For the Building

New Entries

I must start this post by telling that my attention is divided lately , between my two stamp blogs.. this one and the new one... Unfortunately, I think the new one will get most of my attention in the future... This is something that I say not without some sadness , because this is a project I like very much and classifying stamps is for me one of the best activities life as to offer.. (this is not a joke...) ... but the new project I have started in July is much more rewarding , because it involves many other things I also like very much , like studying someone's life , digging in the past, searching in old archives and finding ways to discover people that do not want to be discovered... it is a project that offer's me (like this one, also...) a life time of fun and at the same time the possibility of doing something useful that has not yet the attention it deserves.. so I think something must be done to keep this blog active...the answer I get from myself is that I must make smaller posts, with just one or two groups of stamps and continue the rate of posts I have in the last weeks (it has diminished, if you look to the beginning of the blog...) .. I think 1 post for week it will be alright and this way I will not need 2 days at least to classify stamps and prepare the post....(perhaps a day will last for this Blog format...)

I was preparing some Colombia stamps for this next post , but it should be much larger.. I will make it with just stamps of two group of series...

This is a group of Postal Tax stamps Series.. the time frame involved goes from 1939 to 1950.. These stamps were obligatory in every kind of mail , and the tax was for the construction of the Communications and Postal Buildings ...
1) 1939/1945 "Communications Building" (7) [Litho (Litografia Nacional, Bogotá)] Sc(RA3,RA3a,RA4,RA5,RA5a)
2) 1940 "Communications Building" (5) [Recess (De La Rue Co Ltd, London)] Sc(RA8,...,RA11)
3)4) 1945/1948 "Communications Building" (8) [Recess (ABNC)] Sc(RA19,...,RA25)
        1947 "Communications Building" (1) [Recess (ABNC)] Sc(RA33)
5) 1948/1950 "Communications Building" (5) [Recess (ABNC)] (RA41,...,RA45)
I cannot find the correct code for the last stamp(20c Brown)...

from the 2nd to the 5th images , we have stamps of very small (15,25) dimension ..the stamps from the 1st image don't have Wmk and all the others have...

  
This second series represents some monuments or key Views of Colombia... there are 4 different designs .. the 1st represents a Pre-Colombian monument, the 2nd the El Dorado symbol and the others , a Spanish Fortress in Cartagena and a view of the Colonial Bogotá.

There are 3 different series with these designs , the 1st issued in 1941, the 2nd in 1948 and the 3rd in 1952...

 2)3)5)10) 1941 "Views and Monuments of Colombia (Air Mail)" (13) [Recess (ABNC)] Sc(C122,C123,C124,C128) 
4)6)8) 1948 "Views and Monuments (Air Mail)" (13) [Recess (ABNC)] Sc(C153,C154,C155)
1)7)9) 1952 "Views and Monuments (Air Mail)" (9) [Recess (ABNC)] Sc(C217,C220,C225)

I know this is a small post with few points of interest , but it is what I can arrange for now...in the future , less stamps will be shown, just one or two series... it has to be this way to keep the blog running.. I'll keep buying stamps, whenever I can (I have earned some money from an occasional job and I received two days ago a large lot of India and Pakistan stamps ... Great Lot!!..I finally bought something!!!!)

SeeYou

P.S) The Island of Fogo Volcano (Cape Verde) has just erupted today.. you are welcome to visit this Facebook link and be updated..

The Treehouse

New Entries

some time ago I have made two or three posts with stamps from Kenya ,Uganda and Tanganyika.. I have yet some George VI stamps to present , but this time I rather make a post with Kenya stamps that came in the same lot of the others from Commonwealth...

I have some complete series and some stamps from 3 definitive series from the 70's , 80's and 90's.. first I will start by presenting a map and some data about the location of 'Tanganyika'..

Tanganyika appears in the map of our left side with the number 11.. at our right side we see the current Africa Map, and the correspondence of 11 is now in great part Tanzania... this is an interesting fact because some of the stamps I have to present are  from a time frame when Tanganyika doesn't exist anymore and the stamps are from Kenya,Uganda and Tanzania... We can see that Kenya and Uganda are neighbors and were part along with Tanganyika of the same Postal Administration... 

Let us start again in chronological order, with some stamps of 1964

This is the 2nd series from Kenya , that became an Independent Republic in December 1963.. the series is not complete , the 2.50sh stamp is missing , and along with wildlife, exotic birds and a rooster (?? *) ,President Jomo Kenyatta, almost Omnipresent in Kenya's stamps, appears ... We will find the figure and Personality of The President many times in this small post... 

Two lines above, I talked about the rooster presented in the first stamp.. well , to explain it's presence I had to bring now the Coat of Arms of Kenya and a small quote of the symbolic presence of the rooster...

" According to the African tradition, the rooster is the only domestic fowl that announces the dawn of a new day (more like the alarm clock - the wake-up call).  At the rooster's crow, all awake and head for work at the early dawn. The rooster is also one of the few animals that seldom moves backwards. The rooster holding an axe while moving forward portrays authority, the will to work, success, and the break of a new dawn. It is also the symbol of Kenya Africa National Union (KANU) party that led the country to independence." (Wikipedia)

I don't have yet data from the designer's of these stamps, but with time i will get it..

Kenya 1964 "Establishment of the Republic of Kenya" (5) [Photo] Sc(15,...,18)

Here we have a stamp about an historic event.. the meeting in Ujiji between the Missionary David Livingstone and the American (??) journalist H.M. Stanley... this is one of those 'rich' stamps, full of history and new facts to know about...

Tanzania , Kenya, Uganda 1971"Centenary of Livingstone and Stanley meeting at Ujiji" (1) [Litho] Sc(237)

Another series of 1971 , and now the main focus is Tanzania and some aspects of the Development of the country in it's 10th Independence Anniversary..

Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda 1971 "10th Anniv of Tanzanian Independence" (4) [Litho] Sc(238,...,241)

some stamps of a classic 'mineral' Series from 1977...not much to tell about this series except that there are many collector's of this thematic... I hope that this is useful in the identification of new stamps to acquire..

Kenya 1977 "Minerals" (15) [Photo] Sc(98,99,100,101,102,104,105,107)

this series represents sequences of a Voyage of Elizabeth II to Kenya and is a commemoration of the 25 Years of Reign of the Queen.. I named this post after the Treehouse that appears in one of the stamps ,because I think it must be 'transcendent' to stay a night in one of these places surrounded by wild life...One more time the President appears , now near the end of his life..
Kenya 1977 "Queen Elizabeth II Reign Silver Jubilee" (4) [Litho] Sc(84,85,86,87)

Here it is one more series that highlight the role of President Kenyatta in the History of Kenya... some important facts of his life are remembered in this series, like the Declaration of Independence with the participation of Prince Philip and his arrest of in the years before the independence...
Kenya 1978 "President  Kenyatta Day" (5) [Litho] Sc(127,...,131)

This is a series about  "The Flying Doctor"  Service... It is a Social tool that works also in other countries...in a post about Australia stamps I have talked about it and we came to the conclusion that it was imperative that a project like this was 'put into action'... people in distant places count on these men and women to save their lives when that is required... 
Kenya 1980 "Flying Doctor Service" (4) [Litho] Sc(162,...,165)

Here are some stamps from another definitive series from 1983... this is a beautifully designed series, that I hope will be enjoyable for tall the Flower stamps collectors...The stamp of 1sh is presented in two formats, with the same design .. in Scott catalog , only the large format appears (253).. 
Kenya 1983 "Flowers" (15) [Photo] Sc(247,248,249,250,251,?,253,254,256,257,258)

Another beautiful thematic series..As I said before I don't have any kind of data regarding the Designers of these stamps, but I know that in 1993 Denis Murphy was pretty busy with the definitive series of South Africa (Endangered Animals).. I know also that he worked also for Kenya Postal Service and the final style of the stamps is similar.. white background, simple frame and beautiful design...! I don't know if Denis Murphy designed also birds (he was an expert in wild life design...) but I almost bet that this is part of his work....(I can lose , of course...)Kenya 1993 "Birds" (14) [Photo] Sc(594,597,598,600,601,604,605,606,608)

I only show you this stamp because I want to , again, express my insignificant opinion about actual stamps and the urgency of returning to the past...
We Europeans and Americans, no longer have the need to design our stamps.. no Artists needed .. just some photos and a good software and there it is.. A Stamp!!! I need to ask , is this appealing to the collector..?? is this good ?? Is it beautiful?? If I want to make a photo collection, I take the photos myself or I'll go to the Net and download hundreds of them ...The real fact is that it is cheaper, of course and today in a modern society it is all that counts... 
I want to say that some African countries still design their stamps...(or great part of them..) and I would like to leave here a link to a site that have the difficult task of gather, promote and sell African Stamps...this stamp is a good example of the new kind of design available in some African Countries..it has some familiarity with modern (actual) Comics design..    
Kenya 1996 "Work of Lions Club International in Kenya" (4) [Litho] Sc(698)

Ok.. this is the end of this post... I always talk to much...

SeeYou

The Smiling Skeleton

New Entries

Some more stamps from Cuba... the 30's, 40's and 50's of Cuba's Society...It is a little hard to ignore Politics , when you are dealing with Cuban stamps.. Cuban always was, in my opinion, like a disinherited Son for US.. the proximity of the Island always led to business, contraband and other ways, legal or not, of prospering..The end of the war with Spain contributed to a bigger influence of US in Cuba , that as We all know ended in the 50's ..What really interest us , and Politics does not, is what the US left behind in Cuba's Philately, the influence in the design , the printing methods adopted, in a way  the influence of ABNC (American Bank Note Company)... I think that this influence was very positive, like in many other Central and South American Countries...

Let us start , chronologically , with a stamp from the 20's....

 this is a beautiful stamp, one of the almost 400 Air Mail stamps issued by Cuban Postal Authority..

1927 "Flying boat over Havana Harbour" (1) [Des (O. Fontes Y Acosta)][Engr (Security Bank note Co., Philadelphia)][Recess (Cia. Nacional de Artes Gráficas de Cuba)] Sc(C1)

It is significant that I really don't have much data about designers in these period of time, neither in Cuba or other Central america Countries..the name of this designer of Cuban Origin , for sure , appears twice in the production of these early Air Mail stamps.. In many cases , I have info about the Printing Process , but the Designer is neglected.. I think that in these cases we have the 'dissolution' of the individual designer in the total work of the big company's like ABNC, Waterlow, etc..it was a wrong procedure , because it kept the Artist from receiving the credits for his work..
I left you here a very interesting small pdf article about the individual designers and engravers in the early days of ABNC..it is about Chile stamps , but it is a very good Article (in Spanish...)

These are stamps from the two Air Mail series of 1931..As you can see in a close inspection of the pictures I present , these stamps are fertile ground for color and Printing variations...
These series were issued from 1931 to 1948 (the 1st series - with the airplane heading right..) and 1956 (the 2nd series - with the airplane heading Left..).. so in these long periods of time printing methods evolve, the workers evolve and the result is a better printing work, with more definition... in the 1st picture 4 stamps are presented with variations both in color and quality of printing.. in the 2nd picture two stamps are presented with an obvious difference in the quality of printing (only SG present the violet 5c stamp because the original is the Purple one..) ; in the 3rd picture there are still missing the 15c and 50c ..

UP/RIGHT : 1931/1956 "Air Mail" (6) [Des (O. Fontes Y Acosta)][Recess (Cia. Impresora de Cuba)] Sc(C12)
DOWN : 1931/1948 "Air Mail" (9) [Des (O. Fontes Y Acosta)][Recess (Cia. Impresora de Cuba)] Sc(C4,C40,C5,C7,C8,C9)

Here We have a Special Delivery stamp .. I couldn't refrain myself from thinking that the design is to simple.. it could be much better with some clouds in the Background....

1935 "Aeroplane near Morro Castle" (1) [Engr (ABNC, New York)][Recess (J.L. Rodriguez, Havana)] Sc(E7)

[Left] Complete series about the figure of General José Miguel Gomez, Ex- President of Cuba.1936 "Inauguration of the Monument to President Gomez" (2) [Recess (P. Fernandez, Havana)] Sc(322,323)

[Right] The influence of the Ideals of Democracy and Freedom from the US is the central point of these stamp and Series.. it is a rich stamp in history and Personalities.. At the Center of the stamp lies the Cuban Coat of Arms... The personalities presented in the stamp are: Lt. General José Antonio De Maceo Y Grajales , Simon Bolivar  , Benito Juarez and Abraham Lincoln

1942 "Spirit of Democracy in the Americas" (5) [Des (Cabrera Y Cuesta)][Recess] Sc(369)

from 1943 until 1952 , at least , there was a series every year with the label "Retiro De Comunicaciones" ... the money collected with these stamps was dedicated to the Postal Workers Retirement Fund.. I have some stamps of these series between those I have to show You today..

These are stamps from the 1st of these series...
1943 "The Long Road to Retirement" (3) [Recess] Sc(381,382)

[Left] stamp from one of the main series of the 40's in Cuba..The stamp is about Bartolomé de las Casas, protector of the native's... This Dominican Friar is seen as one of the first 'advocates' of the Human Right's..

1944 "450th Anniversary of the Discovery of America" (7) [Recess (P. Fernandez, Havana)] Sc(388)


[Right] 1944 "150th Anniversary of the Economic Society 'Friends of Cuba'" (2) [Recess] Sc(395) ; in these stamp are represented Luis De Las Casas (Governor General of Cuba , from 1790 to 1796) and the Bishop Luis Maria Penalyer , both Founding Members of the Society..

[Left] 1944 "Centenary of the 1st Postage Stamps of the Americas (Brazil)" (1) [Recess] Sc(393)

[Right] 1945 "Special Delivery" (1) [Recess] Sc(E12) ( Good Postmark.!.)

[Left] 1946 "3rd Anniversary of the Founding of "Manuel Marquez Sterling" Professional School of Journalism" (1) [Recess] Sc(403)

[Right] 1946 " 80th Anniv of International Red Cross" (1) [Recess] Sc(404)

These are once again stamps from the Retirement Fund I was talking about some lines above..The 1st image show us a complete series from 1948 and the 2nd show us two stamps , one from the 1945 series and other from the 1947 series... I have to highlight here that almost every time I say very good things about the Designers and their stamps, but in the particular case of this series from 1945 (1st stamp, 2nd image) I have to ask "How can a stamp like this could be issued???" do You believe in the old Woman's smile ??? It look's like a skeleton smiling..!!.. in this case I prefer not to know the Designer's name....

ABOVE : 1948 "mother and child" (3) [Recess] Sc(415,416,417)
BELOW : 1st image] 1945 "Aged Couple" (3) [Recess] Sc(397) 
                2nd Image] 1947 "Antonio Sarret (1st President of the Association of Retired Postal Workers)" (3) [Recess] Sc(417)

 

[Left] This series is dedicated to the Philanthropic life of Marta Abreu  ;
1947 "Birth Centenary of Marta  Abreu (philanthropist)" (4) [Recess] Sc(411)

In my last post about Cuban stamps , I believe I have shown the other stamp of this series about José Marti, a Cuban Hero..
1948 "50th Death Anniv of Jose Marti" (2) [Recess] Sc(419)

This Dull Yellow Green doesn't help at all to appreciate the quality of the stamps.. even the design details are kept from the viewer by this kind of fog that covers the pictures.. 
The 1st stamps show us a Spanish Fortress and the two other stamps are from the Retirement Fund series of 1950 and 1949 respectively..I like to say that the 1950 stamp is dedicated to the Employees of the Communications Department and not only to the Postal workers..
1st) 1949 "Bicentenary of Jagua Fortress" (2) [Recess] Sc(433)
2nd) 1950 "Train Wreck" (3) [Recess] Sc(452)
3rd) 1949 "Ismael Cespedes (Telegraph Worker)" (3) [Recess] Sc(438)

I Left this stamp to the end , not only because of the Chronological display I have assumed in this post, but also because of the it's Actuality .. Clara Louise Maass was an American Nurse that voluntarily accept death in the name of Science ( in this particular case , while experimenting new 'drugs' against the Yellow Fever ).. it is very Actual today , because of all the Physicians and Nurses that are losing their lives fighting the Ebola virus...  

SeeYou