E Collage

Postcard-collage sent by Jon (USA). 

Thanks, Royal Mail...

 ... sometimes you really make my day :(

Talking in Superheroes

Batman is not the only superhero appearing on stamps, of course. I received these stamps of long time ago, and the ones below two weeks ago. They belong to the same set, issued on September 10, 2013 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Superman.

Happy Halloween

Postcard sent by Bryon (the USA). On the back it says that it is an anonymous illustration from 1912.

Batman Stamps

I received this letter from Bryon (the USA) some months ago. I think these Batman stamps are just perfect for Halloween mail, don't you?

At first sight I thought that the round ones were not real stamps (And I am not the only one...See the comments).

And I have just remembered that I had got more Batman stamps. These ones were issued in 2006 as a part of a comic series.

3,75 Dirhams

From the series Strange things that happen in Morocco:

The postage stamps within the country cost 3,75 dirhams. Or, coins of 0,05 dirhams do not exist any more, nor the coins of 0,01 dirhams. Well, they say that those coins circulate, but I have never seen any of them. Notice that 0,05 dirhams are equivalent to 0,005 €... So it would not be not really useful anyway for shopping.

So, how could you pay a single stamp? Well, you cannot. You must pay 3,70 or 3,80 (what I do is buying at least two stamps, so I pay 7,5 dirhams). It is not a substantial difference, of course. But let me say that it is a nonsense...

Fishus Globetrottus

Letter sent (and re-sent, because it was returned the sfirst time) to Heleen (the Netherlands). You can see all the details in her Weird Existing Animals blog.

Is That All You Can Bring to Me?

«I handed her mail to her.
'BILLS! BILLS!' she screamed. 'IS THAT ALL YOU CAN BRING ME? THESE BILLS?'
'Yes, ma'am, that's all I can bring you.' I turned and walked on.»

Charles Bukowski, Post Office

Black & White Whimsical Postcards

Porto S. Stefano, 1923
Sender: Bruno (Italy)

Passage du Lido, Paris, 1953 by Daniel Frasnay
Sender: Heleen (the Netherlands)

Sorting of mail by the Army Post Office, First World War, c1916
Sender: John (the UK)

War Stamps

The theme for today's Sunday Stamps-II is Commemorating a battle or a disaster. This is not my favourite topic, but I have recently received some interesting stamps about.

American Revolutionary War / War of 1812 / Red Cloud's War

The War of 1812 was a military conflict, lasting for two and a half years, fought by the United States of America against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. T

The first stamp commemorates the final of it, the Battle of New Orleans, and was issued on January 8, 2014 (more information). The second stamp was issued on September 13, 2014 and its subject is the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland two hundred years before (More information).

The following stamp does not commemorate a battle, but the leader of the Red Cloud's War, an armed conflict between the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Northern Arapaho on one side and the United States in Wyoming and Montana territories from 1866 to 1868.

Sybil Ludington was a heroine of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). The commemorative stamp was issued on March 25, 1975, belonging to a set of four (more information). I have read here that "Inscriptions on the back of each stamp (in emerald green; under the gum) briefly tell the story of the individual featured on the front of the stamp".

This postcard was a great lesson of USA history!

Where Is the Regular Carrier?

«The voices of the people were the same, no matter where you carried the mail you heard the same things over and over again.
'You're late, aren't you?
'Where's the regular carrier?'
'Hello, Uncle Sam!'
'Mailman, Mailman! This doesn't go here!'»

Charles Bukowski, Post Office

Pink House

Sweet hand-coloured postcard sent by Laura (the UK)

Sending Leaves by Mail

I have just learned that there is a company that mails you Autumn Foliage collected in New England. From 20 USD: three colour balanced leaves (red, yellow and mixed-colour), specially preserved to last for years. Ah, and you can choose the size. Only grade A leaves! 

Are you surprised? Well, there is another company who ships... snow. Not from New England, but from Boston. Just in case you cannot afford a fridge.

Eutrapèlia (the USA), sent me this postcard celebrating autumn and the reading men. The paper foliage seems colour-balanced enough to me. And I bet they are grade A leaves!

Postcard from Thailand

Postcard sent by Jobbo (Thailand). It is not so usual that I receive mail from that country! I love the picture. It shows the Wat Benchamabophit Dusitvanaram, a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, also known as the marble temple. Construction of the temple began in 1899 at the request of King Chulalongkorn after building his palace nearby. Actually, the temple's name literally means The Temple of the fifth King located nearby Dusit Palace. It was designed by Prince Naris, a half-brother of the king.

Take a look at the stamps:

Bpost

Some weeks ago I was in Brussels (Belgium). Like in Greece, I was surprised to see that almost all the mail boxes in the street have been vandalised. That is not common in Spain, nor in Morocco.

Also, the difficulty of finding a real post office astonished me. Finally, I bought the stamps at a newsagent.

PS Have you noticed the big slots on the boxes?!?