The set of definitives shown here was issued in 1903 by Madagascar, a French colony from 1897 to 1958. The stamps’ artwork features a Zebu (a cattle breed) a small tree and a Lemur. The tree is the ornamental ‘traveller’s tree’, Ravenala madagascariensis, the only Ravenala species of the genus Strelitziaceae. This plant is native to Madagascar and has a palm-like trunk and leaves that give the appearance of a fan. Water stored in the leaf bases enables the plant to withstand dry conditions. The traveller’s tree is so named as the native people discovered the water could be used for drinking in emergencies and the fan of leaves tends to grow on an approximate east-west line, thus providing a very basic compass for travellers.
Madagascar 1944
These overprinted Madagasca stamps from 1944 also feature Ravenala madagascariensis.
Rwanda 1968
And the 60c value in this attractive 1968 Rwanda issue features the flower of the traveller’s tree. The traveller’s tree was also the subject of a stamp released by Ascension Island in 2002.
Pro Patria, in Latin, means‘for one’s country’. The Pro Patria Association is a Swiss patriotic and charitable association whose aim is to promote Swiss National Day, which now takes place every August, and to collect funds to benefit disadvantaged groups and minorities. Much of the money collected comes via the sale of postage stamps and postcards in co-operation with Swiss Post. Pro Patria Swiss stamps were first issued in 1936 featuring an alpine shepherd (see above). Pro Patria stamps are an important and popular topic for collectors of Swiss charity stamps.
National Day commemorates the Federal Charter of 1291. These National Day celebrations are referred to as the Bundesfeiertag (German), the Festa Nazionale (Italian) or the Fête Nationale (French). The 1940 Switzerland stamp sheet shown here commemorates three battles – (from left to right) Sempach 1386, Giornico 1478 and Calven 1499 – and the fourth stamp shows a Swiss Ranger from the First World War.
Switzerland 1942
The stamps issued in 1942 commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of Geneva, featuring an ancient view, and the War Memorial in Forch, erected for Swiss soldiers from the Canton of Zurich that died during World War I.
Unfriendly dogs can often be hindrance to postmen when delivering mail and although this story doesn’t have a particularly happy ending, one medium-size mongrel’s memory lives on at America’s Smithsonian National Postal Museum in Washington D.C.
Here’s a small sample of stamps from the thousands added to PostBeeld’s vast stock in the last weeks.
Egypt 1964
With cancellation of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the possibility of the games taking place this year we begin with a set of stamps from 1964, produced by Egypt to celebrate the 1964 Olympic Games which were also held in Tokyo.
Solomon Islands 2001
From the Solomon Islands in 2001 a beautiful stamp sheet, if snakes are your thing, to celebrate the Chinese New Year 2001 – the Year of the Snake. From left to right we have a Red-banded tree snake, a whip snake, a Pacific boa and a Guppy’s snake.
New Hebrides 1911
The New Hebrides Condominium was the old colonial name for the islands in the South Pacific Ocean that are now Vanuatu. People native to the islands existed for a few thousand years before a Spanish expedition arrived in 1606. In the 18th Century the islands were colonised by both the British and French and were named after the Scottish islands. The two countries eventually signed an agreement making the islands an Anglo-French territory. That divide continued even after independence, with schools teaching in either English or French, and with different political parties. The agreement lasted from 1906 until 1980, when New Hebrides gained its independence as the Republic of Vanuatu.
The stamps above and below from New Hebrides are joint issues from 1911 when a specific new design was introduced, being denominated in both British and French currencies and featuring the coats of arms of both countries.
New Hebrides 1911
The Russian city of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia hosted the 29th Winter World University Games. Here we have a stamp set featuring the architecture of some of the event’s locations. Top left is the Sopka sports complex, top right is the Crystal Arena ice rink. The bottom pair are the Yenisei stadium and the Winter Games’ Congress Hall.
Russia 2019
Below is a set of 4 self-adhesive values titled “Animal Families” featuring a Goosander and two fledglings (85) then a Marmot (100) a Lynx (150) and an Ibex (200) with their young.
Switzerland 2020
Iran 2016
Staying with the animal theme, a stamp pair from Iran (2016) featuring the beautiful Eurasian Lynx. The Eurasian lynx is listed as a protected species under Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
France 2016
French fashion designer André Courrèges was a symbol of a futuristic style revolution in the 1960s and synonymous with mini-skirts and little white boots. He died in 2016 at the age of 92 and La Poste, France’s postal service, issued souvenir sheets with special plexiglas-covered heart-shaped stamps to commemorate the life of the famous designer.
Peru 1966
From Peru 1966, these stamps pay homage to the culture of the Chimú people, who resided mainly on the northern coast of Peru. They were known for their fine metal working of gold, silver, copper and bronze and for their fine earthenware pottery.
At the end of May Royal Mail issued a set of 12 special stamps to celebrate one of the UK’s most successful songwriters and greatest music icons, Paul McCartney.
The main stamp set features a selection of eight LPs which have defined Paul McCartney’s career from his first solo album ‘McCartney’ released in 1970 through to his most recent No.1 album, ‘McCartney III’which was recorded and released during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
The remaining four stamps, presented in a miniature sheet, feature photographs spanning three decades of McCartney in the studio, recording for some of the albums featured in the main special stamp set.
Royal Mail collaborated closely with Paul on the collection – he had personal involvement in the images used and the wider product range created for the issue.
Paul McCartney is an icon of 20th and 21st Century popular music. He is recognised by Guinness World Records as ‘the most successful songwriter of all time’ having written or co-written 188 charted records in the UK, of which 91 reached the top 10 and 33 reached number one. He is the most successful albums act in UK Official Chart history and has been awarded more than 60 gold discs.
In the USA he has composed 32 number one singles and is a 21-time Grammy award winner. 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the ‘RAM’ album, and the formation of the band Wings, which achieved huge success as one of the biggest selling acts of the 70s – with 27 US top 40 hits, and five consecutive No.1 albums.
The 1977 Wings’ single, Mull of Kintyre, remains one of the UK’s biggest selling non-charity singles. To date Paul McCartney is one of only three individual music artists to be featured in a dedicated stamp issue; the others being David Bowie (2017) and Elton John (2019).
In 1981 Mongolia issued a set of stamps to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the German LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin airship polar flight. The special feature of the set is Arctic fauna, with the inclusion of copies of stamps issued by Germany and the Soviet Union in 1931, the year of the polar flight. The 20/30/40-mung airmail stamps incorporate the Germany 1931 stamps. Within the 50/60/80-mung and 1.20 tugrik values are the Soviet stamps.
Continuing with our series of articles regarding the U.S. Post “Black Heritage” series of stamps we have reached the year 1994 when Allison Davis (1902-1983) was featured on the 1994 Black Heritage stamp.
Cuckoos are just one of around 127 species of birds that make up the family Cuculidae. These birds are mostly tropical in distribution, but some species also breed in the temperate zones. Many species are parasitic breeders, laying their eggs in the nests of other species of birds. Species of the cuckoo family occupy a great diversity of habitats, ranging from desert to temperate and tropical forests. The Namibia stamps from 2019 feature four cuckoos, the Great Spotted on the Inland Registered Mail stamp, the Jacobin on the Registered Mail, the Diederik (Zone B) and the African (Postcard Rate).
In 2016, to celebrate the festive season, Isle of Man Post Office issued an extremely colourful set of six Christmas stamps.
The attractive designs give clues to the famous stories depicted on the stamps and pay tribute to one of the great Christmas traditions in the United Kingdom – pantomime, and recall some of the famous shows which have delighted audiences young and old throughout the generations, from tiny village halls to glorious theatres.
The first stamp in this article has a portrait of Paramahansa Yogananda (born 1893–died 1952). He was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru. He was sent by his lineage to America in 1920 to spread the teachings of yoga to the West, to prove the unity between Eastern and Western religions and to preach a balance between Western material growth and Indian spirituality.
India 2017
Born Mukunda Lal Ghosh, Yogananda was a chief disciple of the Bengali yoga guru Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri and lived his last 32 years in America introducing millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organisations, the Yogoda Satsanga Society of India (YSS, founded 1917) and Self-Realisation Fellowship (SRF, founded 1920). His long-standing influence in the American yoga movement, and especially the yoga culture of Los Angeles, led him to be considered by yoga experts as the “Father of Yoga in the West.” India Post issued a stamp in 2017 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Yogoda Satsanga Society of India.
India 1991
Above these 1991 stamps show four yoga postures. In order of value they depict Bhujangasana (Cobra pose), Dhanurasana (Bow), Ustrasana (Camel) and Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle).
India 2015
Then we have two items commemorating International Yoga Day, the first issued by India in 2015 and below a United Nations, New York, stamp sheet from 2017.
United Nations 2017
India 2016
This stamp sheet from 2016 features ‘Surya Namaskar’, a complete Sadhana (spiritual practise) that includes Asana, Pranayama, Mantra and meditation techniques. It stimulates all bodily systems including reproductive, circulatory, respiratory and digestive systems.
