450th Birth Anniversary of Galileo

 

Date of Issue : 5 April 2014

Italian Post issued a stamp on 5th April, commemorating Galileo Galilei on the 450^th anniversary of his birth.

Galileo Galilei, often known mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the scientific revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism. Galileo has been called the “father of modern observational astronomy”, the “father of modern physics”, the “father of science”, and “the Father of Modern Science”.

His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter (named the Galilean moons in his honour), and the observation and analysis of sunspots. Galileo also worked in applied science and technology, inventing an improved military compass and other instruments.

Galileo’s championing of heliocentrism was controversial within his lifetime, when most subscribed to either geocentrism or the Tychonic system. He met with opposition from astronomers, who doubted heliocentrism due to the absence of an observed stellar parallax. The matter was investigated by the Roman Inquisition in 1615, which concluded that heliocentrism was false and contrary to scripture, placing works advocating the Copernican system on the index of banned books and forbidding Galileo from advocating heliocentrism. Galileo later defended his views in Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, which appeared to attack Pope Urban VIII, thus alienating not only the Pope but also the Jesuits, who had both supported Galileo up until this point.

He was tried by the Holy Office, then found “vehemently suspect of heresy”, was forced to recant, and spent the rest of his life under house arrest. It was while Galileo was under house arrest that he wrote one of his finest works, Two New Sciences, in which he summarised the work he had done some forty years earlier, on the two sciences now called kinematics and strength of materials.

The stamp shows the statue of Galileo Galilei sculpted by Aristodemo Costoli, on display in the Courtyard of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Stamp on Michelangelo’s 450th Death Anniversary

Issue of a regular stamp on 23 March 2014, belonging to the "Il Patrimonio artistico e culturale italiano" (Italian Artistic and Cultural Heritage) series, dedicated to Michelangelo on the 450th anniversary of his death. The stamp shows  detail of the statue of “David”, sculpted by Michelangelo between 1501 and 1504 and held at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence.

 

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World War I Trench Art

As part of Isle of Man Post Office’s commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One, it commissioned a unique miniature sheet recognising “trench art”, an aspect of the “war to end all wars” which reveals more about the people involved in the conflict. The unique miniature sheet design incorporates elements of the rare artworks and a £3 Isle of Man stamp.

An important record of the centenary of the outbreak of World War One, this miniature sheet will be a vital addition to the collection of all philatelic and military enthusiasts.

The issue was inspired by the research and writing of Jane A Kimball, whose book, Trench Art: An Illustrated History, places the diverse body of objects known as trench art within their social and art historical contexts. Ms Kimball, a highly qualified academic and former academic research librarian at the University of California, has been a collector of trench art for many years, owning more than a thousand pieces.

She has contributed the text with appears inside both the Presentation Pack and Filler Card, making this miniature sheet issues as informative as it is decorative. The name evokes images of mud-splattered soldiers in soggy front-line trenches hammering out souvenirs for loved ones at home while dodging bullets and artillery shells.

In fact, most trench art pieces were created away from the front lines. For example, when soldiers were moved back from the front line to reserve trenches, they picked up spent shell casings and other debris on the way to use in crafting war souvenirs. Spent brass shell casings are the most common medium used to create trench art, but other battlefield detritus was transformed into cigarette lighters, match box covers, tobacco boxes, letter openers, models of tanks, aeroplanes or submarines, clocks, inkwells, penny banks, picture frames, candleholders and jewellery. Even a soldier’s military equipment could provide a surface for painted or engraved trench art pieces, while prisoners of war used scrap wood, soup bones, tin and other materials to make vases, trinket boxes and other handmade pieces to sell or barter for food and cigarettes.

 

Club News

On event of 80 years of Kannada Cinema their will be a philately and photo exhibition at Vismaya- Rangoli March  1st to March 3rd and special cover will be released on 3rd March 2014.The event is  being organized by Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy. For more details please contact  Mr Jagannath Prakash 
e mail : chalanachitraacademy@gmail.com

- Jagannath Mani- Bangalore

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Decorative applied art on stamps..

Date of Issue : 4 January 2014

The post of the Republic of Belarus is issued  2 stamps “Gobelins” from the series “Decorative applied art” on 4th January 2014 with sheetlets having decorative margins.. The stamps are so beautiful with nice cancellation provided on FDC.

A gobelin is a carpet-painting that is hand woven according to a picturesque drawing sample on cardboard. It is also a type of artistic textile. In Belarus gobelin weaving appeared in the 18th century under the influenceof Western Europe.

A special cancellation on FDC was alsoe carried out.

The gobelins featured on the stamps are: “Hoarfrost”, 1988. Wool, hand weaving, 100×100. By the craftsman Galina Stasevich (born 1948); “Horses”, 1997. Wool, half-wool, hand weaving, 116×134,5. By the craftsman Larisa Gustova (born 1947). Both works are located in the decorative applied arts collection of the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus.

The stamps were prepared in collaboration with the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus.

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New Stamp from India

 

Date of Issue : 24 October 2013

India Post released a stamp on Ruchi Ram Sahni on 24th October 2013.

Ruchi Ram Sahni was a Punjabi freedom fighter having a wide influence as an educationist and creator of scientific temper in the pre-partition Punjab.He was a scientist, an innovator, an enthusiastic educationist, a fierce patriot, a devoted social worker and the catalyst behind popularizing science education in Punjab.  

Corutesy : Mansoor B.- Mangalore - Blog : http://mbstamps.blogspot.in/

New Stamps from Poland

Lost Works of Art

Date of Issue : 21 October 2013

Polish Post issued a set of 3 stamps on Art work by famous artists.

World Day of Post - 455 years of Polish Post

 

 

Date of Issue : 18 October 2013

To celebrate the World Post Day and to commemorate the 455th anniversary of Polish post a new stamp was issued on 18th October 2013.The stamp having value of 4,60zl features a cross-section of an oak tree’s trunk with the marked centuries from the sixteenth to the twenty-first corresponding to the centuries of Polish Post existence.

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Stamp on Military Uniform..

 

 

Lithuania Post  released a stamp featuring Lithuanian military uniforms on August 24.

Aušrelė Ratkevičienė, the painter having created the stamp, decided to depict the uniforms worn by soldiers of Professional Military Service of Ground Forces during official ceremonies. The stamp Lithuanian Military Uniforms have been released in the edition of 80 000 copies with a nominal value of LTL 1.35.

The Lithuanian Army was restored on April 25, 1990. The country’s Armed Forces of the periods ~1200-1251 and 1261-1795 was called The Army of the Great Duchy of Lithuania. Lithuania of the period of 1918-1940 had the Interwar Lithuanian Army.

At present, the Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of 15 thousand soldiers and civil servants. The Lithuanian Army is made of Regular Forces comprising Ground Forces, Air Forces, Naval Forces, and Special Operations Forces, Volunteer Forces and active reserve.

Rock Art on New Brazilian stamp

The rock art is a term used to describe man-made drawings on the rocks. This is a prehistoric form to record the accumulation of acquired knowledge and to share culture and customs of a particular community with next generations. This special mean of graphic communication became theme of the special issue by Correios Brazil “History Set in Stone: Rock Art in the Amazon”.

The stamp shows a representation of the east slope of the Serra da Lua located in the town of Monte Alegre where the most important and best-known Amazon cave paintings can be found. On the picture the painter Mario Baratta expresses the value of relationship between man and place chosen as dwelling and shelter. The painter shows the aesthetics of the rock paintings as record of traces left by those who lived about 11,000 years ago.

By this issue the Brazilian post highlights the importance of rock art in the Amazon as a way of understanding the life of prehistoric societies. The stamp values the unique beauty of this type of artistic expression.

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New stamps from Liechtenstein …

 

 

Date of Issue : 2 September 2013

Here are new stamps from Liechtenstein to be issued on 2 September 2013 featuring themes on Sports car performing Arts and Joint issue.

Sports and Touring Cars…

The car stamps, depicting another four rarities from the world of cars, continues the “Collections in Liechtenstein” series started in autumn 2012. All the sports and touring cars illustrated in this series were built in the 1950s and are today housed in the garages of Liechtenstein collectors, from which they are occasionally brought out for a short drive in Liechtenstein and the adjoining areas.

. .

As in the earlier series the stamps are based not on photographs of these automotive treasures but on oil paintings by the Canadian artist Mark Heine. The lettering on the stamps is stamped in gold foil.

Performing Arts

 

 

New stamps to be issued on 2 September 2013 by Liechenstein on Performing Arts feature   “Dance” (face value CHF 1.00), to “Theatre” (face value CHF 1.40),  “Musical Theatre” (face value CHF 2.00) and  “Cabaret” (face value CHF 4.00).

Joint Issue with Russia

 

   

Liechtenstein Post will issue a joint issue with Russia on 2nd September 2013. The first of the two stamps designed by the Russian Post Office shows the early work “Voyage of the Argonauts” (face value CHF 1.40), completed in 1909 as an entry in a competition at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts and depicting an excerpt from the adventurous voyage of the Greek prince Jason with his companions the Argonauts; the second shows the painting “Silum” (face value CHF 2.60), which Zotow painted in 1945 during his exile in Liechtenstein and which shows a typically Zotow view of Liechtenstein’s alpine world. The two stamps are being issued in se-tenant form and are to appear both in Liechtenstein (German) and in Russia (Cyrillic).

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Painting and Poetry on New Chinese stamps…

 

 

China Post issued a set of four special stamps “Poetry and Painting” featuring: Mountain and Flowing Water, Yi Qiu lesson believers, Huai pond, Michiko painted wall.

Piano, chess, calligraphy, painting stamps refer to four kinds of the ancient art of self-cultivation, also known as Masato. “Piano”, multi-fingered guqin, also known as “lyre”, is China’s oldest stringed instrument, subtle, deep, representing ancient Chinese musical culture. The “piano” stamp indicates the high status of a piano in the eyes of the ancients. The “chess” stamp, mainly referring to chess, contains the wisdom of traditional Chinese culture and spirituality. The “book”, referring to calligraphy is China’s unique heritage of civilization carrier. The “painting”, referring to the art to depict landscapes, objects, flowers, birds, characters, pure and bright colors, abstract impressionistic style, represents independent aesthetic system and distinctive national style.

Poetry and painting, profound, elegant style, carried from generation to generation, with distinct Chinese characteristics and profound cultural connotation, is a treasure of Chinese nation’s outstanding cultural heritage.

 

Special Cover from Kashmir   Sp covers  0n  World  Wetland Day  and Destination of Water Sports were  released by Chief Postmaster General, Jammu & Kashmir Circle in February and April 2013.

World Wetland Day – 2 February 2013 : Srinagar

Destination of Winter Sports : 20 April 2013 : Gulmarg

: Raj Kumar Chaudhary – Jamshedpur  email : coinrajkumar@gmail.com

 

Club News

Saudi 2013

29th Asian International Stamp Exhibition (Saudi 2013)

The Saudi Arabia Philatelic Society is going to organize Saudi 2013 - 29th FIAP Asian International Stamp Exhibition. The Exhibition will be held at Kingdom Shopping Mall, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 11 - 16 December 2013. It will be a 6-day General Asian International Stamp exhibition and will includes Traditional, Postal History, Youth, Literature and Modern Philately classes.

Website : http://www.saudi2013.com/ 

The last date for sending entry forms of Saudi 2013 is 25th July. Interested philatelists may send their entry forms to :

Umesh Kakkeri

G-6, Prathamesh co-op Hsg. Society,

off V.S.Marg, Prabhadevi

Mumbai 400025, (Maharastra

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Stamp on Puppet Theatre…

 

Belarusian post has issued a stamp “Belarusian State Puppet Theatre.” Fairy gifts” from the series “Theatres of Belarus”. The Belarusian State Puppet Theatre was founded in 1938 as the State Puppet Theatre of BSSR. The theatre was opened in Gomel with the play “Wave of the wand” by L.Tarakhovskaya. In spring 1939 the company for the first time staged the fairy tale of V.Volskiy “Grandfather and the crane” (“Fairy gifts”). In 1950 the theater moved to Minsk. In 2000 the theatre received its present name. In 2008 it was awarded title “The honoured company of the Republic of Belarus.”

 

 

Press Clippings

 

: Pradip Jain – Patna

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Shawls from Russia…

 

 

Hi !

Russian Post issued a  set of 4 stamps in sheetlet form  featuring famous Russian Shawls.  I am sharing here  information about Russian shawls. It just caught my attention as the place, Kullu where I live is famous for shawls all over the world. It is really nice to write here about shawls of Russia …

 

 

Russian post issued a set of stamps dedicated to Arts and Crafts of Russia and depicting shawls produced by Pavlovopasadsky, Orenburg, Karabanovsky and Trekhgorny manufactories.

Pavlovopasadsky products represent a riot of lush garden and wild flowers in the corners of a shawl with garland on the border, as well as oriental ornaments imitating Indian and Persian shawls. This Moscow province was also famous for its production of patterned silk fabrics and scarves.

Orenburg shawl is a knitted shawl made of goat’s wool and base (cotton, silk and other). There are several kinds of Orenburg shawls:

Simple shawl – grey (rarely white) thick warm downy shawl. With the production of these shawls the Orenburg knitting industry was launched. This is the warmest kind of shawl which was used for everyday wear.

Gossamer – laced fabrication from goat’s wool and silk. It was used in ceremonies, festive occasions, as the schemes and techniques of knitting were much more complex than in the case of a simple downy shawl.

Tippet – a thin scarf/cape analogical to gossamer by the technique of fabrication and manner of use.

Shawls of Troetsko-Alexandrovsly manufacture of Baranovy traces its history from 1846.

Multicolored floral patterns played a major role in product’s ornamentation. The red colour, present in each element, united central part and border, background and main pattern. Along with floral patterns the Baranovsky shawls had geometric and Oriental (“cucumber”) motifs.

Among the diverse range of Trekhgorny manufacture scarves and shawls played an important role. Most products had a “classic” ornament: broad border with a lush flower garland, large central part with rhythmically balanced bouquets or branches, creating a feeling of static pattern.

 Club News

Uttarakhand: Relief Material to be Dispatched Free by Postal Department

Department of Posts has decided to dispatch Parcels of relief material free of postage charges for providing help to the victims of natural calamity of Uttarakhand State. This facility is made available in various Post Offices where the parcels upto 35 KGs of relief material such as clothes, blankets, woolens, bedsheets, medicines, tarpaulin, plastic sheets, torch, long shelf-life food etc can be booked free of charges.

The Parcels should be marked as “Relief Material for Uttarakhand” and addressed to “The Senior Postmaster, Dehradun GPO, Dehradun-248001 (Uttarakhand)”. For any information call on 011-23632391 or email: adpo-dl@indiapost.gov.in This free of charge facility will be available upto 20th July 2013 only.

Source : Indian Philately Digest

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New stamps on Music

 

     

Date of Issue : 27 May 2013

Danish Rock

Rock festivals have been an integral part of Danish popular culture for decades. Every year, Danes and foreigners alike flock to the many outdoor festivals to sea and hear both world-famous and less well-known bands. They go to enjoy the music and soak up the atmosphere, but the social side of the festival is also a huge attraction.

As a tribute to Danish rock music, Post Denmark has  issued two stamps drawn by the musician and visual artist Kasper Istrup. One of them features the iconic guitar plays as the frontman of Kashmir. The colourful fields in the background graphically evoke the music that flows out of the instrument. The second stamp portrays the atmosphere at a gig, with the enthusiastic shouts of the audience represented by the brightly coloured background.

Roskilde Festival
With more than 100.000 visitors, the Roskilde Festival is by far the biggest in Northern Europe. This year is the 43rd edition of the festival, which is staged at the Roskilde Show Grounds in late June/ early July every year. All sorts of styles and genres are represented, but rock music dominates.

The annual publication of the festival programme is an event in itself. Unlike many other festivals, Roskilde doesn't advertise the full programme all at once, but drip-feeds the public with a name here, a name there. About 200 bands from Denmark and abroad perform at the festival - some from the underground scene, others well-established international stars.

Every year, the aim is to provide the audience with an extraordinary experience. Some 30,000 highly dedicated volunteers set up the site, provide the unique festival service, guarantee its quality and help generate the amazing atmosphere. All profits from the festival go to charitable or cultural purpose in Denmark and abroad. Faithful Roskilde aficionados will recognise the guitar on the stamp. Kasper Eistrup and Kashmir have appeared at the festival several times.

Stamp on world renowned Sculpture

Date of Issue : 27 May 2013

 

Centenary of the Little Mermaid

On 23 August 2013, it will be exactly 100 years to the day since the statue of the Little Mermaid first graced the rocks at Langelinie in Copenhagen. Ever since then, she has looked out over the city, wistfully gazing at the human world she dreams of joining.

Just before the actual centenary, Post Denmark is issuing a stamp featuring the world-renowned sculpture, which welcomes thousands upon thousands of tourists to Copenhagen Harbour every year. the stamp, which is based on a photograph, was drawn and engraved by Martin Morck.

Lost her Head twice

The Little Mermaid was sculpted by Edvard Eriksen, whose beautiful wife Eline posed as his model. It was cast by the Carl N.G Rasmussen, bronze caster by appointment to the Royal Danish Court, in Copenhagen, and then mounted on its rock on Langelinie - all at the expense of the founder of the Carlsberg brewery, Carl Jacobsen, who gave the statue to the capital as a gift.

During her long life, the statue of the Little Mermaid has been vandalised several times. She has lost her head twice - once it never reappeared, the other time it was reattached after it was found in a car park.

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