Here we have a very small selection of stamps recently added to PostBeeld’s vast stock. Please visit PostBeeld’s website for a more comprehensive view of newly-added items.
In 1906 Mauritania, at that time a French Colony, issued its first postage stamps. Above we have a set of ‘Postage Due’ stamps from 1906. The same designs were often used for other French Colonies, as seen below on the Senegal stamps also from 1906.
The design of the Mauritania definitive set seen here, depicting natives crossing part of the Sahara Desert, was used from 1913 until 1938.
Mauritania gained independence from France in 1960 and celebrated the fact with its first stamp issues on January 20, 1960.
And this beautiful definitive set from 1960 features traditional activities and animals native to Mauritania.
A lovely trio of bird airmail stamps from Mauritania (1967) featuring (left to right) a Black Crowned Crane, a Great Egret and an Ostrich.
I particularly like the design of the 1929 Switzerland airmail stamps seen above.
The Basel Dove, as seen on the stamp above, was issued by the Swiss canton of Basel on July 1st 1845, with a value of 2½-Rappen. It was the first tricolour stamp in the world and the only postage stamp issued by Basel. At the time each canton was responsible for its own postal service. There were no uniform postal rates for Switzerland until the establishment of a countrywide postal service on January 1st 1849. The Zurich and Geneva were the only other cantons to issue their own stamps. The stamp, designed by the architect Melchior Berri (1801-1854), featured an embossed dove carrying a letter in its beak, with the inscription “STADT – POST – BASEL”. The stamp is printed in black, crimson and blue, making it the world’s first tri-coloured stamp. It was valid for use until September 1854, by which time 41,480 stamps had been printed.
The central design of the stamp sheet produced in 1945 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the “Basel Dove”features two 10c denomination Swiss stamps with the embossed Basel Dove. The inscriptions read “Pro Juventute” (“For the Children” in Latin), and ”Centenary of the Basel Dove” in German, French, and Italian.
One for the Disney collectors. Issued by Guyana in December 1991 for the Albertville, Canada 1992 Winter Olympics.
Flora stamps from Moldova in 2008 feature, from left to right, the May lily (Maianthemum bifolium), liverwort (Hepatica nobilis) and the white waterlily (Nymphaea alba).
An earlier fauna issue from Moldova (1996) shows, on the 0.09Leu the common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus); 0.10L a grey goose (Anser anser); 2.20L turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur); and the wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos).
Fine butterfly and moth stamps from Morocco 2019.
And above a joint issue Mexico/Colombia (2018) and below another, Mexico/Canada (1995), featuring native fauna.
And lastly, a very fine definitive set from Seychelles issued in 1969, depicting scenes and characters from the islands’ history.
