Monkeying Around

1961: Lemurs

Lets swing through the trees with the Gentle Lemur (hapalemur griseus) in Madagascar, a place that has 60 species of lemurs filling every ecosystem, no wonder it is world famous for these mammals.  The lack of monkey on the island in prehistoric times meant that the lemurs thrived here but I imagine they are just as mischievous as monkeys like these on

2016: Year of the Monkey (Design: 10p - Guo Zhenshan £2 - Yin Huili)

a miniature sheet issued for the Year of the Monkey. As with the Isle of Man's other Lunar New Year stamps they are designed by Chinese artists.

More mammals but ones with a close relationship with mankind

1913-1938 - Definitive

this stamp has the title 'Merchants Crossing Desert' and was a definitive design used by Mauritania for 25 years. This stamp was designed by the French artist Joseph De La Neziere (1873-1944) who travelled extensively in North Africa and was the official painter for the French Colonial Office and died in Casablanca, whose country we travel to next

1939-1940: Definitive

where a horse and rider have stopped beneath a cedar tree.   For more horse power I turn to Monaco

1961: Vintage Motor Cars

and the Chevrolet.  This particular stamp and some others in the series were drawn by Bernard Minne (b1918), a prolific designer of Monaco stamps but also travel posters which are highly collectable, his Monte Carlo Grand Prix posters are also considered especially desirable if you wanted to splash the cash.

The Peugeot on the left does indeed look like the eponymous Horseless Carriage, both it and the Fiat may just want to be driven on a nice sunny day.  The stamp on the left is drawn by Henri Malarte (1906-2005) who I knew nothing about but isn't it amazing what hidden stories can be found on a stamp. Malarte founded a car demolition business in 1929 where he retrieved and sold spare parts but fate took hold in 1931 when he was given an old 1898 car and could not bear to part with it, so restored it and started collecting vintage cars. Word War Two intervened and his connection with the French Resistance led to his arrest and deportation to a concentration camp.  After the war he found the 17 cars hidden in a warehouse had been undetected by the Gestapo and these would found the basis of his museum which he set up in in a 12th Century Chateau Richetaillee near Lyon in a picturesque riverside location in 1960.  Today the Henri Malarte Antique Automobile Museum is owned by the city of Lyon and has a large collection of all manner of transport including the first front drive car and Hitlers armed Mercedes parade car captured by the French at Berchtesgaden.        

A nice plush red seat in the Rolls Royce. The other stamps in the series with their artist and engravers can be found on Stamps of the World

An entry to  Sunday Stamps II  letter M prompt - for Madagascar, Man, Mauritania, Morocco, Monaco, Monkey, Mammals, Merchants and Motor Cars; motor over to See It On A Postcard.