Sunday Stamps U3 - Germany, Netherlands, Sweden

 Some letters are proving more difficult as we near the end of another A-Z round but the DDR gave me an unexpected surprise with - 

DDR (East Germany) - 6 December 1967

This was Walter Ulbricht, the German communist leader and someone I vaguely remember.

In the Netherlands I came across this heavily postmarked commemoration for the 100th anniversary of the United Nations Telecommunications Union (ITU).

Netherlands - 17 May 1965

Finally it was Sweden that came to mind, I just knew that Uppsala would appear on a stamp - even in this case with a double U.

Sweden - 2 June 1977

Founded in the 1477 it was a donation from King Gustavus that put Uppsala University on a sound financial footing.The stamp commemorates its 500th anniversary.

For 'u' to see more related stamps visit the links at Seeitonapostcard

Sunday Stamps N3 - Malawi, Netherlands, Norway

When I worked in Norway (for nearly 10 years) I saw and travelled on a lot of their boats but none that matched or allowed me to name ships like this - 

Norway - 7 October 1893
North Norwegian Ships

I've found some birds again this week from the Netherlands and Malawi.

Netherlands - 2 February 1999
100 years of Nature Preservation

Platalea leucorodia is a spoonbill.

For the 'N' connection of the Malawi bird you have to know its Latin name.

Malawi - 13 November 1968
Netarinia senegalensis

For other 'N' related stamps check out the links at Sunday-stamps-n.

Sunday Stamps K3 - Canada, Hungary, Netherlands

I've watched the Detroit Pistons (once, when my camera's battery needed charging) and am kept informed every year on how the Detroit Lions are performing. Of course I've heard of the Stanley Cup and how the Redwings get on and whom this man on a Canadian stamp joined when he was only 19 years old back in 1947.

Canada - 3 October 2014

Apparently we became one of the 'Original Six' in ice hockey - I have still to find out who the others are and what's behind the name.

When it comes to protected birds this is one of my favourites and one I used to see regularly as a boy about the time that Red Kelly began to play for the Redwings.

Hungary - 27 June 1991
Kingfisher

We can sometimes see a bird of prey over the fields outside our village - it's quite easy to see why it is sometimes called a windhover. How would you feel if it had these eyes fixed on you?

Netherlands - 5 September 1995
Blauwe kiekendief (Kestrel)

To prey on other 'K' stamps fly over to Seeitonapostcard.Sunday Stamps - K

Kings and Queens - Sunday Stamps II

I tried to get a link between the Kings and Queens I am showing. Let me know what you think.

Victor Emmanuel III - 21 April 1929

He was King of Italy from 28 July 1900 until he abdicated on 8 May 1946 in favour of his son Umberto II. Umberto was the last King of Italy but only from 9 May to 12 June 1946. Italy then became a republic.

Victor Emmanuel also claimed the thrones of Ethiopia and Albania as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936-1941) and King of Albania (1939-1943)

King Paul I of Greece

This stamp was issued on 6 May 1964 as a memorial to King Paul, King from 1 April 1947 to 6 March 1964. He was the last but one King of Greece before the country became a republic in 1973.

Queen Juliana of the Netherlands 1954

Juliana was Queen from 1948 until she abdicated in 1980. Her daughter  Beatrix succeeded  her as Queen; she abdicated in 2013 to be followed by her son, King Willem - Alexander

For more Kings and Queens visit Sunday-Stamps-II 124.

Maps - Sunday Stamps II

In alphabetical and date order, I have three stamps to show.

From West Africa a map of of a Portuguese colony - 

Angola - 1955

Commemorating the Pan- American Road Conference in Quito -

Ecuador - 15 November 1971

I don't usually hang on to damaged stamps like that with the missing corner but the design with the white line passing through Quito on the equator is why I have kept it.

The Delta Works in the south west of the Netherlands has been called one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. The dams, sluices, locks and storm surge barriers was the largest hydraulic engineering project in the Netherlands in the 20th century.

Netherlands - 16 February 1972

If you need other maps to find your way around the world, then visit Sunday-Stamps-II-117.

Far from home - Thematic Photography

Carmi could not have picked a more appropriate topic for me; when he posted it we were on our way ti Michigan which is over 3500 miles from home.

This reminded me of a photo I've shared before.

Add caption

It might not have been a night flight and the coasts involved were England/Netherlands/USA but yes Bob was 'creamed crackered' when we arrived.

I haven't had the chance so far to get my camera out this trip but I do have some shots from other spots 'far from home', 

Extinct volcano - Lanzarote

I never had the chance to take photos in many places I've been - examples are Mexico and Saudi Arabia. The 31 hours it took on one occasion to get back home from Mexico would definitely have been classed as a 'red eye' trip.

Much nearer home in 2003 I was lucky enough to spend some time in Monaco.

Monte Carlo - la piscine

I'm sorry to disappoint you but the yacht was not mine. This will be the place to be this weekend for the F1 Grand Prix.

I couldn't even lay claim to any of these.

More Monte Carlo yachts - more modest this time

It may seem strange to have a palm tree  in a central spot, but I wanted to include the cliff on the left. On the top of this sits:

The Palace of  Monaco (by Berthold Werner)

In those days I didn't have a camera to get such a wide field of view. This was the shot I took:

The Palace of  Monaco

But today I'm still far from home and Cody is waiting for me to play.

Patient Cody

To visit other far away places you need to check out Thematic photographic 197 

Bridges Over River Maas - Rotterdam

In May 1940 the bridges over the River Maas at Rotterdam were the scene of fierce WWII battles between Dutch and German troops. The bridges appear on my Weenenk & Snel postcards from the early 1900s.

Bridges over the River Maas

I also located another photo of the bridges from between 1890 and 1905.

Bridges over the River Meuse (French) - River Maas (Dutch)

(US Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division, Photochrom Prints Collection)

Old Views of Rotterdam

Since I joined Sunday Stamps I I have been visiting a stall selling postage stamps at Stockton Market. This week, mixed in with First Day Covers, I picked up a booklet labelled Rotterdam.

Rotterdam booklet - Edition Weenenk & Snel, The Hague

Back cover - with Weenenk & Snel logo

Inside I found nine unused postcards showing views of Rotterdam all in good condition, but obviously old. I have since discovered that Weenenk & Snel from the Hague have produced many views of the cities and towns in the Netherlands most of which are from the early 1900s.

This is one of the cards in the booklet.

Rotterdam - Plan C

The back of each card is the same, except for the Rtt number you can see on this view.

Back of Postcards

Plan C is identified Rtt 015. All cards have the Weenenk & Snel, den Haag triangular logo. The dotted line at the right is the perforation which allows a card to be removed. There is no evidence that any have ever been taken out.

In trying to identify the age of the cards I succeeded in finding another view of Plan C, together with a date of 1915, but unfortunately this date is not on the card.

Plan C - at Postcardsfrom.NL

This is obviously the same view.

The city of Rotterdam was badly damaged by German raids during WWII, with the center of the city being razed to the ground. So far I have been unable to place the location of the photo in modern Rotterdam.

I would welcome comments, especially those that can identify the location of Plan C.

I will show the other cards in later posts.

Kings and Queens on Sunday Stamps

As the first postage stamp was issued in Great Britain I suppose I should start with a reproduction of the Penny Black from 1840.

 

In searching my albums for stamps with female leaders I found stamps from Denmark and the Netherlands.

Queen Margethe, I think, who was 70 in 2010

 Queen Wilhelmina - Hollands longest serving monarch

Returning to Great Britain and with the Oscars getting closer we are hoping the The King's Speech will succeed. So here are the main players on stamps:

Edward who abdicated at the top; King George VI below.

The bottom row shows the stamp to commemorate the coronation of George VI and Queen Elizabeth on 12 May 1937 in the week before I was born.

Next is the stamp for the 100 anniversary of the postage stamp and the Victory stamp after WWII.

My last stamp today is the oldest in my collection - Queen Victoria on an 1881 issue.

More Presidents, statesmen and women, world leaders at: Viridian's postcards - sunday-stamps-7.html