Deutsche Demokratisch Republik "Historical Memorials in Weimar"

DEUTSCHE DEMOKRATISCH REPUBLIK on 26 June 1973 issued a First Day Cover (FDC) featuring a set of six postage stamps commemorating "Historical Memorials in Weimar" by depicting famous German cultural figures and their associated buildings. The personalities featured included Johann Gottfried Herder, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Franz Liszt, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Christoph Martin Wieland, and Friedrich Schiller. The buildings attributed to them were Herderhaus, Cranachhaus, Liszthaus, Goethehaus, Haus Ossmannstedt, and Schillerhaus, all located in Weimar. 

Postmark cancellation on this cover originated from Dorndorf, Thuringia, dated 17 July 1973.

Deutsche Demokratisch Republik Unbesiegbares Vietnam - 1972

DEUTSCHE DEMOKRATISCH REPUBLIK (DDR) on 22 February 1972 issued another stamp in their  "Unbesiegbares Vietnam" (Vietnam Solidarity) series. It was part of the DDR's foreign policy of "proletarian internationalism" and solidarity with Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Postmark cancellation originated from Zwickau, west Saxony, Germany.

Deutsche Demokratisch Republik Unbesiegbares Vietnam - 1971

DEUTSCHE DEMOKRATISCH REPUBLIK (DDR) on 2 September 1971 issued another stamp in their  "Unbesiegbares Vietnam" (Vietnam Solidarity) series. It was part of the DDR's foreign policy of "proletarian internationalism" and solidarity with Vietnam during the Vietnam War. 

The stamp depicts a field worker and sun in the background, while an armed Vietnamese woman in traditional conical hat, holding a child, symbolising family and "Invincible Vietnam". Special postmark cancellation originated from Berlin.

The cachet on the envelope shows a rice farmer with a seedling.

Deutsche Demokratisch Republik - Vietnam

DEUTSCHE DEMOKRATISCH REPUBLIK (DDR) on 15 December 1970 issued this First Day Cover (FDC) to commemorate solidarity with North Vietnam. "Philatelistenverband der DDR im Deutschen Kulturbund" (Philatelist Association of the GDR in the German Cultural League) postcard with three commemorative stamps depicting Vietnamese themes and a portrait of Ho Chi Minh. The postmark cancellation originated from Berlin.

Stamps on this cover:

- Vietnamese woman wearing a conical hat and carrying a child and a rifle. Text on the stamp, "Unbesiegbares Vietnam", translates to "Invincible Vietnam". It was issued in 1968 (or possibly 1969/1971 as part of a series) and has a face value of 10+5 Pfennig. The "+5" indicates an extra charge for a solidarity fund. 

- Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969), the Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader. The stamp was issued  on 2  September 1970 to commemorate his passing.

- Solidarity and aid for Vietnam during the Vietnam War carried a value of 10 + 5 Pfennig. It was initially issued in 1969, and it was designed by Schütz.

Deutsches Demokratisch Republik"Unbesiegbares Vietnam" Exhibition - 1968

DEUTSCHES DEMOKRATISCH REPUBLIK (DDR) issued  the first "Unbesiegbares Vietnam" (Invincible Vietnam) postage stamp on 25 October 1966 to promote aid to Vietnam. It depicted a woman with rifle planting a flower, symbolising the strength and resilience of the Vietnamese people. It carried a face value of 20+5 Pfennig (East German pfennig), meaning the additional 5 Pfennig was a surcharge for this charitable cause. 

The postcard with cachet of a water buffalo and armed Vietnamese man was a postal cover for the "Vietnam is not alone" exhibition, held from 15 March to 31 May 1968, at Postmuseum Berlin, East Germany (DDR).

España Correos Valladolid Coat of Arms

 

ESPAÑA CORREOS on  17 March 1966 issued a First Day Cover (FDC) stamp of the Valladolid coat of arms. The municipal coat of arms of Valladolid features a shield with five wavy sections, a bordure with eight castles, and a laurel cross. It carried a face value of 5 peseta. The postmark cancellation originated from Valladolid.

Posten Norge 100 Anniversary of Roald Amundsen and South Pole Expedition

POSTEN NORGE on 15 April  2011 issued a set of two First Day Cover postage stamps  to commemorate the polar explorer Roald Amundsen and his expedition to the South Pole. 

The stamps were part of a series marking the centenary of Amundsen's achievement of being the first person to reach the South Pole on 14 December 1911. 

The stamp on the left features a portrait of Roald Amundsen, a key figure in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. 

The stamp on the right depicts a ship, likely the Fram, used in the expedition, and several dogs, which were crucial to the expedition's success. 

The stamps carried a face value indicated as "14,00" and "17,00" in Norwegian currency (Kroner). 

Roald Amundsen was a Norwegian sailor and polar explorer. In 1897/99, he participated in the BELGICA expedition , commanded by Adrien de Gerlache, which was the first expedition to overwinter in Antarctica.

He was the first to cross the Northwest Passage, aboard the GJOA , from 1903 to 1906. It should also be noted that he led the first expedition to reach the South Pole, between 1910 and 1912.

In 1926, Amundsen and his team flew over the North Pole in the airship NORGE , making him the first person to have reached both poles. He disappeared in June 1928 while participating in a search and rescue mission for Nobile and the crew of the airship Italia , which had crashed north of Spitsbergen on its return from the North Pole.

USPS Wilt Chamberlain

USPS issued on 5 December 2014, in Philadelphia, PA, two First Day Cover stamps commemorating basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain. 

The cachet on the card shows a montage of Wilt Chamberlain as a Laker, a Harlem Globetrotter, and the record-setting 100-point game, a feat accomplished on 2 March 1962. The nickname "The Big Dipper," which Chamberlain preferred, is prominently displayed at the top of the card. 

Known by friends and fans as the “Big Dipper,” “Goliath,” or “Wilt the Stilt,” Wilton Chamberlain (1936-1999) stood a towering 7'1" tall. With such height and an arm span of over seven feet, he was built for basketball.

Chamberlain set several records in his first few years with the National Basketball Association (NBA). Although a formidable scorer, it was his defense that eventually won him a championship. In 1967, he averaged career-low points per game but led the league in rebounds, taking the 76ers to a title win that year. Again focusing on defense in 1972, he led the Lakers to their first-ever NBA title.

With numerous records, four MVP titles and two NBA championships under his belt, Wilt retired in 1973. His 1978 induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame forever memorialised Chamberlain.

The two Wilt Chamberlain stamps issued show him in his L.A. Lakers uniform and wearing his Philadelphia Warriors uniform. The extra tall stamps pay tribute to Chamberlain’s height – 7’ 1”.

The First Day of Issue ceremony took place during a Philadelphia 76ers game. Banknote Corporation of America for Sennett Security Products print d the stamps, using a Lithographed method.

USPS Ted Williams

USPS issued on 21 July  2012 a First Day Cover (FDC) stamp commemorating baseball legend Ted Williams. FDC postmark cancellation originated from in Boston, Massachusetts. It featured Ted Williams with a special pictorial postmark. 

The card cachet includes a black and white portrait photo of a young Ted Williams in a Boston Red Sox uniform.

Ted Williams (1918-2002) was born in San Diego, California. He began playing professionally in 1936 with the San Diego Padres, then a minor-league team, and broke into the major leagues as an outfielder with the Boston Red Sox in 1939. In 1941, he hit for a .406 average. After 75 years, no other major leaguer has ever hit .400 or more over the course of a season.

He  ranks among the all-time great hitters – 521 home runs, 2,654 hits, a .344 batting average, 2,021 walks, and 1,839 runs batted in. The legendary numbers were all the more remarkable for the five seasons lost to military service in World War II and the Korean War. Even his wartime duty was the stuff of legends – as a fighter pilot, he was wingman for future astronaut John Glenn.

His uniform number 9 was retired by the Red Sox in 1964, and he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. Ted Williams died 5 July 2002.

Grossdeutsches Reich 25th Anniversary of the German Airmail Service

GROSSDEUTSCHES REICH (GREATER GERMAN REICH) issued on 11th Feb 1944 a set of three stamps to commemorate the 25th anniversary (1919-1944) of the German Airmail Service (Deutscher Luftpostdienst). A photogravure printing method on coated paper was used at the State Printing Works in Vienna. These stamps were unwatermarked and appeared on sheets of 50 performated K 14. The 6 + 4Pf stamp was designed by Erich Meerwald and the remaining two stamps were designed by E.R. Vogenauer. The use of two different designers is quite obvious when looking at the difference between the lower value of the three stamps compared to the two higher values. The lower value is busier than the more simplistic designs of the other two stamps.

- 6+4Pf, black opal green, Focke Wulf Fw 200, Condor at Templehof Airport.

- 12+8Pf, dark lilac red, Dornier Do-26 Flying Boat.

- 42+108Pf, black lilac blue, Junkers Ju 90B.

These stamps were affixed to a cover and bear a special postmark cancellation from Echternach (Luxembourg), dated 4th April 1944. 

During the concluding months of World War II in Europe, on 16 December 1944, Echternach served as the southernmost point on the battlefront for the attempt of the German Wehrmacht forces attacking the Allies to retake Antwerp, during the Battle of the Bulge. The town was badly damaged in World War II but was thoroughly restored.

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.