Week #2016.02 on SébPhilatélie

Low week on the English side of the week, let's look on the French side.

Monday January 11th: Green maritime landscape from Taiwan.

A beautiful change of scenery for a quarter rate than the French worldwide mail one!

Through a Postcrossing exchange came a beautiful Taiwanese landscape. It permitted me to discover Chungwha Post's Stamp Treasure: every stamps issued in China, following the Republic of China's version: Empire, Republic, then Republic in exile on Taiwan.

Tuesday January 12th: a strange Fijian Kiribati island.
How can we discover interesting territories to create a special postal history collection? Follow some geographers like Martin W. Lewis and his website GeoCurrents. Last November he wrote three articles (1, 2 and 3) on Pacific Ocean state, Kiribati.

In the first one, he told the story of Banaban, a former phosphate mining island, whose ancestral inhabitants relocated themselves in a Fijian island they bought, while keeping Kiribati passports. But now they struggled with the Kiribati government who needs all elevated grounds in case the sea level rises too much... The Banaban elders are thinking joining their island with Fiji, quite far South.

Wednesday January 13th: Happy New Year, Foula!
A small thiry inhabitant island at the edge of the Shetland islands, Scotland, celebrated New Year on Wednesday because they continue to follow the Julian calendar, despite the rest of the United Kingdom in 1752, with one day difference since 1900.

How philatelic? Contrary to other small British islands, Foula don't use a private system to send mail to mainland. They even kept their post office, even if it's a part-time job.

Thursday January 14th: Stamp Magazine's postal marking... A postal history.
Soon on SebPhilately, I will summarize the story on how the wrapping of Stamp Magazine, the British monthly, evolved these past years.

Saturday January 15th: The Arctic Expeditions joint issues of Greenland remembered.

An experimented engraver, a ice blue background, deep black lines... Beautiful.

Again a Postcrossing postcard received recently revived memories of the two joint issued Greenland created in 2007 with France and 2008 with Greenland, all stamps engraved by Norwegian artist Martin Mörck and printed by the Danish postal printer.