After spending a week and a half away from home, my family and I have been back in Texas for over a week. It’s amazing how quickly chores and other responsibilities pile up; I’ve been working my way through my lengthy to-do list, but getting back to blogging has taken some time.
Anyway, it is time to review some recently-received material. For this post, I’m going to focus on a couple of business reply envelopes that have arrived within the past month or so.
First is an oversized blue business reply envelope distributed in a mailing from Navigators. The envelope bears three preprinted copies of an image of an acorn and leaves. The middle of the three has a much lighter border than the other two.
Navigators business reply envelope with acorn & leaves designs
The other BRE in question was distributed by Operation Smile. It has three different preprinted stamp-sized designs picturing a dove, a Christmas tree, and the word “peace.”
Operation Smile business reply envelope with Christmas designs
The really interesting thing about this latter envelope is that each of the designs has a simulated die cut border, which makes them look like they’re stamps from a self-adhesive coil! I’ve seen quite a few BREs of this nature over the past few years, but the simulated coil stamp appearance is something new.
Last week, I received a postal card from Bat’s Private Post’s operator, Scott Z., which bears a 56¢ imprint of Hermes near the lower left corner of the message side of the card.
56¢ Bat’s Private Post Hermes postal card
I’m not sure whether this item was issued on the same date as the aforementioned stamps or whether it had a different issue date, but it’s an interesting piece of postal stationery, something that’s not especially common in the local post world.
Finally, here’s the last of the highlights from last week’s check of the mail: a first day cover bearing one of the Body, Mind, Soul stamps issued by the United Nations on August 26.
This envelope was prepared and mailed by longtime reader Kenneth M.
66¢ United Nations Body, Mind, Soul first day cover
According to the United Nations Postal Administration, the stamp depicts an individual practicing taijiquan, which is better known as tai chi to those of us in the western world.
Purgatory Post on August 30 issued the latest in its series of stamps celebrating the 50th anniversaries of various United States space missions. The pair of 3-sola stamps commemorate the 50th anniversary of Skylab 3; that mission lasted from July 28 until September 25, 1973.
One of the stamps pictures astronauts Owen Garriott, Jack Lousma, and Alan Bean along with the launch of their spacecraft. The other stamp pictures the Skylab station along with the Skylab III mission patch.
Purgatory Post 3-sola Skylab 3 stamps
You may notice the Skylab patch reads “Skylab II” rather than “Skylab III.” According to an insert included with the cover in which these stamps were mailed to me, “Miscommunication about the numbering system resulted in the mission badge reading ‘Skylab II.’” You would think we could at least number things correctly in the space age, but apparently not.
Skylab 3’s crew returned to earth after spending 59 consecutive days in space, which set a record at that time.
Mick’s Local Post issues stamp commemorating Rheinhart Kleiner
In March of this year, I shared the first stamp released by Mick’s Local Post of Portland, Oregon. Last week, I received a cover bearing a copy of Mick’s second local post stamp, a nondenominated design picturing the poet Rheinhart Kleiner (1893–1949).
Mick’s Local Post Rheinhart Kleiner stamp on cover
Kleiner is best known as a friend and correspondent of the writer H.P. Lovecraft, but Mick’s Local Post’s operator notes the longtime Brooklyn resident is also worthy of recognition for the “light, cheerful verse” in which he specialized.
Local post stamps are the perfect medium for this sort of subject matter: someone worthy of recognition, but not necessarily reaching the same heights of fame as those who garner “official” commemorative stamps, and of particular appeal to the issuer of the stamp.
