Bishop's Rock Real Photograph

The Bishop Rock Lighthouse is located in the westernmost part of the Isles of Scilly. The Guinness Book of Records lists it as the world's smallest island with a building on it.

The original iron lighthouse was begun in 1847 but was washed away before it could be completed. The present building was completed in 1858 and was first lit on 1 September that year. Before the installation of the helipad, visitors to the lighthouse would rappel from the base (with winches installed at the lamp level and at the base) to boats waiting away from the lighthouse.

On the back of these black and white postcards you can read: "Guaranteed real photograph".

Postcards sent by Alan and John (the UK).

Sunday Stamps | Ironbridge

This stamp belongs to the 2011 series A to Z Britain. Taken from here:

Ironbridge is a village on the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge, in Shropshire. It lies in the civil parish of The Gorge, in the borough of Telford and Wrekin. Ironbridge developed beside, and takes its name from, the famous Iron Bridge, a 30 metre cast iron bridge that was built across the river there in 1779. The bridge was the first cast iron arch bridge in the world.

The bridge, the adjacent settlement of Ironbridge and the Ironbridge Gorge form the UNESCO Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.

I got recently the stamp on the back of a postcard sent by John (the UK), showing an older view of the same bridge:

The Iron Bridge, 1779
From an engraving by Michael Angelo Rooker, 1782

This is a post for Sunday Stamps. The theme today is Bridges.

Country Definitives

Country definitives, formerly known as Regional Postage Stamps of Great Britain are the postage stamps issued for regions of the United Kingdom, reflecting the regional identity of the various countries and islands of the British isles.

Some of the latest I have got, with different values:

Scotland

Northern Ireland

Wales

England

So far, only two new barcoded country definitives have arrived. They were issued on 11 August 2022. I guess some people find these stamps boring. Do you?

Sunday Stamps | Queen's Birthday

I got this letter last week from Alan (the UK). This sheet was issued by Royal Mail on 4 August 2000, and commemorates  Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother's 100th Birthday.

Today's theme in Sunday Stamps is Heads of State. On the sheet you can see Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II (head of a couple of states...) and heads-of-state-to-be Prince Charles and Prince William. 

The not-so-new and controversial Machine code stamps included on the envelope feature also a head of state(s):

Old & New

Cala Rajada, on Majorca island.

Vintage Beachy Head

6 June 1985
Safety at Sea

Beachy Head (in Sussex, the UK) is one of the lighthouses I have got more different views of.

The postcard above was written and sent in 1909.  Not long after the lighthouse was brought into service (1902).  The stamp on the back and the steam ship give a better idea of the times when the lighthouse was still a novelty, and people from the area was not used to this view yet.

Beachy Head Lighthouse was automated and demanned in June 1983. The postcard below features it some years before.

This postcards were sent by John (the UK). Go to this post to see the rest of the postcards.

Greetings from...

 

Two different styles of Greetings from... postcards. The postcard sent by Heleen from Belgium belongs to the Postallove's series Greetings from...

The one below, sent by John (the USA) is a bit older, probably 1930s-1940s.

The Weeping Angel of Amiens

The statue of this cherub is a work of Nicolas Blasset, and it is a part of the the funerary monument of canon Guilain Lucas who died in 1628, in the Amiens Cathedral (France). The angel’s right hand is set on an hourglass symbolizing the brevity of life. As for his left elbow, it rests on the skull of a skeleton, a symbol of death. It is widely known as l'Ange pleurer ('the Weeping Angel') of Amiens.

Beginning with the Battle of the Somme and throughout the remainder of World War I, soldiers who survived death started buying memorabilia featuring the Weeping Angel: various items, but postcards in particular. These they sent to family, fiancé(e)s, and friends throughout the Commonwealth, becoming one of the commonest postcards at that time.

These postcards were sent to me by Catherine and Fabienne (France).

Moroccan Men

On this postcard, two men are dressed in one of the traditional costumes you usually see in the north of Morocco, mostly in the mountains, but also in the city I live in (especially in festive days). The postcard shows the touristy city of Chefchaouen, not far away from my home.

I think this is only the third postcard from Morocco I have ever got by post.

This one came from an exhibition in Spain. It is a painting by Catalan artist Marià Fortuny (1838-1874). He travelled to Morocco and some of his works are inspired in this country, like this one from 1869: Un marroquí ('A Moroccan man').

Postcards sent by Mercé and Bruno (Morocco & PC). 

I added the post to Maria's link Postcards for the Weekend, that is dedicated this week to Costumes.

Vintage Lighthouses

On the right, Smeaton's Tower is the third and most notable Eddystone Lighthouse. In use from 1759 to 1877, it was largely dismantled and rebuilt on Plymouth Hoe in Plymouth, Devon, where it now stands as a memorial to its designer, John Smeaton, a celebrated civil engineer.

The sender wondered if there is a lighthouse on the left. There is not, but the First and Second World War Naval Memorial, unveiled in 1924.

This one is a second-hand postcard of the England's most South Westerly lighthouse: Longships.

This postcard was sent by the first time in 1965, when the stamp costed 3 old pence (1/80th of a pound). Modern postage is 117 new pence, or about 280 old pence.


Both postcards sent by John (the UK).

From the Present and Past

By sheer coincidence, this letter from Fabienne (France), arrived together with John's... but safe and sound, this time! I don't know if you can appreciate from the picture how beautiful this is: the lighthouse is glued to the envelope, and the sea horse... is made from wood! The stamps match very well, too:

The sender included postcards from a place she visited: Le Tréport, and its lighthouse. The first witten by her. The others, bought in a second-hand shop; and amazingly, written by the same people on 18 September 1972 and on 17 September 1986.

Do you know the Twitter and Instagram accounts of Postcard from the Past? They publish old postcards from holidays with just a sentence of what was written on the back. Sometimes it seems silly, out of context. But most of the time it intrigues me. I always think of the life of the people who write exactly that, at a given time, probably without paying a lot of attention... 

On the back of these postcards, Louis and Henriette just speak of weather and how well (and how much!) they are eating and sleeping. It sounds like the perfect holidays, except for the wind.

Post added to Maria's link, Postcards for the Weekend. This week, the theme is Lighthouses. Actually, I receive lighthouses quite often, for what I am very happy.

He Did Not Burn the Stamp!

This three-horned, fire-breathing, stamp-scorching, letter-delivering monster (as defined by the recipient) was a good mail carrier eventually, and the letter landed in Phillip's mailbox (the USA) safe and sound.

But don't blame the monster... This originally shaped stamp commemorates the 75th anniversary of the great fire of the city of Santander, on 16 February 1941. It is estimated to have destroyed the homes of 10,000 of the city's approximately 100,000 inhabitants at that moment.

The Umbrella Girl

Phillip (USA) sent to me this nice postcard of the Umbrella Girl. There is a kind of legend behind her:

The original Umbrella Girl was placed in German's Village's Schiller Park in 1872, only to disappear mysteriously in the mid 1950's. Renowned Columbus artist Joan Wobst sculpted the replacement and donated her to the German Village Society in 1966. Placed in the Grace Highfield Garden, the charming young girl enchants all who stop by.

I have never seen her in person. But thanks to the postcard, I also realised that umbrellas are very common on postcards. I found some in my collection. For instance:

Sent by Gabriela (Germany)

But, of course, umbrellas are not only for the rain...

Sent by Laura (Spain)
Ladies fearing the sun in vintage Burgos.

Sentby zhang (China)
Mr. Tomo... Do you have any information about this guy?

The sea air it does well. It's unfortunate that you must eat.
Sent by Heleen (the Netherlands)

And umbrellas can be very useful too when it is raining... err... delicatessen?

This is another post for Maria's linky party: Postcards for the weekend. The theme this week is Anything you wish. I wish it was raining right now.

Update 16/07/2019. Pstcard sent by Fabienne (France).

Postcards of Beachy Head

Postcard of Beachy Head Lighthouse in the UK, sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).

I had previously received two more views of this lighthouse, from John and Valerie (the UK). It looks different from different perspectives, doesn't it?

Annie M. G. Schmidt & Fiep Westendorp

I am always happy to receive illustrations by Fiep Westendorp (tulips are a bonus!). But this time I was double happy to get also a postcard of Annie M. G. Schmidt, the author of Jip and Janneke stories (among many other that I have not read - yet). And with a matched stamp. I like having two different pictures of her.

The letter was sent by (had you guessed?)  Heleen (the Netherlands).