Lowriders

Envelope with a First Day postmark sent by Phillip (the USA), and two more stamps from the same series.

Sunday Stamps | Phillis Wheatley

This stamp, issued on 29 January 2026, honours poet Phillis Wheatley (ca 1753–1784), the first author of African descent in the American colonies to publish a book. The stamp art features a black-and-white ink-on-paper portrait of Wheatley by Kerry James Marshall, who imagines her later in life --That choice stirred a bit of controversy.

The envelope was sent by Phillip (the USA). More about this stamp.

Go to Sunday Stamps to see more stamps about Famous or accomplished people.

Coffee Collection

 

This stamp is dedicated to the Café A Brasileira (='The Brazilian Café) in Braga (Portugal), opened in 1907. It belongs to the series Cafés Históricos II.

Sometimes I think I would need all the time in the world to grow a thematic collection of all the topics that interest me!

Summer Mail | Total Solar Eclipse (OUT)

I enjoyed sending some eclipse-themed mail on the due day. 

At least one of them travelled fast!

Sunday Stamps | Education

150th anniversary of the Normal School of Strasbourg
(France, 1960)

Higher education
(USA, 1962)

To see more stamps dedicated to Places of learning, go to Sunday Stamps.

Sunday Stamps | Sur la plage

Édouard Manet (1832-1883) painted this canvas in the summer of 1873, during three weeks spent with his family in the little coastal town of Berck-sur-Mer. He had his wife and brother pose for him on the beach, as is evidenced by the grains of sand mixed with the paint.

Go to Sunday Stamps to discover more Vacation Destinations on stamps.

How Many Penguins Can You Fit in a Letter?

Card from a drawing of Yellow springs, Ohio, by Nancy Mellon. Sent by Phillip (USA).

Thursday Postcard Hunt | Mini

Again, a re-posted postcard for Thursday Postcard Hunt..

This postcard was sent by John (UK), and a bit damaged on way. It was issued by Royal Mail on 13 January 2009. It was reproduced from a stamp designed by HGV and featuring photography by Jason Tozer of a Mini. The postcard arrived with this matched stamp of a Ford Anglia 105E on its back:

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Thursday Postcard Hunt
August theme: TRAVELLING

• Week 1 - Trains
• Week 2 - Boats
• Week 3 - Animals
• Week 4 - Buses, Cars

Everyone is welcome to share their postcards!

Sunday Stamps | Geological Formations

Basalt Island or Fo Shek Chau (火石洲) is an island of Hong Kong. Notably, despite its name is “Basalt Island”, the rocks that forms the island are indeed rhyolitic tuff.

The Grand Bénare is a volcanic peak on the island of Réunion, located in the western part of the island. It is the third highest peak on the island. Its name is believed to come from the Malagasy word Benara meaning 'where it is very cold.'

The Coves del Drac ('Dragon caves') are four great caves that are located in the island of Mallorca, extending to a depth of 25 m and reaching approximately 2.4 km in length. They were first mentioned in a letter dated 1338. The four caves, called Black Cave, White Cave, Cave of Luis Salvador, and Cave of the French, are connected to each other.

Les Gorges du Verdon (Verdon Gorge) is a canyon carved by the Verdon River, separating the Prealps of Castellane and the Prealps of Digne, in France.

Today's theme in Sunday Stamps is Geology.

Year of the Fire Horse [OUT - III]

Envelope sent to Phillip (the USA).

Sunday Stamps | Rance, Loire, Tees

Dinan is a walled Breton town and a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in north-western France. The town overlooks the Rance valley, which has not been freely connected to the sea since the construction of the Rance Tidal Power Station dam.

Banks of the Loire, issued in 2007. The stamp belongs to the series Portraits de régions N° 9 - La France à voir.

As the River Tees comes hurtling down from its North Pennines source, it plunges about 21 metres over an almost vertical cliff. After heavy rain, the peat-laden river splits, forming two falls divided by a protruding buttress, but even this rock can be covered in exceptional weather. England’s most powerful waterfall in terms of volume, High Force is slowly moving upstream as it erodes the sedimentary rocks beneath the Whin Sill – the hard-wearing layer of rock over which the River Tees initially flows.

For more Rivers on stamps, visit Sunday Stamps.

Too Many Letters Waiting to be Answered...

Etc.

(You know who you are.)

Sunday Stamps | Mountains & Volcano

Piton de la Fournaise (='Peak of the Furnace') is a shield volcano on the eastern side of Réunion island, a French overseas department and region, in the Indian Ocean. With a height of 2621, it is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, along with Kīlauea in the Hawaiian Islands, Stromboli and Etna in Italy and Mount Erebus in Antarctica. Stamp issued in 2025.

1993 stamp featuring mixed coniferous and broadleaf forest in the Changbai Mountains. Most of ithe peaks of this mountain range exceed 2,000 m in height. The second stamps, from 2000, features Shibao mountain, in Dali (Yunnan Province). It is 3038 m high. 

1984 stamp featuring Kluane National Park and Reserve in Yukon, Canada. The Reserve includes the highest mountain in Canada, Mount Logan (5,959 metres).

2026 stamp honouring the 150th anniversry of Colorao Statehood. It features a photograph of Jagged Mountain, located in the Weminuche Wilderness area of the San Juan National Forest. 

Inside this envelope sent by Phillip (USA), there was a postcard with a map of the state of Colorado, the shape of which has always fascinated me.

Today you can see more Mountains on stamps going to Sunday Stamps.

Sunday Stamps | Iberia

Iberia is the flag carrier of Spain. It was founded in 1927, an this stamp from 2002 commemorates its 75th anniversary.

Go to Sunday Stamps to see more Aviation stamps.

USPS Postcrossing Stamps

On 26th May the USPS Postcrossing stamps were out in the world. Three weeks later I got this maxicard from Bryon (the USA), which bears not one but two stamps, along with the First Day Cancelation.

There are four different designs that make difficult to choose a favourite. You can read more about this issue, including an interview with Jackson Gibbs, the illustrator, on the Postcrossing blog.

I got another one on the back of a postcard:

Ciclocorreio

Pedro (Portugal) sent a sort of second part of this envelope. This time, it took eight days to arrive.

Sunday Stamps | Mekk Elek & Little Donkey

Stamps issued in 2024. The puppet film series Mekk Elek the Jack of All Trades was first broadcast on the Hungarian state television channel MTV in 1974 and the series ran until 1975. The protagonist is Elek Mekk, a goat who advertises himself as a handyman. His house is adorned with 13 trade signs, showing the jobs that he is skilled at. He then makes a mess of the jobs he is given one after another and sometimes even causes damage while doing them (Read more).

2024 & 2025 stamps. The puppet film series The Adventures of Mirr-Murr the Tomcat was completed in 1975. The puppet series, a sequel to The Adventures of Little Donkey (on the stamp). Read more.

The stamps arrived on this envelope sent by Micu (Hungary), and I thought they fit in today's Sunday Stamps theme: Children's Stories.

Sunday Stamps | French Lighthouses

A lighthouse converted into a church in Collioure

Some French lighthouses I have recently received for today's Sunday Stamps. And I have seen three of these in person!

Chassiron

Cap Camarat

Cap Béar

Year of the Fire Horse [VII]

Postcard sent by Bryon (UN).