Bat’s Private Post issues Rudolph Valentino local post stamps
Bat’s Private Post, a modern local post operating in Beverly Hills, California, late last month commemorated this year’s 125th anniversary of the birth of Rudolph Valentino (1895–1926) with a set of six different stamps picturing the late actor. The stamps were issued on August 22.
Bat’s Private Post Rudolph Valentino stamp
Valentino, who is regarded as an early Hollywood sex symbol, made credited appearances in no fewer than 30 silent films beginning in 1917, but several of those are now considered to be lost films, productions of which no extant copies are known.
The 5¢ and 60¢ denominations exist with two different designs for each value, and are intended for use on domestic letters. According to a press release from Bat’s Private Post, the $1.25 and $5 stamps feature stills from The Young Rajah, a mostly lost film originally released in 1922; the $1.25 stamp is intended for international letters, while the $5 stamp covers postage for local delivery to destinations near those normally served by the operation.
Philosateleian Post to issue 10th wedding anniversary stamp
On September 18, 2020, Philosateleian Post, a private local post based in San Antonio, Texas, will issue a stamp commemorating the 10th wedding anniversary of the post’s proprietor and his wife. Sarah and Kevin Blackston were married in San Antonio in September 2010 in front of a crowd of family and friends.
Philosateleian Post Sarah & Kevin 10th Wedding Anniversary stamp
The purple and sepia 1-stamp stamp features a picture of Sarah and Kevin taken on their wedding day. It will be Philosateleian Post’s first stamp issued in a triangular format.
Philosateleian Post previously issued a stamp in 2011 celebrating the couple’s first wedding anniversary.
“It seems like just yesterday that I watched my beautiful bride walk down the aisle,” said Kevin. “The past ten years have been an adventure and I look forward to many more with Sarah.
“One of the nice things about operating my own local post is that I can commemorate events of family significance, and our tenth anniversary certainly qualifies.”
Technical Specifications
Format: sheets of 40. Design size: 62×31 mm. Separation method: perforated 12. Adhesive: water-activated dry gum. Printing method: inkjet.
Philatelic Services
To receive a mint single of Philosateleian Post’s 10th Wedding Anniversary 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
Como Park Post issues 5¢ stamp produced from recut die
My most recent trip to check my post office box resulted mainly in me bringing home a stack of non-profit fundraising mailings that were for the most part of little philatelic interest, but there was one local post stamp awaiting me: a 5¢ Como Park Post stamp from Tom B.
Como Park Post 5¢ stamp
A written note on the back of the blue stamp identifies it as originating from a recut die. Although many modern local post stamps were at one time created in a similar manner as Tom’s, most these days, including my own Philosateleian Post stamps, are designed and printed using a computer.
Although Como Park Post’s stamps may not be quite as “slick” in appearance, there’s a special skill involved in creating something like this by hand, and it’s nice to see an example of the old methods still being used.
It has been right at a year since Purgatory Post last released a covered bridge stamp, but a new 11-sola stamp picturing the Bagley Bridge that previously spanned New Hampshire’s Warner River was issued on August 3, 2020.
Purgatory Post 11-sola Bagley Bridge stamp
Although most of the stamps in designer Scott A.’s series picture covered bridges that are still standing, Bagley Bridge, which was likely originally built in the 1830s, was dismantled in 1966. Scott tells me, however, that the bridge’s pieces were pulled out of storage in the early 21st century and reassembled as the Will Henry Stevens Covered Bridge outside an arts center in Highlands, North Carolina, where the bridge stands to this day.
Faux bird stamps on business reply envelope look familiar
Last year, it seemed like I was receiving a business reply envelope with cinderella stamps or preprinted stamp-sized images on it from Boys Town just about every other week. Similar envelopes from a couple of other organizations turned up in the mail, too, but I haven’t seen much in the way of that sort of material in recent months. Maybe that has something to do with the general impact of COVID-19, maybe not.
At any rate, a mailing from the American Lung Association that was waiting in my PO box on Monday did contain an envelope with five preprinted stamp-sized images picturing various birds. The containing envelope took a beating in transit, so the BRE has some dents, but it was nice treat to receive in junk mail.
American Lung Association business reply envelope with faux bird stamp designs
The bird images did seem vaguely familiar, so I did a bit of looking around and—surprise!—four of the five were used on the BRE enclosed in a November 2019 Boys Town mailing! It’s almost like a not-quite-cinderella joint issue of sorts.
This has to be more than coincidence, and I can only assume that Boys Town and the American Lung Association are using the same marketing outfit. I’m curious to see if these same birds turn up in any other mailings in the future.
