Philosateleia
Kevin Blackston
PO Box 217
Floresville TX 78114-0217
United States of America

Philosateleian Blog

Philosateleian Post to mark anniversary of end of World War II

Next year is the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Historians estimate that as many as 85 million people died during that conflict due to warfare, or to disease or famine directly related to the war. To commemorate the end of the deadliest conflict in human history, Philosateleian Post will issue a special stamp on World Local Post Day, January 27, 2020.

1-stamp Philosateleian Post stamp picturing single yellow flower against background of brown flowers
Philosateleian Post End of World War II stamp

The design of this 1-stamp stamp is based on an original photo that I took titled From the Ashes, Peace. The single yellow flower standing out against a background of brown flowers is symbolic of the blossoming of peace, however fragile, in the aftermath of World War II. The stamp also bears the text “World Local Post Day 2020” and “remembering the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II.”

Members of the Local Post Collectors Society earlier this fall voted to select the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II as the official topic for World Local Post Day 2020. Philosateleian Post is participating in that annual event with the release of this stamp.

Technical Specifications

Format: sheets of 36 (6×6). Design size: 36×28 mm. Separation method: perforated 12. Adhesive: water-activated dry gum. Printing method: inkjet.

Philatelic Services

To receive a mint single of Philosateleian Post’s End of World War II 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

December 2019 mailing contains new Boys Town bird cinderellas

Boys Town’s newest addition to its ongoing run of business reply envelopes bearing stamp-sized labels or preprinted images thereof is now a part of my growing collection of such material. The envelope shown here was in a mailing waiting on me when I checked my post office box over the weekend following the Thanksgiving holiday.

Boys Town business reply envelope bearing cardinal, bluebird, and thrush cinderella stamps
Boys Town business reply envelope with three bird cinderellas

A close-up reveals that the three cinderellas depict a cardinal, a bluebird, and a thrush. Washington state artist Jane Shasky’s name is just barely visible in script near the bottom of each label; the Licensing page on Shasky’s website lists Boys Town among the companies and organizations that use her work.

Three Boys Town cinderella stamps picturing a cardinal, a bluebird, and a thrush
Boys Town cardinal, bluebird, and thrush cinderella stamps

I previously received a business reply envelope bearing a single label with three different bird designs from Boys Town in August, and another with four preprinted designs last month. The new labels use completely different artwork.

It is still a bit puzzling to me that Boys Town is not placing its own name on these labels; it seems like it would be a great advertising tool. On the other hand, since their hope is no doubt that these envelopes will be returned with donations, and since the vast majority of those that aren’t probably end up in the trash, perhaps they see no point in bothering, or perhaps no one has even given it that much thought. At any rate, I’m happy to keep adding these pieces to my collection.

Update (2019-12-18)

I received another mailing from Boys Town today that contains a business reply envelope using the same labels as the one pictured above, but arranged with the bluebird first, then the thrush, and finally the cardinal. Since the labels appear to be identical, I’ve listed that second envelope for sale in case you would like to add it to your own collection.

Milford post office mural on Purgatory Post stamp

Purgatory Post got its December 2019 stamp issue out the door a few days early. The new 6-sola stamp placed into use on November 25 pictures a mural painted on the wall of the Milford, New Hampshire, post office. The mural, painted in 1940 by Philip von Saltza, depicts a group of loggers.

6-sola Purgatory Post stamp picturing Milford, New Hampshire, post office mural painted by Philip von Saltza
Purgatory Post post office mural stamp

“I think it’s a bit unusual they chose a logging scene for Milford since we never had a big lumber industry here,” writes Purgatory Post operator Scott Abbot, “but I think the traveling artists had a number of designs prepared and felt it fit the character of the town.”

Beginning in 1933, the U.S. Department of the Treasury paid artists to paint murals in post offices and public buildings in every state. The program ended in 1943 during the middle of World War II.

The United States Postal Service earlier this year issued a set of five stamps depicting post office murals from around the country, but not the one in Milford. I think Purgatory Post’s new stamp strikes a nice balance between local relevance (Purgatory Post is based in Milford) and popular appeal, which I know from experience is not always an easy accomplishment for a modern local post.

Winter 2019 update for The Philosateleian

We’re into the final month of 2019 now, and it's time for one last stamp album update for the year. As of this morning, the Winter 2019 Supplement (72.2 KB, 1 file, 3 pages) for The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album is available for you to download and print at your convenience.

If you previously switched to The Philosateleian's annual update track instead of using my recommended quarterly updates, I hope to have a full set of pages for 2019 ready for you in January.

I hope you enjoy the new album pages.

German postcard tells story of long journey

During my most recent visit to San Antonio’s local stamp shop, ABC Stamps, I spent a few minutes browsing through one of the boxes of postcards. Last year, I found a genuine used 1¢ Washington coil stamp on a postcard in one of those boxes; the odds of finding anything else of particular value are probably pretty slim, but it’s always fun to look.

The postcard that I ended up buying during my most recent visit is in rough shape and not, so far as I can tell, of any particular value. The heavily postmarked stamp is not even from a country that I normally collect, but the postcard itself has a bit of a story to tell.

The picture side of the postcard bears the text “Fröhliche Ostern!” (German for “Happy Easter!”) plus a picture of a trouser-clad rabbit carrying a basket of flowers and riding a stick horse. That’s not exactly my idea of great art or something that I would ever send personally, but hey, tastes in such things were probably a bit different over a hundred years ago in Germany. As you can probably tell, this postcard is creased and bits of the picture have flaked off; it has certainly seen better days.

Early 20th century German Easter postcard depicting trouser-clad rabbit carrying flowers and riding a stick horse
Early 20th century German Easter postcard

The 10-pfennig Germania stamp on the address side is presumably some flavor of Germany Scott 83. Some valuable color shades are listed in the Scott 2015 Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps & Covers (paid link), but I know next to nothing about shades on early 20th century German stamps, and it seems highly unlikely that I scored one of the valuable ones. I’m assuming I have something just as common as it can be.

Address side of postcard mailed from Germany to San Francisco and forwarded to New York
Address side of postcard

The note written vertically on the address side of the postcard, which is addressed to Dr. William E. Hopkins, is a bit difficult to make out, but reads something along the lines of, “It is a great pleasure to find vocational(?) friends and all wish you might be with us anight(?) to join in.” (If you have a better suggestion, please leave a comment at the end of this post.) That message is followed by several signatures presumably belonging to acquaintances of Dr. Hopkins.

What really caught my eye, however, were the multiple addresses and postmarks on the card. If I’m reading the trail correctly, we see:

  1. The postcard was addressed to Dr. Hopkins at the Pacific Union Club in San Francisco, California, and postmarked in Dresden, Germany, on March 13, 1914 (“13/3/14” using the European convention of writing dates as day/month/year). I’m guessing the postcard probably sailed from Germany to New York City, then traveled by land from New York City to San Francisco.
  2. Dr. Hopkins was no longer present in San Francisco. The address was scratched out and replaced with National Bank of Commerce in New York City, and the postcard received a March 30 San Francisco slogan postmark advertising the World’s Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915. The postcard was then dispatched eastward.
  3. When the postcard reached New York City, the National Bank of Commerce address was scratched through, and someone scribbled an address of 751 West 89th Street. The postcard received two April 6 Hudson Terminal Station postmarks—the one that’s upside down was probably applied because the first was not particularly legible due to the signatures and existing San Francisco postmark already present—and was forwarded on once more.

We can conclude that the postcard must have finally reached its intended recipient following this final rerouting as there do not appear to be any markings indicating that any additional forwarding took place. I don’t see any indication that any charges were levied for the forwarding, either, which means the postcard traveled from Germany to the United States and then back and forth cross the width of the continental U.S. for roughly the equivalent of 2¢. That seems like a bargain to me!

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 44
  44. 46
  45. 47
  46. 48
  47. 49
  48. 50
  49. 51
  50. 52
  51. 53
  52. 54
  53. 55
  54. 56
  55. 57
  56. 58
  57. 59
  58. 60
  59. 61
  60. 62
  61. 63
  62. 64
  63. 65
  64. 66
  65. 67
  66. 68
  67. 69
  68. 70
  69. 71
  70. 72
  71. 73
  72. 74
  73. 75
  74. 76
  75. 77
  76. 78
  77. 79
  78. 80
  79. 81
  80. 82
  81. 83
  82. 84
  83. 85
  84. 86
  85. 87
  86. 88
  87. 89
  88. 90
  89. 91
  90. 92
  91. 93
  92. 94
  93. 95
  94. 96
  95. 97
  96. 98
  97. 99
  98. 100
  99. 101
  100. 102
  101. 103
  102. 104
  103. 105
  104. 106
  105. 107
  106. 108
  107. 109
  108. 110
  109. 111
  110. 112
  111. 113
  112. 114
  113. 115
  114. 116
  115. 117
  116. 118
  117. 119
  118. 120