Each year we feature a small selection of stamps issued by countries that celebrate Christmas. We begin with an example from Sweden, complete with a Goldfinch (Steglits) and a Yellowhammer (Gulsparv) observing children building a snowman.
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The card game Bridge is one of the most popular games in the world. Biritch, or Russian Whist, is thought by some to be forerunner of the modern game.
Bridge clubs and federations are to be found worldwide and the game is considered to be a great stimulant for those wishing to improve their power of memory and concentration. It is also one of the unusual subjects to be found on postage stamps.
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The Ferrovia Rimini-San Marino was an electrified narrow gauge railway that connected Rimini in Italy to the tiny Republic of San Marino. The line was opened in 1932 after four years of construction work. It was originally 32 kilometers long, 19 km. of which were in the territory of San Marino. The train would depart from Rimini at 3 meters above sea level and reach the last station at an altitude of 642.8m, passing through four stations and five stops.
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It’s difficult to imagine the wonderful children’s story The Gruffalo was created 20 years ago. To celebrate, Royal Mail have issued six special stamps with colourful illustrations of The Gruffalo characters in a chronological story across two horizontal se-tenant strips of three stamps.
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As a child I was always fascinated by the puzzle of how it was possible to place a quite sizeable model of a ship inside a narrow-necked bottle. One of my uncles, an ex-navy man, had a beautiful example in his house but he wouldn’t reveal the secret of how the thing was made.
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In the late 1970s a fascinating series of articles written by Mr. K. Kouwenberg about the history of Stamp Collecting, appeared in the Dutch magazine Philatelie. This series has been the source of inspiration for PostBeeld owner Rob Smit to rewrite the history of stamp collecting in instalments. This is Part 36.
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Baeckeoffe (bake oven) is a casserole dish that is typical in the French region of Alsace which is situated on the borders of Germany and Switzerland.
The stamp above is one from a booklet set of 12 self adhesive stamps on the subject of regional food specialities issued by France in 2010.
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Painted Ladies at Bransfield House, Port Lockroy??? Read on ……..
Port Lockroy is a sheltered harbour off the coast of Wiencke Island on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. Located at the meeting point of three seaways, it offers dramatic mountain and glacier views.
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Modelled on America’s “Liberty Bell”, the 10-ton “Bell of Freedom and Peace” featured on those stamps arrived at Schöneberg Town Hall (then in the Western Sector of Berlin) on October 21, 1950, having travelled from the United States via Bremerhaven and the military train station in Lichterfelde-West.
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The theatrical group Stage Commandos was born during World War II within the dockyards in Malta’s Cottonera locality. This theatrical group was formed purely to entertain the dock workers, keeping their morale high and positive. The workers themselves built a stage out of wooden boxes and soon the performances attracted audiences from the areas around the docks.
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