Sunday Stamps II A-Z 'X' Hungary, Ireland

'X' always seems to be a difficult letter in any A-Z theme. The last time it came up in Sunday Stamps I had to be a bit inventive using stamps like this - 

Ireland - 2 December 1963:
100th anniversary of the Red Cross

To find a true 'X' I had to go fishing for a green-tailed swordfish in Hungary.

Hungary - 9 May 1962
Xiphophorus helleri

In Ancient Greek ξίφος (ksíphos) means a kind of double-edged sword and -φóρος (-phóros) means bearing. This alludes to the presence of an anal fin in male fish which enables it to hook into the vent of a female fish to deposit sperm.

hellerii: honours the name of Austrian botanist and naturalist Karl Bartholomaeus Heller (1824-1880), who explored Mexico between 1845-1848 and brought the type series of X. hellerii to Vienna.

The fish has been widely introduced into Mexico river basins and now occurs in rivers on all continents except Antarctica.

For other stamps from the 'X' files visit the links at Sunday-Stamps-x.

Sunday Stamps Ii A-Z 'W' USA

The 150th anniversary of the Ratification of the Constitution of the USA was commemorated with a stamps issued on 21 June 1938.

In case you wondered how this links to 'W' the building shown is the Old Courthouse at Williamsburg.

Franklin D Roosevelt was the only US President to serve 12 years. He died in 1945.

Roosevelt and the White House - 27 June 1945

In 1903 Wilbur and Orville Wright's plane flew 120 feet in 12 seconds. This stamp commemorated their feat.

The Wright Bros with their plane - 17 December 1949

For other 'w' related stamps fly over to Sunday-Stamps-w.

Sunday Stamps II A-Z 'V' Canada, China, New Zealand

The first flying boat made for Canadian conditions was the Vickers Vedette commemorated in a transportation series issued in 1979.

Canada - 15 November 1979

First made in 1924 the Vedette gave improved access to lakes and rivers opened up by canoes. The three seater was designed for forest fire patrols and photographic work. It starred in mercy missions and saw some service with the RCAF until the beginning of WWII.

May 1949 saw China issue a stamp dedicated to victory in North Kiangsu. Today Jiangsu formerly Kiangsu, capital Nanjing, is an eastern central coastal province of the People's Republic of China. I presume that the victory refers to the war with Japan.

China - 7 May 1949

Victory stamps from New Zealand were issued in 1920 to celebrate the end of WWI.

New Zealand - 27 January 1920

The British Lion represents the British Empire with the allegorical figure of Peace.

For other 'V' stamps go over to Sunday-stamps-v.

Sunday Stamps II A-Z 'U' UNESCO

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation) was established in 1946. Since then many of its World Heritage Sites have been commemorated on stamps.

At  the UNESCO General Conference in Paris, 1968 it was decided that activities would be initiated to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Lenin, including the organisation of a symposium on the theme: 'Lenin and the development of science, culture and education'.

The symposium was held in Tampere, Finland, from 6 to 10 April 1970. Tampere was chosen because Lenin lived here from 1905 to 1907. The city houses the only Lenin Museum outside the former Soviet Union.

Finland - 6 April 1970

The medieval centre of the city of Regensburg in Bavaria was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2006 and appears on a joint issue stamp with Japan in 2011.

Germany - 3 February 2011

One of my favourite Canadian stamps shows the Kluane, Wrangell-St Elias, Glacier Bay and Tatshenshini-Alsek national parks declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979  for its spectacular glacier and icefield landscapes and for its habitats for grizzly bears, caribou and Dall sheep.

Canada - 3 July 2015

For other stamps related to 'U' please visit the links at Sunday-stamps-u.

Sunday Stamps II - A-Z 'T' USA and Great Britain again,

At school many years ago I studied American history but only the War of Independence. So in checking my stamps for today I never knew that Texas was once a part of Mexico and even existed for a short while as the independent Republic of Texas. It was only in 1845 that Congress approved it to become a member of the United States.

USA Texas State Centennial - 29 October 1945
Flags of USA and Texas

During the American Revolution a group of Green Mountain Boys lead by Ethan Allen  and Colonel Benedict Arnold captured Fort Ticonderoga in 1775 from the British. A commemorative stamp was  issued ii 1955.

Map of Fort Ticonderoga, Ethan Allen and Artillery - 18 September 1955

But when it comes to historic buildings Great Britain has - 

Great Britain - 1 March 1978
The Tower of London 

The White Tower was built by William the Conqueror in 1078.

Even older is the discovery made by Howard Carter in 1992 in the Valley of the Kings.

Great Britain - 26 April 1972
Statue of Tutankhamun

For other 'T' stamps visit Sunday-stamps-t. where there will be others to admire.