vintage and contemporary postcards and stamps from around the world


26 March 2017

Sunday Stamps II - 119

1981, Canada,  Aircraft
based on a painting by Robert Bradford

Between 1937 and 1942, 1500 Tiger Moths were built by de Havilland. The RCAF first used this model for elementary pilot training in 1938 and thousands of pilots  would receive training during during WWII. Many remembered this plane affectionately as a pleasant aircraft to fly. This stamp shows a DH-82C in Second World War trainer-yellow flying over Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

for flying


19 March 2017

Sunday Stamps II - 118

1973, Czechoslovakia
graphic designer Karel Svolinsky
engraver Ladislav Jirka

for flowers

18 March 2017

fjords

1980s (?) Norway

There are about 1190 fjords in Norway. Some are as short as 2 or 3 kilometres. Sognefjorden is the largest and most well known at 205 kilometres with 12 smaller fjords branching of it. A fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep cliffs created by glacial erosion. Norway's coastline is 29,000 km if all the fjords are included, but only 2,500 km if they are excluded. Fjord is a Norwegian word.

a country I would love to visit

12 March 2017

Sunday Stamps II - 117

1953, Bermuda

Bermuda lies in the North Atlantic about 1034 miles northeast of Miami, Florida and 768 miles south Sable Island, Nova Scotia. It is actually 181 islands, with a total land mass of 20 square miles. Only eight of the islands are populated. It was discovered in 1503  by the Spanish explorer, Juan de Bermudez. But it wasn't until 1609 when one of a flotilla of British ships was shipwrecked on its way to the colonies in Virginia that the island had any settlement. It is believed that Shakespeare's The Tempest was based on the account of that shipwreck.

for maps



11 March 2017

molen

1980s (?) Netherlands

The 19 windmills at Kinderdijk, near Rotterdam, have been a UNESCO site since 1997.
The windmills themselves have been there since 1740.
Although I've been to Holland several times, I've only been to the Rotterdam area once, in 1980.

for Postcards for the Weekend
a favourite country I've visited

05 March 2017

Sunday Stamps II - 116

1982, Canada, Heritage Artifacts Series
designer: Jean Morin

A weathercock is a 'wind vane' in the shape of a rooster often used on church steeples, being the highest point in a village, for showing the direction of the wind. Pope Gregory, in the 6th C, declared the cock/rooster to be a symbol of Christianity which may have led to the beginnings of the steeple tradition.

for roosters/chickens

04 March 2017

PEI

At 2,190 square miles, it is Canada's smallest province.
It was named for the father of Queen Victoria.


Postcards for the weekend