Philosateleian Blog

Philosateleian Post celebrates National Park Service centennial with new local post stamp

The National Park Service turns 100 years old this year, and Philosateleian Post is commemorating the major milestone with a new local post stamp. The green and orange stamp featuring a view of Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be issued on May 2.

The new stamp’s vignette is based on a photograph taken by Kevin Blackston in October 2015 while traveling through Tennessee and North Carolina on US Highway 441. It is the second Philosateleian Post stamp to feature a scene from a national park—a 2014 issue honored Yosemite National Park—and the latest in a long string of Philosateleian stamps picturing landscapes.

“The national parks located throughout the United States of America contain some of the country’s most beautiful scenic vistas,” says Blackston, proprietor of the local post based in Jacksonville, Florida. “I’ve been fortunate enough to visit several of them myself: Great Smoky Mountains, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon.

“The National Park Service performs a vital role in preserving and protecting some of our nation’s greatest natural treasures, and I congratulate the agency on its centennial celebration.”

With approximately 10 million visitors annually, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most-visited national park in the United States. The park is renowned for its colorful fall foliage, and within its borders live hundreds of black bears, plus deer, elk, and turkeys.

Technical Specifications

Format: sheets of 48 (6×8). Design size: 36×21 mm. Separation method: perforated 12. Adhesive: water-activated dry gum. Printing method: inkjet.

Philatelic Services

To receive a mint single of Philosateleian Post’s National Park Service Centennial 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 57622
Jacksonville FL 32241-7622
United States of America

About Philosateleian Post

Founded in 2004, Philosateleian Post transports mail only from the Philosateleian Embassy to the nearest mail receptacle or post office. This private local post exists solely for the enjoyment of its proprietor and does not compete with any official mail service. For more information, please visit http://www.philosateleia.com/post/

Spring 2016 update for The Philosateleian

The Spring 2016 Supplement (310 KB, 5 files, 9 pages) for The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album is now online and ready for you to download and print at your convenience! This update includes spaces for all of the new United States stamps issued so far this year.

Questions and feedback are welcome, as always. Happy collecting!

Claude’s the man, or at least a generous sort

I just want to take a moment to thank Claude R. for his generous contribution near the end of February to help support Philosateleia. Claude is the latest of several readers who have given cash gifts over the past few months, and I really do appreciate every one of them. Thanks again!

A bird on the envelope

I’ve fallen rather dreadfully behind on sharing scans of some of the awesome pieces of mail and stamps that I’ve received over the last few months, but I’m going to try to rectify that starting with this:

Cover bearing collage comprised of images of bird and leaves and part of a vintage envelope front — Bird cover

This item came from Linda W. of Happy Day Mail. Linda has done some marvelous things with scraps of postal history, bug-eaten and half-missing covers that have virtually no philatelic value left. As you can see, the collage she created includes part of an old cover front dating back to the 19th century.

If everything that ended up in my mailbox looked like this, I’d be even more excited about checking the mail!

Stamps shows being held in Georgia, Florida

If you live in the Atlanta or Fort Lauderdale areas, the next few weekends have some exciting stamp-related events in store for you.

First, AmeriStamp Expo is being held in Atlanta this weekend, Friday–Sunday. AmeriStamp Expo is the American Philatelic Society’s annual winter show, and has both exhibits and a sales area with dealers from all over the country. I do wish things had worked out for me to go this year. Alas, there’s just a bit too much going on and a bit too little spending money available for me to be able to justify the journey north.

Next, the ASDA Winter Postage Stamp Show will be held in Fort Lauderdale two weekends from now, February 12–14. Although not quite on the same scale as AmeriStamp, it’s still kind of a big deal especially for those who are actively looking to add material to their collections.