SingPost "City in Nature" Franking and Stanps

SINGPOST stamp cover featured this unique franking -- "City in Nature" -- to promote the island republic of Singapore.

Correos Espana "History of Discovery and Conquest of America"

CORREOS ESPANA on 12 October 1964  issued a First Day Cover called  "History of Discovery and Conquest of America" which featured four of the Spanish explorers/colonisers -- or, to some,  murders/exploiters -- of the New World. Nevertheless, they represent a period in Spanish and South American history. A total of eight FDCs in this series were issued from 1961 until 1968. Rotogravure print method was used. A total of 4,000,000 were printed by the National Mint and Stamp Factory. 

Diego de Almagro

Diego de Almagro was a Spanish conquistador. He participated in the conquest of Peru and is officially considered the discoverer of Chile. Diego de Almagro was born in the city in 1475. In 1535, Emperor Charles I awarded Almagro the governorship of Nueva Toledo, in southern Peru, and the title of Adelantado of the lands beyond Lake Titicaca, in present-day Chile.

Francisco de Toledo

Francisco de Toledo, July 10, 1515 in Oropesa, Toledo – 1584 in Seville, was a Spanish nobleman and military man, Viceroy of Peru. Descendant of King Alfonso XI of Castile and Doña Leonor Núñez de Guzmán. In 1535, Toledo joined the Order of Alcántara, for almost twenty years serving the emperor in the armies in Flanders and Italy. He was a friend of Emperor Charles V. He was the fifth of the Viceroys of Peru.

He held this position from 1569 to 1581. During his reign, in 1570, the Inquisition Tribunal was established. Coastal fortifications were built to prevent pirate attacks, and he destroyed the Inca stronghold at Vilcabamba, ordering the execution of Túpac Amaru. He centralized the essential aspects of colonial administration and established the foundations of what would become the colonial system in Peru.

Saint Toribio of Mogrovejo

Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo y Robledo Mayorga, Valladolid, November 18, 1538 – Saña, Peru, March 23, 1606. Spanish clergyman. Saint of the Catholic Church and second Archbishop of Lima. He was a tireless missionary and a great organizer of the South American Church. He began his missionary work by traveling to Lima, baptizing and teaching the natives.

At the age of sixty-eight, Santo Toribio fell ill in Pacasmayo, north of Lima, but continued working until the end, arriving in the city of Saña in a dying condition, where he made his will in which he left his personal belongings to his servants and the rest of his properties to the poor.

He died at 3:30 p.m. on Holy Thursday, March 23, 1606. He was beatified on June 28, 1679 by Pope Innocent XI, through his Bull “Laudeamus” and canonized on December 10, 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII, through his Bull “Quoniam Spiritus”.

Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro González, Marquis (Trujillo, Cáceres, March 16, 1476/1478 – Lima, June 26, 1541) was the Spanish explorer and conqueror of Peru, governor of New Castile, current Peruvian territory with seat of government in La Ciudad De Los Reyes (Lima).

He is remembered for having succeeded in dominating the Inca Empire with the help of various local chiefdoms, conquering the aforementioned imperial state whose center of government was located in present-day Peru, and establishing a Spanish dependency over it. Although he held the title of marquis, he was a "marquis without a marquisate"; his descendants held the title of Marquis of the Conquest. However, it is quite possible that he was granted the title of Marquis of Atavillos.

La Poste France "L' Apocalypse Tapisserie, XIV"

LA POSTE FRANCE issued on 30 October 1965 a First Day Cover stamp of "L' Apocalypse Tapisserie, XIV" (Apocalypse Tapestry, a 14th-century artwork). The postmark cancellation originated from  Angers. The designer/engraver was Jean Pheulpin. An intaglio printing process was used for the stamp.

The tapestry depicts a story of the Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation, entitled "Blood flowing from the great winepress of God's wrath”. It was based on the visions of St. John from the Biblical Book of Revelation. The tapestry was designed by Hennequin de Bruges, painter for King Charles V. It was woven by Nicolas Bataille and commissioned by Louis I, Duke of Anjou. Bataille wove it in Paris between 1377 and 1382. 

Originally it comprised six tapestries with 90 scenes, now reduced to 75 scenes across 103 meters. The tapestry is the largest medieval tapestry in existence,  originally measuring 140m long and narrating the battle between good and evil. It is currently exhibited at the Château d'Angers (Maine-et-Loire).

UAR (Egypt) First Anniversary of the Burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque

UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC (Egypt) on 21 August 1970 issued a First Day Cover with two stamps marking the first anniversary of a fire at Al Aqsa Mosque. Many stamps were issued from other countries, including stamps from UAR. Pakistan and one semi-postal from  Yemen was also issued to collect money for  restoration of the mosque.

The Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem was originally built by the fifth Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (685–705) or his successor al-Walid I (705–715) (or both) as a congregational mosque on the same axis as the Dome of the Rock, a commemorative Islamic monument. Muslims regard the site as the third holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina.

On 21 August 1969, a fire was started by a visitor from Australia named Denis Michael Rohan, who initially set fire to the pulpit. The 12th-century minbar of the al-Aqsa Mosque was destroyed in the fire. 

Rohan had hoped that by burning down al-Aqsa Mosque he would hasten the Second Coming of Jesus. Initially, Israelis blamed the fire either on an accident related to ongoing renovations, or to a false flag attack by Palestinian group Fatah. 

Israel subsequently arrested, tried and sentenced  Rohan to a mental institution after it was determined he had a history of mental illness. Eventually he was repatriated to Australia and sent to a mental institution.

The fire at Al-Aqsa was the cause of great anger in the Muslim world, and demonstrations and riots occurred. Muslims blamed Israel for this event. The event has been described as "an act which plunged the Middle East into its worst crisis since the June, 1967, Arab-Israel War", and was a key catalyst for the creation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Source: Wikipedia 

Deutsche Bundespost Munich Olympics 1972

DEUTSCHE BUNDESPOST (former West Germany postal service) on 18 August 1972 issued a series of  First Day Cover stamps for various events during  the Summer Olympics held in Munich. The denominations of the stamps were 25+5, 30+10, 40+10, and 70+10 Pfennig, with the additional amounts likely being a surcharge to support the Olympic Games. Three FDC cachets depicted a hammer thrower; the stamps featured postmark cancellations from Bonn, Kiel and Munich.

Shown here are four of the events: long jump, basketball, discus throw, and canoe slalom. 

Tragically the massacre of Israeli athletes by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September overshadowed the awards and records set in this Olympiad.

More FDC stamps of Deutsche Bundespost 1972 Olympics in Munich may be viewed HERE.

Deutsche Bundespost Helene Mayer

DEUTSCHE BUNDESPOST on 6 June 1968 issued a First Day Cover of "Olympic Personalities/Athletes", including Helene Mayer. These stamps -- five in total  -- were semi-postals with postage values and surcharges added for cultural donation, or in this case the surtax was used for the Foundation to Promote the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. This FDC is unique in that it appeared on a cachet designated for the 1972 Munich Olympics. The postmark was dated 28 August 1972 with a fencing design.

Helene Julie Mayer (1910 – 1953) was a German-born fencer who won a gold medal at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, and a silver medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. 

Mayer has been called the greatest female fencer of all time, and was named by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 100 Female Athletes of the 20th Century, but her legacy remains clouded. 

The controversy stems from her participation in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. She was the only German athlete of Jewish ancestry permitted to represent Nazi Germany in fencing.

Prior to this, the Nazi Party had rescinded her German citizenship while she was studying in the United States. As countries became aware of Nazi  Germany's discriminatory practices, international participation in the Olympic Games came into question. 

In the United States, sports organisations and trade unions discussed the possibility of boycotting the 1936 Olympic games. In 1933, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) of the United States, which supervised Olympic competitors, voted not to send a team if Jews were to be discriminated against in the German Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) asked for assurances from the Olympic Organising Committee of Berlin that German Jews would not suffer discrimination and would be permitted to try out for the German team. As a concession to  mounting political pressure, the Nazis allowed twenty Jewish athletes to train for the Olympics. Eventually only one was allowed to compete for Germany – Helene Mayer.

While Helene Mayer left little historical record, what is known from her contemporaries is that she did not consider herself Jewish. Her father, Ludwig Karl Mayer, a physician, was Jewish; whereas her mother, lda Anna Bertha (née Becker) was Lutheran. Helene did not appear to identify with either parent. It was said that her primary concern was to be a successful athlete and that preoccupation may have blinded her to the Nazi racism. It was also supposed that Mayer saw Olympic glory as an opportunity to reclaim her German citizenship.

Whatever her reasons, Helene Mayer did represent Germany in the 1936 Olympic Games, placing second, earning the silver medal, and as all German athletes were required to do in Berlin that year, gave the Nazi salute. It should be noted that for all of Hitler’s claims of racial superiority, the gold medal went to the Hungarian Ilona Ela, also half-Jewish.

After the Olympics, she returned to the United States where she studied and taught German and fencing at American universities. She became a nine-time U.S. fencing champion. She received American citizenship in 1941 but returned to Germany in 1952 where she died from breast cancer in 1953.

Source: Centre for Jewish History, Wikipedia 

Deutsche Bundespost Rudolph Harbig

DEUTSCHE BUNDESPOST on 6 June 1968 issued a First Day Cover of sports personalities, including Rudolf Waldemar Harbig (1913 – 1944). These stamps -- five in total  -- were semi-postals with postage values and surcharges added for cultural donation, or in this case the surtax (20pf+10pf) was used for the Foundation to Promote the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

Rudolf Harbig was a German middle distance runner best known for the 800 metre world record of 1:46.6 min that he set in Milan in 1939.  Belgian runner Roger Moens eventually would break Harbig's record in 1955 and set a new world record of 1:45.7. Also, in 1939 Harbig set a world record over 400 m on a 500 m-track in Frankfurt in 46.0 sec. In Dresden in 1941 he set a world record over 1000 m in 2:21.5. These records would stand until 1955 as well.

A member of the Nazi party and professional soldier,  holding the rank of Sargent, Harbig was sent to the Eastern Front in 1941 and fought in the Battle of Moscow. During the Soviet Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive against the Wehrmacht Army Group South, he was killed fighting with the 2nd Parachute Division at the Voronezh Front near Kirovohrad, Ukraine in 1944.

USPS "Black Heritage Commemorative Stamp Series"

USPS began in 1974 what is now its longest running series; United States "Black Heritage Commemorative Stamp Series". The series had its roots in a 1975 planning meeting of the Queens County, New York, Bicentennial Committee Present at the meeting was the founder of the Black American Heritage Foundation (BAHF), Clarence L. Irving. Mr. Irving petitioned the U.S. Postal Service to include black Americans in a stamp programme associated with the upcoming Bicentennial of the United States. The proposal received very favorable response. Since then and until now (2024) "Black Heritage" stamps of notable black Americans remains in circulation. Jerry Pinkney designed the initial stamps.  

Shown here is a block of four First Day Cover stamps honouring prominent African Americans: 

- Harriet Tubman (13c stamp issued in 1978)

- Mary McLeod Bethune (22c stamp issued in 1985)

- Whitney Moore Young Jr. (15c stamp issued in 1981) 

- Martin Luther King Jr. (15c stamp issued in 1979). 

Harriet Tubman was the first African American woman honored on a U.S. postage stamp. Born into slavery, she escaped and became a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, helping over 300 slaves to freedom. She also served as a spy and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War. 

Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) was an influential educator, civil rights activist, and advocate for women's rights. She founded the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in 1904, which later became Bethune-Cookman University. Bethune also served as an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt on minority affairs, and was the first Black woman to lead a federal agency. 

Whitney Moore Young, Jr. was a moderate civil rights leader who urged African Americans to work within the system. He served as executive director of the National Urban League for 10 years. In 1969, he received the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom.

This stamp honors the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Prize winner and champion of non-violence.  A Baptist minister, King sought equality for all Americans and fought for peaceful solutions to racial issues. He was assassinated in 1968.

Egypt Post 50th anniversary of the October War

EGYPT POST on 6 October 2023 issued a set of four First Day Cover stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. The stamps feature images related to the war, including soldiers, military equipment, and the pyramids, President Annuar Sadat. The text on the stamps is in both Arabic and English, with the Arabic text reading "ذكرى انتصارات أكتوبر" which translates to "Anniversary of the victories of October." The  stamps also show the the Islamic calendar date of 1445. Each stamp carried a face value of 1.60 Egyptian pounds. 

The postcards (maxim cards) featured  four multi-colored, counterfeit-proof offset stamps equipped with QR code technology, enabling  access to interactive knowledge about this occasion.

The Yom Kippur War, also known as the October War or Ramadan War, began on 6 October 1973. It was a surprise attack by a coalition of Arab nations led by Egypt and Syria against Israel.

The war had significant consequences. The Arab world, humiliated by the 1967 defeat, felt psychologically vindicated by its early and late successes in 1973. Meanwhile, Israel, despite battlefield achievements, recognised that future military dominance was uncertain. 

The war served as a direct antecedent of the 1978 Camp David Accords. The impetus for the talks came when United States President Jimmy Carter invited both Sadat and Begin to a summit at Camp David to negotiate a final peace. The talks took place from 5–17 September 1978. Ultimately, the talks succeeded, and Israel and Egypt signed the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in 1979. Israel subsequently withdrew its troops and settlers from the Sinai, in exchange for normal relations with Egypt and a lasting peace, with the last Israeli troops exiting on 26 April 1982.

United States Post Office Department 200th Anniversary of the Birth of Alexander Hamilton

UNITED STATES POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT on 11 January 1957 issued a First Day Cover  stamp commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Hamilton, the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton was one of the key figures in the early days of the United States. He established most of the fiscal policies of the young nation and helped found the U.S. Mint. Scholars generally regard Hamilton as an astute and intellectually brilliant administrator, politician, and financier who was sometimes impetuous. His ideas are credited with influencing the founding principles of American finance and government.

This maxim card is from 1957 as well and hard to find. FDC postmark originated from New York.

Cambodia Post Apsaras Bas-relief from Angkor Wat

CAMBODIA POST on  12 December 2017 issued a First Day Cover souvenir sheet featuring a bas-relief from Angkor Wat, a temple complex in Cambodia. The classical Khmer architecture  in these stamps depicts Apsaras which are an important motif in the stone bas-reliefs of the Angkorian temples in Cambodia (8th–13th centuries AD). 

English translations of the word "Apsara" include "nymph," "celestial nymph," and "celestial maiden". 

While women and goddesses appear as icons in many ancient and modern societies, the Khmers gave sanctified women dominance over their state temples more consistently and more visibly than any other group.

In harmony with the Indian association of dance with apsaras, Khmer female figures that are dancing or are poised to dance are considered apsaras; female figures, depicted individually or in groups, who are standing still and facing forward in the manner of temple guardians or custodians are called devatas.

Australia Post 'Terra Australis Navigators'

AUSTRALIA POST on 10 April 1985 issued a First Day Cover set of four stamps celebrating the bicentennial of 'Terra Australis Navigators' (1785-1985).

Papua New Guinea Post "Contemporary Art 2006"

PAPUA NEW GUINEA POST on 12 April  2006 issued a First Day Cover set of six stamps called "Contemporary Art 2006", which reflected a period of significant social and political change in Papua New Guinea. The stamps showcased different artworks and had face values of 5t, 80t (two stamps), K3.20, K3.25, and K5.35. This set was part of a series, with similar stamps issued in 2007. 

Australia Post ANZAC Day Postcards

AUSTRALIA POST ON 12 August 2022 issued three First Day Cover stamps to mark ANZAC Day. Typically these stamps reflect themes of military participation and commemoration, but in 2022 the focus was on ephemera, specifically postcards.

World War I (1914–18) coincided with the last years of what was known as the “golden era” of postcards, and the outbreak of war immensely expanded the postcard market. Postcards facilitated a connection between family and those serving on the front. The visuals and written phrases on the cards were often patriotic and nationalistic in nature, though many were also sentimental, which, when combined with the words of the writer, felt much-needed messages of love, longing and encouragement during times of painful separation.

The postcards shown in this issue represent the military divisions through naval, infantry and air service hats worn by the iconic Laughing Kookaburra. The cards, produced by Valentine & Sons Publishing Co. in Australia, were held in the Shirley Jones Collection of Military Postcards, State Library Victoria. While these postcard designs can be seen as patriotic and good humored, they also conveyed the sadness and uncertainty felt by those whose loved ones were serving their country half way across the world and in perilous circumstances.

The Stamps/postcards:

-$1.10 - Naval kookaburra postcard. This postcard featured the Laughing Kookaburra in a naval hat. The postcard heading states, “To the Absent One with Loving Wishes from Home”, with a verse that is filled with hopefulness and pride: “Australia's optimistic bird, Sends to you a loving word, For every sailor holds the key, which makes us rulers of the Sea”.

- $1.10 - Army kookaburra postcard. This army-themed postcard, patriotically titled “To my Comrade O'er the Sea”, sends a message filled with hope for a swift reunification: “I give my laughter plenty of scope, For my heart is full of hope, But I'll double my refrain, When I see you home again”.

- $1.10 - Air Force kookaburra postcard. This kookaburra was pictured wearing an Air Force hat and sent a message of encouragement from parent to son, titled: “Sincerest Wishes from Australia to my Dear Boy on Active Service”. The card states, “I watch your airplane arise, Swiftly to the bright blue skies, And laugh that I may let you know, I wish you well, where-e'er you go”.

Technical specifications:

- Stamp design by Jo Muré, Australia Post Design Studio

- Product design by Jo Muré, Australia Post Design Studio

- Gummed paper by Tullis Russell Red Phos.

- Printer was R

- Printing process used was Offset lithography

- FDI Postmark.orginated from Canberra ACT 2601

Source: Australia Post 

Norfolk Island Radio Australia's 50th anniversary

NORFOLK ISLAND (Australia) on 21 November 1989 issued a set of three First Day Cover stamps commemorating Radio Australia's 50th anniversary (1939-1989). 

The stamps featured:

41c - Inaugural RA announcer John Royle 

65c - Radio Australia coverage

$1.10 - Jacko the laughing kookaburra 

Radio Australia opened its broadcasts with the melody "Waltzing Matilda" and the song of the Kookaburra bird, hence the cachet and stamp design. Its programmes targeted the Pacific and Oceania, but we're just as popular throughout the English-speaking world. 

USPS 10th Anniversary of the Peace Corps

USPS on 11 February 1972 issued a First Day Cover  stamp to  commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Peace Corps. This 8-cent stamp in a block set of four featured the Peace Corps logo with an American flag motif and doves, symbolising peace and international cooperation. FDC Postmark cancellation originated from Washington DC.

On 1 March 1961, President John F. Kennedy officially created the Peace Corps when he signed a special executive order. He felt it was a way to counter anti-American sentiment around the world. His brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, became the organization’s first director. The first Peace Corps volunteers trained at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. That first group left for their first mission in Ghana and Tanzania on 28 August 1961.

Long before Kennedy was president, he endorsed the idea of sending volunteers to other countries to give technical assistance and promote peace. As a congressman in 1951, he supported a plan to send college graduates to the Middle East to give “technical advice and assistance to the underprivileged.”

In 1952, Senator Brien McMahon from Connecticut proposed the creation of an “army” of young Americans to serve as “missionaries of democracy.” 

Nine years later, Kennedy revisited the concept while campaigning for president on 14 October 1960. After a hard day on the campaign trail, Kennedy stopped at the University of Michigan campus to sleep. However, when he arrived he discovered that approximately 10,000 students had assembled to hear the presidential candidate speak. In that 2am speech, Kennedy asked how many of the students would be willing to “serve their country and the cause of peace by living and working in the developing world.” With that simple question, the Peace Corps was born.

Congress later passed the Peace Corps Act in September 1961, authorising the programme that sent men and women “qualified for service abroad and willing to serve” in order to help developing countries meet “their needs for trained manpower.” 

Today, the Peace Corps operates in over 60 countries, with volunteers working in various sectors, including education, health, and community development. 

Source: Mystic Stamps

General Post Office (Britain) "Accession" Stamps of King Edward VIII

GENERAL POST OFFICE (BRITAIN) officially issued four temporary "Accession" stamps, to be replaced later by a coronation set, of King Edward VIII  from 20 January to 11 December 1936. The stamps were designed by Hubert J Brown, a 17-year-old schoolboy, which were derived from a photograph by Hugh Cecil and printed by Harrisons. Different colours represented various denominations: 2 1/2 d (blue), 1 1/2 d (brown), 1 d (red), and 1/2 d (green). The design included the King's profile, the denomination, and the word "POSTAGE". They featured a Tudor Crown E8R watermark. The stamps were printed using the photogravure process, a new and sophisticated printing technique at the time. This particular cover was postmarked 22 September 1936,  Stafford, England.

On a side note, other KEVIII stamps were designed and printed, but never circulated after his abdication. Newfoundland (Canada) issued many stamps of him as a baby, teenager, etc. in the early 20th century.

Norfolk Island 50th anniversary of the Coral Sea and Midway Battles

NORFOLK ISLAND issued on 4 May 1992  six First Day Cover stamps to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Coral Sea and Midway battles of World War II. Six stamps depicted various scenes related to the battles, including ships, airplanes, and maps of the areas where the battles took place, along with the Norfolk Island flag and denominations of 45c, 70c, and $1.05.

Norfolk Island 50th anniversary of Guadalcanal Landing

NORFOLK ISLAND issued on 6 August 1992 a First Day Cover to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Guadalcanal Landing (7 August 1942). The FDC featured three stamps with denominations of 45c, 70c, and $1.05, each depicting scenes related to the Guadalcanal Landing. The Battle of Guadalcanal took place from 7 August 1942, to 9 February  1943, and involved forces from the United States, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. 

Norfolk Island 50th Anniversary of the War in the Pacific

Norfolk ISLAND issued on 9 December 1991  three First Day Cover stamps to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the War in the Pacific. Silhouettes of navy vessels and warplanes, likely Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers, a type used by the US Navy during World War II. The cachet featured wartime aircraft, possibly P-40 Warhawks, flying in formation. 

Solomon Islands Allied Victory of WWII in the Pacific.

SOLOMON ISLANDS themed Bi-centenary of American Independence highlighted allied victory of WWII in the Pacific. This First Day Cover featured  four stamps with denominations of 6, 20, 35, and 45 cents, each depicting scenes or figures related to American history. A map of Guadalcanal and Savo Island highlighted locations relevant to World War II and the relationship between the Solomon Islands and the United States.

This cover was issued by the Philatelic Bureau in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Island. The postmarked originated from Honiara and dated 4 July 1977, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, before the nation's independence from Britain.

The stamps featured events in the Battle of Guadalcanal:

- Coast Watchers 

- The Japanese destroyer Amagiri ramming PT-109 commanded by Lt. John F. Kennedy 

- Map of Guadalcanal and Savo Islands

- Henderson Airfield 

AUSTRALIA POST (Cocos/Keeling Island) Jukong

AUSTRALIA POST (COCOS/KEELING ISLAND) issued on 11 February 1999 a First Day Cover depicting the traditional wooden Cocos jukong which is a version of the Malay sailing boat, once commonly used by the Cocos Malays, the permanent residents of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Motorised aluminium or fibreglass boats are the now the norm.

As part of Hari Raya festivities, five days of jukong racing takes place on the lagoon side of Home Island. Up to 50 of the larger boats compete for prize money in as many as five categories. Between nine and twelve jukongs race in an event. Each boat is crewed by three to six people, depending on the wind conditions.

Cover photograph: Lyn Devereux, Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Stamp illustrations: Jacqui Young, Victoria

Typography and cover design: Sandra Harman, Australia Post Graphic Design Studio

Australia Post (Cocos/Keeling Island) Hari Raya 1996

AUSTRALIA POST (COCOS/KEELING ISLAND) issued on 19 February 1996 a First Day Cover  (FDC) featuring stamps from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands  Festive Season (Hari Raya). It included three stamps with denominations of 45c, 75c, and 85c. The stamps depicted scenes of local life and traditions during the Hari Raya season.  

Colonial Malaya (Singapore) King George VI Definitives - 1948

COLONIAL MALAYA (SINGAPORE) on 1 September 1948 issued a definitive series of First Day Cover stamp sees depicting a profile of British King George VI. The initial design with the image of King George VI was replaced in 1954 with the image of Queen Elizabeth II. 

This particular design in British Malaya underwent a convoluted transition from a pre-war British colony, through the Japanese Occupation and post-war British military rule, to the Cold War era leading up to independence. 

It is the only design to have been adapted for use throughout the Malay peninsula including Singapore, and even saw action beyond Malaya’s shores in World War II. 

It featured a pair of the coconut palms that grow prolifically throughout rural southeast Asia, framed in the corners by the stylised thatched roof of traditional southeast-Asian dwellings comprising leaves of the attap palm (Nypa fruticans). The design symbolised the idyllic kampong (village) life of bygone days in the tropical paradise and served as a window to the world before our time.

These coconut definitives would live through the reigns of three British monarchs (KGV, KGI and QEII) from 1936 to 1957, seeing three different currencies over time—the Straits Dollar, the Malayan Dollar and the Malaya and British Borneo Dollar (ringgit). Variants in design detail, colour, denomination, watermark, paper, perforation, overprint and other parameters ran into the hundreds.  

For the very first time, ‘MALAYA’ appeared on the stamps of the Straits Settlements, marking a historical turning point and foretelling the future administrative unification of a culturally heterogeneous Malaya that would kindle the astonishing diversification of the coconut definitives. 

The coconut definitive was an epitome of De La Rue's "stylised pictorialism" (Finlay 1974), developed to fit the constrained space of small-format letterpress.

For more on this series, see the article by Lin Yangchen 

Thailand Post Cover

 

Thailand Post Cover 

USPS Centenary Birth of US Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.

USPS on 22 February 1985 issued a First Day Cover (FDC) commemorating centenary birth of US Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. FDC postmark cancellation originated from his birthplace of Fredericksburg, Texas. This 50-cent US postage stamp featured a portrait of Nimitz. It was part of the "Great Americans Series" of stamps. The Nimitz stamp had a print run of 100,500,000.

Chris Calle of Stamford, Connecticut designed the stamp. It was printed in the intaglio process and issued in panes of 100. The art director was Derry Noyes; typographer was Bradbury Thompson; modeler was Clarence Holbert; engravers were Robert G. Culin, Sr. (lettering and numerals) and Thomas R. Hipschen (vignette).

The cachet on the cover depicts Nimitz with a World War II-era aircraft and soldiers, highlighting his command of the Pacific Fleet. 

Nimitz's (1885-1966) tactics and leadership were instrumental in key naval victories in the Pacific during World War II. He first made his mark at the Battle of Midway in June of 1942, when his astute positioning of carriers enabled United States bombers to sink four Japanese carriers and allowed the Allies to shift to the offensive. In the battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf, Nimitz's ships drastically reduced the size and power of the Japanese navy. His forces aided in the capture of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and began to raid Japan in 1945, hastening the end of the war in the Pacific.

Admiral Nimitz, whose tact and serenity were proverbial, was acknowledged as one of the US Navy's foremost administrators and strategists and as an expert judge of men. After the war, he became chief of naval operations and later served as United Nations Commissioner for India and Pakistan. He died in 1966.

USPS 19th Amendment

USPS  issued  a First Day Cover stamp on 22 August 2020, honouring the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.  Inspired by historic photographs, the stamp art featured a stylised illustration of suffragists marching in a parade or other public demonstration. The clothes they wore and the banners they carried display the official colours of the National Woman’s Party — purple, white and gold.

Designed by art director Ethel Kessler using art by Nancy Stahl, the stamp included the words “Women Vote” and “19th Amendment” in shades of purple beneath the image.

It was issued in Seneca Falls, NY, the location of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, NY considered the start of the women's rights movement. The U.S. women’s suffrage movement coalesced in Seneca Falls,  where 300 women and men gathered for a two-day women’s rights convention. Their call for women’s suffrage spread across the country in the decades that followed.

On 10 January 1918, the House of Representatives finally approved a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote. The amendment was introduced in the Senate that September, and President Woodrow Wilson gave a rousing speech in support of it. But the Senate failed to pass the amendment. Suffragists continued their public protests until Wilson called for a special session of Congress.

The amendment eventually passed in the House in May 1919 and in the Senate in June 1919. The tremendously difficult process of ratification, which requires three-quarters of all states (36 of 48 states at the time), took another year.

The 19th Amendment was ratified and added to the Constitution on 26 August 1920, after decades of struggle. The stamp serves as a reminder of the fight for women's suffrage and the importance of voting rights.

Österreich Frauenkopf Symbols of Art and Industry" - 1922-25

ÖSTERREICH issued a series of definitive stamps between 1922 and 1925 to represent the "Symbols of Art and Industry". Austrian artist Wilhelm Dachauer designed this allegorical "Frauenkopf" (woman's head) with an owl perched on her hair. This allegorical head may have been based on the Austrian actress and singer Erika von Wagner. Professor Wilhelm Dachauer was noted for his Jugendstil  (Youth Style) designs, which was an artistic movement used particularly in the decorative arts. The stamps were  engraved by F. Schirnböck using a recess print method. Hyperinflation denominations ranged initially from 25 Krone, then up to 1,000 Krone, 3000 Krone, 5000 Krone, and 10000 Krone, and were differentiated by colour as well as value.

DEUTSCHE POST first flight cover commemorating Lufthansa's inaugural flight from Berlin to Moscow via Vilnius - 1956

DEUTSCHE POST first flight cover commemorating Lufthansa's inaugural flight from Berlin to Moscow via Vilnius in 1956. Cancellation Marks: "Berlin NW Lufthansa Lufpoststelle" dated 4.10.56. Special Cachet: Round stamp "Befördert mit dem Erstflug Berlin-Moskau der Deutschen Lufthansa" (Carried on the first flight Berlin-Moscow by German Lufthansa). Destination: Vilnius, with instructions "poste restante" (held at the post office) indicating the recipient would collect the mail. 

Three of the stamps featured a Deutsche Lufthansa Ilyushin Il-14 airplane. The Ilyushin Il-14 was a Soviet twin-engine commercial and military personnel and cargo transport aircraft that first flew in 1950, and entered service in 1954. The Il-14 was also manufactured in East Germany by VEB Flugzeugwerke as the VEB 14.

Israel Post Masada 1965

ISRAEL POST on 3 February 1965 issued a First Day Cover set of three Masada commemorative stamps. The stamps depicted different views of Masada: the Palace-Lower Terrace, the Northern Palace, and a view from the west. The postmark from Jerusalem. The text "Masada shall not fall again" is prominently featured, referencing the historical siege of Masada. These stamps commemorated the swearing-in ceremony of Israeli Armoured Corps soldiers at Masada, a practice initiated by Moshe Dayan.

Masada (fortress) is an ancient fortification in southern Israel, situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea 20 km east of Arad.

Herod the Great built two palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BC.

According to Josephus, a first century Jewish Roman historian, the siege of Masada by Roman troops from 72 to 73 AD, at the end of the First Jewish–Roman War, ended in the mass suicide of the 960 Sicarii rebels -- an extremist Jewish splinter group antagonistic to a larger group of Jews referred to as the Zealots -- who were hiding there.

However, archaeological evidence relevant to a mass suicide event is ambiguous at best and rejected entirely by some scholars. In modern times, the story of the siege was revived as the Masada myth, a selectively constructed narrative based on Josephus's account. The mythical narrative became a national symbol in the early years of Israel's nationhood