New TAAF issue for September 2011

The Orre House in St Pierre, Reunion. It is the current residence of the TAAF prefect and is listed as a historical site. Print run is 65,000 copies and this stamp is to be issued on 19 September 2011. You can see the actual house here

Uruguayan research station Artigas

The Uruguayan Antarctic Institute operates Artigas Base on King George Island. It has a maximum summer population of 60 and resides in an ice free zone on the island. King George Island is home to several research stations owned by different nations.

I sent this cover to the base through Punta Arenes, Chile back in September. And I put Chilean stamps on the cover and asked that it be sent back through Frei Base and Correos Chile. It came back in good shape. The back is covered with past Artigas cachets with the one for the season that just ended is on the front.

I sent another cover to Artigas through the IAU in Montevideo with the hopes that it would get down there and back within a year through Correo Uruguayo. For that I had to put Uruguayan stamps on the envelope. I'm looking forward to getting that one back.

Mailing addresses can be found here

Centenary of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition

New AAT stamps coming out 2nd August to start a series commemorating the 100th anniversary of the AAE. The plan is to issue a set of 5 stamps each year leading up to 2014. The first Australian Antarctic Expedition left Hobart in December of 2011 under the command of Douglas Mawson and returned in February 1914.

I like the AAT issues but find acquiring them to be rather expensive. I like to order stamps from the Australia Post stamp shop but shipping is rather expensive and Australian stamp issues tend to go off sale not long after issue so I can never justify the shipping cost for the few issues I want that are available to purchase. But I think I'll find a way to get these. Maybe use them on a cover to one of the bases or something.

Eureka Nunavut Maxi Card

I had to try. And actually, despite a little slip that messed the cancel up a bit the post master did an ok job. It isn't smugged, it's straight and it's well placed. But looking at it now, I have to say I'm not crazy about that stamp. I should have waited for Canada Post to issue something better. I didn't want to use a bigger stamp though and the self-adhessives are so much easier to place. Maybe I'll try again someday when they get a new cancel.

After looking at this postcard a bit, it seems obvious to me now that it is not a real image. Polar bears are solitary animals. They don't spend time together, lying around on the ice. If you look at the bear on the left, clearly he was "added" to the image. He's sitting on the ice yet it looks more like he's sitting in a hole. It was probably an image of a bear sitting in the snow and someone photoshopped him out and onto this image. It's a shame really. as it doesn't add to the image. And now that I know it's fake I can't look at this card without seeing how obvious it is. 

Korea Preserve the Polar Regions 2011

Another "Preserve the Polar Regions and Glaciers" issue, this time from South Korea. These stamps were issued on 3 June 2011 as a setenant pair in sheets of 20..

French Andorra Europa 2011

This is a self adhesive stamp made with a paper that has a simulated wood grain. At least I think it is simulated. Could it be real wood? It's very thick yet flexible and the ink applied to it is also thick and shinny. It would have been interesting if the stamp was actually made from a wood veener.

TAAF Gentoo Penguins

Here's a 1.00 € TAAF stamp featuring Gentoo penguins (Manchots papous) paired with a label dedicated to Pierre Bignon to be issued 15 June 2011. I believe this is being issued for the 84th FFAP (Fédération Française des Associations Philatéliques) conference being held earlier that same week in Metz.

Another cover from Frei Base

This one is a bit better than the last one I received as the cachets were placed on the front this time. But otherwise, it's the same. I believe the top left cachet represents Teniente Luis Carvajal Villaroel Antarctic Base on Adelaide Island. The middle one is for the Villa Las Estrellas Kindergarten (yes, the town has its own kindergarten school)

TAAF Kerguelen Cover

I don't remember sending this but I must have done it late last year shortly after the "Espace Champeret" stamp was issued. I used one gummed and one self adhesive on this envelope. Nice of the post master, Mr Jacques Zadorozanyj, to date it 4 Nov 2010 - the issue date of the stamp.

Also on the back are cachets from Jeorome Perronnet , chief geophysicist ,and Kevin Coustaut, an ornithologist, both currently involved with research on the the island.

Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva

This is the back of a letter I got back from Frei base recently. Nothing special on the front. At least that's where I think it came back from. I seem to remember there was another Chilean base or something down there I sent letters to. Another place that routes it's mail through Frei, like most other bases in the area.

Halley Research Station

Halley 5 is a British Antarctic research station. The main buildings of the station stand on tall stilts that are raised occasionally to keep the buildings from being buried beneath the snow and ice. The base has a staff of 16 in the winter and around 70 in the summer.

I sent this cover and another down there in December of 2009 and you can see it was just cancelled two months ago. I must have missed the end of the 09/10 season. There was nothing on the back of this envelope. The other cover from Halley looks pretty much like this one.

New TAAF stamp for 2011

A new TAAF stamp to be issued 1 April 2011 - Osiris: Southern Patrol. This is a reprint of a 2006 issue, this time with a face value of 0.60€