Toys of yesteryears

Date of Issue : 19 May 2015

Philatelic and Numismatic Office of Vatican City has produced for Europa 2015 a series of two postage stamps with designs by artist Stefano Morri featuring toys, which, although “old”, also represent a universal symbol of a child playing. The issue is to be released on the 19^th of May.

The 80 cent euro value shows three toy soldiers representing in scale three papal Gendarmes in formal uniforms worn by the Corps during the Napoleonic era up until 1965. In the background the walls of a room can be seen with other traditional handcrafted toys.

The 95 cent euro value also shows more toy soldiers with two Pontifical Swiss Guards who are wearing what is probably the most famous uniform in the world. One of the guards is playing the drums, while the other is carrying the classic halberd, which is still in use today in official ceremonies and in some services of standing guard.

The dice with the first initials of the Corps and a glass marble complete the foreground of the design. The profile of St. Peter’s Basilica can be seen in the background, a panoramic view from the terrace of a building in Rome.

Toys recall an important time during a child’s growth and development, and are characterized today by a rapid evolution often resulting in trends of a brief or very short duration. At the same time, some toys have become part of the cultural heritage of society and continue to draw the interest of the young. Examples include toy soldiers and dolls, which have been part of human history since ancient times.

Europa 2015 Stamps from Luxembourg

Luxembourg Post has released a special set of stamps designed for Europa 2015. The series of postage stamps featuring the toys of yesteryear was produced together with the ‘A Possen’ Museum in Bech-Kleinmacher where the doll’s house furniture and the building box are now on display.

Manufacture of the doll’s house dates back to 1936. At the age of 7, Madame Reuter from Pétange received the ‘house’ as a St Nicolas gift. The furniture had been made and painted by her father and her mother had sewn all the household linen and the doll’s clothes by hand. When war broke out in 1940, the family was forced to leave their home and the toys had to be left behind.

The building box, comprising model components in stone, was one of the magical gifts that a nursery school child in Hamm could choose at the end of a school year.

Club News

INDIA TRIUMPHS IN INTERNATIONAL PHILATELIC COMPETITION

PILLAGE TROPHY 2015

FIFTH PILLAGE TROPHY COMPETITION hosted by the British Air Mail Society on 12th May 2015 at the Royal Philatelic Society, London and sponsored by Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions , LLC and The Associations of British Philatelic Societies . This is a bi-annual competition. Results of the earlier Pillage Trophy:

 

The next competition is going to be held in February 2017 in Sarasota, Florida.Two teams of five member countries in each team participated. The teams were : American Air Mail Society consisting of Stephen Reinhard from USA - Captain , Allen Klein from USA, Pradip Jain from India, Derrick Pillage from UK, and Dominique Petit from France as its members whereas British Air Mail Society consisting of Peter Lister- Captain (non competitive), Jacques Bot from Netherlands, Jeffrey Booth from UK, Gerard Collot from France, Martyn Cusworth from UK and Dan Gribbin from USA as its members respectively.

 
Mr. Pradip Jain with a fellow aerophilatelist

Team American Air Mail Society won the competition by scoring 421 points out of which Pradip Jain from India scored the highest points (91 out of 100) which led to the victory of the team.

The exhibits were judged and the results were declared by the honoured judges : Mr. Ray Todd & Mr.Ross Wood. The medals to the runners up were presented by Mr. David Coogle and the medals to the winners were presented by Mr. Larry Gibson as well as the New trophy was presented to the winning captain by Chris King, President , RPSL. The awards dinner was at the ‘Kings Head’ hosted by President , Bill Trower and the toast “Aerophilately” hosted by Vice President, Eddie Spicer .

                                                                                         
The medal presented to team AAMS  & The medal presented to Mr.Pradip Jain.

Release of Golden Jubilee stamp of EIC

Golden Jubilee My stamp was released on 50 Years of Export Inspection Council on 22nd April 2015.

- Udit Kumar Saxena

Read More

Unique Conservation stamps with a twist from New Zealand

 

Date of Issue : 3 September 2014

Hi !

I am  sharing here new unique stamps on endangered Sea birds, issued by New Zealand Post. Our distinguished Reader Corinne Pegler from New Zealand shares here  information about these  stamps. Thank you very much Corinne for the information . Each of the five stamps features an image of the endangered bird with a smaller silhouette printed in thermo chromic ink. If you warm up face of the stamp (with your finger, for example), the birds turn translucent and disappear, mimicking the decline of the populations of these creatures.

New Zealand’s unique marine environment is home to a diverse range of seabirds, giving New Zealand the title of ‘seabird capital of the world’. Five of our most endangered seabirds are featured on this unique stamp issue that uses thermo chromic ink to reflect the disappearing nature of these precious birds.

Of the approximately 10,000 known species of birds, seabirds only make up a very small fraction with just approximately 360 in the world. Seabirds are classified as birds that almost exclusively feed on food from the ocean, and while some thrive in New Zealand with populations in the high thousands (if not millions), other birds are not so lucky.

Featured in this special conservation issue are five breeds of seabirds found in New Zealand – the Antipodean Albatross, the New Zealand Fairy Tern, the Chatham Island Shag, the Black-billed Gull and the Chatham Island Taiko. All five species are considered ‘nationally critical’. According to the Department of Conservation, this means that there are either less than 250 mature breeding pairs or there has been more than a 70% decline in their population over ten years or three generations (whichever is longer).

Threats to these species and other endangered seabirds include introduced predators, modification of seabird breeding habits and marine pollutants that enter the marine environment.

 

 

Endangered Seabirds

  80c – Antipodean Albatross

The Antipodean albatross is a large albatross that breeds almost exclusively on the Auckland and Antipodes Islands. They are masters of low-energy flying and forage over the contintental shelf edge and deep water areas.

$1.40 – New Zealand Fairy Tern

The New Zealand Fairy Tern is the most threatened of New Zealand’s birds. Its tiny population of around 50 birds is seriously threatened by introduced predators, human disturbance, habitat loss and coastal development.

$2.00 – Chatham Island Shag

Restricted to the Chatham Islands as their name suggests, this large black and white shag, is a conspicuous bird along the rocky coastlines. Colonies and roost sites are located on rocky headlands and islets and there is one colony in the Te Whanga Lagoon.

$2.50 – Black-Billed Gull

Black-billed Gulls are strongly colonial and breed predominantly on braided rivers from the coast to the headwaters. The species is found throughout New Zealand but is most common east of the southern divide in the South Island and in Southland.

$3.00 – Chatham Island Taiko

One of the world’s rarest seabirds, the Chatham Island Taiko’s population is estimated at less than 200. The only known breeding site is at the southern end of main Chatham Island. The bird was known from only one specimen captured at sea in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean in 1867.

Club News

New pictorial cancellation from Germany

On October third 2014 a new pictorial cancellation will be issued in 65549 LIMBURG. The cancellation is featuring a Sea trout(Salmo trutta). Interested philatelists may please contact:
Wolfgang Beyer, Vice Chairman of the German Philatelic Collector Group ARGE ZOOLOGIE.
Mail: Wolfgang.beyer1@aol.de . Postage rates: 0,75 Euro AIRMAIL, 2,90 Euro Registered AIRMAIL.

Courtesy : Wolfgang Beyer & Wolfgang Hoelzl.

THÜBRIA 2014

A philatelic exhibition will be held  from October 3rd to October 5th 2014  in Greiz, a small town in Germany (Thuringia). The chairman of the exhibition is Mr. Lothar Fritz, chairman of the German Collector Group from the  town  of Greiz . More as 70 exhibits in more as 400 frames will be shown from exhibitors of Germany and other countries from Europe. During THÜBRIA will be held a meeting and a special show with exhibits of the German Collector Group ArGe BRAZIL(collectors of brazilian philately),a meeting of the German Collector Group ArGe Hungary (collectors of hungarian philately) and a meeting of the German Collector Group ArGe Czechoslovakia (collectors of chzechoslovakian philately).

Mr. Wolfgang Beyer as Vice Chairman of the German Collector Group ArGe Zoologie (collectors of philatelic items about animals) and contributor of Rainbow Stamp Club will  show a presentation
of Indian Philately with books (from Mr. Madan Middha and Mr. Abhai Mishra ),modern stamps  and miniature sheets from India,Customized sheetlets ,special covers and Meghdoot postcards.

Read More

Exclusive Exhibition on the Indian National Flag

‘Indian National Flag’ was born in its present form on 22^nd July 1947".

The National Flag of India is a horizontal rectangular tricolour of deep saffron, white and India green; with the Ashoka Chakra, a 24-spoke wheel, in navy blue at its centre. It was adopted in its present form during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on 22 July 1947, when it became the official flag of the Dominion of India. The flag was subsequently retained as that of the Republic of India. In India, the term "tricolour" almost always refers to the Indian national flag. The flag is based on the Swaraj flag, a flag of the Indian National Congress designed by Pingali Venkayya.

The flag, by law, is to be made of khadi, a special type of hand-spun cloth of cotton or silk made popular by Mahatma Gandhi. The manufacturing process and specifications for the flag are laid out by the Bureau of Indian Standards. The right to manufacture the flag is held by the Khadi Development and Village Industries Commission, who allocate it to the regional groups.

Exhibition on the Indian National Flag,

14th to 20th August 2014,  Kolkata

 

For the first time in India, the Kolkata Regional Centre of the ICCR, Govt of India  is hosting a unique exhibition from 14 - 20 August 2014 on the Indian National Flag in commemoration of the 68^th anniversary of its adoption. The exhibition curated by Mr. Sekhar Chakrabarti features a rich collection of the National Flag symbol on myriad objects sourced from a plethora of expected and unexpected sources that are pieced together to reconstruct the history and the evolution of the National Flag. The exhibits will bring alive the process by which the ‘Indian National Flag’ was born in its present form on 22^nd July 1947".

 

 

Philatelic Tributes to  Great Singer - Mukesh

Today is Birth anniversary of India’s great playback singer of Hindi Films , Mukesh. This special Post is a tribute to him whose songs have special place in the heart of all music lovers !! 

A beautiful song by Mukesh to share with all……

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVeDXzv7AQU

Mukesh Chand Mathur  22 July 1923 – 27 August 1976), better known as Mukesh, was an Indian playback singer of Hindi movies. He, alongside Mohammad Rafi, Manna Dey, and Kishore Kumar, left such an impact on the Hindi film industry that they are still remembered to date. Amongst the numerous nominations and awards he won, his song "Kai Baar Yuhi Dekha Hai" from film Rajnigandha (1973) won him the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. Mukesh is also popular as being the voice of legendary actor Raj Kapoor.

Read More