Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Adelaide, Australia

A pair of Kingfisher stamps from 2010. A sacred kingfisher on the left and blue-winged kookaburra on the right.


Saturday, January 27, 2018

Lund, Sweden

The lighthouse stamp on the left is the lighthouse outside of När, on the island of Gotland in the Baltic sea. And the one on the right is the Vinga lighthouse on Vinga island, just outside the entrance to Gothenburg's harbour.


The three older stamps from top to bottom:
  • From a 1982 set called "To Live Together"
  • From a set issued in 1975 commemorating European Architectural Heritage Year. On this stamps is the preserved 19th century church town of Bonnstan in Skellefteå in northern Sweden.
  • Another from 1975 from a set recognizing police, fire and health services. 

Friday, January 26, 2018

Berkhamstead, England

The market town of Berkhamstead, 40 km northwest of London. This year is the 400th anniversary of the town gaining chartered status as a borough. A nice postmark on a pair of songbird stamps.


Wednesday, January 24, 2018

China: Phoenix Cultural Relics

All of the items on these stamps feature the phoenix in their design. From left to right: Ming Dynasty round tapestry, Qing Dynasty porcelain jar, Neolithic age jade phoenix, Western Zhou Dynasty bird shaped goblet, Tang Dynasty gold phoenix and a Tang Dynasty celadon pot with a phoenix head for a spout.


All are printed in offset and all but the first two are embossed. The gold phoenix is done in gold foil and the goblet stamp is partially engraved.

Saturday, January 20, 2018

Brazil America-UPAEP : Beautiful Tourist Sites

The three stamps on this cover are from a set of five issued 27 Sept 2017. The stamps show popular tourist destinations. From left to right:  Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park in the central state of Goiás, the falls at the mouth of the river Iguaçu in the southern state of Paraná and Armação dos Búzios: a coastal resort town in the state of Rio de Janeiro.


"l'Union des Postes Amérique Espagne Portugal" aka America-UPAEP is a group of Latin American postal administrations together with Portugal and Spain. Every year these countries produce a stamp issue with a common theme. Similar to "Europa" stamps from European countries.

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Trelleborg, Sweden

I believe this is the first letter I've received this year that was mailed to me in 2018. Trelleborg is the southern most town in Sweden.


Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Meguro, Japan

Meguro is a city ward in Tokyo. Mostly residential. The Meguro River with it's landscaped, cherry tree lined banks, is popular for cherry blossom viewing in the spring.


Sunday, January 7, 2018

Jades of the Hongshan Culture

From Lijang China. The set of three stamps show jade artifacts from the Hongshan Culture which existed in north-eastern China from 4700 to 2900 BC. From left to right, the artifacts on the stamps are a dragon, a phoenix and a figurine. The other two stamps are from 2013 and depict offshore oil drilling activities.