Sunday Stamps II A-Z 'W' - French West Africa, Wales

I really struggled with this letter so much so that I got quite wild. So it seemed natural to look for something different. Eventually I came up with not one but two - 

Wildebeest

Not being able to find stamps from the states of Wisconsin or Wyoming I settled for a President's wife.

Martha Washington

I did not think Senegal would come to my rescue until I realise it used to be one of the colonies making up -

French West Africa

I have got so used to looking at stamps from Great Britain I forgot that we have a 'W' on our doorstep.

Wales - Wilding Definitive

And later from decimal currency - 

Which Welsh dragon do you prefer - Wilding or Machin?

Select your choice with an 'X' - sorry that's next week!

For more 'W' stamps cross over to Sunday-Stamps-II-161.

Women - Sunday Stamps II

I'm surprised how few women appear on stamps. Of course no-one can beat Queen Victoria's record of being first; our current Queen must hold the record for appearing most.

But do you know who was the first woman to appear on stamps from the USA?

Even there only four First Ladies have appeared on a stamp at all - Martha Washington (1902, 1923 & 1938), Eleanor Roosevelt (1963, 1984 & 1998), Dolley Madison (1980) and Lady Bird Johnson (2012).

The old album I mentioned last week had two blocks of four stamps depicting a woman who had been the leading actress in Norwegian theatre for half-a-century.

Norway - Johanne Dybwad, stage actress and producer

The other block is the 40 ore denomination, the same design in blue - issued 2 August 1967 on the 100th anniversary of her birth.

In 1963 Carole Joan Crawford had reason to pleased with herself and on 14 February 1964 she appeared on her country's stamps.

Jamaica - 1964

 I have two of the First Lady stamps I mentioned.

Martha Washinton - 1923

Eleanor Roosevelt -  1998 

That damaged stamp is from the 'Celebrate the Century' series.

But the USA stamp I'd really like to find is that of a Queen who was the first woman on their stamps. 

Queen Isabella of Spain appeared in 1893 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus's discovery of the New World.

 To celebrate other women today just visit the links at Sunday-Stamps-II-64.