Como Park Post earlier this month issued a new tri-colored 3¢ stamp.
Covers that I received postmarked August 9, 2021, bear single copies of the Minnesota local post’s newest issue, the design of which is illustrated here.
3¢ Como Park Post stamp (type II)
According to Como Park Post operator Tom B., there are two design types differing in the scrollwork at the sides of the central oval. The variety shown here is type II; the type I scrolls, in contrast, are reportedly thicker.
As you may know, Tom handcarves the printing blocks for his local post stamps. I doubt the lettering on my own Philosateleian Post stamps would even be legibile if I attempted that, but he makes it work!
New Hampshire-based Purgatory Post on August 3, 2021, issued its latest stamps commemorating United States spaceflight missions. The pair of 15-sola stamps mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 15, which ran July 26–August 7, 1971.
Purgatory Post Apollo 15 stamps
One of the stamps pictures astronauts Dave Scott, Al Worden, and Jim Irwin along with the mission’s launch, while the second stamp features the Apollo 15 mission patch and photograph of the lunar rover that Scott and Irwin used during their time on the moon.
The members of the Apollo 15 crew after their trip to the moon faced criticism for carrying and signing several hundred stamped envelopes on the mission without approval from their managers, and for receiving payment for the covers after the fact. Although the three ultimately returned the money, they never returned to space.
On October 1, 2021, Philosateleian Post, a private local post based in San Antonio, Texas, will issue a special stamp picturing Tenaya Lake in Yosemite National Park. The blue and green 1-stamp design is based on a photograph taken by Philosateleian Post’s proprietor, Kevin Blackston, during a 2013 trip to California.
Philosateleian Post Tenaya Lake stamp
At 8,150 feet above sea level, Tenaya Lake has an altitude more than twice that of the floor of nearby Yosemite Valley, and the water that flows out of the lake ultimately makes its way through a steep canyon down to the Valley. The lake was named after Chief Tenaya of the Ahwahnechee, who lived in the area.
The Tenaya Lake stamp is Philosateleian Post’s second to feature a scene from Yosemite National Park. The first, issued in 2014, featured a view of Yosemite Valley itself.
Technical Specifications
Format: sheets of 55. Design size: 36×21 mm. Separation method: perforated 12. Adhesive: water-activated dry gum. Printing method: inkjet.
Philatelic Services
To receive a mint single of Philosateleian Post’s Tenaya Lake 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
Album pages for playing cards, fermented fruit juice stamps
Earlier today, I uploaded Special 2021 supplement #2 for The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album. It includes spaces for two categories of revenue stamps: playing cards and fermented fruit juice. This is part of my ongoing effort to expand The Philosateleian to accommodate many of the fiscal issues of the United States.
In preparing the pages for playing card stamps, I decided to omit spaces for the various surcharges used only by specific manufacturers in the late 1910s and early 1920s. By no means am I saying that those stamps are not collectible, or that I’ll never consider creating pages for them, but they were simply out of scope for this initial effort.
I’m now moving on to pages for silver tax stamps and hope to have those prepared soon.
Last October, I blogged about a business reply envelope that I received in a mailing from Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch. This week, I received another from the same organization.
Cal Farley’s business reply envelope
This yellow envelope has four pre-printed stamp-sized images of yellow roses in a vase against a blue background. An unusual featue is the month and year printed near the lower left corner of the envelope; this self-documents when the envelope was distributed, whereas most business reply envelopes bear no indication of when they were distributed.
This BRE was enclosed in a rather large envelope, and as you can probably tell from the scan, it got a bit banged up in the mail with some vertical and diagonal wrinkles. Nevertheless, it’s another interesting piece.
