You probably know by now that Freestampmagazine comes under the umbrella of PostBeeld, along with our other freely-offered service for stamp collectors, Freestampcatalogue. Accordingly, now and then we like to inform our readers of items recently added to PostBeeld’s...
In June 1803 Admiral Horatio Nelson embarked on HMS Victory as Commander in Chief in the Mediterranean. This was the first year of the Napoleonic Wars and in the period leading up to the decisive 1805 Battle of Trafalgar...
The Principality of Andorra is the only country in the world with two foreign postal organisations in the same country - the French and Spanish postal services. Andorra is a tiny independent country, situated in the Pyrennees, bordered by...
100 years of Bulgaria's Rhodope narrow-gauge railway was commemorated with this stamp sheet. The railway has been under threat for many years due to lack of investment but there is hope that as a tourist attraction the line will...
Many of us Europeans are aware of great artists from France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Great Britain etc. and we don't tend to know much about art from the eastern reaches of the continent. Consequently, here are some definitives from...
(See also article published on May 5th ‘First African Stamps’)
William Humphrys was born in Dublin in 1794. At an early age he moved to the United States. There he studied engraving techniques under the tutelage of a Mr. George...
Part 10 in this series of articles begins in the year 1998 with a stamp commemorating Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919). Madam C.J. Walker created hair-care and cosmetic products, particularly specialising in products for African-American hair. She developed a very...
The first country to allow commercial printing of advertisements on the back of its stamps was New Zealand. The year was 1893 and almost 100 ads for everything from pills, pickles, tobacco and coal to chocolates and soap, were...
The origin of the Maltese bus service dates back to 1905. The buses were often owner-driven, thereby fostering a friendly rivalry leading to the heavily-customised buses endearing themselves to the public at large. Unfortunately, age took its toll on...
It was 03:30 on Christmas Day 1954 in driving rain when a British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Boeing 377 Stratocruiser aircraft crashed on landing at Prestwick Airport, Scotland. Twenty-eight of the thirty-six on board were killed. A horrible accident and...