Belarus Bird Stamps

This postcard shows most of the BirdLife stamps from Belarus from 2002 to 2012 (2011 is not shown). There are logos of the International organization for the protection of birds "BirdLife International" and the Belarus public organization Ahova ptushak Batskaushchyny ((Protection of Homeland Birds) on the stamps.

Belarus has also issued many other stamps with a bird theme. Pictures and descriptions of these and their other bird stamps are on the Bird Theme Stamps page here.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Thanksgiving Dream

I was born on Thanksgiving. When I was a child, that meant that my birthday was celebrated on Thanksgiving. The thing that I remember most about Thanksgiving is feeling sick after eating too much for dinner. It didn't help that my mother's taste in food was different than mine. I never liked her au gratin potato and marshmallow sweet potato casseroles. I didn't even care much for my birthday cake.

Let this be a warning! Don't be tempted to eat too much on Thanksgiving (or other occasions). You don't want to end up like this boy, feeling sick and having crazy dreams.

Visit Sepia Saturday 

for More Vintage Images

Belarusian National Clothes on Stamps

 

This postcard shows stamps featuring Belarusian national clothes. These stamps date from 1995 to 2005. Belarus also has some newer stamps showing national clothing. The stamps on the postcard and also ones issued in 2011 and 2012 are listed and shown on the Belpost page  here. 

Belarus also has a joint issue with Azerbaijan of costumed folk dancers for 2013. The stamps feature dancers in native costumes of each country performing the national dances – Kryzhachok (Belarus) and Terekeme (Azerbaijan). (On the Azerbaijan sheet, the left and right images are reversed) The next image is from Wikipedia.

Kryzhachok is a Belarusian folk dance that is performed by any number of pairs. The complicated pattern of the dance resembles a geometric ornament. The name of the dance comes from the Belarusian word “kryzh” (cross). The dancing couples form an imaginary cross by their construction, by their hands etc. Terekeme is an ancient Azerbaijan folk dance.

If you are interested in reading about Belarusian national clothing, here is a link: Belarusian Traditional Clothing.

P.S. I just looked at the mail I got today and discovered I received an envelope with one of the 2011 Belarus costume stamps. This stamp has costumes of the Kalinkovichi region.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Peace and Justice

The words on this postcard are a quote from Pope Paul VI. They come from his message for the celebration of the Day of Peace*, 1 January 1972. The complete message can be read here. The conception of peace is "that of an essential and fundamental good of mankind in this world, that is, of civilization, progress, order and brotherhood." Peace "is rooted in a sincere feeling for man," a feeling called Justice.

This postcard was sent in 1982 as thanks for a contribution to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the official domestic anti-poverty agency of the U.S. Catholic Bishops that works to break the cycle of poverty by helping people help themselves. The watercolor artwork was a gift from Corita to the Campaign for Human Development.

Corita Kent (1918-1986) ( aka Sister Mary Corita Kent) was an artist and an educator who worked mainly with silkscreen and serigraphy. Between 1938 and 1968 Kent lived and worked in the Immaculate Heart Community. She taught at the Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles. She left the order in 1968 and moved to Boston, where she devoted herself to making art.  Her artwork, with its messages of love and peace, was particularly popular during the social upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s. (source: Wikipedia)

* The World Day of Peace is January 1. The International Day of Peace is September 21.

Visit Sepia Saturday

For More Vintage Images

Mushroom Stamps

This postcard shows Swedish mushroom stamps from a booklet of six stamps issued 7 October 1978. The mushrooms shown are: Orange Russula, Common Puff Ball, Parasol Mushroom, Chanterelle, Cep and Clavaria.

Stamp booklets often contain se-tenant stamps which are stamps of different design or color printed adjoining  one another in a strip or block. Se-tenant stamps began as issues of separate designs that were simply attached to one another, but have developed into issues where the stamps are part of a larger continuous design. (source: Wikipedia) These mushroom stamps are mainly separate individual designs, but the design elements of grass and leaves continue across stamp borders, tying the separate designs together.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Sewing Trade Cards

 

In the late 19th century, tradecards were a common way of advertising American products. Sewing machines and thread were two of the products that were heavily advertised on tradecards. Collecting tradecards was very popular, and many were saved in scrapbooks.

Here I have three cards with a sewing theme. Most tradecards were rectangular and came in various sizes. Some tradecards are diecut in various shapes like the seamstress above and the spool below. The card with the girl sewing a U. S. flag advertises Wheeler & Wilson sewing machines. This card folds so it can stand up.

The main image on the front of a tradecard was usually printed in full color. Often there was one-color printing on the back with an advertising message. The Wheeler & Wilson sewing machine was the "magic silent" machine said to "turn drudgery into pastime." The strength of Clark's O.N.T. Spool Cotton was compared to the strength of  mother's love. It was the "best thread for hand & machine sewing."

 

The last card is the more typical rectangular shape (size 3" X 4.5"). It advertises Household Sewing Machines and shows one of  their "most durable" machines in use in a household of the time. This card is one of the cards in my collection of  "cats on tradecards."

Visit Sepia Saturday

for More Vintage Images

Europa Stamps of Russia

Russia issued their first Europa stamp in 1995. This postcard shows the Europa stamps of Russia from 1995 to 2011 (no stamps for 2006 or 2007). The stamps are arranged chronologically in three rows.

The Europa themes illustrated are:

• 1995  Peace and Freedom
• 1996  Famous Women (Y.Dashkova, 1st President of Academy of Science; S.Kovalevskaya, mathematician)
• 1997  Tales and Legends
• 1998  Festivals and National Celebrations (End of Winter)
• 1999  Nature Reserves and Parks
• 2000  Common Design: Tower of 6 Stars (same design used by various countries)
• 2001  Water, Treasure of Nature (view of Lake Baikal, map of Lake Baikal and the representatives of its fauna)
• 2002  The Circus (juggling, training, aerial acrobatics, magic tricks, clowning)
• 2003  Poster Art ("My first steps are toward Einem cookies")
• 2004  Holidays (beach holiday)
• 2005  Gastronomy (a samovar and traditional food on Shrove Tuesday: Pancakes, red and black caviar, bagels)
• 2008  Writing Letters (birch-bark scroll, ancient scroll with wax seal, modern letter in an envelope icon email)
• 2009  Astronomy
• 2010  Children Books
• 2011  Forests (silver birch forest and magpie)

My favorite (or least the lone I would be most likely to buy for use) is the 2011 forest stamp.

source: Wikipedia

This is a post for Sunday Stamps at Viridian's Postcard Blog

Canoeing on Lake Harriet -- Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis is known as the "City of Lakes." There is still canoeing on the lakes, but canoeing is not as popular as it was during the canoe craze that developed in the 1910s. In 1912 there were nearly 2,000 spaces available on park board canoe racks and docks at Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet. In comparison, only 200 permits were issued two years earlier, and only 485 spaces were rented in canoe racks on city lakes in 2011. (source: Canoe Jam on the Chain of Lakes)

These postcards show canoeing on Lake Harriet and the Pavilion that was built in 1904 and renovated in 1913. The first postcard (above) was mailed in 1917 and has the following description on the back:

Canoeing on Lake Harriet, Minneapolis, near the Pavilion. An unusually attractive lake and park resort of Minneapolis. Has a boulevard around its shore, 2.8 miles long, and round trip of lake on park launch 2.5 miles, 25 minutes, 10 cents.

The next postcard shows the pavilion with canoes at its lake side, and has this description on the back:

Every Friday evening, middle of June to the last of August, the Municipal band gives a grand opera concert performance with a 100 voice chorus and four grand opera soloists, general admission 25 cents, "Enjoy your parks."

The next postcard shows some more canoeists and a view of the pavilion from the middle of the lake.

The final postcard shows the sunset on Lake Harriet, viewed from shore with a single canoe in the middle of the lake. This card was mailed in January 1925. The back of the card refers to "concerts given by the Park Board every evening on the roof garden of the spacious Pavilion." This pavilion was destroyed by a storm in July 1925.

Visit Sepia Saturday

For More Vintage Views