Sociable Stamp Society

This is our blog for current stamp news and views of interest to the philatelist and beginner. Daily updates provide items on shows, new issues, events, what's selling, and timely facts.

Friday, April 08, 2005

Ninth Bureau Issue

Price rise for first class stamps
In the UK, the cost of posting a first class letter has risen by 2p and will now cost 30p, its first rise in two years. ...mail

Stamp Identifier
Identify your stamp. Match the words on the stamp to our list of stamp inscriptions and see what what country it's from. ...id

A First-Class Crisis In The Making?
As mail and commerce move to the Net, the U.S. Postal Service is facing a slump. ...usps

Putting their stamp on the world
Roger Heinen's stamp collection brings the great figures and momentous events of World War II to the Edgell Memorial Library. A pair of 3-cent stamps portray Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy and Gen. George "Blood and Guts" Patton. Allied forces liberate France and U.S. Marines raise the flag over Iwo Jima in stamps issued in the final years of the war. ...ww2

Stamp Collecting Trivia Quiz
Take a moment and see how well you do with these 20 questions about stamps and stamp collecting. Some are hard, and some are easy. At least they should be. ...quiz

the lanai guy | 9:04 AM | 0 comments |

Thursday, April 07, 2005

8c U.S. Grant, olive green, May 1, 1923

Malaria on Stamps
Summer's coming so we may as well get in the spirit of the season, and malaria stamps are just the thing that says hot, steamy, swarming clouds of summer fun. Actually, a nice topical site for a theme I hadn't ever thought about, though it was a keystone for people everywhere when the cause, prevention, and treatment were finally learned. ...malaria

Harburg
Yip Harburg gets his 37c stamp of approval 28 April in New York City. This has got to be one of the more obscure people commemorated by the USPS.

"Stamps Take Flight" at National Postal Museum
WASHINGTON — One-of-a-kind priceless “uncollectible collectible” envelopes and stamps—ranging from the first U.S. airmail delivery nearly 150 years ago to lunar postmarks—are now showcased in the Postmaster General’s Collection housed at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in Washington, DC. The collection is a major component of the Museum’s “Stamps Take Flight” exhibit that highlights the history of U.S. stamp-making.

Not long after the first U.S. stamps were issued in 1847, the Postmaster General’s Collection began as a Post Office stamp reference file in the 1860s. Thousands of stamps later, it evolved into a unique philatelic resource encompassing the full range of U.S. stamp production—original stamp artwork, die proofs, color proofs, press sheets, full panes, test printings and unused stamp designs. The new exhibit, with artifacts worth millions of dollars, is a tiny fraction of the collection.

The “Stamps Take Flight” exhibit also includes historic one-of-a-kind treasures from the National Postal Museum. Unless otherwise noted, the following sampling of items is from the Postmaster General’s Collection.

§ The Postmark from the Moon. The Apollo 15 Mail Pouch, inkpad and the postmarked envelope—as evidenced by fingerprints of lunar dust when postmarked on the Moon’s surface.

§ The 1918 Inverted Jenny stamp often is considered the world’s most famous stamp error. At that time, intaglio printing required stamp sheets to pass through a press once for each color. One sheet was inadvertently turned upside down between passes, resulting in the mistake.

§ The “Top Secret Stamp,” known as the Project Mercury stamp, celebrated John Glenn’s 1962 orbit of the earth. It was issued at the same time as the event it celebrated and designed and printed in total secrecy in case the mission failed.

§ The 1859 Balloon Jupiter envelope. The only known surviving piece of mail from the first official U.S. airmail flight—made by the hot-air balloon Jupiter—which flew 30 miles from Lafayette, Indiana, to Crawfordsville, Indiana, in August 1859 (Smithsonian).

This temporary exhibition will be held from March 15, 2005 through March 19, 2006 at the Smithsonian Institute, National Postal Museum, in Washington, DC.

the lanai guy | 11:26 AM | 0 comments |

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

7 - A7 - 1c blue, type II (Plates 1E, 2);

Papal See
The Vatican will issue a stamp that wil only be used during the time that the Papal See is vacant, that is after the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of the new pope later in April or May. Accordingly, the stamp will show two crossed keys but the papal mitre that marks the authority of the Pope will be missing from the design. ...JPII arms

To me, these are great covers in the making, as long as they're realy postally used and not some philatelic/vanity thing.

Robert Penn Warren honored on U.S. Postage Stamp
WASHINGTON – Robert Penn Warren—the first official poet laureate of the United States—will be honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a stamp in the Literary Arts stamp series at an 11 a.m. ceremony April 22 in Penn’s hometown of Guthrie, KY.

The ceremony will take place at the Robert Penn Warren Museum at 122 Cherry St., and is part of a week-long series of events celebrating the 100th anniversary of Warren’s birth. The stamp will be available at the museum and at the Guthrie Post Office April 22, and at Post Offices and Philatelic Centers nationwide on Saturday, April 23.

This stamp, 21st in the Literary Arts series, recognizes the achievements of Robert Penn Warren, a three-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, the only writer to win the prize in poetry “Promises: Poems, 1954-1956” in 1958, and “Now and Then: Poems, 1976-1978” in 1979 as well as fiction “All the King’s Men,” 1947.

The Demise of the USPS
A CNSNews.com commentary or rather good riddance to the post office's monopoly on your mailbox. Nice insight and also a good way to stop junk mail, waste, and printed-spam, which is what bulk rate mail really is. ...bye-bye

Patriotic sentiments covered letters of Civil War era
Nice local coverage of civil war patriotics in bloody Kansas. ...civil war

the lanai guy | 11:23 AM | 0 comments |

Monday, April 04, 2005

6c ultramarine Washington 115

Long-lost letter from father finally finds its way home
Amazing but true. A piece of WWII V-Mail from father to son finally finds its way home to the son. A good story about some of those covers we all have and what's really behind those names and markings. ...v-mail

Internet Philatelic Dealers Associaton
The IPDA is pleased to announce that Chris Stewart "Commonweath Stamps" (Spain) and Dave Ramsay "The Stamp Dad" (USA) have joined the Board with the titles of Regional Directors. ...ipda

with tongs in hand
The two most important things in philately are? The answer is easy, but the doing is harder. Stamp knowledge and good stamp sources are the most important things in stamp collecting for the beginner or pro. The two go hand-in-hand for the more you know the better your personal network of trusted dealers and sources will be. The best thing that a newbie can do is to get the "knowledge." Without it, there's bound to be some misunderstandings and mistakes, so reading books and magazines about the stamps you like is just as important as finding the right item for your album. Where then can someone find these good stamp books? The obvious sources are other collectors, who you can meet at stamp clubs and shows. At them ask for books, and let them know that you're serious. Most collectors are preachers for their specialities, and will gladly assist you. Online, you can go to Yahoo! or google and plug in some search keywords. You'll find something sooner or later. Go to the APS' stamps.org website. Then check out the auctions online: you never know what can be found there.

Useless knowledge box
A story that's meant to be understood as silly or false is a "nihilartikel." A mish-mash of Latin and German. This, you see, is the root cause of all the April's Fools Day stuff on the web. People just like jokes. ...nihil

fyi: I know that a popular speciality in some circles in Pope John Paul II. There are many issues from Poland and many other countries. Now, that the man has passed on into history I'm sure his legacy (and topical popularity) will grow, but does anyone know if any post offices are using/will use cancellations/marks/stamps to note the event. Does the Vatican use a variation of the Papal seal for mail/official mail, etc.?

the lanai guy | 6:04 AM | 0 comments |