Anniversaries

2020: City Anniversaries (Design - Enzo Finger)

Bergen's 950th Anniversary and the much younger seaside resort of Moss comes in at 300 years. Moss installed a diving tower to mark the occasion which comes with a bath house and sauna.

1996: 1000th Anniversary of Freising's rights to Hold a Fair (Design - Blume-Zander)

Germany issues a lot of stamps marking cities anniversaries but for something different Freising, one of the oldest settlements in Bavaria, celebrated its right to hold a market.

1996: 300th Anniversary of the Berlin Academy of  Arts (Design - Peter Steiner)

The Berlin Academy's motto is enclosed between the 'A'

2002: First Danish Stamp 150 Years (Design and Engraver - Martin Morck)

Talking of the arts here is some stamp art showing  engraver Martinus William Ferslew whose company also printed the first stamp sheets which consisting of 100 pieces without perforations. Scissors required at the post office. The sheets were were issued to them 10 days before the law was passed so they could issue them on the day.

2013: 20th Anniversary of Postal Services

A shorter period of time but a postal service is always worth celebrating. The sheet shows a camel riding postman which featured on their Europa stamp the same year this mini sheet was issued.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Anniversaries - celebrate at See It On A Postcard

Small Animals

2009: Snövita Djur - Snow White Animals (Illustrator - Staffan Ullström; Engraver - Piotr Naszarkowski)

The magic of snow and a trio of fauna wearing their winter coats.  The winter scenes feature a Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) although in Canada and Scotland is simply known as ptarmigan, a word derived from the Scottish Gaelic for croaker. Next is a stoat but as it is in its winter finery - an ermine (or in Swedish Hermelin).  Lastly a Mountain Hare (Lepus timidus)  a bundle of fur and twitching whiskers. These were the International Christmas Mail stamps, sending a little bit of Sweden 's winter out into the world.

1997: Spotted Polecat (Design - D Vasarheli)

This little chap could almost be wearing a trapper hat although all the fabulous fur is growing on a marbled or spotted polecat (Vormela peregusna)

seen here going about its daily life. When alarmed it arches its back and curls its tail and may inflict a foul smell emanating from under that tail if threatened.

2013: SEPAC - Young Animals of the Alpine Region (Design - Eric Beck)

Among the mountains of Liechtenstein a young marmot is coming out of its burrow. A shrill whistle is used as a warning to other marmots of predators, hope this one has sharp hearing while it is out in the open. 

2013: SEPAC - Baby Animals (Design - Marta Gullklett)

I started in winter but here is the promise of spring with cute little bundles of wool. The Faroe Islands lambs arrive in late April.

Lost Sheep on top of the York Left Luggage Office

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - small animals - appreciate the small things in life at - See It On A Postcard