Sunday, May 3, 2026

Seminole Indians 1935 an Benjamin Franklin Stamp 1922

SEMINOLE INDIANS in Florida, a community known as the "Unconquered People" for their fierce resistance to U.S. relocation efforts in the 19th century, are depicted in this early 20th century postcard.

This postcard is dated 1935. The picture, however, was likely taken in the 1910s or 1920s.This specific postcard was part of a series often published by companies like Curt Teich.

These images were popular souvenirs from Florida tourist attractions like Musa Isle or Ross Allen’s in Silver Springs, where the tribe found new sources of income as their traditional hunting grounds in the Everglades were drained.

As shown here, the clothing featured horizontal stripes, a hallmark of Seminole style that emerged more fully by 1920.

 Women typically wore floor-length ruffled skirts and long-sleeved blouses with short capes that covered the shoulders.

 Men wore "long shirts" or tunics, which were standard attire. Some include "built-in" belts that would later evolve into the iconic "Seminole jacket".

The green UNITED STATES 1-cent postage stamp of Benjamin Franklin on this postcard was issued from 1922 till 1929.

Saturday, May 2, 2026

Shanghai Surcharged Airmail - 1948

 

SHANGHAI SURCHARGED AIRMAIL stamps, issued by the Republic of China from 1946 till 1948, were implemented due to severe national currency fluctuations at the time. These issues overprinted existing air mail stamps in red or black to meet soaring postal rates, often creating high-value stamps. 

These stamps were primarily printed by the Dah Yeh Printing Press in Shanghai. During the transition period in 1949, "Air Mail" was overprinted on revenue stamps, and non-denominated green plane stamps.These featured either horizontal overprints (Peiping/Hong Kong prints) or vertical overprints (Shanghai prints).

Shown here:

- Green and blue stamps feature a Junker F-13 aircraft flying over the Great Wall of China. They were surcharged with $50,000 over original value.

 - Blue stamp depicting an airplane flying over the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing. It was overprinted with a value of $10,000.

Friday, May 1, 2026

KUT King George VI 1937

KENYA, UGANDA, AND TANGANYIKA  issued in 1937 this 1 cent stamp depicting a portrait of King George VI surrounded by two crowned cranes.

Siam First Airmail - 1925

SIAM AIR MAIL  (Thailand formerly known as Siam) issued between January and April 1925 the Garuda series. The stamps were Thailand's first airmail stamps and featured the mythological bird-like creature that is the national emblem of Thailand.

Each stamp has a different colour and denomination (face value in Satang):

- 2 Satang - Orange-brown

- 3 Satang - Red-brown or purple

- 5 Satang - Green

- 15 Satang - Rose-carmine or dark red

- 25 Satang - Dark blue

- 50 Satang - Orange and black

The series was released during the reign of King Rama VI. Some stamps from this era may feature overprints for special occasions, such as the "Siam Kingdom Exhibition" (Siam Rath Museum) in 1926.

Thailand 400th anniversary of the birth of King Naresuan the Great - 1955

THAILAND issued around 1955 a series of stamps to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the birth of King Naresuan the Great.

The stamps depicted King Naresuan riding a war elephant, celebrating his historical role in Thai history.

Denominations shown here: 

- 25 satang

- 2 baht

- 3 baht

Kelantan (Malaysia) First State stamps - 1911

KELANTAN, one of the unfederated Malay states, issued a set of Postage & Revenue stamps in 1911. These stamps featured the Kelantan Coat of Arms, which included in it's design two spears and two daggers (kris), topped by a crescent and star. The text "Kelantan Postage & Revenue" and the denominations were printed in English, with Jawi script at the top.

Denominations Shown:

1c: Black/Grey-olive

3c: Red

4c: Black and red

5c: Green and red on yellow paper

10c: Black and mauve

Before 1909, Kelantan was under Siamese (Thai) suzerainty and used Thai stamps. After the Anglo-Siamese Treaty, it became a British protectorate. Until these dedicated stamps were printed in 1911, stamps from the Federated Malay States were used in the territory.