The article is reproduced below.

Note: I added more movie posters and some commemorative postage stamps.

The 10 Best Postal Movies

By Nancy Pope, Historian and Curator

Stepping out of any professional postal museum curatorial role, I have compiled an only moderately arbitrary and completely personal list of the films I would call the 10 best movies with postal themes. Have you noticed how many films have postal themes in them? You will now!
#10 Overland Mail (1942)

Technically not a movie, but instead a 15-chapter serial, “Overland Mail” told the story of stagecoach company men sent to investigate a series of robberies. The cast includes Lon Chaney Jr. (Jim Lane) and Noah Beery Jr. (Sierra Pete) as the investigators and Helen Parrish as the daughter of the company’s manager. The chapters range from the first, “A Race with Disaster,” to the happy ending of chapter 15, “The Mail Goes Through.” The agents discover that it was not Indians attacking the stages, but white men dressed as Indians, trying to disrupt the mail line. The serial also featured father and son actors Noah Beery and Noah Beery, Jr.

#9 Diva (1981)

This French film stars Williamine Fernandez as a Paris mail carrier. He lives an eclectic life and is devoted to opera. He secretly tapes an American diva at a concert. His tape is confused with one that ties a police chief to criminals. While the main character is a mail carrier, the postal system is not important to the film.

#8 Air Mail (1932)

Ralph Bellamy plays the owner and operator of an airmail operation. The film looks at the high risk careers of the nation’s early airmail pilots. The film also features Pat O’Brien in the roll of a young and boastful airmail pilot – a depiction that played to many Americans’ thoughts about these wild young (and possibly crazy) men.

#7 The Aviator (1985)

Not to be confused with the more recent film about Howard Hughes, this film stars Christopher Reeve as an early US airmail pilot. He is flying as a contract pilot along CAM-5 (Contract Air Mail route #5) between Elko, Nevada, and Pasco, Washington. Although regulations and Reeve are only interested in carrying the mail, a rich man insists on his daughter (Rosanna Arquette) being carried as a passenger. Of course the pair fight, and are endangered when the plane crashes in a mountainous region. The pair survives the crash (and wolves) with a hint of a romantic future in the end.

#6 Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

Cary Grant plays a brave airmail pilot operating in South America, flying mail over the Andes mountains. Jean Arthur and Rita Hayworth make life more interesting (and challenging) for our pilots while they are on the ground. In a nod to real life, the plot revolves around the need for the company to secure a government mail contract in order to survive. In the United States, it was the airmail contracts of the late 1920s and early 1930s that allowed commercial aviation to grow and flourish.

Source: http://www.carygrant.net/stamp

#5 Dear God (1996)

Greg Kinnear plays con man Tom Turner in this late 20th century film. After his latest arrest the court sentences him to getting a real job Tom ends up working at the local post office’s Dead Letter Office where undeliverable mail ends up. He mistakenly sends money to someone who had addressed a letter plea “to God.” The accidental good deed inspires his co-workers, and finally even the con man himself. Before long the workers are doing all they can to answer the “Dear God” letters, helping people and of course, finding the good in themselves.

#4 Il Postino, i.e., The Postman (1994)

This amusing Italian film shares the story of an exiled poet who is befriended by a man who is hired as a letter carrier to deliver all the new extra mail following the poet to his new tiny island home. The poet becomes the young postman’s guide to expressing himself, and of course, helps him woo a young woman.

#3 Appointment with Danger (1951)

One of the few films featuring a US postal inspector hero, “Appointment with Danger” features Alan Ladd as inspector Al Goddard. When a fellow inspector is killed, he has to find and protect the witness, a nun played by Phyllis Calvert. Ladd also infiltrates the criminal gang responsible by pretending to be on the take. One of the amusing side notes of this film is the appearance of Jack Webb and Harry Morgan, later famous as the no-nonsense detectives in “Dragnet” as part of the criminal gang.

#2 Charade (1963)

If you haven’t seen this film, then you probably don’t know why it’s on this list. And the last thing I’m going to do is spoil that for you. So let’s just say that any movie that has Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in it is worth watching, regardless. And if there’s a connection to mail or the post, so much the better!

Audrey Hepburn -Germany -Mint Error Sheet

#1 Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Miracle on 34th Streeet - Maureen O'Hara and John Payne

This quintessential Christmas movie is also a quintessential postal film. The film’s most dramatic point is when Kris Kringle is on trial and under pressure to admit that there is no such thing as Santa. But Santa’s cause is saved by the appearance of workers bearing sack after sack of letters addressed to Santa. His young lawyer argues that “every one of these letters is addressed to Santa Claus. The Post Office has delivered them. Therefore the Post Office Department, a branch of the Federal Government, recognizes this man Kris Kringle to be the one and only Santa Claus.” Faced with such overwhelming evidence, the judge has no choice but to admit that “since the United States Government declares this man to be Santa Claus, this court will not dispute it.”

Although not the topic of this blog, I could not end this blog without mentioning the worst postal movie of all time. It has to be Kevin Costner’s “The Postman.” In which an acclaimed science fiction novel is turned into a mush of a film.

Source: Postal Museum

We are in for a treat!

Happy movie time

Janice

Source: timbres.laposte.fr

French Postal Administration, La Poste, refused to process a personnalized postage stamp order from Mr Vincenot,  a resident of Meurthe-et-Moselle, (France) because the submitted photography depicted the customer’s wife with a glass in her hands.

They had recently celebrated their 30 years of marriage and Mr Vincenot wanted to send  a thank you card with personnalized stamps from photos taken during that event.

La Poste explained that they could not go ahead with the order as it contravenes Evin’s law, which intention is to regulate alcohol and smoking advertising.

Scandalized, Mr Vincenot is appealing the decision. As he mentions in the interview below, he would like to know how La Poste can certify alcool is contained in the glass, even though it’s a goblet!

Furthermore, Mr Vincenot points out the fact these stamps will not be seen publicly, other than by the “eyes” of the postman. He also states that once published, you would need a magnifying glass, even a microscope to see the glass.

La Poste lui refuse des timbres personnalisés de sa femme un verre à la main

2012-04-18 00:00:00

Un habitant de Meurthe-et-Moselle qui avait commandé des timbres personnalisés à partir d’une photo sur laquelle apparaissait son épouse un verre à la main, a essuyé un refus de La Poste, selon qui la commande contreviendrait à la loi Evin, a-t-on appris mercredi auprès de l’intéressé.

 

“Je suis scandalisé, ce refus est parfaitement liberticide: je vais saisir le Défenseur des droits, je ne compte pas en rester là”, a indiqué à l’AFP Didier Vincenot, 57 ans, qui ne désespère pas que l’entreprise publique revienne sur sa décision.

“Nous avions fêté notre trentième anniversaire de mariage avec mon épouse et des amis, et je voulais envoyer un carton de remerciement avec des timbres personnalisés à partir de photos de la soirée”, a expliqué le client mécontent.

“J’aimerais que La Poste m’explique comment elle peut savoir que le verre contient de l’alcool. Même s’il s’agit d’un verre à pied! Les citoyens sont confrontés au quotidien à des entraves à la liberté, c’est insupportable!”, s’est emporté le quinquagénaire.

Selon lui, le timbre n’est pas à la vue du public, “si ce n’est celle du facteur”. “Et il faudrait une loupe, voire un microscope pour distinguer le verre une fois la photo imprimée sur le timbre”, a-t-il estimé.

Dans un communiqué, une porte-parole de l’entreprise publique a expliqué que “le visuel que fournit le client doit répondre à un certain nombre d’exigences qui figurent dans nos conditions générales de vente, notamment celle de ne pas contrevenir à la loi Evin”.

 

“Par ailleurs, La Poste se réserve la possibilité de refuser des commandes qu’elle juge non-admissibles pour quelconque raison”, a-t-elle ajouté.

M. Vincenot, dont la commande refusée de 36 euros n’a pas été débitée, demande “la fourniture de (sa) commande”, ainsi qu’un “geste commercial”. “J’exprime un ras-le-bol citoyen”, a-t-il estimé.

Source: Actualites Sympatico

I sincerely think that La Poste overdid it here!!

Absolutely..

Source: addikson24.over-blog.com

What are your thoughts?

Leave a comment below to share what you think.

Best,

Janice

There may be some person in the world, that when you think of them, it’s just hard for you to like them or hard for you to think good thoughts about them. This type of person is who the Dalai Lama calls a sacred enemy or sacred friend; somebody who helps you grow your heart, if you are willing.

Think about somebody in your life who you may have had a difficult time with and then reflect on this quote by Longfellow.

When our hostilities are disarmed, what is natural is a feeling of compassion. So let’s live in this thought and from this thought today and notice how our hearts get bigger and our lives expand.

Mary Manin Morissey

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator whose works include “Paul Revere’s Ride“, The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. He was also the first American to translate Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy and was one of the five Fireside Poets.

Read more about Longfellow on Wikipedia.

Have a great day!

Janice

On this great spring holiday, I invite you to discover beautiful daylilies stamps and collectibles which will contribute to make your stamp collection blossom!

Without a doubt, Canada Post’s floral stamps series is definitely among the most popular ones. For this 7th issue, photographer Isabelle Toussaint shot these gorgeous daylilies at the Ottawa’s Experimental Farm, where all Canadian hybrids grow together in one area.

Canada 7th Floral Stamp Issue : Daylilies (Booklet of 10 Self-Adhesives Stamps)

Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are native to Eurasia, including China, Korea and Japan. Their resistance to disease and pests, along with a level of hardiness that allows them to flourish in almost any soil type, under a variety of growing conditions, explains their popularity with gardeners and why they have been adopted widely.

The plant’s latin name comes from the Greek words hemera, meaning “day” and kalos, meaning “beautiful“. True to their name, individual flowers last a single day. However, since so many buds are produced at a time, the collective “flowerscape” remains in bloom for weeks.

Daylilies Souvenir Sheet - Canada - March 2012

Of the more 60,000 registered cultivars available, this issue features Hemerocallis fulua ‘Europa’, the common orange lily and the purple ‘Louis Lorrain’.

Pictured in the background of the souvenir sheet is the ‘Jeff Holden’, another daililly variety.

Source: Canada Post

Daylilies - First day Cover - Canada - March 2012

‘These stamps are also ideally suited for wedding invitations and reply cards throughout the year, whenever a splash of colour may be welcomed.’

Daylilies Prepaid Postcards - Canada Post - March 2012

With the above pictured prepaid postcards, it’s now so easy for Canadians to keep in touch with their friends and families no matter where in the world they reside.

A great way to mail out wordly seeds of joy to nurture our loved ones

Talk soon!

Janice

Titanic - Sheet of 16 PERMANENT TM (Domestic) stamps | Source: CanadaPost.ca

In commemoration of  the 100th Anniversary of the TITANIC fateful history, several postal administrations will be issuing commemorative postage stamps and related collectibles that tells the story of the largest ship ever built, and the tragedy that fell upon its passengers and crew members.

Canada Post - Titanic International Rate Stamp - 2012 | CanadaPost.ca

Stepping back in time…

In 1904, the first wireless station in Newfoundland was built at Cape Race.

This was the only land-based location that received the distress call from the RMS Titanic.

On the night Titanic sank, wireless operator Jack Phillips was sending telegraphs to Cape Race for relay to New York City.

When Cyril Evans, wireless operator of the SS Californian, sent an iceberg warning to Titanic, only a few miles away, Phillips was annoyed with the loud signal (due to the proximity) and responded “Shut up, Shut up, I’m working Cape Race.”

This would become a famous incident, as the bored Evans soon went to sleep, and Titanic hit an iceberg only fifteen minutes later. After Titanic’s distress call, Cape Race played a major role in relaying news of the sinking to other ships and land locations.

Source: Wikipedia

(…) on Sunday, April 14 at 11:40 pm, Titanic struck a giant iceberg and by 2:20 am on April 15, the “unsinkable ship” was gone.  In less than three hours, the pride of the White Star Line had become one of the greatest marine disasters in recorded history.

Within days of the sinking, the White Star Line dispatched the first of four Canadian vessels to search for bodies. The first two vessels to carry out this grim task were the Halifax-based Cable Ships Mackay-Bennett and Minia, which recovered 306 and 17 victims respectively. In all, 150 unclaimed victims were laid to rest in Halifax, forever linking the city to the vessel’s tragic tale.

Today, the city of Halifax and the Province of Nova Scotia retain many reminders of the way in which the tragedy of the Titanic touched the lives of those who lived here.  From the gravestones of victims, to memorial monuments; preserved fragments of the vessel, to original photographs and documents; stories passed down through generations, to new insights and discoveries; Nova Scotians have remained respectful keepers of the vessel’s memory.

Source: Titanic In Nova Scotia

Titanic Deck Chair | www.luxist.com

100 years later…

Canada Post commemorates the centennial of the sinking of RMS Titanic through an unique perspective, as the stamps from this commemorative issue, created by Haligonian design team of Dennis Page and Oliver Hill, depicts the best-known ship in the world with great realism.

How does one make a stamp of a ship that sunk a century ago?

Watch this video where stamp designer Dennis Page takes you through the creative process—from the inspiration to the actual products!

Canada Post has also produced some very unique and treasurable memorabilias:

The Titanic 100^th Anniversary Collector Set, which includes a leather-bound embossed collectible album that tells the story of the tragedy from a Canadian perspective. It includes an authentic White Star stock certificate, all five stamps from the issue, two Royal Canadian Mint Titanic coins, a special-re-created Titanic cancel and three Titanic postcards. ( Only 10,000 produced )

Titanic Collector's Set and other memorabilia | Source: Canada Post Details Magazine Vol XXI No2

The complete Titanic stamp issue is composed of:

-  five stamps

- a stamp pane of 16

- a souvenir sheet

- a booklet of 6 stamps (international rate)

- a booklet of 10 stamps (bow stamp)

- an uncut press sheet

-  3 prepaid postcards

-  framed prints

- a collectible album

- a stamp and coin collector envelope

- two Official First Day Covers

The first FDC features a photo from Father Brown’s collection of the captain of the Titanic walking on the deck with the bow and the stern stamps.

The second FDC makes use of the international denomination stamp and features a photo of a paper boy in New York City announcing the disaster.

More Titanic Commemorative Stamps From Other Countries of the World

2012 Alderney Titanic Set of 6 Stamps | www.wopa-stamps.com

2012 Gibraltar Titanic Centenary | www.gibraltar-stamps.com

2012 Alderney Titanic Stamps | www.wopa-stamps.com

What a great addition to a Titanic or Ships on Stamps topical stamp collection!

Happy stamping

Talk soon,

Janice

PS: Below are two videos covering the story of Titanic from its inception in 1907 to its last day in 1912.

You’ve got mail!

The Topical Time,  Journal of Thematic Philately, published by the American Topical Association just came in!

 Such a joyful moment.

The magazine’s front cover features an article by David McNamee, From Topical Collecting to Thematic Exhibiting  which storytells how he went from a “topical collector” to a successful “thematic exhibitor”.

‘ I have collected Pacific island canoes on stamps for more than 35 years. I have a exhibit built from this collection, The Canoe in Pacific Island Culture. I found out quickly that they are fundamental differences between topical collecting and thematic exhibiting. The following steps describes the issues that I faced as a topical collector thinking of thematic exhibiting for the first time. I learned a few lessons along the way that might be helpful to others.’

Source: Topical Time, February 2012

Fiji - 1977 - Canoes - Scott 380-383

.

Along with sound advice, tips and tricks, David talks about the path he followed to reach successful exhibiting, and his story will help many stamp collectors and philatelists understand why it is important to vary the elements on each page of an exhibit.

As the author points out,  developing “curosity about the “why” and “how” of your subject” brings you to the discovery of related philatelic or non-philatelic material such as artist’s sketches, watercolor essays, postcards, and more.

As an example, this Tonga’s non conventional shaped picturing bananas which were transported aboard canoes.

Airmail cover sent Tonga to Auckland NZ 1977 11s Centenary plus 2s Banana & 4s Banana stamps used, nice commercial usage, 4s Banana has black error, part G & outlined lettering

The Ah-Ah Moment!

‘(…) Take time to find your story. I always had in mind to “do something” with my canoe stamps. I was not sure how I could make an exhibit out of a bunch of mint stamps and a few covers.  (…)

I just could not figure out the framework to develop the canoe exhibit.

After a lot of thought over a period of a couple of years, it finally came to me that the story to be told is the origins and dispersion of the Pacific Island people and their culture over the world’s largest ocean. The canoe was the vital link”! (…)

Source: From Topical Stamp Collecting to Thematic Exhibiting , David McNamee, in Topical Time, February 2012

Nauru - 1975 - Canoes - Scott 127a

Short Bio

David McNamee exhibits Van Diemen’s Land and Tasmania in the United States and Australia. Also an APS-accredited Chief Philatelic Judge, treasurer and board member of American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors (AAPE) and active locally, nationally and internationally in many other philatelic organizations. He resides in Northern California.

To learn more on how to bring to life all those beautiful topical stamps you’ve collected over the years, visit the  American Topical Association website .

Members at the American Topical Association Show Booth

Topical Time - January /February 2012 Vol.63 No 1.

Enjoy and talk soon,

Janice

ATA Member #48264

USA - Sunday Funnies -2010

Why not take a silly break right now? Do something for 10 minutes to get yourself laughing. It’s good for your immune system. It’s good for your perspective too.

To You Fun & Laughter moment!

Janice

Buddha

India - Bhuddist stamps- Bhudda Souvenir sheet

Reflecting upon above Bhudda’s quote, it prompted me to research some “virtual” stamps on the subject. I’ve found quite a few and thought it would be a great idea to share some of them here with you, as well as a great article featured on the mysinchew.com news site about Stamp collector Shu Zhonghan, whose topical stamp collecting passion is all about Bhudda and Bhuddism. Enjoy!

India - Faces of Bhudda - Booklet released at the Bihar Stamp Expo 2012

 

Collecting Buddhist stamps

Translated by LIM LIY EE

Shu Zhonghan - Bhuddist Stamp Collector (Photo courtesy of Sin Chew Daily)

A Buddhist and stamps collector has been integrating his faith with his interest as he has a special preference for collecting stamps with Buddhism theme.

Shu Zhonghan has sorted out thousands of the stamps he collected according to the themes such as the Four Great Bodhisattvas, the Four Great Buddhist Mountains, Buddhist figures and the biography of Gautama Buddha. Each of the theme has lots of stories to tell.

The stamps he collected are from around the world such as China, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand and even Muslim countries which possess different Buddhist cultures.

To enhance the value of appreciation of the stamps, he has put them with envelopes, pictures and postcards as embellishments or explanatory notes. It has at the same time enhanced the value of artistic for his collection.

He does not only collect them in stamp albums but he also shows them to the public through exhibitions .He also takes the opportunity to tell his guests Buddhist stories.

Shu has been a Buddhist since young and he started collecting stamps since teen age. At that time, his attention was drawn by a Buddhist stamp on an envelope sent by his relative from China.

At that time, stamp collecting experts suggested that it would be an advantage to collect stamps based on a particular theme instead of collecting a wide-variety of stamps. Therefore he has focused on only Buddhist stamps since then as he is a Buddhist.

He indicated that among thousands of the stamps, it was indeed hard to categorize them. However, with the assistance of his three daughters, he was able to get relevant information for each of the theme.

According to him, as he is a preacher, he had organized two stamp exhibitions to promote Buddhism to the public and they received great responses from the public.

Nevertheless, he stressed that according to the national standards, there were some rules to be followed while collecting stamps such as a stamp must have more pictures and less text and three stories to be told on a piece of paper. He said that his collection has not met the requirements yet.

Read more….
Source: Sin Chew Daily

Hi Janice,

Mary Morrissey

I want to remind you about Buddha’s greatest sermon where he simply held up a flower and the entire audience was taken in awe at his recognition of the entire universe; all of life, the law of life upon which the growth of living cells is founded.

This love that is guiding the universe is right where you are right now. It is the center of every cell in your body. Every cell of your body has a trinity at work in it. A neutron, an electron, all of life is calling and beckoning you and present for you right now.

There is a love that is presencing in your life right now. You can count on it. You can call upon it. You can listen to it and you can know it.

Have a great week.

With Love,

Mary Manin Morrissey

Please leave a comment below to share your own thoughts.

FURTHER WEB READING

BIHAR STAMP EXPO 2012  :  Day 1 – Report by Pradeep Kumar Mallik, Patna

STAMPS ON BUDDHISM :  Philately stamps With Stampghar

FURTHER AMAZON READING

Until next, take care and all the very best,
Janice

Canada Post - Year of the Dragon - Toronto Postmark- Lunar New Year 20120110

As Jim Phillips, Director Stamps Services at Canada Post wrote inside Canada’s Stamp Details (Vol. XXI No 1; January to March 2012:   “2012 roars in like a dragon”. 

So let’s start the New Year with this short video I’ve done using Animoto to showcase the beautiful Canadian philatelic products issued to commemorate the 2012 Lunar New Year.

Canada Post - Pane of 25 stamps - Year of the Dragon -Lunar New Year

On Canada Post‘s website, the stamp are presented as follows:

“Thinking of dragons may conjure up fire-breathing, serpent-like beasts of fantastic legends, but in many Asian cultures, these magical, mythical creatures are benevolent, associated with wisdom and longevity. They are revered for their influence over the primal forces of nature; for example, the Chinese water dragon has potent and auspicious powers over rainfall, hurricanes and floods.

The presence of the dragon in Chinese culture dates back thousands of years. Dinosaur bones unearthed in ancient China are documented as “dragon bones,” and dragon statues and jade badges of rank have been discovered as far back as the fifth millennium BC. Excellent and outstanding people are compared to the dragon, and leaping, swooping dragons operated by a full team of people are a common sight at Chinese festivals.

This year, Canada Post honours the Year of the Dragon—a time of innovation, risk and achievement—the fifth sign of the Chinese zodiac. The dragon in the PERMANENT™, domestic-rate stamp in this series is fully embossed. Gold foil is used prominently in the dragon’s scales. Swirls, a graphic element from ancient Chinese designs, are placed at the bottom of the domestic-rate stamp to represent the water element. The Chinese characters in the top right corner spell out “dragon.”

“It’s always a challenge to find novel ways to showcase the Lunar New Year stamps,” says Alain Leduc, Canada Post Stamp Design manager. “Designer Louis Fishauf, who also designed the extraordinary Year of the Monkey stamp from the first Lunar New Year series, did a great job with all of this year’s stamp products as well. The images are complex and striking, and the foil and embossing techniques are outstanding.”

A fiery red dragon bursts from the water on the dramatic souvenir sheet bearing an international-rate stamp and imagery taken from the domestic stamp. The embossing on the dragon’s head is carved by hand, with touches of foil to give it vibrancy. The background is red, a colour symbolizing good fortune and joy that is used prominently during Chinese New Year celebrations.

The highly collectible uncut press sheet features 12 souvenir sheets. The Chinese characters on the selvedge bear the names of all the Zodiac creatures, and the calligraphy along the bottom offers greetings and wishes for luck in the New Year, in a tone similar to messages found in fortune cookies.

A couple of brand new products will appear this year for the very first time. A second souvenir sheet—a ‘transitional’ collectible—features last year’s Rabbit stamp exiting from the left, as the Dragon stamp enters from the right. Lunar New Year enthusiasts will be thrilled that a wallet-sized mini-booklet with six self-adhesive stamps is available, allowing them to keep a supply of Dragon stamps on hand for their New Year greetings. And speaking of greetings—this year for the first time, Canada Post will offer celebrants a chance to share the festive dragon that graces the stamps with friends and family with a package of Lunar New Year notecards—with ten PERMANENT™ stamps—available early in January.”

Source: Canada Post

..

Since images are worth thousands of words, here are more…

Canada Post - Year of the Dragon - First Day Cover - Single Stamp - 2012Jan10

Canada Post - Year of the Dragon - First Day Cover - Souvenir Sheet - 2012Jan10

Canada Post - Year of the Dragon - Postcard - Lunar New Year 2012

Canada Post - Year of the Dragon - Transitional Souvenir sheet - Lunar New Year 2012

Canada Post - Year of the Dragon - Souvenir sheet - Lunar New Year 2012

Canada Post -Year of the Dragon - Uncut Press Sheet - 2012 Lunar New Year

Canada Post -Year of the Dragon - Left Plate Blocks on FDC - 2012 Lunar New Year

Canada Post -Year of the Dragon - Right Plate Block on FDC - 2012 Lunar New Year

Canada Post Details Magazine Jan-March 2012 VOL XXI -No1 Year Dragon 10

Canada Post Details Magazine Jan-March 2012 VOL XXI -No1 Year Dragon 11

Delightful stamps for all Lunar New Year enthusiasts and Canadian stamp collectors!

Leave a comment below to share your thoughts about this first Canadian stamp issue of 2012.

Talk soon,
Janice

FURTHER READINGS:

Hun’s Wanderings & Wonderings – Year of the Dragon     (More pictures of the Year of the Dragon stamps issued by worldwide countries)

NPR (Chinese Year Of The Dragon Postage Stamp Deemed ‘Too Ferocious)

Ian Robertson – Toronto Sun (unveiling in Toronto at a ceremony in Canada Post’s outlet at the Atrium on Bay + Video)

Canada Post issues dragon stamps for Chinese Lunar New Year (Last year, Canada Post sold out of its Year of the Rabbit stamps. (…)

FURTHER VIEWINGS:

Hobbyists offer view of the personal, plus history through stamps
By Jeannette I. Andrade
Philippine Daily Inquirer

ROBERT Tan, president of the Philippine Philatelic Federation: Reviving an interest in what is considered as the world’s most fascinating hobby. PHOTO BY NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Before children of the new generation forget how a stamp looks like, postage stamp collectors and the Philippine Postal Corp. (Philpost) have teamed up and brought out their treasured compilations for the public to see the biggest stamp exhibit to be held in the country.

The Philippine Philatelic Exhibition (Philpex) 2012 is out to prove that stamp-collecting still has a place in the hearts of the young who have become so obsessed with instant communication that writing letters in longhand has become almost like a dying art.

Philpex 2012 is a festival of international exhibits and entries from member clubs of the Philippine Philatelic Federation (PPF) with the theme “Knowledge and fun through stamp-collecting.” The public can view the display for free until Feb. 3 at the main lobby of the Central Post Office at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila.

Collectors from the Cebu Philatelic Society, the Filipinas Stamp Collectors’ Club (FSCC), the International Philippine Philatelic Society, the Naga City Philatelic Society, the Philippine Chinese Philatelic Society, the Quezon Philatelic Society and the Dumaguete Stamp Club have lent their rare diverse collections for the common cause of reviving a flagging interest in what is generally considered the world’s most fascinating hobby.

Lawrence Chan, FSCC officer, told the Inquirer that the exhibit is a show-and-tell on a much grander scale where participants in the competition and exhibit produce baby theses on their respective multi-themed collections.

Collections

“In their presentations, they describe their collections, including a brief history and discussion on the stamps or other philatelic materials they have included. Sometimes they tell stories of themselves in the process, allowing a person going through the collection to get an insight on the exhibitor,” Chan explained.

Among the more intriguing displays is a presentation by Dionisio Taeza which he dubbed “Friends Never Die, They Just Fade Away,” for which he was awarded a bronze medal under the category of thematic philately.

Taeza’s exhibit featured a long exchange of letters and postcards between him and a friend.

“Extraordinary Stamps,” arranged by Jerson Danseco of the Quezon Philatelic Society, lives up to its title, earning for the exhibitor a silver bronze medal under the thematic philately category.

Danseco included a small disc-shaped stamp from the People’s Republic of China, which can be played on any CD player, as well as other odd-shaped postage stamps.

RUIZ Peñafrancia’s collection highlights important events in the life of the late Pope John Paul II. PHOTO BY NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Famous scenes

In his “Hologram” collection, which won for him a large vermeil trophy under the thematic philately category, Nilo Dizon highlighted the history and  of holographic postage stamps in  his massive compilation.

Viewers will notice stamps covered with a thin film of silver foil. Up close, one sees pictures of prominent personalities and famous vistas from the postage stamps’ countries of origin.

Postcards, commemorative coinsas well as stamped envelopes with calligraphic longhand writing on its face to indicate the addressee of the post, are also on display

 

Chan said the use of multi-media by the exhibitor is generally accepted if it forms part of the theme.

Longhand writing can also earn points for stamp contest competitors, particularly if the person he corresponds with is famous, he said, adding that there is also a need for a catchy title for the collection.

In Ruiz Peñafrancia’s exhibit, “Blessed Pope John Paul II, the Making of a Saint,” for which the philatelist from the Naga City Philatelic Society earned a silver bronze under the thematic philately category, she  showed important events in the late Pope’s life.

The competition features 50 collections, including those from International Philippine Philatelic Society representatives Don Peterson and Hans Becker.

Becker won a large vermeil trophy under traditional philately for his collection of Philippine government and anniversary  slogans.

International standards

Chan said the board used international standards and rules governing philatelic competitions set by the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie, a network of philatelists worldwide.

Knowledge, study and research on the theme of the collection, he pointed out, accounted for 35 percent of the rating. The condition and rarity of the postage stamps are 20 percent each, while the condition and importance make up 10 percent of the total score. Presentation accounts for only 5 percent of the total rating.

Among the entries, PPF president Robert Tan’s  “China Pre UPU 1778-1872” and “Philippines: Pre-Philatelic Era” won  gold trophies under the postal history and traditional philately categories.

Young exhibitors

The youth philately exhibits, collections of people below 18 years old, brought a breath of freshness to an otherwise, adult-dominated hobby. Collie Marquez’s “It’s the Cat’s Meow,” a collection of felines on stamps, got a silver medal.

Joanna Argosino’s “The Time Giants Ruled the World,”  dinosaurs depicted on stamps, earned for her a silver under the same category, while  Reena de Jesus ran off with  a vermeil trophy for her “The World of Music” exhibit.

Dojie Lutera, FSSC president who was awarded a vermeil trophy for his “Postal History of the Philippine Cordillera” collection under the postal history category, lamented the dwindling number of stamp collectorsin the country.

Recalling a time when there were more than 100,000 local  stamp hobbyists, he said he hopes Philpex would  “revive an enthusiasm and appreciation” for stamp-collecting.

“The challenge  for us is to renew an interest in philately,” Lutera said. “As you view each exhibit, take time to enjoy the collections. You can see how beautiful the world is through our eyes.”

Source: Newsinfo.inquirer.net