New local post stamp from Como Park Post is a hoot
Minnesota’s Como Park Post recently issued a new 3¢ local post stamp picturing an owl. Although I’m not certain of the first day of issue, I received a copy in an envelope with a Como Park Post cancellation dated August 6.
Como Park Post 3¢ Owl stamp
While no details were included with the stamp, we can observe that the vignette appears to be printed on a layer of paper that has been affixed to the plain white backing paper. The frame was then printed on top of both layers as is evidenced by the portions of the denomination and local post name that overlap the vignette.
As I mentioned regarding another recent bird issue from a different local post, I’m no ornithologist, but the extremely long tufts on the depicted owl’s head make me wonder if it might be a great horned owl, or perhaps a long-eared owl. It’s also possible, however, that the illustration is merely intended to depict an owl without identifying a particular species.
Christmas in August with Principality of Ankon postcard
I can’t say it’s Christmas in July, but Christmas in August? That appears to be the case for this Principality of Ankon postcard that arrived in my post office box over the weekend.
Principality of Ankon postcard
The postcard has an Ancona machine cancellation dated December 22, 2021. Yes, that means it took nearly eight months to get from Italy to Texas, and I’m not sure why. Was the delay in Italy, or in the United States, or in the transatlantic journey itself? We’ll probably never know, but the postcard did finally reach me.
Although this postcard has no local post stamps attached, it was sent by the originator of Ankon Local Post, which issued its first stamp last November.
Every once in a while I find a completely unexpected surprise in my post office box, and such was the case when I checked last Friday. It’s a Pete Seeger first day cover from a regular reader in Pennsylvania.
Pete Seeger FDC
Seeger (1919–2014) was an American folk singer and activist. The July 21 first day cancellation from Newport, Rhode Island, features the silhouette of his trademark banjo.
Thank you to the reader who was kind enough to think of sending the cover my way!
New Hampshire-based Purgatory Post on July 7 issued the second in a series of stamps picturing steamboats that have traversed the Granite State’s Lake Winnipesaukee. The stamp featuring a red frame with black vignette pictures Lady of the Lake, which began transporting travelers in 1849.
Purgatory Post 2-sola Lady of the Lake stamp
Lady of the Lake succeeded the short-lived Belknap and was the main mode of transportation around Lake Winnipesaukee until 1872 when a larger and faster ship, the Mount Washington, began operating.1 After another two decades, Lady of the Lake was mothballed in 1893 and eventually intentionally sunk in 1895.
According to Purgatory Post operator Scott Abbot, the remains of Lady of the Lake are remarkably well preserved and are a popular dive site, just like the wreck of the earlier Belknap.
Helen Keller returns to nonprofit’s business reply envelopes
Almost exactly one year ago, I wrote about a business reply envelope that I’d received from Helen Keller International. The envelope had two preprinted stamp-sized designs picturing the nonprofit’s eponym.
Earlier this week, I received another mailing from the organization, and it contained another BRE that reuses the imagery from last year’s mailing.
Helen Keller International business reply envelope
The images on this year’s business reply envelope are not exactly the same as those on last year’s envelope, however. Last year, one of the images bore the text “Happy Birthday,” and the other read “Helen Keller.” In contrast, the images on the envelope I received this week include no text at all.
