5672 (58¢) Mountain Flora coil stamp – Wood lily, serpentine die cut 10 vert.
5673 (58¢) Mountain Flora coil stamp – Alpine buttercup, serpentine die cut 10 vert.
5674 (58¢) Mountain Flora coil stamp – Woods’ rose, serpentine die cut 10 vert.
5675 (58¢) Mountain Flora coil stamp – Pasqueflower, serpentine die cut 10 vert.
a. Horiz. strip of 4, #5672-5675 Note: Plate number strips for the Mountain Flora coils will be listed as strips of 7 and 9 with No. 5675, bearing the plate number, in the center of the strips.
5676 (58¢) Mountain Flora booklet stamp – Pasqueflower, serpentine die cut 10¼x 11 on 2 or 3 sides 5677 (58¢) Mountain Flora booklet stamp – Wood lily, serpentine die cut 10¼x 11 on 2 or 3 sides
5678 (58¢) Mountain Flora booklet stamp – Alpine buttercup, serpentine die cut 10¼x 11 on 2 or 3 sides
5679 (58¢) Mountain Flora booklet stamp – Woods’ rose, serpentine die cut 10¼x 11 on 2 or 3 sides
a. Block of 4, #5676-5679
b. Convertible booklet pane of 20, 5 each #5676-5679
[from a PostNL press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions] Typically Dutch – Sailing Issue date: May 9, 2022
Sheet of six stamps in six identical designs
Item number: 420561
Design: Claire Bedon and Edwin van Praet (Total Design), Amsterdam
This issue is the fourth in the Typically Dutch series this year. In 2022, the multi-annual series is dedicated to five sports in which the Dutch excel. Earlier this year, stamps featuring ice skating (3 January), hockey (21 March) and cycling (4 April) were published as part of this series. On 15 August, PostNL will complete this stamp series by issuing a football-themed sheet.
The issue was designed by graphic designer Clair Bedon and creative director Edwin van Praet from Total Design in Amsterdam. The six identical postage stamps will be marked ‘Nederland 1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20g destined for the Netherlands.
Living with water, fighting against water, using water – that may be the best way to describe the Dutch. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Netherlands is an international leader when it comes to water sports: from swimming and water polo to windsurfing, kite surfing and sailing. The Royal Dutch Water Sports Association (Watersportverbond) has more than 400 water sports associations with over 80,000 members. This association has a long history and was founded in 1890 as Verbonden Zeilvereenigingen van Nederland en België. The Watersportverbond represents the interests of youth teams and promising teams up to and including the top athletes of TeamNL Zeilen (Sailing). The federation is also responsible for registering over 100 national, international, Olympic and Paralympic competition classes.
The Dutch are at the very top in global sailing and windsurfing. Marit Bouwmeester (Laser Radial), Dorian van Rijsselberghe, Kiran Badloe and Lilian de Geus (RS:X), Lobke Berkhout (470), Annemiek Bekkering and Annette Duetz (49er FX) have already been world champions in their class at least once. The most recent successes were achieved at the World Championships at the end of 2021 in Oman, with gold medals for Odile van Aanholt/Elise de Ruijter (49er FX) and Bart Lambriex/Floris van de Werken (49er). The Dutch have also won many gold medals at the Olympic Games, both past and present. From Joop Carp, Berend Carp and Piet Wernink (6.5-metre class, Antwerp 1920) and Daan Kagchelland, O-Jolle, Berlin 1936) to Stephan van den Berg (windsurfing, Los Angeles 1984), Dorian van Rijsselberghe (RS:X, London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016), Marit Bouwmeester (Laser Radial, Rio de Janeiro 2016) and Kiran Badloe (RS: X, Tokyo 2020).
The Typically Dutch – Sailing stamp sheet features an illustration of a competitive sailor hanging outboard from a trapeze on his sailing boat. On the bottom half of the stamp, three wavy lines can be seen in the background, symbolising the water on which competitive sailors practice their sport. The bottom of each stamp has a white strip containing the sorting hook, the year 2022, the country (Netherlands) and the denomination (1). The keel of the sailing boat runs into this strip slightly. In the top left-hand corner, the same happens with the top of the sail and the cordage. The logo for the Typically Dutch series is printed above each stamp, with a folded Dutch banner on the left and right. The picture is repeated in enlarged form on the edge of the sheet. The dominant colour orange continues on the tabs on the right. The Typically Dutch logo appears once more on the top edge of the sheet, while the bottom edge features a short explanatory text.
“We explored two types of sports,” explains van Praet. “On the one hand, there were the Old Dutch sports often tied in with a particular region, like klootschieten, beugelen, kaatsen and fierljeppen. On the other hand, we had the sports loved by everyone in the Netherlands, sports linked to our culture, with water and with large numbers taking part in them: football, hockey, horse riding, swimming, korfball, sailing, golf, et cetera.”
The mood of the Typically Dutch – Sailing stamps is established by the orange background colour, with blue (sailing boat), red (trousers, hair), yellow (sail, shirt), grey (face, arms and hands) and black (mast, cordage, trapeze vest) as contrasting colours. “All five issues this year include the colours of the Dutch flag [and] in the right order,” says van Praet. “First red, then white, then blue and finally two kinds of orange.
“Diversity was essential. That is why we used red, white, blue and orange for the skin colour, rather than pink or brown. The series features two female athletes, two male athletes including this competitive sailor, and one neutral figure.”
The stamps are available while stocks last at the post office counter in Bruna shops and at www.postnl.nl/bijzondere-postzegels [in Dutch]. The stamps can also be ordered by phone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number +31 (0)88 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.
Technical Details:
Postage stamp dimensions: 30 x 40 mm: Sheet size: 170 x 122 mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black and orange
Print run: 75,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of 6 stamps in 6 identical designs
Design: Edwin van Praet and Claire Bedon, Total Design, Amsterdam
Printing company: Cartor Security Printers, Meaucé-La Loupe, France
Item number: 420561
[from a PostNL press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions] The Lady of Stavoren Issue date: May 9, 2022
Sheet of 6 stamps in 2 different designs marked with ‘Internationaal 1’, the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for delivery outside of the Netherlands
Item number: 420562
Design: Edwin van Gelder, Amsterdam
Illustrations: Toon Wegner through Stichting Nobilis, Fochteloo
This is the winner of the EUROPA Stamp Best Design Competition, in which cooperating postal companies in Europe have been issuing stamps with a common theme for over 65 years.
PostNL chose the story of the Lady of Stavoren in consultation with the Meertens Institute. Other folktales such as Saint Servatius, the Flying Dutchman, Ellert en Brammert and the Witte Wievenkuil were also considered. PostNL was guided in its decision by the moralistic nature and familiarity of the story. A bronze statue of the Lady, made by sculptor Pier de Groot, has stood in the harbour of Stavoren since 1969.
The Lady of Stavoren is a legend about how pride comes before a fall. The story is about a rich merchant’s wife. In a fit of rage, she throws grain overboard in the harbour of Stavoren. When bystanders are outraged, the woman throws a precious ring into the waves and says she will only regret it when the sea returns her ring. And the sea does just that, as she finds the ring in the belly of a fish. From then on, things start to go downhill: the woman loses all her money, the harbour silts up and Stavoren’s prosperity becomes a thing of the past.
The Lady of Stavoren is a legend by name. The sandbank off Stavoren was called Vrouwenzand (literally ‘Lady’s Sand’, named after Maria, patron saint of the local monastery of St. Odulphus. When the monastery and the origin of the name had faded from memory, the story of The Lady of Stavoren emerged. It is historically accurate that the prosperous town of Stavoren lost its trading position due to the siltation of the harbour. The oldest known version of this legend was recorded in the 16th century. Since then, the story has been retold and embellished in many different versions. For example, the empty ears of wheat growing on the sandbank date from the 18th century. The ring motif was added in the early 19th century.
Design:
The The Lady of Stavoren stamp sheet features six stamps in two different designs by graphic designer Edwin van Gelder. The stamps feature cut-outs from an illustration by Toon Wegner from the book The Lady of Stavoren. Each stamp features a line from a Dutch street song about the same subject. The tabs next to the stamps show the international Priority indication. The legend of The Lady of Stavoren is briefly recounted on the sheet edge, with literal quotations taken from the aforementioned booklet. The text on the sheet edge is accompanied by other illustrations from the book: the woman pointing to the ship that features prominently in the story. The texts, illustrations and captions are printed in gold (PMS 871) because The Lady of Stavoren wanted to possess all the riches in the world and her castle was clad with gold.
“I considered a purely typographical strategy, but that did not do justice to the narrative character of this legend,” says van Gelder. “On the other hand, I found photography too flat. I don’t make that kind of illustration in my design work, so I looked at what others have previously done. The first images I came across were a bit disappointing. Then I came across a book of beautiful, timeless illustrations by Toon Wegner, and I found it absolutely charming. His lithographs perfectly match the mood of the story. I used them to retell the story, but this time with a more abstract, contemporary twist. It was important to me that I created a contemporary image, which is why I came up with crops based on the original illustrations.”
The stamps are available while stocks last at the post office counter in Bruna shops and at www.postnl.nl/bijzondere-postzegels [in Dutch].
Technical Details:
Stamp size: 36 x 25mm:
Sheet size: 108 x 150mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: black, blue and gold
Edition: 60,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of 6 stamps in 2 different designs
Design: Edwin van Gelder, Amsterdam
Illustrations: Toon Wegner through Stichting Nobilis, Fochteloo
Printing company: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number: 420562
[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions] New Stamps from Royal Mail Pay Tribute to Unsung Heroes – The Women of World War II
The 10 stamps in the main set illustrate the huge range of work women undertook during the war years of 1939-1945
Included is a rare photograph showing female codebreakers working at Bletchley
A further four stamps, presented in a miniature sheet, showcase the work of the ‘Spitfire Women’, an incredibly brave and ground-breaking group of female pilots
Royal Mail worked with Professor Lucy Noakes, Rab Butler Chair in Modern History, Department of History at the University of Essex, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, on the stamp issue, and also, Richard Poad from the Air Transport Auxiliary Museum and Professor Richard Overy, Professor of History at Exeter University
The stamps are available to pre-order from today (28 April) at www.royalmail.com/unsungheroes and by phone on 03457 641 641
The stamps go on general sale on 5 May – with the Presentation Pack, containing all the stamps, priced at £16.00
Royal Mail has revealed a new set of 14 stamps that pay tribute to women’s vital contribution during World War II.
Entitled Unsung Heroes: Women of World War II, the main set of 10 stamps illustrate the huge range of work women undertook during the war years.
Included is a rare photograph showing female codebreakers working at Bletchley, where they translated Axis material and operated the complex cryptographic machinery. [right]
A further four stamps, presented in a miniature sheet, showcase the brave work of the Ferry Pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary – known as the ‘Spitfire Women’ – an incredibly brave and ground-breaking group of female pilots.David Gold, Director External Affairs & Policy, Royal Mail, said: “These stamps are a tribute to the millions of women who contributed to the war effort and the Allied victory. Their bravery and sacrifice is often overlooked, but their work helped to drive some of the post-war social changes that eventually saw equal opportunities and equal pay legislation. We must also remember the women who supported the war effort at home, managing households despite the unceasing demands of total war.”
Rising to the challenge: Until 1941, women’s work was voluntary, but the increased demands of a global war meant that female conscription was increasingly seen as necessary by the government. By the middle of 1943, the majority of women in wartime employment, both full and part-time, were working in industry, agriculture and the women’s services. The women’s auxiliary services were established at the outset of the war: the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) in 1938, and the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) in 1939.
To begin with, roles in the ATS were limited to cooks, cleaners, orderlies, store-women, and drivers, but as the war went on these were expanded to include other duties, notably work on the anti-aircraft sites. More roles were open to women in the WAAF and the WRNS, while the ‘Spitfire women’ of the civilian Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) delivered planes to airfields around the country.
Among the volunteers were many women from the then British colonies and Dominions, who served in the auxiliary and medical services. Other women worked as nurses, air raid wardens and tube and bus drivers, while over one million women volunteered with the Women’s Voluntary Services. At the war’s end, many of these roles disappeared, but women’s contribution to the war effort is commemorated by the Women of World War II memorial in central London.
Royal Mail worked with Professor Lucy Noakes, Rab Butler Chair in Modern History, Department of History at the University of Essex, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, on the stamp issue, and also, Richard Poad from the ATA Museum and Professor Richard Overy, Professor of History at Exeter University.
The stamps are now available to pre-order at www.royalmail.com/unsungheroes and by phone on 03457 641 641. The stamps will be available on general sale on 5 May – with the Presentation Pack, containing all the stamps, priced at £16.00.
Technical Details – Stamps:
Number of stamps: Ten
Value of Stamps: 10 x 1st Class
Design: Supple Studio
Acknowledgements:
Philatelic Products:
Stamp set AS8500 £9.50
Miniature Sheet MZ175 £5.60Presentation Pack AP506 £16.00 (above)First Day Cover – Stamps AF486 £12.05 (above)First Day Cover – Minisheet MF170 £7.40 (above) First Day Cover – PSB pane HF100 £5.45
Stamp Souvenir AW215 £12.05
Stamp Sheet Souvenir AW216 £7.40
First Day Envelope AE441 £0.30
Postcards AQ322 £6.75
Prestige Stamp Book YB106 £20.75
Press Sheet PZ061 £78.40
Framed Stamps N3287 £29.99
Framed Miniature Sheet N3288 £29.99Full 50 x 1st Class stamp sheet AS8500AFS £47.50
Half 25 x 1st Class stamp sheet AS8500AHS £23.75
Full 50 x 1st Class stamp sheet AS8500BFS £47.50
Half 25 X 1st Class stamp sheet AS8500BHS £23.75
Two first day postmarks are available: There are four PSB panes: Here are the single stamps not illustrated separately above: Here are the minisheet stamps not illustrated above:
The U.S. Postal Service’s plan to buy more delivery vehicles is running into roadblocks.
Thursday, three lawsuits were filed by a coalition of environmental organizations and the auto workers’ union, and states attorneys generals.
The AGs for 16 states and the District of Columbia claim the USPS violated the law when it ordered thousands of new mail trucks powered by gasoline instead of electricity. Another lawsuit filed in San Francisco was filed by Earthjustice, Center for Biological Diversity, CleanAirNow KC and Sierra Club, and a third was filed in New York by the Natural Resources Defense Council and United Auto Workers — strange bedfellows! The plaintiffs in those two cases are demanding a more thorough environmental review of the purchases. They contend that purchases of fossil fuel-powered delivery vehicles will cause environmental harm for decades to come.
“Louis DeJoy’s gas-guzzling fleet guarantees decades of pollution with every postcard and package,” said Scott Hochberg, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, referring to the postmaster general.
Postal Service spokesperson Kim Frum defended the agency’s actions.
“The Postal Service conducted a robust and thorough review and fully complied with all of our obligations under (the National Environmental Policy Act),” spokesperson Kim Frum said Thursday in an email.
The USPS also says its purchase was governed both by its financial problems and by the need to replace its delivery trucks as soon as possible. The contract would be the Postal Service’s first large-scale vehicle purchase in three decades. Its delivery trucks went into service between 1987 and 1994.
The United Auto Workers union says President Biden had promised to advance environmental policies while increasing union jobs. The new trucks are expected to be built in nonunion factories.
The Postal Service is an independent agency that is not bound by the administration’s climate rules. It also owns more than 231,000 vehicles, one of the largest civilian fleets in the world.
Received in the mail from globe-trotting VSC member Chris Lazaroff, who is attending the show. The message “Udvozlet Magyarorszagrol” translates as “Greetings from Hungary.” I suspect it’s a first-day of the stamp, which commemorates the show and 100 years of the National Alliance of Hungarian Stamp Collectors. Both sides of the card are shown.
[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions] Canada Post issues new stamp honouring Salome Bey Singer, playwright, composer, mentor, actor and director celebrated for her many achievements
TORONTO – Canada Post is launching a new commemorative stamp celebrating Salome Bey, Canada’s First Lady of the Blues. Bey was an award-winning singer-songwriter, composer, producer, director and actor, who was also widely revered for how she mentored young artists.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1933, Bey began her professional musical career in the 1950s touring North America and Europe with her brother and sister as Andy Bey and the Bey Sisters. In the early 1960s, after meeting her future husband, Howard Matthews, in Toronto, she made Canada her home and pursued a solo career singing in a range of genres from blues to jazz to pop.
Bey’s talents were multi-faceted. She appeared in musicals, such as the off-Broadway Love Me, Love My Children (Justine in Canada), for which she earned an Obie Award in 1972, and Broadway’s Tony Award–winning Your Arms Too Short to Box with God, which earned her and other performers a Grammy nomination for the original cast recording.
She started writing her own songs as well as musicals, which allowed her to provide more opportunities to Black performers. She wrote and starred in Indigo, a revue celebrating the history of Black music. The show, which ran from 1978 to 1980, was a hit and earned her two Dora Mavor Moore Awards. Later filmed for TV, it aired on CBC in 1984. She also wrote and starred in Shimmytime (1983) about American performer Ethel Waters, and wrote and directed Madame Gertrude (1985) about blues legend Ma Rainey. Her celebrated children’s musical Rainboworld featured many young performers who would go on to have successful careers in the arts.
Over her career, Bey also released several solo albums and appeared on recordings with the likes of jazz pianist Horace Silver and composer/pianist Galt MacDermot.
Always willing to contribute to charitable initiatives, Bey participated in the charity single “Tears Are Not Enough” in support of Ethiopian famine relief in 1985 and was also a member of Artists Against Racism. She was a key organizer of and songwriter for the 1986 Toronto Arts Against Apartheid Festival – the event, which was attended by then-Bishop Desmond Tutu, was held to protest apartheid in South Africa and to raise funds for local Toronto charities.
Over her career, she received several awards and honours, including a Toronto Arts Award (1992), the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award from Montréal’s Black Theatre Workshop (1996) and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012). In 2005, she became an Honorary Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2021 was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.
Salome Bey passed away August 8, 2020, in Toronto.
About the stampThe Salome Bey stamp was designed by Paprika. It features an illustration by David Belliveau that is based on a photo by Doug Griffin, courtesy of Toronto Star | Getty Images. The stamp was printed by Lowe-Martin. The issue includes a booklet of six Permanent™ domestic rate stamps and an Official First Day Cover, cancelled in Toronto.Stamp products are available Friday, April 22, at canadapost.ca and postal outlets across Canada.
Specifications:Canada Post video with English subtitles:
[en Francais pour les médias d’information] Postes Canada émet un timbre en hommage à Salome Bey Chanteuse, dramaturge, compositrice, mentore, actrice et directrice reconnue pour ses nombreuses réalisations
TORONTO – Postes Canada émet un nouveau timbre commémoratif en l’honneur de Salome Bey, la première dame du blues au Canada. Auteure-compositrice-interprète, productrice, directrice et actrice primée, elle est également une immense source d’inspiration et mentore pour les jeunes artistes.
Née en 1933 à Newark, au New Jersey, elle commence sa carrière musicale dans les années 1950 aux côtés de son frère et de sa sœur. Ensemble, ils forment le trio Andy Bey and the Bey Sisters et font une tournée en Amérique du Nord et en Europe. Au début des années 1960, après avoir rencontré à Toronto Howard Matthews, son futur mari, elle s’installe au Canada où elle poursuit sa carrière en solo et explore divers genres, dont le blues, le jazz et la pop.
Artiste aux multiples talents, on la voit dans des comédies musicales, comme la pièce off-Broadway Love Me, Love My Children (Justine au Canada), pour laquelle elle reçoit un Obie Award en 1972. Elle se produit aussi à Broadway dans la comédie musicale Your Arms Too Short to Box with God (gagnante d’un Tony Award), qui lui permet de décrocher, avec d’autres artistes de la distribution originale, une nomination pour un prix Grammy pour l’enregistrement musical.
Elle commence à écrire ses propres chansons et comédies musicales, ce qui lui permet d’offrir plus de rôles aux artistes de la communauté noire. On lui doit la pièce Indigo, qui célèbre l’histoire de la musique noire, dans laquelle elle tient la vedette. La production, présentée de 1978 à 1980, connait un franc succès et lui vaut deux prix Dora Mavor Moore. En 1984, l’adaptation télévisuelle de la pièce est diffusée sur les ondes de CBC. Elle joue dans Shimmytime (1983), l’une de ses créations, qui présente le récit de la chanteuse et actrice américaine Ethel Waters, puis elle écrit et dirige Madame Gertrude (1985) au sujet de Ma Rainey, la légende du blues. Sa très populaire comédie musicale Rainboworld met en vedette de nombreux jeunes qui sont devenus eux-mêmes des artistes à succès.
Au cours de sa carrière, Salome Bey sort aussi plusieurs albums solos et enregistre de la musique avec le pianiste de jazz Horace Silver et avec le compositeur et pianiste Galt MacDermot.
Toujours prête à contribuer à des initiatives caritatives, Salome Bey participe à l’enregistrement du simple Tears Are Not Enough en appui à la lutte contre la famine en Éthiopie en 1985, et devient membre d’Artists Against Racism. En 1986, elle contribue au Toronto Arts Against Apartheid Festival à titre d’organisatrice et d’auteure-compositrice clé. L’événement, auquel assiste l’évêque Desmond Tutu, est une façon de protester contre l’apartheid en Afrique du Sud et de recueillir des fonds pour des organismes de bienfaisance de Toronto.
Au cours de sa carrière, Salome Bey reçoit plusieurs prix et distinctions, dont un Toronto Arts Award (1992), un Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award du Black Theatre Workshop de Montréal (1996) et la Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II (2012). En 2005, elle devient membre honoraire de l’Ordre du Canada et en 2021, elle est intronisée à l’Allée des célébrités canadiennes.
Salome Bey décède le 8 août 2020 à Toronto.
À propos des timbresLe timbre en hommage à Salome Bey a été conçu par Paprika. Il est orné d’une illustration réalisée par David Belliveau, qui s’est inspiré d’une photo prise par Doug Griffin; photo fournie à titre gracieux par le Toronto Star/Getty Images. Imprimé par Lowe-Martin, l’émission comprend un carnet de six timbres PermanentsMC au tarif du régime intérieur et un pli Premier Jour officiel oblitéré à Toronto.Le timbre et les articles de collection sont en vente dès le vendredi 22 avril 2022 sur postescanada.ca et dans les comptoirs postaux partout au pays.
Specifications:Canada Post video, avec sous-titres Français:
[press release] AFDCS Convention Tour Returns, Better Than Ever
The American First Day Cover Society is again hosting a tour of the area in connection with its annual convention, with a few changes. The excursion takes place on Monday, August 29, the day after Great American Stamp Show in Sacramento, Calif. Membership in the AFDCS is not required.
Among the differences: The tour is co-hosted with the American Topical Association and will be held on the day after the show, which runs August 25-28. The AFDCS’ traditional tour day — before the show — is just too full of other events, including board meetings, booth setups and exhibit mounting.
The tour begins at 8 a.m. when the bus leaves the Sheraton Grand Hotel, across the street from the convention center. A short guided tour of the California capital follows. Next, the group goes to the California State Railroad Museum.
The afternoon will be spent in Old Sacramento with its shops and restaurants, then with a guided tour at the Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park.
The $55 per person includes transportation, admission and the tours. Tickets may be purchased via the AFDCS website at www.afdcs.org/show
The AFDCS and ATA are co-hosts of Great American Stamp Show, along with the American Philatelic Society. The AFDCS has a superbooth at the front of the convention center hall and will have unserviced cachets for the Pony Cars stamps that will be issued at the show, along with serviced FDCs and publications. The AFDCS will also hold its annual membership meeting and banquet at GASS, and has scheduled several seminars.
In addition to its GASS activities, the AFDCS publishes an award-winning journal First Days, handbooks, catalogues and a cachetmakers directory; promotes first day cover exhibiting; holds an annual cachet contest; and has educational programs. For more information on the AFDCS, visit http://www.afdcs.org, write AFDCS, Post Office Box 246, Colonial Beach, VA 22443-0246 or email afdcs@afdcs.org.
[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions] PostNL Celebrates Mondrian Year with Golden Stamp
PostNL on April 14 issued a special gold stamp in honor of the 150th birthday of painter Piet Mondriaan. The Amersfoort culture alderman Fatma Koşer Kaya officially received the first copy of the gold stamp.
Victory Boogie Woogie
Mondriaan (1872-1944) became world famous with his geometrically abstract works. The gold stamp features a cutout of the Victory Boogie Woogie, Mondrian’s last painting from 1944. The unfinished work, owned by the Dutch state, hangs in the Kunstmuseum in The Hague. The font on the stamp for the value indication 1 and the Netherlands is a design by type designer Martin Majoor from Arnhem. For the rest of the typography, the SF Orson Casual Heavy by type designer Derek Vogelpohl (ShyFoundry) from Omaha, Nebraska was used.
Limited edition
The 24-carat gold stamp 150 years Piet Mondrian is printed in a limited edition. PostNL delivers the stamp including a special storage cassette with certificate of authenticity. The price is € 50.00. PostNL issues gold stamps exclusively on the occasion of special anniversaries and other special commemorations, always in a limited edition. The special thing about this latest issue is that colors other than gold have been used for the first time.
Cargo bike à la Mondrian
The golden 150th anniversary of Piet Mondriaan stamp was delivered today with an electric PostNL mailbox. For the occasion, this was provided with the characteristic black lines and colorful surfaces that we know from Mondrian’s paintings. Four of these mailbox bikes have been made that will continue to ride throughout the Mondriaan year. PostNL is replacing more and more vans with these types of cargo bikes, which are cleaner and more city-friendly. Hundreds of these are now driving through the Netherlands.
Special Artists meet Mondrian
Simultaneously with the presentation of the first gold stamp, alderman Koşer Kaya opened the exhibition Special Artists meet Mondriaan in the Mariënhof (Kleine Haag 2, Amersfoort). The exhibition consists of works by people with disabilities, who have been inspired by paintings by Mondriaan. In addition to paintings, drawings, textiles and ceramics are on display.
Availability
The golden stamp 150 years Mondriaan is, while stocks last, only available via the webshop [in Dutch] at the customer service of Collect Club on telephone number 088 – 868 99 00. The stamp shows value 1, intended for mail up to and including 20 grams with a destination in the Netherlands. The validity period is indefinite. [Inasmuch as the stamp costs €50 (about US$54.25), you’d be a fool to use it for a domestic letter — or even an international one! —VSC]
[The Wikipedia article on Mondriaan, or “Mondrian,” notes that he was living in New York City at the time of his death at age 71 from pneumonia.]
[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions] Stamp casts light on important Islamic festivals Image of intricately designed lantern celebrates Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha
EDMONTON – Today, Canada Post issued its latest stamp celebrating Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, two of the most important festivals in the Islamic calendar.
The festivals begin in early May and early July, respectively, and are celebrated by more than one million Muslims in Canada, and millions more around the world.
About the festivals
Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting for Muslims; it is known as the Festival of Breaking the Fast. Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, follows and marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to one of the holiest sites in Islam, the Kaaba shrine in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, both of which can last several days, embody practices and values that are central to Islam, including empathy for those in need and appreciation for one’s community. These are expressed through prayers, communal feasts, family visits, gift-giving and acts of charity.
About the stamp
Designed by Soapbox Design of Toronto, the stamp features an Eid lantern casting colourful patterns of dappled light. Richard Nalli-Petta used a montage of photographs and illustrations to create layers of texture and background colour in the stamp. Rose and lily silhouettes by Irene Laschi appear on the Official First Day Cover and inside the booklet of six PermanentTM domestic rate stamps; flowers are a popular gift during Eid celebrations.
This is Canada Post’s fourth Eid stamp since 2017 and just one of several annual issues marking events of importance to Canada’s culturally diverse population. Others include Diwali, Hanukkah and Christmas.
Stamp products are available here [direct link] and at postal outlets across the country.
[en Francais pour les médias d’information] Un timbre met en lumière deux fêtes islamiques importantes L’image d’une lanterne aux motifs travaillés souligne l’Aïd al-Fitr et l’Aïd al Adha
EDMONTON – Aujourd’hui, Postes Canada a émis son plus récent timbre soulignant l’Aïd al-Fitr et l’Aïd al Adha, deux des fêtes les plus importantes de la religion islamique.
Plus d’un million de musulmans au Canada et des millions d’autres ailleurs dans le monde prendront part aux célébrations qui commenceront respectivement au début de mai et de juillet.
À propos de l’Aïd al-Fitr et de l’Aïd al-Adha
Marquant la fin du ramadan, un mois sacré de jeûne pour les musulmans, l’Aïd al-Fitr est aussi connu comme étant la fête de la rupture du jeûne. L’Aïd al-Adha, ou fête du sacrifice, suit et marque la fin du pèlerinage du Hadj vers l’un des lieux les plus sacrés de l’islam, le sanctuaire de la Kaaba à La Mecque, en Arabie saoudite. L’Aïd al-Fitr et l’Aïd al-Adha peuvent durer plusieurs jours. Ces deux fêtes incarnent les pratiques et les valeurs fondamentales de l’islam, comme l’empathie pour les personnes dans le besoin et l’appréciation pour sa communauté. Elles sont synonymes de prières, de festins communs, de visites familiales, de cadeaux et d’actes de charité.
À propos du timbre
Conçu par l’agence Soapbox Design de Toronto, le timbre illustre une lanterne de l’Aïd projetant différents éclats de lumière en motifs colorés. Richard Nalli-Petta a utilisé un montage de photos et d’illustrations pour créer l’effet texturé et coloré sur l’arrière-plan du timbre. Les fleurs étant très souvent offertes en cadeau pendant les célébrations de l’Aïd, des silhouettes de roses et de lis illustrées par Irene Laschi apparaissent sur le pli Premier Jour officiel et à l’intérieur du carnet de six timbres PermanentsMC au tarif du régime intérieur.
Ce quatrième timbre que Postes Canada dédie à l’Aïd depuis 2017 n’est qu’une des nombreuses émissions annuelles soulignant des moments importants pour la population culturellement diversifiée du Canada, comme Diwali, Hanoukka et Noël.
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5672 (58¢) Mountain Flora coil stamp – Wood lily, serpentine die cut 10 vert.
5677 (58¢) Mountain Flora booklet stamp – Wood lily, serpentine die cut 10¼x 11 on 2 or 3 sides
5681 (58¢) Tulips
