USPS Cover

USPS cover postage stamps featured on this envelope include:

- US military figures such as Omar N. Bradley, Alvin C. York, Audie L. Murphy, and John L. Hines.

- Construction (Tinker) Toys from the "Celebrate the Century" 1910s series

- "Conestoga Wagon 1800s".

Deutsche Post "Nationaler Befreiungskampf"

DEUTSCHE POST (Deutsche Demokratik Republik) on 10 October 1963 issued five stamps commemorating the 150th anniversary of the German War of Liberation (1813) or  "Nationaler Befreiungskampf". This series honoured the German military leaders who, in 1813, fought alongside their European allies against Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig, ushering in a new era. This cover is postmarked 7 January 1964, 

• The set included stamps with denominations of 5, 10, 20, 25, and 40 pfennig. 

Featured in the stamps:

- Anton Count Neidhart von Gneisenau, Prussian military commander

- Gebhard Leberecht Prince Blücher von Wahlstatt, Prussian Field Marshal

- Baron Prince Adolf von Lützow, leader of a volunteer corps

- Gerhard von Scharnhorst, Prussian general, 

- Prince Michael Kutosov, Field Marshal, representing the Russian allies

- Political pioneers, Ernst Moritz Arnst, poet and writer, and Baron vom und zum Stein, Prussian statesman

- Cossacks and Landwehr (militia)

Sulamith Wülfing Postcards

POSTCARDS of artwork by Sulamith Wülfing, which I wish were rendered into postage stamps. Alas, to my knowledge, no country, not even Cinderella issues, has/have ever printed.

THE CRYSTAL by German  artist Sulamith Wülfing was the inspiration for Phil Travers,  the artist who designed/painted six album covers for The Moody Blues. This particular graphic was depicted in their album "Every Good  Boy Deserves Favour".

ORNAMENT is another of the many illustrations created by Sulamith Wülfing. 

Sulamith Wülfing (1901-1989) was a German painter and illustrator. Born in Elberfeld, Rhine Province to Theosophist parents Karl and Hedwig Wülfing, Sulamith as a  child first had visions of angels, fairies, gnomes, and nature spirits. She first began drawing these creatures at the age of four. The visions continued throughout her life, and directly inspired her paintings. Sulamith Wülfing graduated from the Art College in Wuppertal in 1921, and in 1932 married Otto Schulze, a professor at the Art College. Together, they created the Sulamith Wülfing Verlag (publishing house).

During World War II, the industrial area around Wuppertal became a bombing target, and Wülfing's house was destroyed, along with many of her paintings.

Her family became separated during the war, when she received a false report of her husband's death on the Russian front and fled to France with her only child; they were later reunited on Christmas 1945. 

Under the Nazi regime her books were often burned and she was told repeatedly to paint by the rules at the time, which were large heroic scenes with the leader of States.

USPS John Steinbeck

USPS on 27 February 1979 issued a First Day Cover (FDC) featuring a stamp of American novelist John Steinbeck. It was released on whatwould have been Steinbeck's 77th birthday. It was part of the USPS Literary Arts Series. 

The stamp's image was based on a photograph of Steinbeck taken in the 1940s by Philippe Halsman. Shown here is block set of Steinbeck stamps.

The First Day of Issue ceremony was held at the John Steinbeck Public Library in Salinas, California where he was born. 

Austria "Heimkehrer Notopfer"

AUSTRIA postcard with "Heimkehrer Notopfer" ("Returnee Emergency Sacrifice") stamps design.ated in the Tirol region. The stamps and the circular postmark in the centre were associated with the "Landesleitung der Heimkehrer-Hilfs- u. Betreuungs-stellen in Tirol" (State leadership of the returnee aid and support centers in Tyrol). 

They were surtax stamps used to raise funds for the aid of returning soldiers and prisoners of war after WWII. The stamps had a face value of 1 shilling and 5 shilling. There was also a 10 shilling stamp which is not affixed to this postcard.

Nippon Post "Commemoration of the Enforcement of the Constitution of Japan"

NIPPON POST stamp commemorates the promulgation of the Constitution from the Showa era, immediately after the end of the war the post-WWII. The stamp in Japanese translates to "Commemoration of the Enforcement of the Constitution of Japan". It was issued on 3 May 1947, which is the date the constitution came into effect

The stamp featured a bouquet of flowers and the Imperial Seal of Japan, a stylised chrysanthemum and carried a face value of 1 yen. 

The postcard depicts a woodblock print of Mount Fuji, a historic and culturally significant mountain in Japan. The art style is similar to ukiyo-e, a genre of Japanese art that flourished during the Edo and Meiji periods. The text on the bottom right attributes the artwork to Ryūko Kawabata (川端龍子筆), a Japanese artist.

San Marino Mountains and Sports

SAN MARINO issued on 14 June  1962 a series of First Day Cover stamps featuring mountains and mountain sports, which included rock climbing, skiing and skating. 

The cachet on the bottom left shows the Three Towers of San Marino at Monte Titano. 

The stamps were designed by the firm Fratelli Pellas in Genoa.

San Marino 200th Death Anniversary of Giambattista Tiepolo

SAN MARINO on 10 September 1970 issued a First Day Cover (FDC) featuring the works of the Italian painter Giambattista Tiepolo. It corresponded with the 200th death anniversary of the artist. Three stamps with different denominations (L.50, L.180 and L.220) depicted  his paintings of the "The Lute Player," "Rinaldo and Armida in the Garden," and "Virtue and Nobility". 

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696 – 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. He was prolific, and worked not only in Italy, but also in Germany and Spain.

UAR (Egypt) "The Pyramids And Nile At Moonlight" and 13th Century Vase

EGYPT postcard depicts traditional feluccas on the Nile River, with the Great Pyramids of Giza in the background. This artwork was entitled "The Pyramids And Nile At Moonlight" and painted.by the artist D. Vassiliou.

On the reverse side of the postcard is a cancelled postage stamp from the United Arab Republic (UAR), which was a short-lived political union between Egypt and Syria. The stamp features a vase from the 13th century. 

Face value was 30 milliemes (30m) and was part of a definitive series. 

The cancellation mark indicates it was processed in El Luq, Egypt, 8 November 1965.

An additional stamp on the post atf was removed, which is not unusual for many old postcards.

USPS Jimmy Carter

USPS commemorative First Day Cover celebrating the life of Jimmy Carter, the 39th U.S. President,  was issued on 1 October 2025, in Atlanta, GA, as part of the Southeastern Stamp Expo. The stamp was based on an oil-on-linen painting by artist Herbert E. Abrams. The painting was created in 1982 as a life study for Carter's official White House portrait. 

The cachet on this envelope featured a portrait of a young Jimmy Carter in his U.S. Navy uniform, along with a more recent photo of him. It included a 4¢ U.S. postage stamp and a special postmark indicating the "First Day of Issue". The text included a personal letter, signed "Jimmy," to his wife, Rosalynn, along with other small images of the couple.

HERE'S a link on the stamp where President Carter's grandson talks about he should be remembered.

Imperial Japan Enthronement of Emperor Yoshihito and Meiji Art Postcard

IMPERIAL JAPAN postage stamp, issued in 1916, featured a Mandarin duck and chrysanthemum design. This commemorative stamp celebrated the Enthronement of Emperor Yoshihito, posthumously honoured as Emperor Taishō. It had a face value of 1½ sen (1.5 sen); the text on the stamp, "厘五錢壹", translates to "One sen, five rin," which is equivalent to 1.5 sen. The special cancellation stamp indicates "S" and "N", meaning was used. 

This rare and early Meiji art postcard combines a graceful bijin (beautiful woman) in a kimono, painted by Ryuuho Shimazaki, titled “Moon (Part II)”.

This design is part of Bunten art history and was exhibited at the Ministry of Education Art Exhibition (Bunten) in Tokyo.