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

Philosateleian Blog

Local post stamps feature reindeer, military service medal

I’ve received a couple of local post stamps for my collection over the past few weeks.

Alan B. of Adanaland fame recently shared an interesting 12p Salisbury & South Wiltshire Scouts local post stamp picturing a reindeer. As does the USPS in the United States, Royal Mail essentially has a monopoly on mail delivery in the United Kingdom, “but the rules are relaxed at Christmas for charity services run locally by groups like the Scouts,” writes Alan. Such groups deliver Christmas cards locally, and “some of them issue adhesive stamps and make a bit of extra revenue from collectors.“

12p Salisbury & South Wiltshire Scouts local post stamp picturing reindeer
Salisbury & South Wiltshire Scouts reindeer stamp

I have to admit never having run across any of these, or even knowing of their existence prior to receiving Alan’s note, but this sort of operation sounds like a genuine local post service to me, and arguably with more reason for existence than my very own Philosateleian Post!

The other local post stamp I’ve received is Purgatory Post’s World Local Post Day issue, a 2-sola stamp picturing the World War II Victory Medal and bearing the caption “Remembering Our World War II Veterans.” The stamp is printed on a gold-colored paper.

2-sola Purgatory Post stamp picturing World War II Victory Medal
Purgatory Post World War II Victory Medal stamp

The World War II Victory Medal was awarded to individuals who served in the armed forces of the United States between December 7, 1941—the date of the attack on Pearl Harbor—and the end of 1946, when President Harry Truman officially declared an end to the hostilities.

Purgatory Post issued this stamp on January 6, a few weeks ahead of World Local Post Day (which takes place on January 27 this year) but in time to go on operator Scott Abbot’s local stamp club’s January newsletter. Interesting stuff all the way around!

Mail art features map, landscape stamps

With a stressful work week nearing an end, I wanted to share with you something fun that I received in the mail earlier this week.

This cover created by mail artist Linda W. features a small cutout from a map showing the border between New Mexico and Texas, plus three Japanese landscape stamps, which are of course right up my alley.

Mail art cover bearing cutout of map plus Japanese landscape stamps
Mail art by Linda W.

I’ve previously shared other examples of Linda’s work here as far back as 2014, and I never cease to be amazed at the creativity that she and other mail artists have. My own outgoing mail, despite being adorned with Philosateleian Post stamps, seems a bit pale in comparison, but I think it’s safe to say that we all have fun!

San Francisco realtor seeks home for Rosback perforator

If you live in the San Francisco area, a local realtor is looking for a new home for a full-size Rosback pinhole perforator.

Kim Wiley of the San Francisco Real Estate Group tells me that she’s getting a house ready to go on the market, and the perforator pictured here needs to be moved out as quickly as possible.

Motorized Rosback pinhole perforator
Motorized Rosback pinhole perforator
Rosback perforator head
Rosback perforator head

The current owner is asking for $800 or best offer. That’s probably a little bit above average asking price for a Rosback, but it looks like it’s in really nice shape, too.

If you’re interested in this machine, you can contact Kim at (415) 519-5595. Please let her know that you read about it here.

Philosateleian Post sets new record, introduces new marking

Philosateleian Post set an all-time high for the number of outbound mail pieces carried last year. By the end of 2019, my little family dispatched 485 envelopes, postcards, and packages, which represented an increase of nearly 30% from 2018 and topped the old record of 417 pieces of mail set the year before that.

I attribute a large part of the increase in mail volume to me sending a number of acknowledgment cards in response to individuals who mailed sympathy notes following my mom’s death last spring. In any case, though, it was a very, very busy year for mail!

In other news, Philosateleian Post yesterday, January 6, began using a new handstamp reading “First-Class Mail International” on outgoing mail bound for destinations outside the United States.

Philosateleian Post First-Class Mail International handstamp on portion of envelope
First-Class Mail International marking

Prior to yesterday, I was using a handstamp reading “Via Air Mail / Par Avion,” but since there is not actually a specific airmail rate from the United States, the change in wording seemed appropriate.

2019 annual supplement available for The Philosateleian

Most users of The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album use the recommended quarterly update track, which requires printing updated album pages four times per year. This ensures that you have spaces for newly issued stamps within no more than three months of their date of issue.

For those who prefer to print once and be done with it, however, The Philosateleian does offer an annual update track, and I’m pleased to announce that The Philosateleian’s complete set of pages for 2019 is available as of this morning. The file is listed as the bottom of the individual stamp album pages webpage.

Once again, this is intended for those who print updated pages only once a year. If you print the quarterly supplements for The Philosateleian, you already have spaces for all of these stamps in your album, and you can ignore this update.

  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. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 55
  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
  119. 121
  120. 122
  121. 123
  122. 124
  123. 125
  124. 126
  125. 127
  126. 128
  127. 129
  128. 130
  129. 131
  130. 132
  131. 133