Stamp Column Archives

The Glassine Surfer Column Archive

This column originally appeared in the American Philatelic Society's monthly magazine, "The American Philatelist." Since then some of the information may be out-of-date depending on how far back you're reading.

March 1999

The Signs of Mars

March is traditionally a month of change, danger and opportunity.  Literally, it's the month of Mars, god of war, symbolized by bloodstone.  It's an unsettled time of great expectations, false hopes, cold storms and blessed sunlight, a end to winter and the beginning of the long road to the future.

One man conjured an Empire from the bones of the past, but he missed the signs along the road.  Trapped on the steps of the Senate, Caesar could do nothing.  Ready or not, time sweeps us up and carries us away so read your tea leaves and beware the Ides of March.  The changes are here to stay.

Happy St. Patrick's Day and Purim to everyone and happy birthday to Mr. Albert Einstein and Sr. Michelangelo.

Michelangelo's Art at
http://www2.iinet.com/art/artists/major/m/michelangelo.htm
http://metalab.unc.edu/wm/paint/auth/michelangelo/

Albert Einstein at
http://www.westegg.com/einstein/

Ireland

St. Patrick's Day celebrates banshees, blarney and brogues, Joyce, Yeats, O'Casey, soft rain, green fields, families and clans, music, gaelic and heritage with parade, party and song, but in Ireland the past is never far behind.

Once long ago I wandered up Dublin's O'Connell Street to buy postage stamps and stopped in front of the General Post Office.  Outside I noticed the walls were chipped and cracked as if someone had attacked it with a sledge hammer.  I went in, pushed through the revolving doors, and came face-to-face with a dying Celt.  

Stung by an enemy lance, the hero Cúchulainn strapped himself to a pillar and to die standing, forever under the eyes of a bronze crow and all the passersby.  Long ago "a terrible beauty was born" at the Dublin GPO, and the spirit of the Easter Rising of 1916 captured by the figure of this mythic Irish hero.

Reproductions of Oliver Shepherd's statue of "Cúchulainn" are offered for sale by An Post (The Irish Post), where heritage and remembrance have been a focus, and this emphasis is also reflected by the Net's many Irish stamp sites.

Arwel Parry's site has large rich scans of early Irish issues and the IRA's civil war issue, as well as information on how the post was handled during that troubled time.  Jay Gregg's site tells the story of 1916-1923 with an exhibition of history and stamps, and if Irish airs are more than songs to you, you'll enjoy Bill Murphy's "Irish Airmail 1919-1990."

To join the circle of collectors of Irish stamps, contact The Éire Philatelic Association.  They are an international group of collectors of Ireland's stamps and postal history, and for good measure visit "The Irish Times" and "Ireland's Eye."

The Éire Philatelic Association at
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/aranman/epa.htm

Irish Airmail at
http://members.aol.com/irishairs/index.htm

Irish Stamps 1916-1923 at
http://www.umr.edu/~greggjay/irstamp.html

Arwel Parry's Irish Stamps at
http://www.cartref.demon.co.uk/eng/stamps/eire01.htm

Ireland's Eye History at
http://www.irelandseye.com/archieve/hist.html
[copyed note: yup it's "archieve"]

The Irish Times On The Web
http://www.irish-times.com/

The Irish Post Office
http://www.anpost.ie