New Stamps from USA

 

Flag Series

Date of Issue 11 August 2011

The US Postal Service continues its Flags of Our Nation series with ten more stamp designs issued on 11 August 2011 that feature the flags of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the states of Ohio through Tennessee.

Barbara Jordan

U.S. congressional representative Barbara Jordan will be honored on a commemorative forever stamp in the Black Heritage series on Sept. 16 in Houston, Tex.

 

 

Date of Issue : 16 September 2011

With the 34th stamp in the Black Heritage series, the Postal Service honors Barbara Jordan, one of the most respected and influential American politicians of the 20th century. Her prodigious list of “firsts” includes being the first African- American woman elected to the Texas legislature, the first African- American elected to the Texas State Senate since 1883, and the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. Congress from the South.

Save Vanishing Species

The U.S. non - denominated (44¢+11¢) Save Vanishing Species semi postal stamp will be issued Sept. 20 in Washington, D.C.

Works of artist Romare Bearden

Four commemorative forever stamps will be issued Sept. 28 showing works of artist Romare Bearden. The stamps will be issued in a pane of 16 with decorative selvage.

 

Date of Issue : September 28 2011

Romare Bearden is celebrated for his ground breaking approach to collage along with his work in watercolors, oils, and other media. His art has been praised for depicting African-American experience in its full dimensionality and is in the permanent collections of major museums across USA.

Obama Stamp from Russia – Fact or Mystery

 

It is a label and not a real stamp

The recent news published by  Voice of Russia about the issue of Obama stamp by Russia Post created a great interest in philatelic community. The stamp is one of the most searched stamps on Internet by collectors in the last few days. The picture of  stamp and cover shown by some sites ( also given here) are just imaginary stamp and not the real stamp. One can closely observe the picture here. The name of country  is not mentioned any where on the stamp. How does it show that it has been issued by Russian Post ??? No sign of issuing postal authority. If it is just a souvenir item by Russian Post, the name of the issuing authority must be given on the stamp.

If any collector comes across the genuine stamp on Obama by Russian Post may kindly share the image on this blog. A website “ Russia Post “ available in Russian only but on translation gives following news. However this  is not the official website of Russia Post. From all resources it is clear that  Russia has not issued any stamp on Obama.

I shall be thankful if any philatelist or collector from Russia could clarify the doubt about ……. Obama Stamp . Readers are most welcome to give their views on this issue….

The news on a Russian  site

On the anniversary of Barack Obama has released a Russian Post a souvenir set of vignettes and envelopes featuring the U.S. president. Rather than face value for the money gift sets bear the number "50". August 4th Barack Obama will be celebrating its fiftieth birthday.

View this link :   Почта России поздравила президента Америки

 

Fake cover of  so called Obama stamp

Recent stamps issued by Russian Post

 

Date of Issue : 15 August 2011

Date of Issue : 1 August 2011

Date of Issue : 29 July 2011

The list of stamps given on official site of Russia Post

These are  the screen shots taken from official website of Russia Post.  Obama stamp is not listed any where on the list.

 

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Support Anna…Make a new India !!

Indian common man is against corruption, and the its time to introduce a new and strong anti-corruption law that would help to stop all corruption in India.

 

Pierre de Fermat's birthday celebrated in Google Doodle

 

 

La Poste commemorated Pierre de Fermat's  400th birth anniversary on a postage stamp in 2001

 

Hi ! Just received a mail from Mr Anurag Pratap of Silvassa about this news with the postage stamp issued by French Post…I wish  to share it with the readers …Some might have noticed it in 17th August 2011 in Google Doodle ….Those who have not noticed, might like the stamp issued on great “Amateur Mathematician” !  Mathematics  is a wonderful theme for the lovers of this subject ! This is all in this Post…Have a Nice Time !

The birthday of Pierre de Fermat, the 17th century French lawyer famous for the so-called 'Fermat's Last Theorem' mathematical puzzle, was celebrated in a Google Doodle on 17th August 2011. Because Ferment did not spread his work through books and journals and he often did not provide any proof for his theorems he was referred to as an 'amateur' mathematician, but that the same time Fermat is also considered to be one of the two (the other being Rene Descartes) leading mathematicians of the first half of the 17th century. Pierre de Fermat died at the age of 63 on January 12, 1665 at Castres, France.

Google doodles have gained immense popularity over the past few years and the Google team has put out commemorative doodles on events ranging from news events, civic milestones, birthdays, death anniversaries and important dates in history. Google estimates it has created more than 900 doodles since 1998, with 270 of them running in 2010.

The Doodle of  Pierre de Fermat shows a blackboard with algebraic symbols on it, with the word "Google" faintly visible as though rubbed out earlier. The symbols read: xⁿ + yⁿ ≠ zⁿ. If you hover your mouse over the Doodle, the pop-up text reads "I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this theorem, which this doodle is too small to contain."

Pierre de Fermat, was born on 17 August 1601, 410 years ago. A lawyer at the Parlement of Toulouse and a gifted amateur mathematician, he made breakthroughs in several fields of calculus, probability, geometry and number theory, but is best known for a brief note he made in the margin of a book of arithmetic. His enigmatic aside set the scene for perhaps the greatest mathematical mystery of all time.

Read More….

New Stamp…

Joint Issue : Portugal - Thailand

 

Date of Issue : 20 July 2011

Diplomatic Relations : Portugal - Thailand

 

500 Years of the Arrival of the Portuguese to Siam and the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations

Five centuries of unbroken relations from 1511 to 2011 between Portugal, the oldest established nation in the West, and Thailand, the only Southeast Asian State ever to be colonized,  go far beyond simple trade contacts and are a unique case in the annals of international relations, with diplomatic, political, military, religious, cultural and sociological dimensions. The relationship from the very beginning was one between equal nation states.

 
In the former capital, Ayutthaya, where a Portuguese district with churches and a mixed Luso Thai population long existed, generations of naval pilots, soldiers, interpreters and doctors loyally served the Kings of Siam. From the 16th to the 18th Century, portuguese was the lingua franca, and it was here that the Portuguese introduced technology and the skills of military construction, as well as European pharmacology and medicine.

Sia, was closely connected to the Asian possessions of the Portuguese Crown and received large and important embassies from Portuguese centres such as Malacca, Macau and Goa, The relations between the two countries remained unaltered, even during the troubled times of the war of liberation led by King Taksin – whose personal guard was provided by Portuguese military men – and Rama I, who received important military assistance from the Portuguese Queen Dona Maria I, in 1796.

In 1820, Siam and Portugal signed the first written treaty of modern times, ensuring Siam’s full integration in to the international community. During the period of the major reforms that took place during  the 19th century and the  beginning of the 20th century, under the reign of Rama V and Rama VI, many Portuguese from Macau settled in Bangkok acting as advisors to the Siamese government. Unlike other foreigners, they became Siamese citizens and received Thai citizenship. The history of this old alliance is an eloquent and pioneering example of fruitful dialogue between civilizations.

Club News

 

PHILANIPPON – 2011
World stamp exhibition, Yokohama city, Japan (28th July – 2nd August 2011)

Pradeep Jain from Patna writes…

Participating in Philanippon 2011 as a booth holder representing India, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka was a very pleasant experience. Being my first visit to Japan, I was excited on one hand but anxious on the other given the unfamiliar culture, taste and preferences and above all difference in language.

( From L to R ) : Mr Pradip Jain, Mr AR Singhee (Jury ) Mr Tay Peng Hian, RDP President FIP, Mrs Singhee, Mrs Pramila Jain and Mr Praggya Kothari

Exhibition hall was well organised and perfectly laid out providing sufficient displays and space for the visitors. The end of the exhibition hall featured rows of collections of various categories. One side of the hall had space for postal operators and the other side for domestic and international dealers. My most memorable moment was watching kids
engrossed in various activities spread across the exhibition hall. Another Interesting feature of the Exhibition was the presence of various security printer international and domestic who were giving out special souvenirs.

Visitors at Mr Pradip Jain’s Booth

A special mention of Cartor Security printers - who had brought in their printing machine in the the exhibition hall. Visitors were provided hands-on demo and interesting souvenirs which was printed and perforated on spot was given as gift. Over the next few days as the crowd of stamp lovers increased, I am especially grateful to Japan Post for arranging a volunteer that provided assistance to us in the booth during the crucial hours of massive crowd.

Overall my experience of Phila Nippon, Japan post and Japan was of immense satisfaction. Starting from our arrival,hotel accommodation, exhibition and finally custom clearance and departure, I had never witnessed anything so smooth, well managed and professionally handled. In the face of great natural calamity faced by Japanese, organising an event of such magnitude with great efficiency is remarkable achievement in itself. My Heartiest gratitude to organizers of Phila Nippon and People of Japan for their services and hospitality which i shall carry with me for my life.

New stamps from Italy…

 

Art and artists

 

Posteitaline  has issued a Miniature sheet commemorating Giorgio Vasari , famous Italian artist on 30 July 2011 and a set of five stamps on Tourism on 23 July 2011. The four Tourism stamps feature scenic beauty of Italy with a stamp depicting the Tourism Theme.

    

               Vasari's self-portrait                                                        

Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian painter, writer, historian and architect, who is today famous for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.The stamp reproduces a part of the "St. Luke painting the Virgin" that Giorgio Vasari created around 1565 in the Chapel of the Painters of the Basilica of SS. Annunziata in Florence. The Lives of the Artists) is perhaps the most important book on the history of art ever written. In this work Vasari made famous the term 'Rinascita', or Renaissance. The Lives is an invaluable source of information about the early artists of Italy.

  

            The Vasari Corridor passing over the Ponte Vecchio       The Loggia of Vasari in Arezzo

As an architect, Vasari was perhaps more successful than as a painter. In Florence, Vasari also built the long passage, now called Vasari Corridor, which connects the Uffizi with the Palazzo Pitti on the other side of the river. The enclosed corridor passes alongside the River Arno on an arcade, crosses the Ponte Vecchio and winds around the exterior of several buildings.

Read More…

 

Tourism

 

  

       

Date of Issue : 23 July 2011

 

Great stories by Great authors….

 

The U.S. Postal Service will honor the 150th anniversary of the birth of O. Henry with a 2012 Forever stamp. The design of the stamp is beautiful. Here I just wish to share his most famous story “The Gift of Magi” and  famous  Hindi film ‘Raincoat’ based on this story……The great story by great author….This is all in this Post….Have a Nice Time !

O. Henry is the pen name of writer William S. Porter, 1862-1910. The O. Henry drawing is based on a photograph of the author as a young man. The background image is the elevated rail in New York City, where many of O. Henry's stories were set. O. Henry wrote nearly 300 stories, including "The Gift of the Magi," "The Ransom of Red Chief" and "The Cop and the Anthem." O. Henry has an annual anthology named after him, The O. Henry Prize Stories. The O. Henry stamp will be the 28th stamp in the Literary Arts series by USPS.

A postage stamp on O Henry was also issued by then USSR in 1962,

 O. Henry (1862-1910) was a prolific American short-story writer, a master of surprise endings, who wrote about the life of ordinary people in New York City. A twist of plot, which turns on an ironic or coincidental circumstance, is typical of O. Henry's stories. O. Henry’s real name was William Sydney Porter and he was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on September 11, 1862. At age of 20 (1882) he moved to Texas, where he had various jobs.

In 1894 while working for First National Bank in Austin, Porter was accused of stealing $4000. He went to prison in Columbus, Ohio for 3 years eventually.While in prison Porter first started to write short stories and it’s believed that he has found his writer’s pseudonym there. After Porter was released from the prison in 1901, he changed his name to O. Henry and moved to New York in 1902.From December 1903 to January 1906 o. Henry wrote a story a week for the New York World magazine, and published several short stories in other magazines.O. Henry’s short stories are famous for their surprise endings and humor.O. Henry's wrote such classic short stories as The Ransom of Red Chief, “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Furnished Room”.In his last years O. Henry had financial and health problems.  O. Henry died on June 5, 1910 in New York City. 

"The Gift of the Magi" is a popular Christmas story about love and sacrifice. The work is one of the most famous stories by O. Henry.

"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story written by O. Henry , about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, it has been a popular one for adaptation, especially for presentation during the Christmas season.

 

Young married couple Della and James "Jim" Dillingham Young are very much in love with each other but can barely afford their one-room apartment due to their very bad economic situation. For Christmas, Della decides to buy Jim a chain for his prized pocket watch given to him by his father's father. To raise the funds, she has her long, beautiful hair cut off and sold to make a wig. Meanwhile, Jim decides to sell his watch to buy Della a beautiful set of combs made out of tortoiseshell and jewels for her lovely, knee-length brown hair. Although each is disappointed to find the gift they chose rendered useless, each is pleased with the gift that they received, because it represents their love for one another.

Read full orignial story….

Raincoat is a 2004 Hindi film directed by Rituparno Ghosh, and starring Ajay Devgan and Aishwarya Rai. It tells the story of two lovers, separated by destiny, who meet again one day. This encounter allows each to realize the truth about the lives they are living. It is an adaptation of the short story The Gift of the Magi (1906) by O Henry .

The story begins with unemployed Manu (Ajay Devgan), from Bhagalpur in search of money to finance his new business as he has lost his earlier job at a jute mill. On his quest, he visits Neeru (Aishwarya Rai) in Calcutta, to whom he was engaged six years ago. During the rainy evening, the couple reminisce about their former love and how each ended up in their current situation.

Neeru pretends to lead a happy and prosperous life. She gestures to her former lover during various instances, particularly when the door bell rings and she persuades Manu not to open the door. They go on talking about their past and present with multiple flashbacks.

The raincoat comes to play when Neeru wears it to fetch some food. The landlord speaks of the real situation of the household, and prompts Manu to give his borrowed money as rent for the house. Manu leaves a letter under the bed sheet explaining things. When Neeru returns he does not say anything about his encounter with her landlord. After some time Manu leaves. Later, when he puts his hand inside the pocket of his raincoat, he finds a pair of gold bangles that belonged to Neeru, along with a letter saying that she had a lot of money and he should have told her about his financial situation. She had actually read a letter that was inside the raincoat that informed her about Manu's condition.

RAINCOAT: An excellent touching movie to heart with its most simplicity based on O Henry’ s story “ The Gift of Magi”

New Stamps from UN Postal Administration..

 

Date of Issue : 1 July 2011

On 1 July 2011, the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) issued a set of six commemorative stamps with the theme "ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) - Education".

The stamp designs are based on six internationally agreed "Education for All" goals which aim to meet the learning needs of all children and adults by 2015.

Education is a fundamental human right and essential for the exercise of all other human rights. It promotes individual freedom and empowerment and yields important development benefits. Education is a powerful tool by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and participate fully as citizens. Yet millions of children and adults remain deprived of educational opportunities, many as a result of poverty.

United Nations 30 Years of a World Living with AIDS

 

Date of Issue : 3 June 2011

On 3 June 2011, the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) issued a stamp issue commemorating 30 years of a world living with AIDS.

The issue consists of three self-adhesive stamps in a ribbon die-cut shape in mini-sheets of four stamps in the denominations of US$ 0.44, CHF 1.30 and € 0.70. This is the first time ever that UNPA has issued self-adhesive stamps.

The United Nations Postal Administration is part of a global initiative of participating postal administrations around the world who are issuing stamps on the topic of HIV/AIDS in 2011 in order to raise awareness of HIV prevention and to reduce the number of new infections. This initiative was organized by the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNI Global Union.

Special Covers 

Tamil Nadu

 

: Ashwani Dubey - Gorakhpur