Minnesota-based Como Park Post on March 30 issued a local post stamp commemorating the 170th anniversary of the birth of the famous painter Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890). The 3¢ local post stamp features an imitation of Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, which he completed in 1889 only about a year before his death.
Como Park Post 3¢ Vincent Van Gogh stamp
What’s really impressive about this is that Como Park Post operator Tom B. carves by hand the blocks he uses for printing his stamps!
Tom also shared a copy of an official seal printed on the backing liner for the self-adhesive stock on which it was printed instead of on the paper portion of that stock.
Como Park Post official seal (error)
This is without question an error, but I have no idea how common it is compared to the “normal” version of the seal. It does seem extremely unlikely to be found in used condition since a separate adhesive would have to be used to make it adhere to any surface.
Back in February, I shared news of San Diego Local Post’s Medinilla magnifica stamp. SDLP operator Renato L. recently shared blocks of nearly identical stamps from two other PSCS-affilitated local posts: Angeles City Local post and Manila Local Post.
PSCS Angeles City Local Post & PSCS Manila Local Post Medinilla magnifica stamps
Both stamps bear 15 peso denominations.
Angeles Local Post has also issued 1-peso stamps picturing a bus. The stamps come with pink, green, yellow, or blue backgrounds.
Angeles City Local Post bus stamps
No other details about these stamps are immediately available.
Four new covers for my 14¢ American Indian collection
If you’ve been following my blog for any time at all, you know I’ve been pursuing on-cover solo examples of the 14¢ American Indian stamp for several years now. It’s nearly impossible to find commercial solo usages of the stamp, and even philatelic solo usages are tough to track down.
14¢ American Indian cover with Lewis & Clark Expedition/Osage City, Missouri, cachet14¢ American Indian cover with Meriwether Lewis cachet14¢ American Indian cover with Lewis & Clark Expedition/Charles Floyd cachet14¢ American Indian cover with Big Indian, New York, postmark
As you can see, three of these covers (along with the prior two I mentioned) are part of a run all addressed to one Sedley Bartlett of Meredith, New Hampshire. The final cover is something of an oddball; a previous owner physically removed the section of the cover that would have carried the mailing address, so it’s impossible to say who the intended recipient was.
It’s very unusual for me to get to add so much material to my collection in such a short period of time, but I’m happy to have had the opportunity to do so. This is fun stuff!
Mick’s Local Post issues its first local post stamp
There’s a new local post operating on the West Coast of the United States! Mick’s Local Post out of Portland, Oregon, recently released its very first stamp, a non-denominated issue captioned “Kirsten in KwaZulu-Natal, 2009.”
Mick’s Local Post Kirsten in KwaZulu-Natal stamp
The proprietor, Mick T., writes that the stamp pictures his late wife, Kirsten. I think this is a lovely tribute, and a very appropriate subject for his first local post stamp.
Mike plans to issue more stamps in the future, and I’ll be looking forward to getting to share them here. Welcome to the local posting community, Mick!
American Heart Association envelope features floral hearts
I wrote only last month of the latest business reply envelope I’d received in an American Heart Association mailing, but there’s already a new variety to report from that organization. The front of the latest, which showed up in my mailbox last week, bears three preprinted copies of a heart-shaped floral arrangement.
American Heart Association business reply envelope with stamp-sized designs picturing floral hearts
Each of the designs is surrounded by a printed simulated die cutting. The printing is a light gray that does not show up well in the image presented here.
It’s interesting to see a new BRE design from a charitable organization so soon after receiving a different design. Some other nonprofits appear to be reusing designs across multiple mailings.
