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Thematics |
the beatles collection |
 The first postage stamps to bear Lennon's portrait appeared in 1988. In that year Britain and Australia produced a joint issue highlighting aspects of common culture, and thus it was that a 34p and a $1 respectively portrayed William Shakespeare and John Lennon. Released on June 21, they were pipped at the post by a set of four youth stamps issued by Germany on April 14, with the theme of pop music. Place of honour on the top value (80+40pf) was reserved for John Lennon.
On August 22, 1991, St. Vincent issued a sheetlet of nine stamps, reproducing photographs of John. In 1995 St Vincent produced a sheetlet of nine $1 stamps, each reproducing a portrait of John. The accompanying $6 miniature sheet portrayed John and Yoko Ono.
On December 8, 1995 IGPC released an omnibus marking the 15th anniversary of Lennon's death. A number of countries, released sheets of 16.
Collectors of British philatelic mementoes of the Beatles have had to content themselves with the pictorial postmark of January 16, 1997 incorporating portraits of the Fab Four. Apart from the US 'Celebrate the Century' 33c stamp, the Fab Four were portrayed on one of the Millennium stamps issued by Belgium. |
Birds on Stamps |
 Birds on Stamps' is a popular subject for thematic collecting. Looking at birds shown on stamps issued during the 19th century. Their total number is only a tiny fraction, and the range of different species is very small.
The world's first two bird stamps appeared in Switzerland, in the 1840s, for Geneva and Basel. Geneva's first issue, consisted of joined pairs of 5 centimes values. Inside the arms of Geneva is an impression of an eagle.
The Basel 'town post' stamps show a dove. Many collectors see this as the first true bird stamp.
At least one more bird stamp was released during the 1840s. This rarity is among the 'Postmasters' provisional issues', and was for use in Annapolis, Maryland. |
Buses on stamps |
 A set of six issued by West Berlin in 1973 showed a horse-bus, trolley-bus and motor buses from 1907 onwards. In 1965 Cuba issued a set of eight stamps depicting buses and returned to this theme in 1977.
Guernsey produced a set of four in 1979 devoted to public transport. In 1998, Jersey celebrated the 75th anniversary of its Motor Transport Company with a set of six . Malta released a set of four showing buses in 1996.
By far the best coverage of public transport has been by the Isle of Man which issued a set of four stamps in 1976 and included a horse bus of 1895. In June 1999 a set of six depicting island buses over the past 70 odd years were issued. |
Cats and dogs on stamps |
 Although it wasn’t until 1930 that the first stamp to depict a cat was issued, dogs featured on stamps as far back as 1887. In February that year Newfoundland introduced a half cent stamp and chose the head of the Newfoundland dog. Originally printed in rose-red it was re-issued in black in 1894 and two years later appeared in orange-vermilion. A full length portrait of a Newfoundland dog appeared on the 14c definitive of 1932 – the same motif being used for Coronation series of 1937.
A Newfoundland dog was the subject of the entire series of 1932, while the set of 1972 showed a shipwreck scene with a dog going to the rescue. In the Christmas stamp of 1998 Santa’s sleigh was drawn by a Newfoundland dog.
Newfoundland’s 15c airmail of 1931 showed a dog-team hauling a sledge in wintertime, while the St. Pierre’s definitive series of 1938 showed huskies being harnessed.
It was equally significant that the earliest cat stamp should allude to a symbol of good luck. A one peseta air stamp was released in October 1930 the Spirit of St. Louis with a black cat seated in one corner. Jersey, Iceland and Britain’s greetings booklet of 1991 included three stamps showing black cats. |
Fairy Tales on stamps |
 Over the last 20 some years many of the world’s favourite stories have been illustrated and recognised by various countries on their postage stamps including many from Great Britain. Most of all these have appeared on issues of Walt Disney Postage Stamps, which today covers 37 different countries across the world.
The earliest set to be issued was San Marino which had 10 values, nine of which portrayed Mickey and friends and 220 lire value showed Mogli from Jungle Book with Mr. Walt Disney himself. The first truly dedicated issue was in 1980 when the Maldives released the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ set of nine values and a souvenir sheet of the ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’. This was updated in 1987 by Grenada, with a sheet on nine values showing clips from the animated film and a souvenir sheet with Alice in a tree.
Aladdin is one of the most popular stories and evokes the magic of the mystical east – it was magnificently portrayed in the 1994 issue of Guyana. The set of 26 stamps in two sheets of nine and one of eight each show an individual still from the animated film, from Aladdin finding the lamp $7.65 to $65 face value Aladdin & Jasmine in Love with fireworks in the background. The four souvenir sheets show highlight clip and encapsulate the ‘star on the stamps’. |
Stamps about football |
 From the outset, the European Championships yielded a fine crop of souvenir covers, cards and postmarks but it was not until 1980 that the host nation, Italy, released an 80 lire stamp showing a footballer. When Germany hosted the tournament in 1988 a 60+30 pfennig stamp showed two players. Albania regularly issued sets from 1984 onwards, while Bulgaria contributed a set of four in 1988. Things began to look up in 1992 when Sweden released a pair of 2.80 kroner coil stamps.
The 1996 championship was the biggest and most exciting football extravaganza England had ever seen, and Royal Mail rose magnificently to the occasion, with a set of five stamps depicting some of soccer's greatest players of yesteryear. The golden rule on Royal portraiture precluded the portrayal of any living footballers, although this regulation was bent a little by issuing a prestige booklet whose mixed pane had a central non-postal label depicting George Best. The stamps depicted William Ralph 'Dixie' Dean (1907-80) who scored 18 goals for England in 1927-33, Robert Frederick 'Bobby' Moore (1941-93), England's captain in the 1966 World Cup, Duncan Edwards (1936-58), one of the players killed in the Munich air disaster which robbed Manchester United of the Busby Babes, William Ambrose 'Billy' Wright (1924-94) who captained the national team 90 times and Robert Dennis 'Danny' Blanchflower (1926093), twice Footballer of the Year who led Spurs to spectacular victory in the League and FA Cup double and the European Cup Winners Cup in the early 1960s. |
submarines on stamps |
 Until quite recently stamps depicting submarines were few and far between. The first was the Romanian submarine Delfinul depicted on a 1+1 lei stamp of 1936. The 1.50z, in the set issued by the Polish government in December 1941 featured the submarine Orzel.
The lowest value of the second set, the 5gr of 1943 recalls the valour of the Polish crew which attacked a U-boat.
A Greek 2000dr stamp of 1946 shows the capture of the Italian sub Perla.
To celebrate Heroes Day (March 21, 1943) Nazi Germany issued a set of 12 stamps, the value 3+2pf showed a Type VIIA U-boat.
Other stamps featuring subs include the Sakarya, on a Turkish stamp of 1949 , the Surcouf, on a 500f stamp of St Pierre and Miquelon in 1962, the Russian-built sub Nanggala, on a 30r stamp of 1964, the Piri Reis, on a Turkish 60 kurus of 1965, the sub Ghazi, on a 50 paisa stamp of 1968, France's first nuclear sub, on a 70c of 1969, the Soviet N class sub on a Russian 20k stamp of 1970 and the sub Krasnogvardeets on the 6k stamp of 1973.
The Nautilus was the first sub to reach the North Pole (August 1958). This feat was celebrated by a 4c stamp in 1959.
Several issues from IGPC countries in recent years have consisted of sheetlets and matching souvenir sheets. The latest is a pair of sheetlets of six $2 stamps, six individual stamps and two souvenir sheets from Antigua and Barbuda. |
Tutankhamun on stamps |
 It was on November 4, 1922 that the expedition led by Howard Carter, discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt.
It wasn’t until 1959 that Tutankhamun featured on an Egyptian stamp on a 20m value. Then, in 1964, the young King appeared on a 500m value and his family on a 10m brown and blue. In 1967 a statue of ‘Tut’ was on a 115m. In 1972 Royal Mail issued a 3p stamp in a general anniversaries set. The London-based exhibition had its own postmark (the first day of issue was April 26, 1972) and there was also a slogan mark proclaiming ‘TREASURES OF TUTANKHAMUN AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM’.
The 50th anniversary saw Egypt releasing a set of four and a large 200m airmail sheet featuring the head of Tutankhamun. As well as that the ‘rogue state’ of Ajman in 1971 issued a 50th anniversary sheet with 16 different designs.
The Central African Empire issued a set of eight ‘Treasures of Tutankhamun’ stamps in 1978. |
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Tales by Mail - Book 1, by Karen Cartier
 Tales by Mail is for children of all ages, perhaps up through 60 or so. It brings together stories literally from around the world ... from Botswana to Denmark, from New Zealand to the Faroes, from Saar to Israel.
The stories are short, each with a message, and each illustrated by a stamp issued by the country of the story's origin. Each who reads this book no doubt will develop a different favorite story, which is to be expected. Formatted simply, each story is preceded by a full-color illustration of the commemorative stamp that no only is impressive in its own right but also serves through its design to set the stage for the story that follows.
For those who wonder of the relationship between a stamp design and what is "behind" the design, this book serves as an excellent example.
Teddy Bears Celebrate 100th Anniversary
 Teddy bears, enormously popular symbols of human caring and loving, are being honored by the U.S. Postal Service with the issuance of the Teddy Bears commemorative stamps. The 2002 issuance of the stamps coincides with the 100th anniversary of teddy bears.
The Teddy Bears pane of 20 self-adhesive stamps depicts four lovable, cuddly teddy bears. Photos of the bears appear in the header; details of the photos appear on the stamps. The four stamp designs are repeated five times each on the pane. All four teddy bears were manufactured in the United States and are now owned by private collectors. The Ideal bear dates to circa 1905, the Bruin bear from circa 1907 and the Gund bear from circa 1948. The unlabeled "stick" bear dates from the 1920s. Mass- produced stick bears were characterized by their short arms, thin legs and upright posture. The Ideal bear, the Bruin bear and the stick bear belong to Paul and Rosemary Volpp of Carson City, Nev. The Gund bear belongs to Helen Sieverling of Pasadena, Calif.
The idea of the teddy bear was born in 1902 when President Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a captive bear during a hunting trip. Washington Post cartoonist Clifford Berryman depicted the incident on the front page of the newspaper, and soon toymakers began to manufacture the "teddy" bears associated with the president's name. People in all walks of life love teddy bears, and enthusiasts—known in the teddy bear world as arctophiles—pay top dollar for the collectibles.
Today there are teddy bear magazines, clubs, collector shows and programs, both educational and medical, that feature these little stuffed companions. Teddy bears have had endless books, songs and poem written about them. Widely viewed as symbols of security and comfort, teddy bears are often used by police officers and hospital staff to calm the young and old alike in traumatic situations
Second Set Of Penguin Stamps
 British Antarctic Territory has issued its second set of penguin stamps on a miniature sheet and in a booklet from the Port Lockroy Post Office.
The 12 airmail postcard values feature photographs of Chinstrap, Emperor, Adelie, Gentoo and Macaroni penguins, including juveniles.
All the photographs were taken by members of the British Antarctic Survey.
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