Advert Cards

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt in Autumn looking for the colour yellow

The card shows Haverigg and the River Lazy slowly making its way into the estuary. Wastwater, England's deepest lake located in the valley of Wastdale with its legend of a banshee living there.  A ferry crossing the River Mersey and Manchester Town Hall. A Marie Curie Cancer Care charity "I'm supporting" postcard, they use a yellow daffodil as a symbol.

 

 Still in North West England, the cyclist is on Blackpool promenade, Blackpool Tower in the distance. The was a card promoting the Blaze Summer Programme in 2010 which featured new work linking art and sport, people and places.

'Taxi Driver'

A Volkswagen "See film differently" card an advertising theme that ran in the UK in 2007 and 2008, part of their support for independent cinema. You can't get more yellow than a New York taxi and here the film is summed up in two objects. The taxi driver Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)  buys four guns and I'm assuming this one is from the famous De Niro improvised line "You Talkin' to Me" scene where he practices by aiming and looking into a mirror. 

I may be visiting the wrong places but it is rare to randomly come across modern advert postcards nowadays.

 So I will finish with its distant cousin the museum card. A replica of the 'Rocket' steam locomotive with its famous yellow livery. There have been many replica built and rebuilt of this locomotive designed by Robert Stephenson which won the Rainhill Trials of 1829. This year was the 200th anniversary of train travel 1825-1859 which included a replica running of this at the Shilton Railway Museum. The chimney is shorter than Stephenson's original to be able to run under bridges.

 

 

Autumn

 

2019: Autumn Greeting Stamp - Pumpkin and Grapes

Tsukimi, which celebrates the Autumn full moon, is one of Japan's cherished events, this year it falls on 6th October, a reflective time of year to go moon viewing. (The Autumn Equinox on the 22nd October has a day and traditions of its own and is a national holiday).

2015: Jersey Seasons - Autumn

Jersey Post shows the island in its autumnal light (photographed by Andy Le Gresket).

A time to walk and crunch through fallen leaves, see the sea in stormy weather and watch the wind rippling through the long sea grass.

Sunday Stamps A-Z - for Japan and Jersey - See It On A Postcard 

Orange

See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is celebrating the colours of Autumn, this week -Orange

 

one of the colours of the Irish flag.

Welcome to the 2012 London Olympics - Cycling - London Eye

Sunsets

Valentine's Flower Series No. 16

and coreopsis, which with its postcard companion, scabious, are known for their long bloom time, continuing flowering into autumn.

Island Butterflies

 

1993: Butterflies - 21st Anniversary of the Manx Conservation Trust (Artist - Collen Corlett

Butterflies who have found their home on the Isle of Man. The cover features Small Tortoiseshells 

The stamps top - Peacock, Dark Green Fritillary and Painted Lady. Below are the Holly Blue and Red Admiral. The Red Admiral, unusually for a butterfly, sometimes flies at night.

2021: 70th Anniversary of the Manx National Trust

when the Garden Tiger Moth will be flying. The moth's striking black caterpillars are covered in long black and ginger hairs so referred to as 'woolly bears'.  The small island of the Calf of Man is a nature reserve and Bird Observatory.

1985: Flora and Fauna (Artist - Ian Loe)

Hopping over from the Isle of Man to the larger island of Ireland and a Marsh Fritillary, once widespread across Britain and Ireland but has declined in number and now mostly restricted to the west coasts of Britain and Ireland where it is sure to find its preference for wet meadows and boggy places.

Sunday Stamps A-Z - I for Isle of Man, Ireland and Insects - See It On A Postcard 

Scenes from History

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is looking at History

Der Rütlischwur (The Rütli Oath) - by Ernst Stuckelberg

One of the murals in William Tell's Chapel by Lake Lucerene tells the story of the Rutli Oath which was taken at the foundation of the Old Swiss Confederacy by the three founding cantons. It is named after the site of the oath, the Rütli, a meadow above the lake. 

The Greek War of Independence from Ottoman rule. The city of Missolonghi was one of the first to rise against the Turks in 1821. Trying to get the city back the sultan sent troops to suppress the revolution, which failed. He sent a larger force in 1825 and a siege of the city began, lasting a year. The Greeks could not get food through the Turkish encirclement and people started dying. Eventually the citizens decided to secretly leave the city on the night of 10th April 1826 but their plan was betrayed and when they opened the gates in the middle of the night the Turks attacked killing all the women and children and most of the soldiers.   (The stamp is  a painting entitled 'Flight from Missolonghi' from the 1982 Europa theme of Historic Events)

A view that spans the centuries in Rome, not a chariot in sight but there are some cute 20th century cars. The Pyramid of Cestius, built outside the city walls in 18-12 BC as a tomb for Gaius Cestius stands between two ancient roads.  The entrance at that time was named Porta Osttiensis after one  of the roads.  The famous entrance shown on the card was built in the 3rd Century and is known as Porta San Paulo This is the gate the Ostrogoth entered breaking the Siege of Rome 549-50 and sacking the city. They were let in by hungry and disillusioned guards who believed the promises of the Ostrogoth that they would not be harmed. 

Hot Air Balloons

 

1997: For Us Children

The ultimate air mail arriving by the power of hot air.

1983: Bicentenary of Manned Flight

Left: - In 1859 John Wise carried 123 letters in his hot air balloon 'Jupiter', the first official airmail delivery for the US Post Office. Right: - The pioneering flights of  balloons during the Siege of Paris of which the The Neptune was the first to take off in 1870. Weight was of great importance because every balloon had to reach the altitude of at least 3,300 ft (1000m) in order to be beyond the range of the Prussian rifles. Neptune took off from the hill at Montmartre with three bags of mail weighing a total of 125g, and eventually landed in the grounds of Castle Cracouille at Evreux, 104 miles NW of Paris.

1983: Bicentenary of Manned Flight

  

Hungarian Hot Air Balloons for leisure. The captive observation balloon at the Budapest Exhibition in 1896 and the 1904 Balloon Chase Race. Balloon racing became quite popular at this time unfortunately I could only find a passing reference to Hungarian races but this paragraph of British events in 1904 gives the gist of the pursuit.

1989: International Young Inventors Exhibition, Plovdiv

 

Bright young minds travelling to Plovdiv, the tiger arrives by hot air balloon.

Sunday Stamps A-Z, this week it is H for Hungary and Hot Air Balloons - See It On A Postcard

National Parks

See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt - enjoying the National Parks

2021: National Parks

From the heights of Crib Goch Ridge leading to Snowden, from which the National Park takes its name - Snowdonia

to the lows of the watery Broads National Park, the UK's smallest National Park,. The card shows the 19th Century Berney Arms Mill In Norfolk. The stamp features Herringfleet Mill in Suffolk.

Just a reminder that as the days shorten "winter is coming" to the Lake District National Park

Geese

 

A century ago Snow Geese were rare in Greenland today there are between 200 and 2000 individuals coming in on the Atlantic flyway from Canada, numbers are hazy because of the fragmented nature of their distribution in Greenland.

1990: Birds IV (Design - Jens Rosing)

One of the 130 stamps Jens Rosing (1925-2008) produced for Greenland, he also designed their coat of arms.

1985: Protected Animals (Design - Andrea Soest)

Red-breasted Geese, another arctic goose but this one winters in eastern Europe.

1991: Postal Buildings

 Budingen post station where the stagecoach and horse riders travelled to and from Frankfurt.  Today it is a hotel and restaurant.  I wonder if the geese are going to market or just passing with their young herder.

1977: The Twelve Days of Christmas (Design - David Gentleman)

 

"Six geese a-laying"

Sunday Stamps A-Z ; G for Geese,, Greenland, Germany GDR and GB - See It On A Postcard 

Famous

 See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt for Famous People

'Magic of the Movies Series'

"They had a date with fate in Casablanca". I've lost count of how many times I have watched Casablanca. Most of the witty and often quoted dialogue was actually written day to day with none of the actors knowing until the final day of shooting how it was  going to end. The film was premiered in NY November 1942 (just after the Allies landed in North Africa ) with theatrical releases in January 1943. (Behind the Fog 10 surprising film facts)

A young Charles Dickens painted by his lifelong friend Daniel Maclise in 1839 when Dickens would have been 27. Pickwick Papers had been published in 1836 and in 1839 he had two monthly serializations running concurrently of Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby. Many of Maclise's paintings were based on literary sources both ancient and modern. He also worked as an illustrator for Frasers Magazine and illustrated works by Dickens and Tennyson among others. The two friends would both die in the same year (1870), Dickens worn out with work and travel at 57 and Maclise of acute pneumonia. Maclise was born in Ireland (Cork) so lets visit his homeland with a royal couple 

'Queen Elizabeth II ad Prince Philip on their historic State Visit to the Republic of Ireland 2011'

being shown the art of pouring a perfect pint of Guinness although both declined the opportunity to drink it, there may have been some Irish banter at this point.

Faroe

 

1981: Europa - Folklore

Faroese Folk Dancing

1983: Fish

Fish - Cusk (Bosme brosme), a cod like fish, the only fish in its genus and a Haddock

Atlantic Halibut and an Atlantic Wolf-fish, a natural anti-freeze runs in its blood.

2015: SEPAC - Knitted Art

Something to keep ones fingers warm and admire the art and versatility of wool (warm even when wet).  When the textile artist Randi Samsonsen knitted these objects and designed  the stamp she was looking forward to using it on her mail.

Sunday Stamps A-Z - In the Faroe Islands - find more at See It On A Postcard

Peril

 See It on A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt - Legends and Children's Stories

I imagine there are lots of legends abut the sea in Brittany. This one features L'Ankou de la Mer. The card shows the stretch of sea between Pointe du Raz and Isle de Sein which has always been a place of danger for sailors. If a boat in these parts encountered 'Bag Noz' (boat of the night) it was sign of imminent death. The first drowned person of the year became Ankou of the Sea, and took the place of the captain of the sinister boat. The Bag Noz could appear at any moment but disappeared as soon as anyone tried to approach it. It was especially important not to try to follow it because it led directly to the reefs, which are numerous.

This is a Winnie the Pooh story of when Seven Acres Wood flooded. Pooh bear took his honey up to a branch of a tree and stayed there until on the fourth day there was nothing left. The chapter is called  'In Which Piglet is Entirely  Surrounded by Water'. Pooh spots Piglets message in a bottle asking for help, it looks like a honey jar so that gets Pooh bear down from the tree.

Rescuing Tigger from a pine tree using Christopher Robin's tunic from the chapter of The House At Pooh Corner In Which It is shown that Tigger's Don't Climb Trees

E is for Equestrian

 

1972: Olympic Games, Munich, Germany

Post war Olympic riders gaining gold Medals in Eventing, Individual Jumping and Dressage

 

Show Jumping, Individual Dressage and Team Eventing

Individual Show Jumping

1979: Horse Racing Paintings and the 200th anniversary of The Derby

More horses but on English race courses. Mahmoud had a very successful career. Sir Alfred Munnings painted him for his owner the Aga Khan after his first Epson Derby win when the horse set  a record time that would stand until 1995. Munnings enjoyed painting Mahmoud, a much loved horse for his character. 

Newmarket in Suffolk is known as the birthplace of English horse racing The panting is by J N Satorius.

The first official running of the Grand National in 1839 at the Aintree Racecourse, the painting shows the jumping of Beecher's Brook. The jockey Captain Martin Beecher was in second place in 1839 when his horse hit the brook fence catapulting him into the water, he wisely headed to deep water for safety. After the race he remarked how dreadful water tasted without the benefit of whisky. The fence has been know as Beecher's Brook ever since.

Sunday Stamps A-Z - My E for Equatorial Guinea, England, Epson Derby and Equestrian

Fine Food

See It On A Postcard's  Thursday Postcard Hunt - Food (or plants)

A visit to the delicatessen

Russian Cuisine - Margarita Tkachenko  

Something for the cooler months. The postcard was sent from Tomsk, Siberia whose 'weather changes very quickly". The writer said she regularly cooks borsch which "combines perfectly with fresh onions, garlic and sour cream", as the card confirms.

 The highly sought after cloudberry, sometimes referred to as Arctic Gold.

 

Strawberries - Wijnand Warendorf (2012)

 

Another delicious summer berry by the realist painter Wijnand Warendorf. 

Dancers

 

1959-1965: The Copenhagen Festivals

Here Margrethe Shanne (1921-2014) dances in the ballet "La Sylphide", which she performed over 100 times, loved because of the ethereal and supernatural feeling she brought to the role.  The first Danish ballet dancer to appear on a stamp it was issued for three of  the Music and Ballet Festivals in May 1959, 1962 and 1965.

1976: 5th International Ballet Festival, Havana

Canto Vital (Vital Song), not one I am familiar with but apparently it is danced to the rondo of Mahler's 5th symphony and choreographed for male dancers. From one ballet dancer

1989: Ballet - The Art of Dance

to two

and four.

1979: Birth Centenary of Jacob Gade

For non professional ballet dancers but mere mortals this may be one of the ways to dance.  The stamp celebrates the  music of Jacob Gade (1879-1963) famous for his tango 'Jealousy', originally an instrumental but the lyrics we know today were created at a later date.

Sunday Stamps A-Z - here for Denmark and dance - See It On A Postcard