Sunday Stamps | Underground Railroad

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Cincinnati, Ohio

From the USPS page:

From the time slavery was introduced to the Colonies until it was abolished in 1865, enslaved people tried to escape. This stamp issuance commemorates the Underground Railroad, as their resistance efforts became known. The pane of 20 stamps features 10 sepia-toned portraits of men and women who escaped slavery and/or helped others escape: Catharine Coffin, Frederick Douglass, Thomas Garrett, Laura Haviland, Lewis Hayden, Harriet Jacobs, William Lambert, Jermain Loguen, William Still and Harriet Tubman. Below each portrait are eight lines of text: BLACK/WHITE; COOPERATION; TRUST/DANGER; FLIGHT/FAITH; COURAGE/RISK; DEFIANCE/HOPE; UNDERGROUND; RAILROAD/USA. On the pane’s verso is a map showing the general routes freedom seekers followed and a list of individuals pictured on the stamps with a few words of biographical information about each. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps using existing images.

Catharine Coffin / Lewis Hayden

Jermain Loguen / Harriet Tubman

William Still / Harriet Jacobs / Jermain Loguen

Catharine Coffin / Laura Haviland / Harriet Tubman

Mail sent by Phillip (the USA). I added it to Sunday Stamps, today's theme being Headshots.

Sunday Stamps | Victoria Cross

Jack Cornwell is the third-youngest recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious decoration of the British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces.

More that the theme itself , I like the design of the stamp and the fact that you can read the story on it. 

See the whole series here, and go to Sunday Stamps to see more stamps about the Military.

Mail & Music

Mail sent by Eduard (Russia), Catherine (France) and Laura (the UK).

Women on Stamps | Queens

I receive quite a lot of stamps depicting Elizabeth II, queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952, and also of 12 countries that have become independent since her accession. Queen of Stamps, I should add, because she is probably the person who has appeared more time on stamps around the world.

The palette of colours of the traditional Machin stamps amazes me. But I am happy when I receive different stamps. Like the following, issued with the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee:

United Kingdom, 2012
(More information and complete set)

Canada, 16 January 2012
(More information)

United Kingdom, 31 May 2012
(More information about the set)
The Queen address the General Assembly of the UN in 1957

Or from exotic countries, even those that don't exist any more, like North Borneo:

1 February 1961
(With a Sambar deer)

If you are a queen or an almost-queen (ie, a princess), you are more than likely to appear on a stamp. But, besides living real queens, you can find more original ones:

Annie M.G. Schmidt, known by the series Jip and Janneke illustrated by Fiep Westendorp as many of her books, is "the queen of Dutch children's literature" (Wikipedia dixit).

Anna de France (aka Anne de Beaujeu, 1461-1522) was a French princess and regent, the eldest daughter of Louis XI. Anne was the sister of Charles VIII, for whom she acted as regent during his minority from 1483 until 1491. This oval stamp was issued on 30 June 2017. See here the beautiful sheet, dedicated to the Treaty of Picquigny.

Issue Date: 16 July 2008

And, if you need an American princess, you can take Josephine Baker (1906-1975), who was the exotic Princess Tam Tam in a French film in 1935.

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For the new edition of Sunday Stamps-II A to Z, I have decided to show some of the stamps I have got on letters and postcards, related to one topic: women. This is the post for the letter Q.

More women on stamps.

Sunday Stamps | I(ngrid Bergman)

I received this letter from Phillip more than a year ago. It was sent from the USA, with the right amount of American postage, plus two Swedish stamps (from a joint issue between the two countries). All the stamps are dedicated to the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman, and issued in 2015.

And the cancellations are very cool, aren't they?

This is a post for the letter I of Sunday Stamps-II. Today's letter is I.

#AtoZChallenge | V is for Vintage

75 To Margarita in Paris, November 1903:
"Manolo passed his exams very well and today it is
Aberto's turn. A tender kiss, your Mamilla"

Dearest Margarita: An Edwardian Love Story in Postcards is both a book and a box containing a collection of 100 postcards. It tells the story of a forbidden love affair between Margarita Johnson (a wealthy young Cuban girl, born in 1880) and Charles Lumb. They were forced by circumstances to conduct their romance in secret, across continents. I have received some postcards of this collection, from Laura (the UK).

At the time of this love affair, 1900-1906, a craze for postcards was sweeping through Europe. It became the fashion to send and receive cards from friends -in most places there were three postal services a day. The law at the time prevented the sender from writing a message on the address side, so phrases were inserted around the picture side of the card. Cards were often kept in elaborate personalised albums and this was where Margarita kept hers. Over the six-year period the cards came in from family, friends and Charles, who wrote from America, England and Europe - wherever he was on his travels.

92 Bathers at Dieppe. 'Anticipating the pleasure of the coming
month. Yours ever, C.' June 1905

54 Napoleon, a card from Raul von Schroeder,
July 1903.

Can you imagine that someone, in the future, would do that with your love story?

Sheep (More or Less)

Postcard sent by Christophe (France). It seems that if you wash a cow in a washing machine, and then hang it outdoors in the clothesline... It become a sort of sheep and then you can knit its wool. Not sure about temperature, though, because it indicates 30, 60 and 95 ºC. 

Arrived the same day (funny, isn't it?): postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands). It shows the typical breed of sheep in Drenthe, in the east of the Netherlands. It arrived with these two wool-related stamps: De Schapenscheerseter (naar Millet) (1889) and Weefgetouw met wever (1884), both by Van Gogh.

The Same Stamp?

In my opinion every postcard is unique, even if they were the same before being written and stamped.

And what about the stamps? I received the following stamps on different postcards last week: with/without border, with/without postmark...

More Snails Arrived by Snail Mail

Folded card sent by Laura (the UK).

Postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands). She wrote that in fact the postcard didn't announce any change of address. But I received it in the final of the summer, when I was coming back after six weeks abroad. So maybe it was more correct that the sender herself has thought!

This is a rubber stamp on the back of a postcard sent by Postmuse (USA). And the following green one, a bewhiskered (!?) snail on the back of a postcard sent by John (UK).

Cow Envelopes

Envelope sent by John (the UK). Did you noticed the VQR bike and the beautiful stamp with Little Red Riding Hood?

And another cowcover sent by Richard (France):

Envelope sent by Ângela (Portugal). Isn't it wonderful?

British Majesty

In order to complete this post, I want to show you more received stamps about British Royalty:

Two kings from long time ago, along with the youngest member of the Royal family in a stamp issued by Canada Post/Postes Canada:

And this postcard of the Queen's Carriage sent by John (the UK, of course) that fits perfectly:

The Way

Letter sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).

What a great idea! If you draw the way on the envelope you are sure it will not get lost. It is very useful for the post workers, isn't it?

John (the UK) had the same idea! It works, and the proof is that the letters arrived safe and sound.

Update: This is also a post for the link-up about Travel hosted by Mary.

Royal Mail

 Snt by Mary (Jersey).

Sent by Laura (the UK). I love this series of Queen's stamps!