Deutsche Luftpost Maiden Voyage of LZ129 Hindenburg

DEUTSCHE LUFTPOST issued  two LZ 129 Hindenburg stamps (blue - 50 Pfennig denomination) and  (green - 75 Pfennig denomination). Special franking mail carried on the Hindenburg flights from Germany to North America stated, as shown on this cover,  "Mit LZ 129 nach Nordamerika" ("With LZ 129 to North America"). 

The maiden voyage of the rigid airship LZ 129 Hindenburg to North America  was on 22 April 1936. In addition to the stamps, a red circular "EUROPA-NORDAMERIKA" cachet is printed on the envelope. 

This registered letter was processed in Frankfurt (Main) on 22 April 1936. The recipient addressed on this particular envelope  was Mister E. Wiebe Manager, Chicago Office Hanovia Chemical & MFG. CO. 77, E. Lake St, Chicago, Illinois / USA.

Portugal CORREIO Medical and St. Anthony of Lisbon 700th Death Anniversary - Early 1930s

 

- REPUBLICA PORTVGVESA CORREIO "Ceres" stamp is from the first series of stamps issued after the proclamation of the Portuguese Republic. It depicted the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres. It superseded stamps featuring King Manuel II in 1910–1911. It had an overprinted face value of 40 centavos. This particular stamp most likely was postmarked in the early 1930s.

- PORTUGAL CORREIO commemorated the 700th death anniversary (1232-1931) of St. Anthony of Lisbon (Santo António de Lisboa) in 1931. It featured the interior of the St. Anthony of Lisbon Cathedral (Santo António de Lisboa) and was valued at 40 centavos.

- PORTUGAL CORREIO commemorated the 700th death anniversary (1232-1931) of St. Anthony of Lisbon (Santo António de Lisboa) in 1931. It  depicted the facade of the Lisbon Cathedral (Sé de Lisboa). and was valued at 40 centavos.

- PORTUGAL CORREIO featured the 1937 Centenary of the Medical-Surgical Schools of Lisbon and Porto. The Rod of Asclepius symbol, associated with medicine and healing, represented the school. It was valued at 25

Nippon Post Torii Gate of the Itsukushima Shrine

NIPPON POST on 35.5 (5 May 35th year of Showa era or 1960) issued the third stamp version of the iconic "floating" Torii Gate of the Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island. Designers were Kimura Masaru and Kurakichi Kato. The postcard quite possibly is from the 1950s.

Posta Romana Centenary of the "Orient Express " Train

POSTA ROMANA on 30 December 1983 issued a "EUROPA" series stamp to commemorate 100 years since the first trip of the "Orient Express " train. It showed the famous train arriving in the Bucharest North railway station (Gara de Nord). The stamp carried a face value of 10 Romanian Lei (10L). This maxim card shows the station. It was affixed with this stamp, but postmark cancellation was 2 August 1987 issued  during the "Transfile '87" philatelic exhibition. It was No. 00229 in the issuance of maxicards. 

Nippon Post Kabuki Theatre - 1972

NIPPON POST on 1 March 1972 issued a First Day Cover featuring Japanese Kabuki theatre stamps. The three stamps depicted scenes from Kabuki plays, including "Kumagai Jin'ya" and "Awa no Naruto". Postmark cancellation originated from Osaka, Japan.

The stamps were part of a series showcasing Japanese traditional performing arts, specifically Kabuki theatre. 

Kabuki puppets are typically half-life size and manipulated by three visible puppeteers working in harmony with a narrator and musician.

Imperial Japan 50th Anniversary of Postal Service -1921

IMPERIAL JAPAN issued in 1921 this commemorative postcard to mark the 50th anniversary of their postal service. A 1.5 yen postage stamp and special red cancellation postmark dated  4 December  Taisho 12 (1923), from Osaka was affixed to the postcard.

It depicted early mail delivery in the Meiji era, showing a postal worker on horseback and a horse-drawn carriage, which began in 1871, contrasting past and present postal transport methods (within the card modern transport like rail and shipping is shown).

HISTORICAL CONTEXT: 

The first modern postal service connected Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka in 1871. Baron Maejima Hisoka, who proposed the system and coined the Japanese word for postage stamp (kitte), is featured in an inset photo on the original card.

Deutsche Bundespost NASA-ESA Mission with Dr Ulf Merbold

DEUTSCHE BUNDESPOST issued a 40 Pfennig stamp  the Space Shuttle orbiter showing its solid rocket boosters.  The design was associated with the "Industrie 4.0 Weltraumlabor" (Industry 4.0 Space Laboratory) theme. The cancellation postmark originated from Houston, TX, dated 28 November 1983. It was issued in conjunction with the STS-9 joint NASA-ESA mission aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. The STS-9 mission focused on scientific research in microgravity. 

It was the first flight of the European Space Agency's (ESA) Spacelab module. Ulf Merbold was the first non-US citizen and West German to fly on a NASA space mission. 

The USPS 13c stamp of the US Flag over Independence Hall on this postcard was from the Bicentennial Series, first issued on 12 April 1976. It featured the 13-star Betsy Ross flag above a depiction of Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

Vietnam Cong Hoa "Strategic Hamlets"

VIETNAM CONG HOA (South Vietnam) on 26 October 1962 issued a First Day Cover  set of stamps and cachet to commemorate the "Strategic Hamlets" programme (known in Vietnamese as Ấp Chiến Lược), a counter-insurgency plan during the Vietnam War. Two of four stamps in the set included one green (1₫) and one orange (0₫50), depicting soldiers guarding a fortified settlement. Postmark cancellation originated from Saigon, South Vietnam.

USSR XXIV International Astronautical Congress (IAC)

USSR  in 1973 issued a  cover commemorating the XXIV International Astronautical Congress (IAC) held in Baku, USSR. It combined several commemorative stamps and postmarks related to Soviet space exploration. 

- Three 10-kopeck stamps from a 1970 series commemorating the Luna 16 robotic probe, the first mission to return lunar soil samples automatically to Earth. The stamps depict the probe's soft landing on the Moon, the return capsule launch, and its parachute landing back on Earth.

- A 4-kopeck stamp (date 1965) and a 10-kopeck stamp (date 1978/79) appear to be related to other Soviet space achievements or general postal use.

- A stamp with cosmonauts V.V. Kovalyonok and A.S. Ivanchenkov who spent 140 days in space as part of the Soyuz-29/Salyut-6/Soyuz-31 mission.

Deutsche Demokratisch Republik 10th Anniversary of the Soviet-DDR Manned Spacefligh

DEUTSCHE DEMOKRATISCH REPUBLIK issued a First Day Cover stamp on 24 June 1988 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the joint Soviet-DDR manned spaceflight. The stamp featured cosmonauts Sigmund Jähn and Valery Bykovsky who manned the joint spaceflight. Sigmund Jähn, the first German in space, is seen  signing the returned space capsule. The stamp had a face value of 5 DDR Pfennig.

Jähn, an East German Air Force pilot, flew aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 31 to the Salyut 6 space station on 26 August 1978. He was accompanied by Soviet cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky. The mission was part of the Soviet Intercosmos programme and lasted for nearly eight days. 

During his time in space, Jähn performed various scientific experiments. These included technical experiments with the MKF-6 multispectral camera for remote sensing of the Earth's surface, material science experiments on crystallization, like the formation, recrystallization, and the cultivation of a monocrystal. He also conducted medical experiments on how weightlessness affects speech, occupational psychological studies, testing the hearing sensitivity of regular crew members, biological experiments on cellular growth under weightlessness, and the connection between microorganisms with organic polymers and inorganic substances.

As of 2024, twelve German astronauts have travelled to space and conducted scientific research. Dr. Ulf Merbold was the first West German in space and the only German to have made the journey the most often -- three times.

POCHTA ROSSII (Russian Post) 80th Anniversary of the Romanov Family's Assassination

POCHTA ROSSII (RUSSIAN POST) on 30 June 1998 issued a First Day Cover of setenant stamps commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Romanov family's assassination, with postmark cancellation originating from Moscow, Russia. The stamps featured portraits of the Imperial family and Tsar Nicholas II, the last Russian emperor who reigned from 1894 to 1917. 

The  cachet on the cover bears the coat of arms of the Russian Empire, which features a double-headed eagle holding a scepter and orb, with the Moscow coat of arms on its chest. The double-headed eagle was adopted as a symbol by Ivan III in the 15th century and has been a state emblem of modern Russia since 1993. 

The postmark states Russian Premier Jour (First Day of Issue) stamp cancellation from Moscow, dated 30 June 1998, commemorating the 1868-1918 period of Russian history. The circular postmark features the intertwined Cyrillic letters "Н" and "II" under an imperial crown, representing Emperor Nicholas II. The text "ИСТОРИЯ ГОСУДАРСТВА РОССИЙСКОГО" translates to "History of the Russian State".

Soviet-Era 70th Birth Anniversary of Arctic Explorer and Radio Operator Explorer Ernst Krenkel

SOVIET-ERA POSTCARD AND STAMP, first issued in 1973,  commemorated the 70th birth anniversary of Arctic explorer and radio operator explorer Ernst Teodorovich Krenkel (1903 - 1971).The stamp design portrayed Krenkel and an aircraft above an arctic scene. A circular cancellation mark is from the "Severny Polyus" (North Pole) research station, dated 7 January 1978; whereas the purple cancellation states Leningrad. The original denomination was 4 kopecks. 

The postcard was published by the All-Union Society of Philatelists and the USSR Ministry of Communications in Moscow in 1973. 

The handwritten text states coordinates 154 degrees and 33 minutes and 85 degrees and 58 minutes.

Ernst Krenkel was a member of the historic "North Pole-1" drifting ice station expedition, for which he was named a "Hero of the Soviet Union" in 1938. 

He was a passionate amateur radio operator and used the notable call signs RAEM, U3AA, and UA3AA. 

After his death in 1971, a polar research vessel and an observatory on Heiss Island were named in his honour.

Bayern 25th Anniversary Prince Regent Luitpold

BAYERN (BAVARIA) 5 Pfennig pre-stamped  postcard from 1911 commemorated the silver jubilee of Prince Regent Luitpold. This particular postcard also included the 25th anniversary stamps of 5 Pfennig and 10 Pfennig.

Bavaria maintained its own postal administration as a kingdom within the German Empire until 1920. 

Prince Regent Luitpold was the de facto ruler of Bavaria from 1886 to 1912, acting as regent for his nephews, King Ludwig II and King Otto, due to their mental incapacity.