Juan de Nova, TAAF

Another TAAF Scattered Islands cover, thanks for Roland. This one is from the island of Juan de Nova. The stamp features the French navy corvette Dauphine. It was during a voyage in 1776 that the crew of the Dauphine rescued the eight remaining survivors of a ship wreck on what is now Tromelin island, 15 years after they were marooned there.

Îles Glorieuses, TAAF

From the Glorieuses: a small group of islands that are part of the French Scattered Islands. Part of the French Southern and Antarctic Territory of TAAF.

Letter Writing Day, FDC Japan

Since I'm heading to Osaka tomorrow I should post this Osaka cover I received last week. The stamps are from this year's letter writing day issue, first-day postmarked with the Osaka postmark.

International Polar Year, Finland

In 2007 the postal administrations a few countries with Arctic interests participated in a joint issue of stamps that recognized the International Polar Year. This souvenir sheet from Finland features a foil snowflake that shimmers. The stamps on the left are from a 2007 set called "Memories of Finland".

Rarotonga, Cook Islands

From the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. This was sent from the largest and and most populated island of Rarotonga. The stamps are a 2016 WWF issue featuring manta rays and they actually say "Raotonga" on them as well as "Cook Islands". Stamps are issued for all three of the main islands : Rarotonga, Aitutaki and Penrhyn, but there are also Cook Island stamps. As I understand it they are all produced by the same entity (I could easily be wrong about that) and I imagine this is done to sell more stamps to collectors. Why else would a county of 20,000 need so many postage stamps.

Native Irish Bees

From the County Clare town of Lios Dúin Bhearna. The honeycomb cell shaped stamps are from a 2024 set featuring native Irish bees. On the left is a honey bee and on the right is a patchwork leafcutter bee.

Hay River, Northwest Territories. Canada

From the town of Hay River. There are three post offices in the Northwest Territories that currently use this polar bear postmark: Yellowknife, Inuvik and Hay River. But you won't see actual polar bears in Hay River. Just black bears. The stamp is from a recent set that recognizes Canadian graphic novelists. On this stamp it's Mariko and Jillian Tamaki and their novel "This One Summer" published in 2014. It's a teen coming-of-age story that was banned by the American Library Association for its mature subject matter.

Liberation Army Caravans, Algeria FDC

The souvenir sheet on this first-day cover from Algeria depicts a caravan of camels carrying weapons for the National Liberation Army across the Sahara desert.