Sherlock Holmes

 

1993: Sherlock Holmes (Design - Andrew Davidson)

The "games afoot" with Sherlock Holmes.  I know the received wisdom is that collectors don't like addressed FDCs but I am not one of them for it tells of a journey when a collection is broken up and moves on. What better person to have on a Sherlock Holmes cover than a retired army officer.  In imagination he could be a friend of Dr Watson or would he be "a person of interest" in one of  Holmes cases?

The stamps have one letter of the alphabet on each which spell out the name Doyle

Here Holmes and Watson are joined by Lestrade from Scotland Yard who would have his own suspects and also those who the police think might have been involved in a crime but they do not have enough evidence - a 'Persons of Interest' He learned to work with the great detective who would always find the evidence.  Holmes brother Mycroft is introduced to readers in 'The Greek Interpreter' and of course nothing would be complete without Holmes arch nemesis Professor Moriarty. Famously Conon Doyle tried to kill off Holmes in 'The Final Problem' but had to bring him back due to public demand.

2013: Great Britains

Royal Mail did issue a Conon Doyle stamp as part of their "Eminent Britons" set in 2009 but I do not have it so here instead is Peter Cushing who played Holmes in a 1960s TV series which I've never seen, although I have seen him in the Hammer film "Hound of the Baskervilles" on numerous occasions. He was joined by another Hammer favourite, Christopher Lee, who appears as Henry Baskerville and indeed would later go on to play Holmes himself. My own personal favourite is the Jeremy Brett version of Holmes in the  TV series of the 1980s/90s

2020: Sherlock (Design - Karolis Stautniekas)

This mini sheet features stories that Doyle ranked among his favourites and have not appeared on GB stamps before. It was issued with a set of stamps featuring the TV series "Sherlock", a modern retelling of the stories with Dominic Cumberbatch playing Holmes.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Persons of Interest -  See It On A Postcard

Endangered

 

1995: Endangered Species

Sadly the United Nations are not going to run out of threatened species to feature on their regular issues of endangered fauna. Here we have Black Rhino, Golden Parakeet, Red-shanked douc and Arabian Oryx which in the 1970s became extinct in the wild. They were saved because there were large numbers  in zoos and private reserves and from these they were reintroduced into the wild in the 1980s.

1984: Endangered Antelopes

A young bongo, vulnerable to predators like pythons, leopards and hyenas.  As adults their predator is human.

1993: The Caspian Seal (Design - V Khartvig)

The threat to the Caspian Seal is environmental. A unique species that it is thought became 'landlocked' in the Caspian Sea when the ice of the last ice age retreated about 11 thousand years ago.

2007: Rare Animals (Design - A Moskovets)

The Oriental Stork has the advantage of wings although habitat loss and, in the rice growing regions, the use of pesticides, means it is on the IUCN Red List

1986: Europa - Nature Conservation (Design Ken Lilly)

Well that was all a bit gloomy so here is a Barn Owl whose numbers have increased and is now moved on to the more optimistic Green List.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Endangered or Vulnerable Species - See It On A Postcard

Education for All

1999: Millennium - The Citizens' Tale

The Right to Learn

1953: People's Education Plan

brought into law

1955: Five Year Plan

and maybe a five year plan.  Books required and

1936: Tercentenary of Utrecht University

knowledge will be gained.  Here is Athene, personification of wisdom, and how appropriate that all these years later than the stamp Utrecht University today run a digital data portal to encourage interdisciplinary research into biodiversity called ATHENE. It is open to everyone both academic and citizen scientists.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Education - learn more at See It On A Postcard