Fiep

Postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands), with matched stamp. Illustration by Fiep Westendorp. Needless to say that it made my day.

Women on Stamps

**UPDATED**

This is was a post for Sunday Stamps. The theme is was Women on Postcards, because of March being Women's History Month. This celebration is quite unknown in Morocco and Spain; but we celebrate more or less the International Women's Day on March 8.

My collection of received stamps is very little, so no representative at all. But anyway: when I started to search among my received stamps the ones featuring women... I discovered is you are more likely to appear in a stamp if you are a bird or a flower than if you are a women. OMG. But don't desperate, women of the world. We have still some possibilities. Postal services will be happy to dedicate a stamp to us if we become...

1) Queens & Princesses. This is the easiest way. There aren't postal services who can't resist issue stamps with queens; and they look for your better picture! 

Netherlands / UK / UK

Denmark

A little inconvenient is that sometimes you need a prince (who will also appear on your stamp, of course). This stamp dates from 2004, and it was issued on the occasion of the marriage of Letizia with Felipe.

Spain

2) Moms. 

The UK

For instance, in Spain we have a Mum on a stamp almost every Christmas. 

Spain

3) 1 & 2.

Canada
In fact, this stamp is dedicated to the baby...

4) Symbols. As you have noticed, the postal services like to emphasize the symbolic role of women. So congratulations if you are a symbol, because you might appear in one or several stamps (this is more likely to happen if your country has no queen).

France

Portugal

Italy

5) Muses. Marianne, shown in the last stamp, belongs also to this section. If you have inspired a masterpiece, it is probably that you will appear on beautiful stamps. Women are very useful to show the work of... men.

The Netherlands / Austria / Denmark

The first one is a picture by the famous Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (Woman in blue reading a letter). In the second one you can appreciate Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez. And I am sure you recognise The Little Mermaid created by Edvard Eriksen who happens to be a man, as well as Vermeer and Velázquez. Sometimes, like the Danish one, you will be also a symbol. So category 6) is 4 & 5. 

7) Cartoons. Maybe because, as symbols, cartoons are harmless. don't take me wrong: I do like these stamps, as most of stamps on this post. But, for once, I would like to see a real superwoman on a stamp. 

The USA

8) Artists. Maybe I am being unfair: not just muses but also some artists appear on stamps. It is difficult if you are a scientist (except for Marie Curie and a few more exceptions). But if you are an author, an actress or even a singer, they would give you a chance. Here you can find a lot of examples:

The Netherlands
Belle van Zuylen and Hella Haasse

The USA
Edna St. Vincent Millay and Harriet Beecher Stowe

The USA / Spain
Katharine Hepburn and Rachel Weisz
(but the second stamp was issued because of the film, not the actress)

Portugal
Hermínia Silva

9) International Women's Day. Sometimes postal services remember that women exist on March 8. 

Italy

France

10) Anonymous Working Women. International Women's Day used to be known as International Working Women's Day. Anonymous... because if you have a name, as you have just seen, it is far more difficult that you appear on a stamp.

USA / Malaysia

Brazil / The UK

Hungary

I wish you a happy Women's Day and I wish us the same number of women on stamps as men on stamps. Thanks for reading this long post.

Pink Is All You Need

Envelope sent to Dimitra (Greece), for the mail art project Colour My World. Every month is dedicated to a colour, and March is the month of pink. You can participate until November 2014, sending mail in your favourite colour. Read the details here.

This is the collage I included inside:

Pink is all you need

This is also a post for the monthly link-up hosted by Mary. The theme this month is Optimism. This is a blog about mail matters but... Is there something you need more optimism for than sending mail? According to Mary's post...

• Forget about failure. First of all, you need to be optimistic and think the letter will arrive. Every time a piece of mail arrive, it is a little success. And if it have arrived soon, this is a victory!
• Surround yourself with positivity. Also you need to be in an optimistic mood to write letters. I think every one who writes letters or postcards tries to do the best in searching for nice things to tell. Because you don't want to burden the receiver with dark thoughts, do you? So writing forces you to think in positive (in pink?).
• Practice kindness. Sending mail is always an act of kindness. Specially if you put effort in send personalized messages, if you lose time searching what the receiver could love most.
• Take responsibility... And answer always the mail you receive. That will bring you the happiness of fulfilled duty (oh, you understand me: mail is never a duty...!).
• Manage your stress. Making mail art or writing about positive things... are not a relaxing activities?

What do you think about mail and optimism?

The back of the envelope:

Snom, snom, snom

Postcard made and sent by Alan (the UK).

I am not sure, but I guess the language that the postcard is written in is spoken just for the animal in green... What do you think?

Postmarks and Postmarks and...

This is an envelope I sent to Heleen (the Netherlands).

Usually people don't see any more the letters they have sent. But sometimes the recipients publish them, as Heleen did, so the sender and the letter can meet again. This fact raises always strange feelings, don't you think so? In this case, I wonder by the letter arrived so wrinkled, and if the post officers really had to put so many postmarks... Sometimes I think they consider letters as enemies!

Flessenpost

Flessenpost, by Gertie Jaquet

Sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).

Don't you think sometimes that sending mail is like throwing a bottle into the sea? (I think I have written this earlier in this blog, sorry).

And the second question: How did the sender managed to find a stamp with bottles?

2014 Graceful Envelope Contest

The Graceful Envelope Contest was created in 1995 to promote the art of calligraphy and the role of letters in binding people together. Calligraphers and artists from around the world are invited to participate in the 20th annual contest, conducted by the Washington DC Calligraphers Guild and the National Association of Letter Carriers. It's open to everybody, also children. This year's theme is The Superlative Letter "S", and the postmark deadline is March 24.

You can read here the contest rules.

Even if you decide not to participate, you can enjoy the past year's works. They are amazing!

Little Packet

Little packet sent by Heleen (the Netherlands) to my address in Spain. 

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:

More Cars on Stamps

The theme for Sunday Stamps #142 was Cars. After having published the three cars I had received... I started to receive more cars!

(All them sent by Laura, in the UK).

This red car, sent by John, is a bit older. There is some funny about Morris cars. I had seen one of them only in comic, because El Súper, a character of famous Spanish comics Mortadelo y Filemón (Mort and Phil) owned one of these. Until two years ago I thought these cars existed just in the comics...!

Pictures of a Moroccan Trip

Two pictures taken during a trip in Morocco:

Mail box in Alnif

What a big contrast between the old mail box and the brand new post office! The five postcards I put in this mail box have reached its destinations.

Post office in Ifrane

Keep Calm and Watch Lighthouses

Do you know the Keep Calm-o-matic? It is a funny tool to create advices in order to stay calm. This one (not created in this site, tough) is one of the best I have heard:

Postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).

So:

Postcard sent by Laura (the UK). It shows South Foreland white lighthouse in Dover (England, the UK).

Maxi-postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands). It shows the lighthouse of Kökarsören in the Aland islands. The card is the number 61, issued on 6th June, 2008.

Postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands). The name of this lighthouse isn't written on the card, but Heleen managed to find out that it is Ponta do Pargo in Madeira (Portugal).

Postcard sent by John (the UK). It shows Beachy Head Lighthouse, built in 1902 near Eastbourne, East Sussex, England.

And another postcard sent by John (the UK). It shows the lighthouse in  St. Anthony Head, situated at the southernmost tip of the Roseland Peninsula (Cornwall, UK).