stamp sales were permitted.

The 2002 Hawaiian Missionaries stamps were reproduce examples of Hawaii's first four postage stamps, which were issued in three denominations: 2 cents, 5 cents and 13 cents. The stamps are called "Hawaiian Missionaries" by philatelists because most of them were used on correspondence mailed by Christian missionaries from Hawaii to their families, friends, and business associates. These rare stamps are now considered among the world's foremost philatelic items. Only 28 covers bearing Missionary stamps are known to exist, and only one surviving cover bears the 2-cent stamp: the famous "Dawson cover" shown on this souvenir sheet.

USPS 100th Birth Anniversary of Eleanor Roosevelt.

USPS on 11 October 1984 issued a first day cover stamp marking the 100th birth anniversary of Eleanor Roosevelt. Over 112,000,000 deep blue stamps were printed by the American Bank Note Company. This engraved stamp featured 11 perforations and cancellation was from Hyde Park, NY. It was one of many stamps that have over the years  honoured her many humanitarian contributions.

When her husband Franklin Roosevelt was elected President in 1932, Eleanor dreaded the traditional roles of hostess and domestic affairs. As such, she made it her mission to redefine the role of First Lady. Eleanor continued her busy speaking schedule and was the first First Lady to hold a press conference. She would hold 348 while in the White House and banned male reporters, forcing newspapers to hire female reporters. She also wrote a newspaper column, “My Day,” which was another first. The column ran six days a week from 1936 until her death in 1962 and included her daily work as well as humanitarian issues.One of the projects dearest to Eleanor was Arthurdale, a community in West Virginia. In 1933, she visited homeless miners in Morgantown, West Virginia. She proposed building a new community where they could make their living with subsistence farming, handicrafts, and a manufacturing plant.

Another issue of great importance to Eleanor was civil rights. She frequently spoke out for the rights of African Americans, even challenging her husband’s New Deal policies because they did not equally benefit all races. In 1939, she stood up for African American singer Marian Anderson, who was denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

When World War II broke out, Eleanor encouraged her husband to allow European refugee children to immigrate to America. She hoped he would allow more immigration for those persecuted by the Nazis, but FDR did the opposite.

Eleanor co-chaired the Office of Civilian Defense (OCD), which gave volunteers more responsibility in war preparation. She also pushed for women and African Americans to take a larger role in the war effort, particularly giving women factory jobs a year before it became common practice. Eleanor also gave her support to the Tuskegee Airmen, flying with one of their pilots and bringing national attention to their training programme.

When FDR died in April 1945, she left the White House and moved to New York. Later that year, she was appointed a delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. The following year she became the first chairperson of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights and later helped draft its Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Over the years she refused several offers to run for political offices. She averaged 150 national and international speaking tours per year and received 35 honorary degrees.

Eleanor Roosevelt died on 7 November  1962. At her memorial service, Adlai Stevenson asked, “What other single human being has touched and transformed the existence of so many?”

Source: Mystic Stamps

Deutsches Reich Commemoratives for Army Day and Hero Memorial Day

DEUTSCHES REICH  on 21 March  1943 issued 12 stamps for Army Day and Hero Memorial Day. The stamp designs from the lowest to the highest denomination feature a submarine, Schutz-Staffel Troops, a motorised marksman, signal corps, engineer corps, grenade assault, heavy artillery, anti-aircraft units in action, dive bombers, parachuting troops, a tank, and a speed boat. The 5 Pf. and 15 Pf. values also exist imperforate.

Iceland 50th Anniversary of Broadcasting

 

ICELAND issued on 20 November 1983 a single first day cover stamp commemorating 50 years of broadcasting in Iceland.

 

Luxembourg Post Wildlife Conservation - Banded Agrion

LUXEMBOURG POST in 1987 released a series of Wildlife Conservation stamps. This endangered species set featured a White-throated Dipper, Salamander, Banded Agrion and Garden Dormouse. Among the first day cover stamps was this Banded Agrion issued on the maxim card shown here.

Republic of Mali UNESCO Sites of Venice

REPUBLIC OF MALI on 31 August 1972 issued three first day cover stamps of UNESCO sites in Venice. The World Heritage sites featured on the stamps included Venezia Piazza San Marco, Venezia Ponte Di Rialto and Venezia Molo.