Estonia Painting Postal Stationery

Estonia Postal Stationery
Name: The Year of Bernt Notke in Tallinn
Date of Issue: 04 June 2008

Bernt Notke (born c. 1435 in Lassan in Pomerania; died winter 1508/1509 in Lübeck) was the most important German painter and sculptor in Northern Europe in his times.

Most famous is his sculpture Sankt Göran och Draken for the Storkyrkan in Stockholms Gamla stan. An exact copy of this sculpture is at St. Cathrines Church in Lübeck. He is the creator of the world's largest Triumphant Cross, in Lübeck Cathedral. His Danse Macabre in St. Mary in Lübeck was destroyed in the course of an allied bomb raid.

Parts of his Danse Macabre for Reval are saved in St. Nicholas' Church, Tallinn. This painting depicts the transience of life, the skeletal figures of Death taking along the mighty as well as the feeble ones. Only the initial fragment of the original 30 metres (98.4 ft) wide painting (accomplished at the end of the 15th century) can be seen in the St Nicholas' Church

Comment: What a long "stamp" on this postcard, isn't it? This painting is saved in St. Nicholas' Church (Niguliste Museum), the nearest from museum is Viru Post Office. What a pity, the Viru Post Office's postmark only shows "Tallinn", and the small "g" represents the Viru Post Office.

Algeria Sports FDC

Algeria FDC
Name: 16th Mediterranean Games
Date of Issue: 03 June 2008

Denominations:
15,00: Sailing
20,00: Equestrian

The Mediterranean Games held every four years in their history back to the year 1951. The games began as an initiative by Tahar Pacha, President of the Egyptian Olympic Committee wants to make these competitions a symbol of peace in a period marked by various conflicts and tensions in the Mediterranean basin.

And the city of Alexandria, which housed the first edition of these games, thereafter Barcelona in 1955, Beirut in 1959, Naples in 1963 and Tunis in 1967, Izmir in 1971, Algiers in 1975, Split in 1979, Casablanca in 1983, Lattakia in 1987, Athens in 1991, Agde in 1993, Bari in 1997 and Tunis in 2001 and 2005 in Almeria.

In this year 2009, the flame will rise Mediterranean in Pescara (Italy) to host the prestigious sports Abruzzo 16th edition of the Mediterranean Games scheduled from 26 June to 5 July. Throughout this great sporting event will compete with teams and athletes from 23 countries bordering the Mediterranean.

The disciplines included in the games of Pescara in 2009 there were 25, namely athletics, swimming, football, handball, basketball, volleyball, boxing, judo, wrestling, fencing, weightlifting, cycling, gymnastics, karate, tennis, table tennis, shooting, beach volleyball, water polo, golf, sailing, equestrian, kayaking, rowing and wheelchair.

Algeria will take part in this edition with 17 subjects divided into three categories of performance, it will aim to collect as much medals as well as the acquisition of experience in preparation for the London Olympics to be held in 2012.

Malaysia China Relations Pre-stamped Envelope

Malaysia Pre-stamped Envelope
Name: 35th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Malaysia and the People's Republic of China
Date of Issue: 31 May 2008

The year 2009 marks the 35th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Malaysia and the People's Republic of China. A Joint Communiqué between the two governments was signed in Beijing on 31 May 1974, which formally established diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Bilateral relations have since developed and flourished over the years through numerous activities between the two countries. Malaysia – China relations are characterized by substantive bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, tourism and education. The solid friendship is reflected through exchanges of visits at the various levels. China continues to be one of Malaysia's largest trading partners.

Poland Comic FDC

Poland FDC
Name: Tytus, Romek and A'Tomek
Date of Issue: 29 May 2008

Tytus, Romek and A'Tomek
It is hard to believe that the comic book about Tytus, Romek and A'Tomek is already 52 years old, and its creator has turned 86 this year. Henryk Jerzy Chmielewski, known as Papcio Chmiel (Papa Chmiel), was born in 1923. He participated in the Warsaw Uprising. In his youth, he served in the Polish Army where he started out on his artistic career as a supervisor of a bulletin. Since 1947 Henryk Chmielewski published cartoons in "¦wiat Przygód", and then, for many years in "¦wiat Młodych" magazine. In the recent past Papcio Chmiel published an autobiography whose second volume "Tytus zlustrowany" (Tytus screened) is, as the author himself puts it, "the reminiscences of a wacky gaffer and grey-moustached artist". According to what the author said, past May he created the last episode of the cartoon story entitled: "Tytus, Romek i A'Tomek jako warszawscy powstańcy 1944, z wyobraĽni Papcia Chmiela narysowani" (Tytus, Romek and A'Tomek as Warsaw insurgents, drawn from Papa Chmiel's imagination). Papcio Chmiel was invited to decorate the wall of the Warsaw Uprising Museum with a mural. Tytus, Romek and A'Tomek that appeared on the wall were presented as scouts of a field post office.

Henryk Chmielewski is the Knight of the Order of Smile. In 2007 he was honoured with the Glora Artis Medal.

Half a century of Tytus
Tytus de Zoo is an anthropoid ape that is accompanied by tall and thin Romek and short and thickset A'Tomek. Their adventures have entertained and educated several generations of children and youth. The first episode of Tytus, Romek and A'Tomek takes place in cosmos. Next episodes (still black and white) appeared in "¦wiat Młodych". Since the mid 60's new, book version volumes of adventures of Tytus, Romek and A'Tomek began turning up in bookstores. In total, there were 31 books, such as, among others, "Tytus zostaje harcerzem" ("Tytus becomes a scout") (1966), "Tytus kosmonaut±" (Tytus the spaceman) (1968), "Tytus na dzikim zachodzie" (Tytus in the Wild West) (1974), " Wyprawa na Wyspy Nonsensu" ("The expedition to the Nonsense Island") (1977), "Tytus tajnym agentem" ("Tytus the secret agent") (1997), "Tytus się żeni" ("Tytus is getting married") (2000), "Tytus graficiarzem" ("Tytus the graffiti writer") (2002), "Tytus kibicem" ("Tytus the fan") (2008).

New stamp and First Day Cover
Three stamps with the characters from Papcio Chmiel's comic book present them in the form of photographs from police files, which show exact height of a photographed person. As a result, we now know exactly how tall Tytus, Romek and A'Tomek are. At the bottom of each stamp, there is an author's signature. The issue is accompanied by an occasional date stamp taking form of speech bubbles in use in Warsaw 1 Post Office.

Philately
Poczta Polska has been issuing stamps devoted to children's literature and its popular characters for many years. In 1962 it issued a six stamp set with J. M. Szancer's illustration relating to Maria Konopnicka's tale "O krasnoludkach i sierotce Marysi" ("Little Orphan Mary and the Gnomes"). In 1968 there was an issue of set of stamps with the most popular characters from tales, and in 1987 and 2005 Poczta Polska brought out two sets regarding Andersen's fairy tales. In 1993 it issued stamps presented characters appearing in Kornel Makuszyński's stories: Koziołek Matołek (Matołek the Billy-Goat) and Małpka Fiki-Miki (Fiki-Miki Monkey), and in 1996 a set entitled "Brzechwa Dzieciom" ("Brzechwa for children").

Slovakia EUROPA FDC

Slovakia FDC
Name: EUROPA 2009 - Astronomy
Date of Issue: 28 May 2008

On 20 December 2007, the United Nations 62nd General Assembly proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy. The Resolution was submitted by Italy, Galileo Galilei’s home country. The International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) is an initiative of the International Astronomical Union, UNESCO, and is also supported by Slovakia. IYA2009 celebrates the first astronomical use of the telescope by Galileo in 1609 - an event which had global implications. Now hundreds of telescopes both land- and space-based explore the universe 24 hours a day. Under the central theme ‘The Universe, Yours to Discover’ IYA2009 gives all nations the chance to participate in scientific discoveries and grandiose technical solutions. This year will highlight global cooperation for peaceful purposes - the search for our cosmic origin and the common heritage which connects all citizens of Earth. The coordinating body for the IYA2009 events in Slovakia will be is the Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Tatranská Lomnica. Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences on the Earth. It originated in the ancient Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations, which used cardinal points basic orientation and time measurement techniques as early as the 5th millennium BC. As a branch of science it has developed from the 16th century thanks to the works of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton. The subject of study - celestial objects - is accessible to all, so astronomy may be regarded as an international science typical of close cooperation and effective specialisation by individual countries. Thanks to concentrated efforts in three specific fields - solar and Earth-Sun relations research; the exploration of comets, meteors and asteroids; and stellar and stellar systems research - Slovakia has a firm place in the international astronomical research community. Astronomical organisations in Slovakia can be divided into three categories: (1) Basic research – the Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences; (2) Education – the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics of Comenius University in Bratislava and the Faculty of Science of P. J. Šafárik University in Košice; and (3) Popularisation – the Slovak Central Observatory in Hurbanovo and other observatories and planetaria of self-governing regions, cities, and municipalities. Astronomy fans are associated in the Slovak Astronomical Society under the Slovak Academy of Science and Slovak Association of Amateur Astronomers.

Comment: This FDC has 2 different currencies, Slovakia Koruna and Euro. it's very interesting because Slovakia adopted the common European currency Euro but the Koruna still can be used in Slovakia, I don't know what date is the last date for Koruna stamps.?

EUROPA Series FDCs:
2009 Astronomy:
Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Slovakia.

2008 Letter:
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Vatican.

China Pre-stamped Postcard JP159

China Pre-stamped Postcard
Name: The 10th IFSC Climbing World Championship
Number: JP159
Date of Issue: 30 June 2009

The 10th IFSC Climbing World Championship 2009 was held in Xining on June 30-July 5.

China Sheetlet: 2009-13

China Sheetlet II
Name: The 16th Asian Games
Number: 2009-13
Date of Issue: 30 June 2009
Value: 8 stamps/sheet

The 16th Asian Games is scheduled to be held from November 12th to 27th, 2010 in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province. Guangzhou will be the second city in China to host the game after Beijing in 1990.

Denominations:
1.20元 (2-1): Emblem
The design of the official emblem, inspired from the statue of the Five Goats in Guangzhou Yuexiu Park, features soft and uplifting lines to outline a contour of the Five Goats that resemble the shape of a torch. The design, a combination of grace and delicacy, represents the city symbol of Guangzhou, embodies the enthusiasm of Guangzhou citizens in hosting the event, manifests the ever-burning sacred flame of the Asian Games, and conveys the vigor and vitality to be staged at the 16th Asian Games.

1.20元 (2-2): Mascots
The Official Mascots of the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games are Le Yangyang and his four friends, A Xiang, A He, A Ru and A Yi, each with their own character and style. Put together, their names make the China phrase, Xiang He Ru Yi Le Yangyang, which means Peace, Harmony and Great Happiness, with everything going as you wish. As an important symbol of Guangzhou, the Five Goats also represent the five colors of the Olympic rings, emblematizing the Olympic spirit of friendship, cooperation, equal participation and fair competition. Conveying the vision of the 16th Asian Games, "Thrilling Games, Harmonious Asia," the mascots express anticipation for the Asian Games of Chinese people, especially Guangzhou people, as well as their warm welcome to people from Asia and the rest of the world.

China Stamps: 2009-13

China Stamps
Name: The 16th Asian Games
Number: 2009-13
Date of Issue: 30 June 2009
Value: 2 stamps/set

The 16th Asian Games is scheduled to be held from November 12th to 27th, 2010 in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province. Guangzhou will be the second city in China to host the game after Beijing in 1990.

Denominations:
1.20元 (2-1): Emblem
The design of the official emblem, inspired from the statue of the Five Goats in Guangzhou Yuexiu Park, features soft and uplifting lines to outline a contour of the Five Goats that resemble the shape of a torch. The design, a combination of grace and delicacy, represents the city symbol of Guangzhou, embodies the enthusiasm of Guangzhou citizens in hosting the event, manifests the ever-burning sacred flame of the Asian Games, and conveys the vigor and vitality to be staged at the 16th Asian Games.

1.20元 (2-2): Mascots
The Official Mascots of the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games are Le Yangyang and his four friends, A Xiang, A He, A Ru and A Yi, each with their own character and style. Put together, their names make the China phrase, Xiang He Ru Yi Le Yangyang, which means Peace, Harmony and Great Happiness, with everything going as you wish. As an important symbol of Guangzhou, the Five Goats also represent the five colors of the Olympic rings, emblematizing the Olympic spirit of friendship, cooperation, equal participation and fair competition. Conveying the vision of the 16th Asian Games, "Thrilling Games, Harmonious Asia," the mascots express anticipation for the Asian Games of Chinese people, especially Guangzhou people, as well as their warm welcome to people from Asia and the rest of the world.

Singapore SMRT FDC

Singapore FDC
Name: Launch of SMRT Circle Line
Date of Issue: 28 May 2008

On 28 May 2009, the 33.3 km Circle Line will join SMRT's rail network with the opening of its first five stations - Marymount, Bishan Interchange, Lorong Chuan, Serangoon Interchange and Bartley. A fully underground orbital network, the Circle Line with 29 stations links the existing radial Mass Rapid Transit lines running into the city, enhancing connectivity and convenience for the nation.

This set of four commemorative circular stamps presents a miniature exhibition of the Circle Line system - the Circle Line system map against the Singapore map, a new Circle Line station in the underground system, the new three-car Circle Line train, and the new Circle Line Operation Control Centre situated in Kim Chuan Depot - the world's largest underground depot for trains.

Denominations:
1ST LOCAL: SMRT Circle Line
The SMRT Circle Line will transform Singapore's public transport landscape when fully launched in 2010. Costing $6.7 billion, the line will interchange with the North-South Line, East-West Line and North East Line. It is intelligently designed to shorten travelling times and distance, allowing commuters to bypass interchanges link City Hall and Raffles Place, improving the efficiency of connections.

80c: Stations & Network
There will be a total of 29 stations, of which nine interchange with existing and future lines. They will be operated by SMRT staff committed to providing safe, reliable and friendly travel, enhanced through convenient and innovative services.

$1.10: Trains
Each Circle Line train is a three-car configuration (2 motor cars and 1 trailer car), measuring 70 metres long with a carrying capacity of 931 passengers. Train operation is fully automatic and driverless, directed through an onboard bidirectional signaling system. Each train is also equipped with advanced passenger emergency and information systems.

$2: Operations
The nerve centre of SMRT Circle Line is Kim Chuan Depot - the largest underground depot in the world. Measuring 800 metres in length and 160 metres in width, it occupies 11 hectares or the equivalent size of 17 football fields. The $290 million depot will hold the Operation Control Centre and provide maintenance facilities for up to 77 trains. It also houses Singapore's tallest underground automated warehouse storage system at 23-metre high, capable of storing more than 24,000 spare parts.

Lithuania Synagogue FDC

Lithuania FDC
Name: The Great Synagogue of Vilnius
Date of Issue: 23 May 2008

Denomination:
1,35 Lt: Building of The Great Synagogue of Vilnius
The Great Synagogue of Vilnius – the most important cultural and spiritual centre of Lithuanian Jews, which was widely known in the period from the end of XVI century until the middle of XX century.

This Jewish house of prayer surpassed in its size and splendour all the synagogues built in Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was built according to the all synagogue-building traditions, divided into separate sections for men and women, with special places for storing and reading Torah.

The edifice survived several attacks and fires, was heavily damaged during World War II. The Great Synagogue of Vilnius was demolished by soviet authority in 1955–1957. Part of the survived pieces of art and jewelleries are kept in Vilnius Gaon Jewish State Museum, including three authentic and priceless treasures of the Great Synagogue: a cartouche with precepts of the Lord from the aron kodesh of the Synagogue, a candlestick with a decorative vertical shield from the cantor's table, and a two-sided door from the aron kodesh.

Comment: It's a miracle, the address label lost during the way, but this FDC still reached to me.

Russia Catherine I FDC

Russia FDC
Name: History of Russian State: The 325th Anniversary of Birth of Catherine I, Russian Empress
Date of Issue: 21 May 2008

Catherine I (In Russian: Екатерина I Алексеевна) (born Martha Elena Scowronska, Latvian: Marta Elena Skavronska, later Marfa Samuilovna Skavronskaya) (15 April 1684 – 17 May 1727) (April 5, 1684–May 6, 1727 O.S.), the second wife of Peter the Great, functioned as co-ruler with her husband from 1724 until his death early in the next year, and reigned as sole Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death. More...

Taiwan Window Pattern FDC

Taiwan FDC
Name: 3rd Print of Dragons Circling Two Carps (Definitive Stamp)
Date of Issue: 20 May 2008
Number: Def.130

The design, based on the window patterns at a very significant historical site - the Longsan Temple(龍山寺) in Lugang(鹿港), is a Chinese octagonal window with dragons circling two carps in the center.

To distinguish it from its counterpart in the 2nd print released on July 1, 1999, the color of the stamp has been changed from emerald green to cobalt blue.

Comment: The 2nd FDC was sent from the Lugang Longsan(鹿港龍山) Post Office, the nearest post office from the Longsan Temple(龍山寺).

Malaysia Palm Trees S/S FDC

Malaysia Souvenir Sheet FDC
Name: Palm Trees
Date of Issue: 19 May 2008

Palms are one of the most well-known and extensively cultivated plant families. Most palms are distinguished by their large, evergreen leaves arranged at the top of an unbranched stem. However, many palms are exceptions to this statement, and palms in fact exhibit an enormous diversity in physical characteristics. Palms also inhabit nearly every type of habitat from rainforests to deserts. However, the majority of the species are tropical or subtropical as few palms can tolerate cold weather.

Palms have been important to humans throughout much of history. Many common products and foods are derives from palms. Today, palms are a common feature in botanical gardens or as indoor plants and today, they are widely used in landscaping for their exotic appearance and also due to palms being easy to manage plants.

The types of palm trees featured in the stamps represent merely a small sampling of the vast number of over 400 species of palm trees in Malaysia.

RM3 Souvenir Sheet:
Right: Serdang Endau (Livistona endauensis)
This small to medium-sized solitary palm is only found in the forest of Endau-Rompin, Malaysia. The trunk is erect and slender about 20cm in diameter carries a dense crown of palmate with rather stiff segments of green leaves.

The endemic palm of Endau-Rompin is now planted in many public parks and gardens as a rare collection of palm.

Left: Joey Palm (Johannesteijsmannia altifrons)
This medium-sized stemless solitary palm is a hermaphrodite plant of up to 5-6 metre in height. The leaves are large, entire, diamond shape, 3 metre long and 1 metre wide. The petiol is almost the same length as the leaf and has sharp thorns. Its inflorescence is axillary, and the flowers are white in colour whereas the fruits are globose 3-3.5 cm diameter, corky, very knobbly and are almost black in colour.

Comment: This is the first time that I see a special shape stamp like this.

China Pre-stamped Postcard JP158

China Pre-stamped Postcard
Name: The 60th Anniversary of The First Issue of Guangming Daily
Number: JP158
Date of Issue: 16 June 2009

The Guangming Daily (Chinese: 光明日报; pinyin: Gūangmíng Rìbào) was launched on June 16, 1949 by the China Democratic League, and is a nationwide comprehensive newspaper based in Beijing. Its sponsorship was shifted to various democratic parties in China and the China Federation of Industry and Commerce in 1953. Four years later, the newspaper began to be operated under the direct leadership of the Propaganda Department and the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. Run by the CPC Central Committee, it is now a daily paper targeting intellectuals. More...

China Stamps: 2009-12

China Stamps
Name: Centenary of the Birth of Comrade Li Xiannian
Number: 2009-12
Date of Issue: 23 June 2009
Value: 3 stamps/set

Denominations:
1.20元 (3-1): Li Xiannian during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression
1.20元 (3-2): Li Xiannian during Socialist Construction
1.20元 (3-3): Li Xiannian as the President of PRC

Li Xiannian (1909-1992), a native of Huang'an (present day Hong'an), Hubei Province, was a great proletarian revolutionist, politician, and strategist. During the war period, acting as political commissar at regimental, divisional and corps levels for the Red Army, he commanded and participated in many important battles. After New China was founded in 1949, he served successively as vice premier of the State Council, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, vice president of the CPC Central Committee, president of the People's Republic of China, and president of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, making an outstanding contribution to the building of an integral national economic system. During his revolutionary career of six decades, Li devoted himself to the liberation cause of the Chinese people and the nation's socialist revolution and construction, enjoying great love and esteem of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups.