Philosateleia
Kevin Blackston
PO Box 217
Floresville TX 78114-0217
United States of America

Philosateleian Blog

Fall 2020 update for The Philosateleian

Life is still as full as ever, but I managed to find time to put together the Fall 2020 Supplement (2.87 MB, 1 file, 8 pages) for The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album. This update, which includes spaces for all United States postage stamps issued since the beginning of June, is now available for you to download and print.

The update file size is a bit larger than normal, but that’s because I included the pages for Volume RI, which was released last month. If you’ve already downloaded those pages, or if you don’t need pages for revenue stamps, you can ignore that batch and just print the updated pages for 2020.

As always, I welcome your feedback and support. Happy collecting!

Bat’s Private Post issues Rudolph Valentino local post stamps

Bat’s Private Post, a modern local post operating in Beverly Hills, California, late last month commemorated this year’s 125th anniversary of the birth of Rudolph Valentino (1895–1926) with a set of six different stamps picturing the late actor. The stamps were issued on August 22.

Six 5¢, 60¢, $1.25, and $5 Bat’s Private Post stamps picturing Rudolph Valentino
Bat’s Private Post Rudolph Valentino stamp

Valentino, who is regarded as an early Hollywood sex symbol, made credited appearances in no fewer than 30 silent films beginning in 1917, but several of those are now considered to be lost films, productions of which no extant copies are known.

The 5¢ and 60¢ denominations exist with two different designs for each value, and are intended for use on domestic letters. According to a press release from Bat’s Private Post, the $1.25 and $5 stamps feature stills from The Young Rajah, a mostly lost film originally released in 1922; the $1.25 stamp is intended for international letters, while the $5 stamp covers postage for local delivery to destinations near those normally served by the operation.

Philosateleian Post to issue 10th wedding anniversary stamp

On September 18, 2020, Philosateleian Post, a private local post based in San Antonio, Texas, will issue a stamp commemorating the 10th wedding anniversary of the post’s proprietor and his wife. Sarah and Kevin Blackston were married in San Antonio in September 2010 in front of a crowd of family and friends.

1-stamp Philosateleian Post stamp commemorating Sarah and Kevin’s 10th wedding anniversary
Philosateleian Post Sarah & Kevin 10th Wedding Anniversary stamp

The purple and sepia 1-stamp stamp features a picture of Sarah and Kevin taken on their wedding day. It will be Philosateleian Post’s first stamp issued in a triangular format.

Philosateleian Post previously issued a stamp in 2011 celebrating the couple’s first wedding anniversary.

“It seems like just yesterday that I watched my beautiful bride walk down the aisle,” said Kevin. “The past ten years have been an adventure and I look forward to many more with Sarah.

“One of the nice things about operating my own local post is that I can commemorate events of family significance, and our tenth anniversary certainly qualifies.”

Technical Specifications

Format: sheets of 40. Design size: 62×31 mm. Separation method: perforated 12. Adhesive: water-activated dry gum. Printing method: inkjet.

Philatelic Services

To receive a mint single of Philosateleian Post’s 10th Wedding Anniversary stamp, or for first day cover service, send either $2 or a self-addressed stamped envelope and your request to:

Kevin Blackston
Philosateleian Post
PO Box 17544
San Antonio TX 78217-0544
United States of America

Como Park Post issues 5¢ stamp produced from recut die

My most recent trip to check my post office box resulted mainly in me bringing home a stack of non-profit fundraising mailings that were for the most part of little philatelic interest, but there was one local post stamp awaiting me: a 5¢ Como Park Post stamp from Tom B.

Como Park Post 5¢ stamp printed from recut die
Como Park Post 5¢ stamp

A written note on the back of the blue stamp identifies it as originating from a recut die. Although many modern local post stamps were at one time created in a similar manner as Tom’s, most these days, including my own Philosateleian Post stamps, are designed and printed using a computer.

Although Como Park Post’s stamps may not be quite as “slick” in appearance, there’s a special skill involved in creating something like this by hand, and it’s nice to see an example of the old methods still being used.

Purgatory Post commemorates former Bagley Bridge

It has been right at a year since Purgatory Post last released a covered bridge stamp, but a new 11-sola stamp picturing the Bagley Bridge that previously spanned New Hampshire’s Warner River was issued on August 3, 2020.

Purgatory Post 11-sola stamp picturing Bagley Bridge
Purgatory Post 11-sola Bagley Bridge stamp

Although most of the stamps in designer Scott A.’s series picture covered bridges that are still standing, Bagley Bridge, which was likely originally built in the 1830s, was dismantled in 1966. Scott tells me, however, that the bridge’s pieces were pulled out of storage in the early 21st century and reassembled as the Will Henry Stevens Covered Bridge outside an arts center in Highlands, North Carolina, where the bridge stands to this day.

The frames of Purgatory Post’s covered bridge stamps are, of course, inspired by the frames of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition stamps.

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