Alice in Alderney

On this cover is an Alice in Wonderland souvenir sheet commemorating the book's 150th anniversary. It was issued for the channel island of Alderney on behalf of Guernsey Post and postmarked recently in Alderney.

Peace in Sweden

On this cover from Sweden from right to left: 2023 Europa stamp "Peace: The Highest Value of Humanity", 1986 stamps commemorating Swedish prime minister Olof Palme who was assassinated in 1986, and finally a 1987 stamps featuring a painting of Gripsholm Castle by Swedish landscape painter Carl Johan Billmark.

Algerian General Census of Agricultrure, FDC

The stamps on this FDC from Algeria commemorate the start of the third agriculture census to be conducted in Algeria during 2024. A group of government enumerates will enter the countryside to record the current state of agricultural production in Algeria and the data gathered will be used to improve policies necessary to ensure food security. 

Jersey Mail Ships

From the Channel Island of Jersey, a set of stamps from 2010 featuring historic mail-carrying ships. I was surprised at how crisp this letter was when it came out of my mailbox. Barely a crease or scuff on it anywhere. The idea of a mail ship seems like a thing of the past but apparently all mail to and from Jersey goes by boat. It used to be transported by plane but that ended in 2023.

  

Un Hommage à André Franquin

A nice tidy cover from Mathieu. The stamp top-right was issued in France in January to commemorate what would have been the 100th birth anniversary of Belgian comic artist André Franquin. The stamp sheet on the left from 2001 commemorates the hugely popular and long running comic strip Gaston Lagaffe, created by Franquin in 1957. 

Halley Research Station, British Antarctic Territory

Another post about long delays receiving mail from Antarctic research stations. This showed up a few days ago and I've been trying to figure out when I sent it to myself. The stamp is from 2014 but I know it was well after that. Judging by the address label I used, I'm guessing 2019. I need to keep better records.

I know for a time activities at the base were restricted while they waited to see what was happening with giant cracks that opened up on the Brunt ice shelf. But I thought that was only limiting winter activities. Maybe this was just sitting in a pile with similar requests, waiting for a postal clerk to bring them to the base and postmark them. Perhaps it fell behind someone's desk or something and was misplaced for a while. Guess I'll never know.

The Western Capercaillie, Slovakia FDC

An FDC from Slovakia, from 2021. The Europa theme for 2021 was endangered natural wildlife and on this Slovakian stamp is a western capercaillie. It is a large grouse that can be found in parts of Europe. Including Slovakia. I imagine at one time they were heavily hunted but not anymore. 

Old Views of Gibraltar

This souvenir sheet from Gibraltar was from a series of stamps that featured old images of Gibraltar. The series consisted of four issues between 2009 and 2014 with each issue consisting of 5 individual stamps and a souvenir sheet with 4 additional stamps. That's nine "views" per issue. For such a tiny country they certainly had a lot of old views to share. I've always liked these stamps and I appreciate the look of this sheet on the grey envelope.

There is a "Main Post Office" postmark in the middle of the souvenir sheet which is always a problem with sheets like this: postmarks sometimes get lots in the middle of the stamp sheet. If there was ever any doubt that this traveled through the mail system there is always the extra blue postmark that was added in Gibraltar and the all-to-familiar spray on postmark applied at the Canada Post sorting center.

New Zealand Armistice Day

A pair of stamps from 2018 commemorating the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, the end of the First World War, on this cover from Christchurch, New Zealand. The stamp on the left represents the air force and on the right, the navy. New Zealand did not have its own air force or navy at the time but did contribute to the war effort as part of the British empire. New Zealand established its own air force and navy in 1937 and 1941 respectively. 

The Flag of Curaçao

From Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao, off the coast of Venezuela. The souvenir sheet commemorates the 35 anniversary of flag of Curaçao which was adopted in 1984. The postmark on the souvenir sheet is the first-day postmark from 2019 although it's hardly a "first day" postmark as this was mailed to me in May of this year. 

The Underground Railroad, USA FDC

A first-day postmark applied at Church Creek, Maryland, to a recent Underground Railroad stamp from the USA. This stamp features an image of Harriet Tubman and was one of a set of ten stamps issued to commemorate some of the men and women who either escaped slavery or assisted others to escape. Harriet Tubman escaped slavery and devoted her life to helping others do the same. The underground railroad was a network of secret routes, safe houses and sympathizers used by the enslaved to escape to free states and Canada. Church Creek, Maryland, is home to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park 

Royal Mail, 100 Years of Commemorative Stamps

This is a pair of stamps from a recent set of ten issued by the UK's Royal Mail to commemorate 100 years since the issuing of their first commemorative stamp on 23 April 1924. The first British commemorative stamp was issued on the occasion of the first day of the British Empire Exhibition.

This envelope was the special envelope made available for the first-day cover. And the postmark that declares "Collect British Stamps" and "Worlds Greatest Hobby" is a permanent postmark available from the Royal Mail's London handstamp center.