Sunday Stamps | Lighthouses

Some of the latest additions to my collection of lighthouses on stamps...

Swallowtail Lighthouse, Grand Manan Island
 New Brunswick
From Far and Wide (III)
Canada, 2020

Bremerhaven Unterfeuer
Lighthouses 2017
Germany, 2017

Alte Weser
Lighthouses 2024
Germany, 2024

ILV Granuaile & Fanad Lighthouse

Commissioners of Irish Lights

Ireland, 2016

Lantern of Genoa
Italy, 2004

Vlieland (Vuurduin) & Schiermonnikoog (Noordentoren)
Personalized stamps
Netherlands, 2014

Oosterdijk (De Ven)
Personalized stamps
Netherlands, 2014

Gorodets Lighthouse
Russian Lighthouses
Russia, 2023

You can go to Sunday Stamps to enjoy more Lighthouses. And, of course, you are welcome to share yours!

Building Our Future Together

The United Nations is a global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations on 26 June 1945 with the articulated mission of maintaining international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among states, to promote international cooperation, and to serve as a centre for harmonizing the actions of states in achieving those goals.

24 October is United Nations Day: it marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. 

To mark the 80th anniversary, some postal administrations issued special stamps, like the one Bryon sent. 

I am not especially fond of the Spanish design, tough.

Women on Postcards | W Is for Women on Stamps

Postcard made by Fabienne (France), out of Women on Stamps from Denmark, France, Germany and the USA. 

Some of this women had already appeared on the Women on Stamps section of this blog: Virginia Apgar, Cilly Aussen, Madeleine Brès & Alice Hamilton and Fanny Hensel. The rest will we added soon!

[Women on Postcards - 2026]

Women on Postcards | C Is for Collage

Collage made by Fabienne (France), out of reused materials.

I like the original way she write my address (although the typewriter suffered from some accident in way). This is not the first time the character Hermione Granger has appeared on a stamp...

[Women on Postcards - 2026]

Sunday Stamps | Red Machin

Some shades of read for today Sunday Stamps. The theme being, you guessed... The colour red.

Flame

Aug 23, 1988

Flame

Sep 4, 1990

Royal Mail red

Jan 3, 2013

Sunset red

March 21, 2017

Garnet red

March 17, 2020

Are You Buying Letters?

A few years ago, when letter subscriptions started popping up here and there, I tried a couple out of curiosity. The first one never really got off the ground, for sad reasons. I received six letters from the second one, but I did not renew the subscription afterwards.

I cannot say the letters disappointed me (although the fact they did not choose better stamps was a bit of a letdown). I just discovered that buying letters is not my thing. Not because of the letters themselves, but because faking the connection is, quite simply, impossible. If buying things gives you any pleasure, it cannot compete with the experience of having something —however brief—sent specifically to you.

Before reading this blog post, perhaps because I do not use Instagram, I had not realised that letter subscriptions were so popular. And I had never thought they could turn into a sort of addiction!

What do you think? Have you tried these services? Would you do it?

Sunday Stamps | Sweet Canada

Butter tart and Nanaimo bar are Canadian traditional deserts. As stamps, they belong to the series Sweet Canada, issued in 2019. 

Go to Sunday Stamps to see more Food on stamps!

Women on Postcards | M Is for Matryoshka

Сергиев Посад or Sergiyev Posad is the Orthodox capital of Russia and the birthplace of the matryoshka dolls during the 1890s, which have become one of the symbols of the country. Matryoshka is a diminutive form of Matryosha (Матрёша), in turn an affectionate form of the Russian female first name Matryona (Матрёна)

The postcard was sent by Eduard (Russia), and included on the back two matching stamps: more matryoshka dolls, and the coat of arms of the city. 

 

The shape of the postmark is very curious!

[Women on Postcards 2026]

Sunday Stamps | Birds in Motion

Today's theme in Sunday Stamps is Birds.

Year of the Fire Horse [VIII]

Horses at Dusk, from an original painting by Leah Mendenhall. Sent by Phillip (USA) with matching stamps. Perfect for the Year of the Horse!

By the way... It suffered a small accident in way. Or maybe it was attacked by mail monsters...

Celebrating 250 Years (2)

2026 has been a year of celebrations for the United States of America because of its semiquincentennial. I received this postcard from Bryon in July.

They issued different commemorative stamps, like the series of American Icons curated by fashion designer Ralph Lauren (and no exempt of controversy):

Treasures of the Revolutionary Era, a booklet of 20 stamps showcasing significant artifacts from this pivotal time has been less controversial:

(Notice the postmark!)

Women on Postcards | L Is for Loren

One of the most Agnès Varda's iconic images is Sofia Loren in Portugal, taken in 1956 in Póvoa de Varzim, (Portugal). It shows Maria do Alívio ("woman who does laundry for others"), walking, dressed in black and barefoot, down a street, Rua das Lavadeiras, in contrast to the smiling, torn poster showing Sophia Loren and the sign "For Sale". Despite the title, no doubt who is the main character here.

The postcard was sent by Pedro (Portugal). As a bonus, a stamp of the photographer issued in 2024 that I received on a letter sent by Fabienne (France):

[Women on Postcards - 2026]

[Women on Stamps]

Ciclo Carta

This letter sent by Pedro (Portugal) was posted on 11 September and reached me a week later, on 18 September. Not bad, considering it travels by bike!

For some reason, letters and postcards to Portugal travel faster than from Portugal. Also, I have noticed that the first CicloCarta took 9 days to arrive; the second, 8 days... What does this means?

I Smell Like Chocolate

Micu (Hungary) sent a lovely letter with interesting contents and stamps. The most surprising was the following one that states "I smell like chocolate":

And it really does! Which seems incredible, because it was issued in 2023, to commemorate the centenary of the Szerencs Chocolate Factory.

I like that Hungary issues so many stamps dedicated to children books' and characters, like these ones:

TV Maci

Manócska (Mazsola és Tádé)

300th anniversary of
Gulliver's Travels 

Sunday Stamps | Celebrating 250 Years (1)

A postcard sent by Bryon, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States. On the back, a sheet issued by the United Nations to commemorate the Sesquicentennial. The stamp features a photograph of the Declaration of Independence on the stamps, with Independence Hall in Philadelphia shown in the background.

Today's theme on Sunday Stamps is Celebrating historical events.