1970 New Zealand (overprinted 1971 or 1973)

This seemingly simple stamp from my shoebox led me down a bit of a rabbit hole. I picked it out because of its bright colors and appealing design of a Magpie Moth and I figured the price change didn’t get in the way too much. So the original stamp comes from this lovely set of pictorials from 1970 and was designed by Eileen Mayo, but like all printed matter that goes through multiple passes, errors can occur, which you can see documented here. When the rate increased in 1971, there was no longer a use for 2½¢ stamps so they decided to overprint the stamp with a surcharge (which still kind of blows my mind as it seems like a lot of extra, and not so attractive, trouble to go through, but there were more than 37 million stamps left), and apparently the way the surcharge was printed can affect its value. There are actually three variations of the overprint: photogravure on un-perforated sheets and letterpress on perforated single sheets done in England in 1971, and then a letterpress overprinting in New Zealand in 1973. It’s kind of amazing to think of all the details and work that went into this little stamp.

This installment of stamps from my shoebox gets an extra family/travelogue spin.

stamp 1985 China; portrait and my brother George at a memorial in Humen, China

I vaguely remember receiving these stamps when I was younger and being told that we’re related to the subject, Lin Zexu, who started the first Opium War. In truth, he is related to our grandma’s cousin, so our claim on him is a bit tenuous, but I always thought it was cool that a distant relative was stamp-worthy. As it turns out, he has not only been commemorated on stamps (these were to celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth), but there are several memorials and statues of him and he is celebrated as a Chinese hero, scholar, and patriot.

1985 China

We had some down time on our recent trip and took the hour drive from Dongguan City to Humen’s Weiyuan Emplacement, the site of the burning of opium in the above stamp. You can walk through the battlements looking out on the Pearl River and tour a museum that is devoted to the Opium Wars. It had a lot of information and presumed artifacts, but it wasn’t presented in a particularly coherent way (maybe it was just a translation issue). It also had a wing entitled “National Education Base for Anti Drugabuse” which we found comical in its attempt to scare people into not trying drugs. It was a particularly hot day so we didn’t stay long enough to tour the whole area, but it was definitely an interesting historical site and a testament to how history is made by individuals.

Weiyuan Fort below one of China’s longest suspension bridges

walking inside

almost every cannon had tourists posing on it–funny to think of how many people will have the same exact shot of their visit

I really liked the design of their tickets. It was free to get in, but you had to show your passport.

Humen Naval Battle Museum

Pictures weren’t allowed in the museum, but I couldn’t help myself in the Anti Drug hall. I wish I could have properly captured the entrance relief sculptures of the horrors of drugs, but here’s an idea. I don’t mean to make light of drug abuse, but their approach was so propagandist and over the top.

uh, don’t do drugs or you’ll end up sitting in front of a chain link fenced graffiti wall

I’m still not totally sure how the whole “Christmas in July” thing seeped into our consciousness, but Wikipedia does give the history a go. I’m just taking it as an opportunity to show off some of the myriad of Christmas stamps from my box. Seems like the majority are from Canada so here’s a gander at what our friends to the north have offered in Christmases past!

These Chinese brush-painted pandas from my box of stamps are too cute. No, really. I always thought they were more contemporary looking than traditional brush paintings–I think it’s the way they’re stylized with the Mickey Mouse ears and the eyes (they look like little beads that were add-ons after the paintings were done). Actually, if you scroll down this forum page, you can see the first day covers and they’re in a more traditional style, but the other panda stamp released that year is way more so.

And well, it’s no wonder they’re so cute. Turns out the artist who painted these, Han Meilin, was the creator of the 2008 Beijing Olympics mascots.

1985 China

1984 Canada

I love the design of these stamps of Trefflé Berthiaume from my box. I had no idea who he was, but all the text running over his portrait was mesmerizing. Turns out he was a Canadian typographer, newspaperman, and politician, and this stamp marks the 100th anniversary of La Presse, a newspaper he rescued in 1889 and used to champion many social causes. But apparently the stamp has some infamy of its own–I saw it referred to as “the monkey-in-the-hat stamp” because when it’s turned upside down, there seems to be a small monkey in the hat. I’ll leave that up to you.

After watching the epic “Andrei Rublev” last night, it only seemed appropriate to share this awesome stamp from my box celebrating the 50th Anniversary Year of Talking Pictures.

1977 USA

I picked this gem of a stamp out of my box when the red border caught my eye and then the incredibly detailed drawing made me want to find out more. And what a bunch more there is! The stamp itself is jam packed with information. The upper right hand corner names the building (Lindauer Hütte, which seems to be a famous lodge) and location (the Rätikon mountain range in the Alps).

1975 Austria

The cursive under the drawing names the state of Austria that it’s in (Vorarlberg) and then there’s the designer (Otto Zeiller), year, and the engraver (Werner Pfeiler). I think it’s awesome that they each get credited on the stamp itself.

The stamp seems to come from a pretty cool landscape series based on this Flickr user’s pics. I wish I had time to research more about the series and Austrian stamps in general as they seem to take the art of making them pretty seriously and I came across a lot of really nice designs while finding information about this one.

This week’s stamp from my box is Canada’s Atlantic Walrus or Le morse.

1989 Canada

The Atlantic Walrus got a revisit in 2005 and even though the value increased and the technique was more interesting, I still like the pop graphic approach of this one.

“The Wedding” has been inescapable so I call uncle and offer a tip of the hat to the Royals with a survey of the Queen from my box of stamps.

This classic image was created by Arnold Machin in 1967 and has been featured on over 200 billion stamps! It is the main definitive stamp series in the UK and has lasted over 40 years. The stark design is fittingly graceful, but my favorite aspect is the panoply of colors.

1980s? Great Britain

I also like the colors of these stamps from Hong Kong (it was hard to reproduce, but that orange is almost fluorescent). The design is a little busy, but the squiggly flourishes are a nice touch. Here’s an idea of what the rest of the series looks like.

1982-86 Hong Kong

And this stamp from 1977 is pretty straight-forward (it’s a photo taken by Warren Harrison to commemorate the Silver Anniversary of her Accession), but I’ve never seen a price change just printed on a stamp. They had a change in postal rates and for some reason decided it was easier to cross out the 10c instead of just issuing a new/make-up stamp? Not exactly a classy move.

1977, 1979 New Zealand

It’s Earth Day so it seems appropriate to bring out the two conservation-themed stamps from the box. This stamp has a great look and bold colors (although mine is a little on the weathered side) and seems inspired by the conservation and alternative energy efforts stemming from the oil crisis earlier in the ’70s.

1977 USA

And this one is from a set of four conservation stamps (Soil, Air, Water, Energy). I don’t think soil conservation has really hit the mainstream consciousness here, so props to the Australians.

1985 Australia

Even though it’s decades later, we’re still facing the same challenges, if not worse. The USPS has just introduced a new sheet of Go Green stamps. Let’s hope these ideas take!