Austria Post got Postcrossing... Warum?!!

Saturday May 21st, the Austrian Postcrossers celebrated the issue of the 24th stamp about the postcard exchange website.

A wall of bricks? (Austrian Post via the Postcrossing blog).

Artist Robert Sabolovic proposed a blurred wall of postcards. Ach! Contemporary art...

#24 (AUT #1) : issuedmis 21 March 2016 by Österreichische Post (Austria), value 0.80 euro. Design by Robert Sabolovic. Printed in offset by Joh. Enschedé Stamps B.V., run of 250 thousands stamps.

The SebPhilately's Postcrossing stamp catalogue always available on the 24 December 2015 up to date post.

Eurovision Day: Oh Happy Day!

Translated during the ESC from the article in French written at noon.

The most motivating day of the year: the Saturday of the Eurovision Song Contest final!

A competition superbly ignored by most of the French, idolized almost everywhere else in Europe, down (or up if you're from there) to Australia, and, now, by a paid tv channel in the United States.

A week of rehearsals, semi-finals and the big party... before politicking came back tomorrow.

Motto, key-picture and logotype of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 (via the Wikipédia in English).

So important, that postal operators issued stamps at the effigy of their former Eurovision winners: four stamps for Norway in 2010 for example.

Alexander Rybak, Norwegian ESC 2009 winner, on a stamp from the 18 May 2010 series, on a postcard received via Postcrossing (thank you Jörg, cancelled 3 June 2010).

Last year winner, the Swede Måns Zelmerlöw was awarded a 20 personalised stamp sheet by Austria Post (with a premium of almost 6 euros... by an operator that sell luxuous vacuum cleaner too)... For the first 2016 semi-final he sung the new scenic version of Heroes interpreted now with actual children. Even if the animated ones were artistic too.

The special sheet by Austria Post - a collector would be the name in France (to the product).

No stamp this year from the Swedish part of PostNord ; after all, Austria Post was an official partner of the 2015 contest. Moreover, the Swedish philatelic program seems light and balanced: watch the  2015 and 2016 issues still available.

A default though: most stamps need to be bought by booklet or strip of ten... even at the WOPA agency.

Obviously, the stamp promoting equal rights for lesbian, bisexual, homosexual and transgender people may have attract many of the Eurovision public to the post offices of Stockholm, being issued May 4th, a week before the semi-finals.

Issued the week before the contest and opening the Pride season in the Free World (PostNord.se)

However, a musical series was issued 15 January 2015 to acknowledge the celebrity and success of six Swedish pop artists: soprano turned popstar Robyn, disc jockey Avicii, Seinabo Sey for soul pop, singer and producer Max Martin and folk duo First Aid Kit.

Two of the 2015 stamps celebrating Swedish pop (philatelic bulletin of PostNord).

The series is pleasant to watch as it is drawn with a pen by Jenny Mörtsell, a common tool of illustration.

Now, what song has touched my ears or my reflexion during the promotions and the semi-finals? Every ones that are pop or rock... obviously or I won't be watching the show right now!

Austria again with Zoë who sings her fearytale à la Disney Classics and in French... Yes, something is not quite Eurovisionesque there ;) Pupil at the French high school of Vienna, the whole of her first album is in French. And Austrians like it since she's the winner of the national public competition. Et ça plaît en Autriche puisqu'elle est issue du télé-crochet national.

Zoë, Loin d'ici, semi-final 2016 on youTube.

In the topic: let's party but lest not forget... The Ukrainian singer Jamala commemorates the Crimean Tatars deported in 1944 by the Soviet government... Born in Kyrgyzstan from a Crimean Tatar father and an Armenian mother, her family came back to Ukraine only after the dislocation of the Soviet Union in 1991. Like France last year with the centenary of the Great War, the goal is not to win but to send a message... Will he hear it ?

Jamala, 1944, semi finale 2016 on youTube.

And finally, surprise: has France Télévision put some cash aside or win the lottery to host the 2017 edition, right between to two rounds of the French presidential (and tumultuous) election on Sundays 23 April and 7 May?

Imagine: a bilingual song any European can understand, lively, and the final broadcast on the main public channel... Something's fishy here.

Amir, J'ai cherché, the song clip.

Let's hope because he will alone on the scene. Even with the magic screens, it can lack of show. But, since 2010, the entertaining Jessy Matador and his dansers, French know that some Central and Eastern European jurys and televoters have some difficulties with the multicultural live in Western Europe.

Jessy Matador, Allez Ola Olé, final 2010 on youTube.

Anyway:

We are the heroes of our time...

But we dance with the demons in our mind...

We are the heroes...

Week #2016.04 on SébPhilatélie

Sunday January 21st: (almost) joint article on Liverpool stamps.
The French version of the article on stamps of Liverpool, England was enlarged with some British special stamps of the past (the 1969 Metropolitan Cathedral stamp, a beautiful church) and some more touristic streets to visit.

Monday January 25th: postal changes at Gibbons Stamp Monthly?
January 2016 issue of the British magazine arrived in my mailbox three weeks later than usual... with a redundant airmail/Royal Mail sticker on it.

Worse: the February issue has not arrived yet... So, who's saving money on foreign subscriptions? RM or SG?

Wednesday January 27th: same article on Princess Royal's visit to the Falkland and South Georgia Islands.

Thursday January 28th: a French minister resigned, a philatelic contreversy came back to mind.
With the departure of Mrs Taubira from the French government, I remind readers that, if one of the two alleged creators is to be believed, her hand was one inspiration of the current French definitive series.

Friday January 29th: Will the Chester Cathedral in Lego be ready before a French local post office?
A little off philately: the Cathedral of Chester, England is raising money for an educational fund by building the building with Lego bricks. In Montpellier, the inhabitants of Malbosc, a ten year old new area, are still waiting the opening of the post office that should have happened some time ago... but will wait.

Saturday January 30th: two magazines, one topic, a coincidence?
In February issues, Laurent Veglio in Timbres magazine and Edward Klempka in Gibbons Stamp Monthly complete their article like two pieces of a jigsaw.

The former told the story of "the first international regular air service" between Vienna, Austria and Kiev, Ukraine in 1918 during one hell of a period for both countries. The latter described at length the overprinted stamps of the two Ukrainian states that were independent beetween November 1918 and the 1921 peace of Riga.

With these articles, I thought that I read more articles on the Central and Eastern European philatelic and postal consequences of World War One, but not about the postal history of the war itself in the trenchees...

The Postcrossing stamp catalogue

Updated 14 July 2020 with the stamp of Brasil.


Since a post on May 17th, 2014, I have updated a personal stamp catalogue celebrating Postcrossing, a website to send and receive postcards among members either by chance through the site, or voluntarily through the forum if you want to exchange mail with specific countries or on specialised topics.

Don't hesitate to participate, even with a few cards per months: it's the way to ensure there will be a conteporary stamp and postal history in the decades to come. In ten years, celebrated on last July 14th, more than thirty one millions cards were sent.

The main source is the website's blog and, from there, the website of the postal operators who issued the stamps. As you are going to see hereunder, many post offices understood the interest to issue such stamps: encouraging correspondance, national and foreign philatelic orders, free publicity.

Shamefully, the French philatelic service, Phil@poste, did not... yet? Even a strict dictatorship encouraged its citizens to write and receive mail!

Since 2011 till today, twelve stamps were issued for this website by the will and lobbying of its members. What voluntary website can say that too?

Guernsey sympathetic stamp of 2014 (GuernseyStamps.com)

1. and 2.: 14 October 2011, by Post NL, Netherlands, 2 values (first class to Europe, first class to the World) issued on a minisheet of five of each (10 stamps).

3. to 6.: 9 September 2013, by Itella Posti, Finland, 4 designs at the same first class value (up to 50 grams nationwide, 20 grams to Europe and the World) printed on a minisheet.

7.: 2 January 2014, by Belpochta, Belarus, value "N" (surface postcard) in sheets of 12.

8.: 29 May 2014, Guernsey Post, one of the Channel Island and Crown Dependencies, value "Int Letter 20g" (first class to Europe and the World) : map-character of Guernsey wishing the reader a "Happy Postcrossing".

The Russian stamp, 2015.

9.: 27 January 2015, by Pochta Rosii, Russia, 23 roubles. Designed by O. Shushlebina, an envelope on globe decorated with all major European historic monuments and the Taj Mahal. Printing: 397 000.
Members from Russia constitutes the second group by country on Postcrossing with 3.5 millions postcards sent, after members from Germany.

10.: 29 May 2015, by Pošta Slovenije, Slovenia, 60 eurocents. A tourist jumping on a blond sand beach. "Summer is coming".

The Czech stamp, 2015.

11.: 2 September 2015, Česká pošta, Czech Republic, Value "E" (up to 50 grams to Europe ; "A" is nationwide, "Z" worldwide). The Postcrossing circle of correpondence designed by Portuguese artist  Maria Nogueira.

Let's remind the website was created by Paulo Magalhães, another Portuguese citizen.

The Ukrainian stamp, 2015.

12.: 9 October 2015, by Ukrposhta, Ukraine, value "E" (I'm not fluent enough in Ukrainian to find the rate...) in sheet of 16 autoadhesive stamps. Girl dressed traditionally sending her greeting from Ukraine to the world.
The stamp was issued on World Post Day, an initiative by the Universal Postal Union.

The Austrian Postcrossing stamp... A wall of bricks? (Österreichische Post via the Postcrossing blog).

13. (AUT #1): 21 March 2016 by Österreichische Post, Austria, value 80 eurocents. Designed by Robert Sabolovic (postcards and name of website in the color of the Austrian flag). Printed in offset by Joh. Enschedé Stamps B.V., 250,000 printed.

The second stamp of Russia (rusmarka.ru).

14. (RUS #2): 25 March 2016, by Pochta Rossii, Russia, value 31 rubles, sheet of 9 autoadhesive stamps by I. Sidenko. Envelope "I love Postcrossing" over landscape of different houses, with airplane and cruise ship. Print: 414 000.

Second issue for the Netherlands, 2016.

15.-24. (NLD #2): 29 March 2016, by PostNL, Netherlands, value "1 International". Sheet of ten different stamps designed by Reinier Hamel, Sin agency. Different landscape, monuments, activities and artwork of the Netherlands.

Second Guernsey issue, 2016 (guernseystamps.com).

25.-26. (GGY #2-3): 14 July 2016, by Guernsey Post, value Europe (EUR) and Rest of the world (ROW). Illustration by Sue Harmon, printed in sheets of 10 and in offset by Lowe-Martin. Depiction of the Bailliwick's islands (green), their fauna and flora, the sea waves and the sun.

Le timbre de cinq  nouveaux złotys (site de Poczta Polska).

27. (POL #1): 14 July 2016, by Poczta Polska (Poland), value 5 new złotys (PLN), printed by PWPW in minisheet of 6 with illustrated margins. Design by A. Tobolczyk: a red suitcase with touristic stickers, is in fact a mailbox to send postcards.

The second Belarus adhesive stamp issued January 2017, with no fake perforation (Postcrossing blog and Belpochta).

28. (BLR #2): 3 January 2017, by Belpochta (Belarus). Adhesive stamp value M (international airmail postcard), printed in offset in 9 stamp minisheet. Illustration by Marina Vitkovskaya.

The stamp from Romania issued February 2017 (Postcrossing blog and Romfilatelia).

29. (ROM #1): 24 February 2017, by Poșta Română (Romania). Stamp value 4 lei, printed in offset in sheets of 32 (18'000 sheets) and minisheet of 8 (1'000 sheetes). Illustration by Razvan Popescu.

The three Indonesian stamps issued July 2017 (Postcrossing blog).

30.-32. (IDN #1-3): 14 July 2017, by Pos Indonesia. Three stamps, value 3,000 rupees, illustrating travels through correspondence.

The three stamps of Switzerland Postcrossing blog, 28 July 2017).

33.-35. (CHE #1-3): 7 September 2017, by Swiss Post. Three stamps, values 1 franc (national rate), 1,50 franc (European rate) and 2 francs (worldwide). Designs by Max Spring illustrating Swiss people receiving a postcard and people of the continent and the world receiving traditions of Switzerland on postcards.

The Irish stamp (via the Postcrossing blog, 4 October 2017).

36. (IRL #1): 5 October 2017, by An Post. One stamp valued 1.35 euro (international rate) figuring five young peoples and other people's arms sending and receiving many postcards ; a design by Cathy Dineen.
Note: Irish postcrossers appeared in a documentary on the General Post Office in Dublin, broadcast by RTÉ in March 2016.

The stamp from Hungary (Magyar Posta website).

37. (HUN #1): 2 February 2018, by Magyar Posta. One stamp valued 120 forints (2 domestic rates: non-priority postcard or standard letter under 30 grams) figuring a postman on bicycle happily delivering postcards. With landmarks of Budapest in the background: the Danube river, the Liberty Bridge and Liberty Statue. Design by Zsolt Vidàk and printed in offsetin 60,000 minisheets of four stamps.

The stamp from Moldova (Postcrossing blog and the Moldovan Post's philatelic website).

38. (MDA #1): 23 June 2018, by Poșta Moldovei. One stamp valued 11 lei (international prioritary postcard to Europe ; almost worldwide non prioritary rate - 11,50 L) figuring a person travelling upon the globe on paths made of circulating postcards and letters. Design by Lilian Iatsko and printed in 120,000 in sheets of ten.

The stamp of land (Postrossing blog and Åland Post's philatelic website).

39. (ALA #1) : 7 June 2019, by Åland Post. One stamp valued "Världen" (worldwide postage ; 1.80 euro then). And indeed, a red world map, centered on the Atlantic Ocean, is included inside a heart-shaped stamp of light violet color. The Postcrossing name is written accross like by hand. The heart is included a perforated square, 3.8 cm of side. Design by Cecilia Mattsson, and printed in offset by Cartor Securiry Printing, in sheets of 28 stamps, in four columns of 14 separeted by 7 decorated labels on the correspondence topic.

The Brasilian stamp (Postcrossing blog).

40. (BRA #1) : 14 July 2020, by Correios (Brasil)). One stamp valued 2.45 reais. Illustration by Daniel Lourenço of São Paulo: two young people, living in different places as noted by monuments in corners, reading the postcards they exchange. This stamp is issued at time for the 15th birthday of Postcrossing.


To be continued of course (and completed when I find the pictures missing).

Happy Postcrossing to you too!

Week #2015.46 on SébPhilatélie

The events in Paris on Friday reminds us that we philatelists are blessed with many capacities (curiosity, leisure, happiness to learn, serach and find) while others are so prisoners of misfortunes in their life they end killing themselves and innocents to obey evil masterminds.

Let's philatelize! Or do sport, sing, read, watch nature,...

On the other blog in French, this week, you may be interested in:

Monday, November 9th: A sovietic Marianne of France.

In French history magazine L'Histoire this month, historians wonder how some important people in their group (writers, philosophers, union leaders, politicians, independentists of Oversea France) followed communism from the 1920s till the 1960s.

"Man, rule every of your acts with the good of the communist society in mind", said what would have been the main definitive stamp (Jules Grandjouan, scanned in L'Histoire, November 2015 issue)

One graphic example is given with this postcard by communist illustrator Jules Grandjouan, part of a series of five cinderella project stamps that his edition printed in 1925. Four of them pictured allegories of the workers, the youth, the family and French Republic's Marianne, all with socialist symbols and motto.

Tuesday, November 10th: Postcrossing's twelfth stamp.

Ukrainian traditionally dressed lady sending news to the world (from the Postcrossing blog).

During the World Post Day, October 9th 2015, the Ukrainian post issued a stamp encouraging the Postcrossing website.

Members of this international community sent each other postcards on a random fashion: you ask for a member's address and send him a card, then wait for your address to be picked by a third one. Postcrossing's forums help members find more voluntary pen pals from all over the world.

Soon on SebPhilately, I will gather the twelve Postcrossing stamps so far.

Friday November 13th: Timbres Magazine's new (?) formula.

Timbres Magaziene September issue with a big "New Formula More Articles" tag.

After three "new formula" issues and the editor-in-chief's comments in May and September, I reflect on Timbres Magazine and how the principles of the new formula deceived me on first sight with claims of shorter articles and lesser postal history, more stamps and quotes of France's and French colonies' stamps.

While, on second reading, the content of the French magazine continue to be top philately, especially a series of British maritime mail and colonial history by Laurent Veglio.

It seems that editor Gauthier Toulemonde - who is the magazine's movie director too - succeeds to find an equilibrium between hardcore philatelists and casual but very motivated collectors/soon-to-be philatelists.

Sunday November 15th: Spanish side issues at the Royal Philatelic Society London

With a personal "How can I summarize a gathering of different topics in one post", I gather three Royals activities of different nature, almost all available to non-members, but more comfortably viewed by members.

In The London Philatelist Stephen Viñales and Richard Garcia studied administrative and artistic archives of Gibraltar definitive series of 1953, with the debate on the unissued halfpenny Map of Gibraltar (and Spain) stamp. To non members all monthly issue of the current year can be buy and downloaded on the RPSL website.

The 5pm conference on November 12th by Yamil Kouri exhaustively introduced to the Spanish Antilles colonial stamps of 1855 until 1865. Three values used in Cuba and Puerto Rico with different watermarks, internal uses, even used abroad and a long development to explain the normal and the provisional problems of the Y1//4 overprints. Non-members can read the pdf while members can access the video coverage on youTube.

Finally in the same conference and exhibition room, every month a member proposed a standing collection to the curiosity of fellow members and visitors. This November Lubor Kunc exhibits a one hundred and two page on the Field Post of Austria-Hungary during the Great War 1914-1918. Far away philatelists can browse along an on-line book of this impressive study.

... (whispers between my readers) ...

Yes? The link between Spain and Austria-Hungary? A jump through time: Habsburg territories from Emperor Charles V in the 16th century until Spanish Succession in the 18th.

Jonathan Moon and the lenticular stamp

In Gibbons Stamp Monthly July 2008 issue, Peter Jennings presents his conclusions after interviewing Jonathan Moon, director of Outer Aspect, the lenticular stamp company based in New Zealand. This interview was done on 5 May 2008 for the presentation of the Austrian lenticular stamp that broadcast the forty eight pictures of a winning goal, under three different viewpoints (on this stamp, reminders here and there, and general lessons on lenticular, follow the links at the bottom of this page).

Jonathan Moon, born in 1964 in Auckland, was a young stamp collector, heir of the grand-father's collection, before he stopped during adolescence. He discovered the lenticular technology at an art exhibition in San Francisco in 1991. He found there a mean to overreach the limits of laser holograms. The company became serious in 1995 and the development of the motionstamp.

The first lenticular stamp produced by Outer Aspect was issued in 2005 by TNT in the Netherlands: there are the ice speed skaters. Moon recalled the stamps were sold out in two days.

Six postal operators have been using the New Zealander company's services, like shown on its website: sportmen and women in action, but for the juxtaposed pictures of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai.

In the future of Outer Aspect:
* as soon as the next 8 August 2008, presentation of a new stamp of Austria: a statue in three dimensions;
* around 2010, the possibility to quickly issue a stamp broadcasting the winning goal in a world sport event (Moon told about the market of soccer, rugby and cricket fans).

A philatelic precision at the beginning of the article: the resin used by Outer Aspect accepts lots of postal cancellation inks.

Back to the Austrian lenticular of May: 350 thousands units printed = 1.9 million euros of face value. Believing a research I did, the value of 5.45 euros can frank:
* an economic international letter from 100 to 350 grams,
* an economic European letter from 350 to 500 grams,
* or an interior registered letter from 100 to 350 grams delivered to the adressee.

Finally, Peter Jennings, the reporter, is a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London and of the Royal Geographical Society.

Simply Austria

Now that Bhutan's philatelic reputation is saved: read Graham Knight (in Stamp Magazine of April 2008, pages 68-70) who go see for himself, and watch the covers reproduced in L'Écho de la timbrologie of June 2008, pages 62-65,...

let's save our own European Bhutan: Austria.

For some years now, this country has been postage-stamping celebrities (the Governor of California, Michael Schumacher), spicing stamps with shiny bits (soccer cup), stamp in full soccer ball marketed plastic, etc.

Either the Austrian post is the victim of the same jealous persecution as Bhutan, or it possesses the best advertisment agency ever. Persecuted, yes! Because at the corner of a Postcrossing postcard I received, you can that Post.at still issues simple, quiet, motionless stamps, in one word : postage.

Gewöhnlicher Schneeball designed by Rudolf Galler or, scientific named Viburnum opulus.

Austrian post tackles lenticular competitors

The Austrian post likes to multiply gadgets in its philatelic program, sometimes accidentally. Now, for the European soccer championship, organized by Austria and Switzerland, it issued a lenticular stamp, that beats previous lenticular issues... technically and financially!

Here the beast reproduced on the Virtual Stamp Club: 5,35 €, with three moving pictures extract from a television broadcast. The three views show Andreas Herzog's goal that qualified the Austrian team to World Cup 1998.

Beside, the 2007 rugby lenticular stamp of France (3 euros value) is pale.

My personal podium of the European lenticular stamps that I saw:
#1: without discussion, the Swiss "Museum of communication", because it's the most useful use of this printing technology on stamp.
#2: the Finnish sky minisheet is over the Austrian and the French because of many good points. Four stamps employing lenticular views for different graphic purposes and a price that makes them largely usable by anyone on letters.
[... a large gap to be filled in quality ...]
#3: the French competitor win the race by a thin hair because he is cheaper (3 € cough cough...) than the Austrian, and the sole designed by an illustrator.
#3 1/2: the Austrian imitating television in an expensive way, like we don't watch it too much.

Have a nice sport season for those who likes to watch sport.


Same night's update:
* go read Dominique's Blog philatélie, you will be helped to reconstitute the philatelic lenticular jigsaw;
* including the hall of fame of one of these "champions"' breader, the Outer Aspect company.

2008 Austrian-Hungarian season in philatelic press

May the 90 years celebrations of World War One ending and - with it - the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, have inspired philatelic press? In any case, it is difficult to believe in mere coincidences: the four British and French magazines are talking about the philatelic and postal history of this part of Europa.

On the Northern shores of the Channel, the sexagenarian British Austrian Philatelic Society is leading the movement. Its honorary secretary wrote for Stamp Magazine of February 2008 a general articles on the Empire and its many philatelic parts, followed by Adrian Keppel's article about the centenary 1908 stamp issue for the 60th birthday of Franz-Joseph coronation. The following month, Gibbons Stamp Monthly opens its pages to the APS members with five articles: ideas for Austrian collections, Vienna's poste restante and pneumatic post, postage due and personalised stamps of Austria. The magazine plans to publish such special features prepared by philatelic associations regularly.

On Southern Channel shores (i.e. France), sculptor and politic specialist of national symbols (including postage stamps) Michel Coste animates the move on the other side of the Empire, in March 2008 issues. In L'Écho de la timbrologie, after a long reflexion on the renewal of postage stamp image thank to the numerization, he presents the main lines of his Panorama des timbres-poste de Hongrie, a timeline presented research of the evolution of Hungarian stamps. It is a sequel of the same work for stamps of France that can be watch at the Musée de La Poste in Paris. In Timbres magazine, the same Coste develops the evolution of Hungarian definitive stamps, from the same Panorama, and with hints for some further studies for definitive stamp evolution in the other Eastern European countries.

Have good reading and long thoughts.

New Stamps of the World News

Every philatelic magazine has a section which lists the new stamp issues for the last months.

In Timbres magazine, it is in fact the catalogue of stamp dealer Théodore Champion, whose founder promoted the collection of unused stamps. In L'Écho de la timbrologie and Stamp Magazine, it is a small catalogue trying to follow the news with the more informations as the postal operators wants to give (to credit the artists for their work is not usual). For magazines strongly linked to a stamp catalogue, like Scott Stamp Monthly, it is a form of catalog's update that gives the reader the stamp numbers in advance.

Reading these parts is fastiduous for me, without a goal, a good topical index or an unusually long text under an issue description. See Stamp Magazine, December 2007, page 94 :

After the orthographic fault in its own country's name, the Austrian post entertains us one more time. On 29 May 2007, it issued on purpose a stamp with an error in its design. Commemorating German pilot of Italian Formula One car Michael Schumacher retirement, the 29 May stamp forgot the 1994 World Championship title. This error didn't appear on the samp issued in December 2006. Only that some already printed erroneous stamps succeeded to reach the philatelic market... and the inevitable speculation.

Austrian post's solution was to issue the erroneous stamp on 29 May 2007, and a folder with the two stamps on 26 June 2007.

I note that the 29 May stamp is not yet declared by the Austrian post to the WADP Numbering System (WNS) while the Christmas stamps already have been.