Don't Upload My Postcard

Two weeks ago I received this e-mail from the Postcrossing site: "You are receiving this email because you are the recipient of postcard NL-267876. This is just to let you know that this postcard's image was removed by its sender, who had previously uploaded it."

Not the end of the world, but the whole matter irritates me because:

1) This postcard was sent more than three years ago. I am not able to understand why the sender took the time to remove it from my wall (I sent him a message, but I haven't received any answer so far). I cannot imagine any normal reason why this image is so important (By the way: why some postcrossers have problems with images of sent postcards?!?).

2) I'm not able to upload the postcard again. The image I kept in my computer is too small, and I don't have the real postcard with me.

3) Is the only image missing in my wall.

4) I really like this postcard: the colour, the concept (made of food packaging), the theme chosen...

5) It happens that it is the very first incoming mail I published in this blog.

6) The final sentence in the sender's profile is: "love harmony & beauty".

Update: I found the postcard, so I am going to upload it.

Cardboard Mail Art

Mail art sent by Diane (the USA).

Marianne and the Boycott

I have received last week this stamp in a letter from France. This is a very standard stamp featuring one of the the national emblems: Marianne, an allegory of Liberty and Reason birthed in 1848. The name of Marianne was taken from two popular female name in the 18th century, Marie et Anne. She is is one of the most prominent symbols of France: a significant republican symbol (opposed to monarchy) and an icon of freedom and democracy. Her profile stands out on the official government logo since 1999, and engraved on French euro coins and postage stamps.

Since 1944, after the WWII, Marianne appears in postage stamps. This one, recently received, belongs to the Marianne et l'Europe (= 'Marianne and Europe) series, of Marianne of Beaujard. (You can see all the stamps here, for instance. There are some pages!).

I have also received many times this stamp, from 2005. It's also known as Marianne des Français (='Marianne of the French'). I suppose it is quite easy to get these stamps because they are really common and forever stamps since 2003.

The official busts of Marianne, present in every town council, initially had anonymous features. From 1969 they began to take on the features of famous women, the first one being the actress Brigitte Bardot. 

The first stamp of this post is the most recent version of Marianne. The stamp was issued in July 2013, designed by Olivier Ciappa and David Kawenna. It is also known as Marianne de la Jeunesse (='Marianne of the Young'). The sources of inspiration were the American comics from the fifties, the manga from the eighties and some female models, like Inna Schevchenko. She is a Ukranian women, one of the founders of the Femen protest group, who was granted political asylum in France last year. 

Even if the designers have repeated that the stamp is a mix, it has been seen as a Femen stamp by a lot of people and has raised a big controversy in France since the first day. And especially after some ungraceful tweet last summer. Some French collectives have initiated a campaign of boycott and advocate the withdraw of the stamp.

What amazes me the big interest that this matter has raised. I mean that usually most people do not care about stamps (as most people do not use stamps at all).

Silvery Letter

I have recently received this silvery letter from Laura (the UK). I thought it could be a good choice for this Sunday Stamps, which theme is Flowers.

Usually the stamps with flowers are not among my favourites, but I should recognize this one dedicated to the Gentiana acaulis is really beautiful.

I had previously received one of the same set, with tulips (sort of my favourite flower):

It is written in the stamp: "Tulipa sp. Tulipa is the Latinised version of the Ottoman Turkish tülbend meaning turban. A fully opened tulip was thought to resemble a turban (fig.1)."

Oh, and I found another I have got months ago!

It shows the Passiflora sp. I'm not able to read all the words properly (sorry I didn't take a better picture!), but it tells how 18th century missionaries discovered this flower and considered its parts tells us about the Crucifixion of Christ story.

Update:

More information about these stamps here.

Original Lighthouses

Sent by Heleen (the Netherlands). Lighthouse made of stamps!

Sent by Annie (the USA). Envelope made with a page of a calendar.

Sent by Heleen (the Netherlands). 

I Want To See the Stamp!

Stamp on a postcard sent by Laura (the UK).

I wonder why the post officer thought that I was not interested in looking at the stamp!

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

I have read here about this project and I don't know more. I have considered to open a similar project myself, since Alice is one of my favourite characters. So I need to participate!

Update: you can see the works here.

Thank you...

... for visiting this blog almost more than 50,000 times!

InCoWriMo

As I told you, I'm not participating in A Month of Letters. (But I still think it is a good idea. And... wait: I have already sent seven pieces of mail in February!). 

I have discovered yesterday a similar initiative: International Correspondence Writing Month (InCoWriMo). This challenge consists in sending a piece of mail every day in February (so 28, not 23 as in A Month of Letters). 

Sorry for publishing it today. But it is still 4th, so you can surely catch up in case you are interested. Letters, postcards or notes should be hand-written: "No computers, no typewriters, no emails, no texts, no tweets, no whatever-they-are-on-facebook. InCoWriMo correspondence must be written by hand. Please." (Nothing to do with the fact that a company of pens is sponsoring InCoWriMo).

I am not sure why A Month of Letters is running of February. InCoWriMo chose February because is the shorter month ("We're committed, not crazy"). I would add that maybe is the month with the highest number of raining and cold days (in this part of the world).

Year of the Horse

31 January 2014 – 18 February 2015: Year of the Horse

Postcard sent by Eric (France) and also published here. It seems that the postcard got lost and went first to Meknes (just 250 km South of my city). Finally it arrived with a perfectly matched stamp:

I was searching if I had any stamp of the Year of the Horse in my collection, but didn't find real horses. Only this nice horse from the Netherlands (also good design for the Year of the Elephant!):

This old horse from Germany, specially designed for children:

As this one, form Latvia:

Update!


By the way, Eric has launched three new mail art calls for 2014: One word, one ATC, Poppies and The Golden Ratio. You can check the details in his main blog.

Mermaids In The Port, Queens Of The Sea

"We are organizing a Mail Art exhibit from June 3 to 30, 2014. The theme is: Mermaids in the port, queens of the sea... We invite you to participate and send an artist's letter. 

Free technique. On a postcard or envelope or any other object of your choice. Illustration, address and stamp on the same page if possible. Deadline for hanging: May 10, 2014

Send a work in mail format as original as possible to:

Galerie LE LAB

3 rue Bussy l'indien

13006 Marseille

France

We will answer each mail by sending Mail Art.

Looking forward to presenting your works"

Happy New Year II

Sent by Bree (Malaysia).

These envelopes (usually in red) are a part of the traditions of Chinese New Year. 

Happy New Year I

From China (sent by Angela)

If I am not wrong, today starts the New Year in a lot of countries. So for those who celebrate this festival: Happy New Year and 招財進寶!

It will be the Year of the Horse. But I want to show some New Year postcards/stamps I have received in the previous years (I hope there isn't a lot of mistakes in dates; I took the information from the Wikipedia). I love the Taiwanese series, do you?

26 January 2009 – 13 February 2010: Year of the Ox

Handmade postcard sent by Russ (the USA)

14 February 2010 – 2 February 2011: Year of the Tiger

Sent by Goldcrest (Ireland)

This Chinese New Year stamps  launched by An Post shows an image of an 18th century Tibetan-Buddhist painting from Gansu Province in North-West China.

Sent by Melissa (Canada)

Sent by Chi (Taiwan)

Sent by Chen (Taiwan)

I am not sure if the last one is a New Year stamp or just a tiger...

German postmark about the Year of the Tiger

3 February 2011 – 22 January 2012: Year of the Rabbit

Postcard sent by Jia-Yun (Taiwan)

Matched stamp which arrived on the previous postcard

Sent by Chi (Taiwan)

23 January 2012 – 9 February 2013: Year of the Dragon

Sent by Chi (Taiwan)

Sent by Hanxi (Canada)

10 February 2013 – 30 January 2014: Year of the Snake

Sent by Chi (Taiwan)

A Month of Letters

A Month of Letters is a challenge started by Mary Robinette Kowal in 2010. It is a very simple challenge: 

1. In the month of February, mail at least one item through the post every day it runs. Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture, or a cutting from a newspaper, or a fabric swatch.

1. Write back to everyone who writes to you. This can count as one of your mailed items.

I have never participated in the challenge and I am not sure I am going to participate this year. Especially when my sort of New Year Resolution was about quality and no quantity of letters... But still I think it could be full of fun. I have been twice or three times the happy recipient of pieces of mail from Lettermo participants. Otherwise I had never got these letters! (And of course I answered, as usual).

What surprised me the most when I entered the site yesterday was the number of people registered: more than 10,000! Wow! If I was Mary I would be really proud to have encouraged so many people to write. Of course not all of them are active users; maybe most of them registered and never started the challenge. But still!

Have you ever participated in Lettermo? Are you thinking of joining the challenge this year?

Postcards from Africa

I am glad to add a new country to the list: Mozambique. But there is a trick, in fact! I received these two postcards written and stamped (both with the stamp you can see below this lines)... not by snail mail, but in hand. 

A friend of mine travelled to Mozambique and South-Africa, bought the postcards for me, wrote them, bought the stamp (in South-Africa; she had no time in Mozambique)... and then she realised she had forgotten my address!

Anyway, I like them and I am very grateful for having thought of me!