U for USA

 

1997: Bugs Bunny

"Whats up Doc?"

2004: Disney Cartoon Characters

Bambi and Thumper the classic 1942 film and Pinocchio and Jiminy Cricket, the 1940 film which featured the Academy Award winning song - 'When You Wish Upon a Star"

2014: Batman 75th Anniversary

The inspiration for all those Batman movies began with a comic strip.  Stamp collecting played a role in the childhood of Bruce Wayne who shared the hobby with his father in the comic books of the 1950s. He probably was too busy fighting for justice as Batman to continue with the hobby after that, but maybe he still has quiet moments with his stamp collection.

2001: Porky Pig

That All Folks! Or as Porky Pig says it at the end of a Loony Tunes cartoon "Th-Th-Th-that's all folks". Voiced by Mel Blanc (1908-1989), man of a thousand voices, those same words appear on Blanc's gravestone.

Sunday Stamps A-Z - for USA - at  See It On A Postcard 

Robots

 

1989: Europa - Games and Toys (Design  - Dan Fern)

A toy robot 

2017: Star Wars - Droids and Aliens (Illustrator: Malcolm Tween)

 The 'real' things in the Star Wars franchise

Artist Malcolm Tween discusses his "mini masterpieces"

2011-2013 Definitive - Canadian Flag

Robotic arm or the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS)  on the Space Shuttle - Canadarm. First tested in orbit 1981, eventually after 90 missions, its last to the International Space Station in July 2011 Canadarm eventually took up its retirement home at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum

Sunday Stamps A-Z - Robots and Robotics - See It On A Postcard 

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.

 

 

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.

Imaginative Women

 

1980:Europa - Victorian Novelists (Design - Barbara Brown)

The 1980 Europa theme was famous people and GB featured two Bronte sisters. Charlotte gets the CEPT logo and the  12p first class letter rate

Emily gets the versatile 15p for heaver letters both first and second class.  I don't have the other two writers featured on the set who were George Elliot (Mill on the Floss) and Elisabeth Gaskell (North and South).

2011: Magical Realms

The versatile Tilda Swinton,as the White Witch/Queen in the film 'Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'. If you want other worldly she's your woman.   From flights of the imagination to

2003: Extreme Endeavors (Design - H Brown)

a record breaking aviator, the FDC shows  Amy Johnson's solo flight from London to Darwin, Australia in 1930. She  hoped to set  a record flight time but missed it by three days however her adventure propelled her into the press and public's imagination. She went on to set records for Siberia to Tokyo and London to Cape Town. In 1940 she joined the RAF Air Transport Auxiliary but while on a mission disappeared over the Thames Estuary in January1941. The cancel is from her home town of Kingston Upon Hull. Her flights however were from, at the time, the only international airport in the country Croydon Aerodrome (a large part of aviation history). Croydon's Aerodrome Hotel celebrated their 75th Anniversary with this FDC.

The hotel makes an appearance on the reverse of the envelope as it would have looked in the 1930s.

Sunday Stamps theme - Famous Women - join one at See It On A Postcard

Films and Books

 Thursday Postcard Hunt  this week: Words - Book Covers  and Movie Posters - be careful out there...

Frozen (2005) was filmed locally to me by the shifting sands of Morecambe Bay and won a number of awards. The story is of Kath's older sister who mysteriously disappeared two years ago but who she starts to see. Is it a ghost story or murder mystery? Has  Kath found access to the afterlife or losing her grip on reality?  You never know.

Illustrator Norma Barr

Boo!  You may need something stronger than Chianti to "See Film Differently", Volkswagen's campaign and support for independent cinema.  I was very excited some years ago when I spotted their postcards at my local independent cinema  The posters were displayed throughout the UK

Postcards were also found at my local multiplex this time of Young Adult novels being publicised by Walker Books. The quote on the reverse says "Demons are dangerous, but love is deadly...".  This was the first of Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series described as urban fantasy, looks like we are in London.

The other one I found was for 'Scorpia Rising' the sixth in the Alex Rider teenage spy novels by Anthony Horowicz.  I can never resist free postcards. 

Cinema

 

2008: Ingmar Bergman (Design Gustav Martenson; Engraving Martin Morck)

A photo of the filming of 'Fanny and Alexander' directed by Ingmar Bergman which often features in 'Greatest Films of All Time' listings.  I have never seen the film but did watch the mini-series which was eventually turned into a very long film.  One of the things I remember about it is colour, but I do like film black and white stills

2008: Ingmar Bergman (Design Gustav Mårtensson; Engraving Lars Sjööblom)

Bergman died on the small island of Fårö where many of his 60 films were made, he wrote the scrip for 'Fanny and Alexander' there but filming took place on location in Uppsala.  At the time he intended it to be his last film and indeed was a massive undertaking which he thought he would not have the energy (mentally or physically) to do again.

1996: Century of Cinema

I can remember the first film I saw as a child and happily that cinema is still going strong as indeed is this  - the Odeon in Harrogate built in 1936. Architecturally it is in  'Streamline Moderne' style. The Odeon group were known for all their buildings being different, not all of them survive.  The film still is from 'Lady Hamilton' also known as 'That Hamilton Woman' released in 1941 starring Laurence Olivier as Admiral Nelson and Vivien Leigh as Emma Hamilton. Directed by Alexander Korda with his brother Vincent as Art Director

1999: Millennium - The Entertainers' Tale (Illustrator: Ralph Steadman)

 

Lastly we go back to the early days of cinema with Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977), one could almost start a mini-collection from the number of countries who have issued Charlie Chaplin stamps over the years.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Black and White - at See It On A Postcard

 

Women of the World

 

2014: 15th Anniversary of the Birth of Alice Tegnér (Design Eva Wilsson; Engraver Lars Sjööblom)

Alice Tegnér was considered musical at an early age and took piano and organ lessons but her family could not afford to let her train as a musician so she trained as a teacher. When she married her lawyer husband, who she met while working as a governess, they moved to Djurshom where she became involved with the musical community. At home the songs she composed were sung by her children and then her children's playmates sang the same songs. This eventually led to them being published as  'Sing with us Mamma' and between 1892 and 1934 nine booklets were issued. Not only did she compose many children's songs still sung today in Sweden but classical and sacred music as well. In her busy life she also taught, played the organ and was a choir leader.

2005: Greta Garbo - Sweden/USA Joint Issue

Someone who needs no introduction - Greta Garbo, or her given name Greta Lovisa Gustafson.  The stamps are from a photograph taken by Clarence Sinclair Bull during filming of 'As You Desire Me' (1932).  The drawing is by Einar Nerman. Two famous names did the engraving Piotr Naszarkowski for the film photo and Lars Sjööblom, the drawing. I think it would what she would have demanded! The FDC shows a scene from 'The Temptress' (1926) with Antonio Moreno

1986: Costumes

The women of Mongolia.  Would you like to wear the pink or

black and gold?  No need to choose now, there seems to be an endless variety of traditional costumes in Mongolia.

Sunday Stamps theme this week - Women - See It On A Postcard

Wheel of Life

2009: Albertus Pictor (Engraver - L Sjööblom)

I turn to the Wheel of Life as we approach a new year.  Sweden's great medieval artist Albertus Pictor created this and other frescoes in Härkeberga Church, Uppsala.  The stamps show the start of the life, the middle and the end as the wheel endlessly turns. The mini sheet was issued for 500 years since Albertus Pictor (Albert the Painter) "left time" but his frescoes live on and can be seen in 37 of Sweden's churches.

One of Albertus Pictor's fresco's in Täby church located just outside of Stockholm show death playing chess inspired

2008: Ingmar Bergman (Design - A Wiklund; Engraver - Martin Mörck)

Ingmar Bergman who wrote and directed the 'The Seventh Seal' (1957) the story of a knight on a spiritual quest in a plague ravaged land who challenges Death to a game of chess.  The knight was played by the wonderful Max von Sydow and Death by - Bengt Ekerot.  Bergman struggled for finance so this was a low budget affair which had to be made quickly, unlike

2008: Ingmar Bergman 1918-2007 (Design - Gustav Martensson; Engraver - L Sjööblom)

Fanny and Alexander (1983) which was lavish and long with a mind-blowing number of costumes.  The episodic TV version ran for five hours and the cinema release (which won four Oscars) was cut to just over 3 hours.  The mini sheet shows Bergman on the set and as this sheet is a memorial is in black and white.  From my not always reliable memory one of the things I always remember about the film are the colours. 

Sunday Stamps II is 'Your Choice' this week - to see what choices have been made - See It On A Postcard 

Film

The centenary of Estonian film art was celebrated in 2012 and a stamp issued showing Johannes Pääsuke who was its first film maker. The film was called "Utochkin's Flight in Tartu", a recording of an acrobatic flight by the Russian test pilot Sergei Utochkin above Tartu.  The FDC shows a still but unfortunately the film itself has not survived.  The footage was shot over two days, 14th and 15th April 1912 and it quickly had its first screening on April 17th at the wonderfully named movie theatre, Illusion.  The date of 30th April on the film strip cancel is because Estonia at the time was on the Julian calendar, the difference with today's Gregorian being 13 days.

Johannes Puääsuke went on to produce other documentaries such as the 'City of Tartu and its Vicinity' (1912) and 'Trip through Seto Country' (1913) plus the first Estonian feature film, a 14 minute political satire called 'Bear Hunt in Pärno County' (1914) about the posturing of German and Estonian politicians.

Pääsuke's other occupation was as a collector of antiquities for the Estonian National Museum and in 1913 began a project for them documenting Estonia's land, trades and architecture through photography and artefacts. 1,300 of these photographs and his films are now in the Estonian National Archive.

Sorting Seed Potatoes in Tartu County

Pääsuke was mobilised into the Russian armed forces in World War 1 where he continued to film and take photographs. Sadly in 1918 he was killed in a train accident in Belarus aged just 26.

An entry to Viridian Postcard's Sunday Stamps

 

Unrequited Love

By chance I came across this 'Red Letter' card while looking for something else. I laughed just to look at it for it sums up the silent film stars skills in portraying meaning by facial expressions. Chaplin  intends to hold the hand of the woman but instead it is her husbands.   The title of the card  "unrequited love" also chimes in with some of those anonymous cards that will be sent for Valentine's day on Monday.

The film is the 1915 "A Night in the Show" (hence the subtitle Charlie at the Show), filmed for Essanay studies (the logo in the corner), Chaplin took on two roles, that of  the two inebriates  Mr Pest and Mr Rowdy.  Here he is Mr Pest who keeps moving into different seats before the show eventually starts, ending up in the best seat in the house, the front balcony by the side of the stage.  The woman of his attraction is Edna Purviance, who appeared as female lead in more of his films than any other actress, although in this one she only has a small part.  The plot and the scenes of the film were taken from the stage show that Chaplin performed as part of the Fred Karno Company called "A Night at the English Music Hall" when it toured the USA.  Mr Rowdy will pour beer down on the audience, there will be escaped snakes, a minor custard pie incident, a lady pushed in a fountain, and it will all end with a fire eater and a fire hose out of control.  The usual comedy mayhem.

The poster featuring the scary lady that makes Chaplin move seats yet again. 

Beth at The Best Hearts Are Crunchy is the hostess of Postal Friendship Friday

 

Charlie Up Against It

Back on line again after a bit of a computer glitch. Its had its power jack replaced, soldered in place and now glued together so up and running again.  I don't think I have any cards showing technical breakdowns so perhaps this strap line "Charlie up against it" will do.

This is one of series of old Red Letter Postcards featuring Charlie Chaplin and is a still from The Champion, also called Champion Charlie, released in 1915 by Essanay Studios (their logo can be seen bottom right of the card).  The film starts with Charlie sharing his last sausage with his dog Spike when he sees an advert for boxing sparing partners.  Here we are well into the film, the crooked gambler, played by Leo White with a suitably large villain moustache, has tried to bribe Charlie to throw the fight.

All ends happily, Charlie wins the fight with the help of his bulldog Spike and for once even gets the girl.