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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
It’s time once again to update our United States stamp albums, and I’m pleased to announce that the Fall 2023 Supplement (150 KB, 2 files, 7 pages) for The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album is available to download and print as of this morning.
This update includes spaces for all United States postage stamps issued since early June—I haven’t seen used copies of any of these just yet, but some must be out there—as well as this year’s federal hunting permit or “duck” stamp.
As always, I want to thank those who have supported my project over the years—and you for using my pages. Enjoy!
Another week, another business reply envelope, this time from the American Parkinson Disease Association. This envelope has three roughly stamp-sized preprinted designs with simulated perforations; two of the designs picture flowers, and the other one butterflies.
The imagery used in the faux stamp designs is fairly typical for this sort of envelope, but the simulated printed perforations do at least add a nice touch and lend a little bit to the illusion that the designs are actual stamps (even though we both know they’re not).
Looking ahead to next week, I plan to release the fall update for The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album, so stay tuned!