Oman in Outer Space

1971: Apollo 14

It is lift off for the moon and the Apollo 14 crew (Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa and Edgar Mitchell).  Shepard and Mitchell are shown on the moon's surface on the commemorative sheet unfortunately not with Shepard famously playing a couple of golf shots.  Stuart Roosa was the Command Module Pilot and the photographs he took while Shepard and Mitchell were on the surface would help with later moon landings.

This is a rather spaced out sheet for although the Sultanate of Oman exists, the State of Oman didn't.  These were issued by a government in exile when Sultan Said bin Taimur defeated the followers of Iman Ghalib bin al-Hinai in 1957-9, years later in 1970 the reclusive Sultan Said bin Taimur was overthrown by his son in a civil war but troops loyal to the former sultan kept on fighting until around 1976 and the stamps of the exiled government kept coming.  The presses must have been running hot in 1971 (the year of the sheet I show) as they issued a huge number of stamps on every subject one could imagine.  But let someone who knows what he is talking about take up the story -

"The stamps were the brainchild of Youssef Salim Tadros, once (in 1963) postmaster in Sharjah and later a partner in Middle East Stamps, Beirut. He got himself appointed as postal adviser to the exiled government. The latter obtained some status with the Arab Postal Union in 1966 and Tadros started issuing stamps in 1967. Since the rebels had long left Oman and did not have any postal services there, the letters with the stamps were dispatched from Baghdad (January 1968 only), then from Amman (until 1971) and later from Damascus (until June 1972). This means that the issues from 1967 to 1972 had postal validity in the above mentioned places. When the stamps could no longer be used postally after June 1972, Tadros ceased to issue State of Oman stamps.

One of Tadros' partners, the late Clive Feigenbaum in London, continued to print new stamps for State of Oman (and also for Dhufar, a province of today's Sultanate of Oman) until 1986. These "Feigenbaum issues", of course, did not see any postal use. They were done in sheetlets of 8 different se-tenant stamps, same as Feigenbaum did for Staffa, Nagaland, Eynhallow, ISO, etc" (Source - Stamporama Discussion)

Another imaginary world but a 'real' stamp - The Voyage of Sinbad

Sunday Stamps II prompt this week is the Letter O - for Oman and Outer Space - See It On A Postcard

Ornate Objects

2001: Al-Khanjar A'suri

The Omani dagger or khanjar not only appears on stamps of Oman but also their banknotes, is part of the national flag and printed on all official documents.  It is worn on ceremonial occasions and can be made of gold, silver, copper or brass. One has to be wealthy opt for the gold and silver and the time it can take to make can vary from a few weeks to several months depending on the material used.  An ornate national symbol.    

1989: 300th Anniversary of Arp Schnitger Organ

Of course if one wanted to see something really ornate then the era to turn to would be the baroque and above is the largest surviving baroque organ in northern Europe which can be heard every Sunday in St James Church, Hamburg making full use of its 3000 pipes and 60 registers.

1982: National Postal Museum Card Series of Post House Signs

Post office signs were just as ornate. This one is owned by the Museum for Post and Communication (the renamed National Postal Museum) in  Frankfurt am Main,  The museum gets rave reviews on Trip Advisor.

1975: Stamp Day

The stamp like the card shows a Post House sign of the Royal Prussian Establishment for Transport. At the time the different post house companies delivered mail to specific countries and a register was available to look up where to hand over ones post for the different destinations. How much easier it is today to just pop a letter in

1977: Stamp Day

a postbox.  This is a Belgian pillar box from 1852. The old Belgium pillar boxes are among my favourites although the earliest I've seen is this one.

The Sunday Stamps II prompt this week is the letter O - here for Oman, Ornate and Organ - more Os over at See It On A Postcard