Queen Elizabeth II is the subject of the newest stamps from New Hampshire-based Purgatory Post. The longest-serving monarch in the history of the United Kingdom died earlier this year, and on October 12, Purgatory Post issued its memorial issue in her honor.
One of the stamps based on a portrait by Pietro Annigoni pictures a “young” queen, while the other uses an official photograph of Queen Elizabeth II taken during the later years of her life. Between the two stamps is a label picturing a rainbow that appeared over Windsor Castle shortly after the Queen’s death on September 8.
Purgatory Post 2-sola Queen Elizabeth II stamps and label
The new stamps comprise Purgatory Post’s 250th issue, a remarkable run for a modern private local post. Both stamps and the label feature black frames, traditionally used to indicate mourning.
Interestingly, Purgatory Post is not the first United States private local post to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II. Bat’s Private Post in Beverly Hills, California, issued a stamp picturing the late Queen on the same day she died.
Navigators business reply envelope goes patriotic with flags
I wrote in September about a business reply envelope from Navigators that had three preprinted stamp-sized images picturing a basket of apples. This month, the nonprofit distributed another envelope with three preprinted United States flags on it.
Navigators business reply envelope with US flag images
This is a very small BRE; if you were to write a check to send a donation to Navigators, you would have to fold the check in half to fit it into the envelope! It’s true that I’ve seen the occasional BRE that’s that short, but it’s still somewhat unusual, and particularly so with faux stamps.
Stamp album update adds pages for eight revenue categories
If you’ve been following along over the last couple of years as I’ve released pages for various United States revenue stamps in an effort to expand The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album, you may be interested in my latest update package: Special 2022 supplement #2.
This update adds pages for the following fiscal stamp categories:
Cigarette tubes
Potato tax
Tobacco sale tax
Boating
Trailer permit
Firearms transfer tax
Distilled spirits excise tax
Rectification tax
You can download and print the pages at your convenience.
One significant category that is still absent from The Philosateleian is beer stamps. I don’t know a good source of information about the sizes of each design in that category, and the stamps are pricey enough that tracking them all down personally isn’t an option. Do you know of a reference that provides this information?
In addition to the various fiscal stamps, this update contains pages for the Philosateleian Post stamps I’ve issued since 2004. If you happen to collect my local post stamps, you now have “official” pages on which to mount them.
Como Park Post issues 3¢, 5¢, 7¢ local post stamps
Como Park Post in Saint Paul, Minnesota, this month has released several new local post stamps.
A first day cover mailed on September 17 bears two stamps: a 3¢ red oval on yellow paper, and a 5¢ green oval on green paper.
Como Park Post 3¢ & 5¢ stamps on first day cover
Como Park Post operator Tom B. also included a pair of 7¢ local delivery stamps, indicating that there were two separate printings. The top stamp shown below is from the original printing, while the bottom stamp from a recut die comes from a subsequent printing. The most obvious area of recutting is evident in the third line of text, where a diagonal line has been eliminated from each side of the word “LOCAL.”
Como Park Post 7¢ local delivery stamps
Between Como Park Post, Purgatory Post, and Bat’s Private Post, it seems like there has been a lot of local post activity over the past month or two! I guess I need to start thinking about what will be the next stamp issue for Philosateleian Post…
New Hampshire’s Purgatory Post earlier this month continued its series of stamps commemorating the steamships of Lake Winnipesaukee with the release of a new stamp picturing the Chocorua. The 3-sola design in green and black was issued September 13, 2022.
Purgatory Post 3-sola Chocorua stamp
The ship, originally christened the Dover, made its first voyage on August 18, 1852, but within a few years the vessel was being outpaced by the Lady of the Lake.1Dover’s owners rebuilt their steamship, lengthening it and renaming it Chocorua, a name shared by a local mountain and originally a native chief.2
Chocorua continued operating until it was replaced by the faster Mount Washington in 1872, and three years later, Chocorua was dismantled.3
