I’ll soon be starting on spring cleaning, and in part that entails getting organized. Maybe you need to do the same with your stamp collection; if so, you’ll be happy to know that the Spring 2020 Supplement (164 KB, 3 files, 6 pages) for The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album is now available for you to download and print. This update includes spaces for all of the United States postage stamps issued so far this year plus the PTSD semipostal released last December.
I hope you enjoy these new album pages and appreciate your continued interest in my project!
Boys Town mailing reuses hydrangea cinderella artwork
It was just under a year ago that I received the first of many Boys Town mailings containing business reply envelopes bearing either cinderella stamps or pre-printed stamp-sized images. Late last week, I received the cover pictured here in Boys Town’s latest such mailing, and in a way it feels as though things have gone full circle.
Boys Town business reply envelope bearing pre-printed hydrangea designs
If you’ve been following along, you may recognize the pre-printed designs on this BRE because they utilize exactly the same artwork as the labels on the very first envelope that I mentioned here on my blog!
Although this is not the first time that Boys Town has reused artwork, it’s interesting to see that first hydrangea design put to use once again.
When I pulled today’s featured cover out of my post office box over the weekend, my first thought was that it was in pretty rough shape. My second thought was that it had a mighty large local post stamp affixed to its upper left corner. This £2 cinderella and a sampling of other stamps tucked inside are the first in my collection from Pabay, a tiny dot of land off the coast of the Scottish isle of Skye.
£2 Island of Pabay Brexit stamp on cover
The stamp features a map of the European Union with the wording “Treaty of Brussels” and the date “31/01/2020,” an obvious reference to the so-called “Brexit,” Britain’s exit from the European Union. In the design, Britain is marked with the colors of the Union Jack, while the EU flag is overlaid on the countries remaining in the European Union.
The sender, Jeff H., writes that he and his son have been producing local post stamps since 1993, while cinderellas for Pabay date back as far as 1962.
As for the envelope itself, my best guess is that it got stuck in a sorting machine somewhere along the way, and whatever was in line behind it caused the accordion folds. Despite its battered appearance, it seems like a nifty cover to add my collection.
Purgatory Post honors four science fiction legends
New Hampshire-based Purgatory Post recently issued a miniature sheet of four stamps commemorating the birth centennials of four different science fiction authors all born in 2020: Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen, and Frank Herbert.
Purgatory Post science fiction legends miniature sheet
The 1-sola stamp in the sheet pictures Isaac Asimov (1920–1992), one of the “Big Three” science fiction authors (along with contemporaries Robert Heinlein and Arthur Clarke). Asimov is best known for his Robot, “Foundation,” and “Galactic Empires” series.
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) is pictured on the 2-sola stamp. Fahrenheit 451 was one of Bradbury’s most famous works, but he also wrote more than two dozen other novels and hundreds of short stories.
On the 3-sola stamp, Ray Harryhausen (1920–2013) is pictured. Harryhausen was a visual effects specialist whose work appeared in movies such as Clash of the Titans and Jason and the Argonauts.
Finally, the 4-sola stamp from the sheet pictures Frank Herbert (1920–1986). Herbert is best known for the novel Dune and its sequels.
It’s a treat to receive unexpected mail, especially when it’s something as highly decorated as this postcard that I received in the mail last week. The postcard with a 3¢ imprint depicting a bear purports to be from the Embassy of Imperial Coldland in Dearborn, Michigan, and was postmarked in Dearborn on January 22.
Embassy of Imperial Coldland postcard
Along with the preprinted “postage,” the postcard has a United States postcard stamp that actually paid postage through the U.S. mail, plus three Imperial Coldland stamps: a 6¢ stamp reusing the bear motif with the bear apprarently printed inverted compared to the rest of the design, a 25¢ stamp picturing a figure in Asian garb, and an Imperial Coldland Embassy in USA stamp with a “1” in each corner. The design of that last stamp appears to depict a woman’s head, but the design is partially obscured by one the EIC postmarks.
My best guess is that these stamps may fall more into the micronation scene than anything else, but the way they were used would seem to qualify them as local post stamps. Sadly, I can’t tell you who created these stamps because they didn’t include a name or a return address, but if the sender reads this, I hope they’ll accept my thanks.
