Tall Buildings Old and New

1947: Air Mail

My first thought on this week's Sunday Stamps 'tall buildings' prompt was New York.  The skyline made an appearance on this stamp with a Lockheed Constellation flying over it. Alas I did not have any other US stamps featuring skyscrapers but

1995: Definitive Stamp

the United Nations came to my rescue with its building in New York and a rather attractive postmark. So what other country came into my mind?  Well with its lack of space it has to be Hong Kong

1997: Hong Kong Skylines

and an evening skyline.  I don't know what the buildings are but

1999: Hong Kong Landmarks (Designer - C Tillyer)

at least this stamp tells me this is the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The building sits like a giant bird made of steel and glass by the water of Victoria Harbour, however the tower in the background, not a clue.   From the shining metal and glass of Hong Kong I turn to

1953: Millennial of the Kingdom of Denmark (Designer - V Bang; Engraver - Bent Jacobsen)

the old brickwork of Our Lady Church in Kalundburg, Denmark.  Built about 1170 the church stands on a hill above the harbour dominating the skyline with its 44m (144ft) central tower and the surrounding towers of 34m named after saints.   Kalunburg lies on the island of Zealand which is where

1944: The Round Tower (Red Cross Issue)

Denmark's capital and the start of the journey of this registered FDC from Copenhagen.  I always enjoy watching a parcel tracking app as a parcel wends it way to me but this envelope does it in an analog way if one looks at the back.

It has crossed Zealand from east to west arriving at Skaelstor on the same day 11 May 1944 and then taken the short trip across the water to the small island of Agerso, arriving with its recipient the next day 12 May 1944. Agerso is reputedly a tranquil place with a scattering of old farm houses, possibly a nicely out of  the way place for a Dane to be in 1944 when Denmark was under German military rule.

1944: The Round Tower (Design - V Bang; Engraver - J Britze)

The stamp shows the 17th Century 'Round Tower', an Astronomy observatory which is 36m tall however  if you take the spiral staircase to the top then you will have walked 209 metres.   Today it is used by amateur astronomers.

1963-1970 Definitives - Transport and Communications (Design - S Legrady)

I like this atmospheric 'brave new world' image of the Miskolc-Avas Television Tower.  It was built in 1966 in place of an old wooden lookout tower and indeed retains that usage for it has an observation deck.  Standing 72 metres (236 ft) I imagine there are some great views to be had.

The Shard, London

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Towers or Tall Buildings - look up See It On A Postcard

Here Be Dragons

2015: Dragons (Illustrator - Adrian Chesterman)

The artist Adrian Chesterman specialises in fantastical realms and for Jersey Post he created six legendary dragons.

First (40) - is a dragon from the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf (spoiler alert, they both die at the end), (50) is George and the Dragon (only the dragon dies), we next travel to the Philippines (60) - The Bakunawa is believed to be the cause of eclipses, earthquakes, rain and wind.
Greek myth gives us next (70) - The Colchian Dragon which guarded the Golden Fleece, it was said to never sleep but the witch Medea put it to sleep with magic and drugs while Jason stole the fleece. European dragons are often perceived as evil and dangerous but - (82) The Chinese Dragon can be beneficial, spiritual and even sacred. The different colours have different meanings. Lastly is a Celtic dragon - (91) The Welsh Dragon whose origin may be the Great Red Serpent god Dewi.

The word dragon originates from the ancient Greek word drakon which translates as 'a giant monster  serpent-like creature' so lets see one

1970: The Labours of Hercules

The Lernean Hydra, a water serpent with fatally venomous breath said to have between 5 and 100 heads with one immortal head.  The stamp shows Hercules performing his second labour where he cuts off its heads with the help of his nephew (and one of the argonauts) Iolaus who singes the stump with a burning firebrand to prevent new heads growing.  (The illustration is taken from an ancient Greek storage vase/stamnos).   I hope you are not going to have nightmares after seeing this writhing water beast from the swamp of Lerna.

1990: Greeting Stamps - 'Smiles'

Here is something more benign, the Cheshire Cat with the handy knack of being able to disappear when something nasty appears.

Postcard - Detail from a silk Chinese Dragon Robe

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Dragons, Mythical Beasts or Dinosaurs -  gaze on them at See It On A Postcard  
   

Harvest

1999: Millennium - The Farmer's Tale

The sun shines down in this aerial view at harvest time and the stamp shows a combine harvester busily working the field.  The stamp tells another story which is of satellite agriculture

January 1967: Increase the Rice Harvest 1966 (Design - Muy Khánh)

something that was not dreamed of when this North Vietnamese stamp was issued.

1954: Fruit - National Agricultural Fair (Design - Z Nagy; Engraver - E Horvath)

As a lover of apples this is always a good time of year for me when the new season apples arrive in the shops.

1958: Fruits (Design - D Franzioni)

These grapes look ripe for harvest although for the wine one would have to travel to San Marino as they export a minuscule amount.

1993: The Four Seasons - Autumn (Design - Charlotte Knox)

Time to harvest some hazel nuts, well perhaps see if you can get there before the squirrels.

1974: Huxian Peasant Paintings (Design  - Wu Jiankun)

I think this harvest may be corn cobs with cotton drying in the background but the stamp gives no clue as it is called the 'Great Harvest' and I must admit that sure is a bumper harvest.

Time to take a break with the farmers of Huxian.

Wheat stooks in Suffolk

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Harvest - gather in on See It On A Postcard

Churches

1966: French Art (Design and Engraving - Georges Bétemps)

La Sainte Chapelle of Paris was the royal chapel and its soaring heights contain stunning stained glass windows.  The church has the most extensive 13th century stained glass windows in the world.

The stamp shows the 'Baptism of Judas'.

1946-1948 Views (Designer and Engraver - René Cottet)

Staying in France here is the hill town of Vézelay and its abbey church, a UNESCO World Heritage site and also a pilgrimage destination.

1987 - Visit of Pope John Paul to Kevelaer (Designer - Antonia Graschberger)

More than a million pilgrims visit Kevelaer in Germany every year and in 1987 Pope John Paul II joined them to venerate the Virgin Mary and also visit the 17th Marian and 10th Mariological Congress.  

1981: Definitive- Buildings III (Designer and Engraver - K Løkke-Sørensen)

 The Norwegian church in Tromsdalen is nicknamed The Arctic Cathedral.  The card says on the back it was "consecrated in 1965 and is well known for its unique building style as well as its impressive glass".  Inside crystal chandeliers inspired by icicles hang down.  The card shows how the building stands out in its northern outpost and it can be seen shining out in the dark of winter here. 

2000: Millennium - 'Spirit and Faith'

Here the light is not shining out from the church windows but being lit up from outside.  In 2000 funding from the Millennium Commission enabled 400 churches in England, Scotland and Wales with the help of lighting engineers to floodlight their buildings. The church chosen for the stamp was St Peter and St Paul in Over Stowey, Somerset. The oldest part of the church is the 14th Century tower and part of the nave.

Rainy Day, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and Post Van

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Churches - visit more at See It On A Postcard

Spidey

1976: Flora and Fauna

In celebration of Lady Hale's giant glittering spider brooch as she gave the judgement of the Supreme Court that suspending parliament was illegal here is the real thing, a tarantula.

2019: Marvel

Brenda Hale's super power is the law.

Paintings

1985: Death Centenary of Carl Spitzweg - 'Sunday Walk'

A 'Sunday Walk' for Sunday Stamps, one can almost feel the heat of the day on this painting. The father leads his family holding his hat as an impromptu sunshade and almost hidden in the wheat is a small child holding his hand.

1974: Bicentenary of the Birth of Casper David Friedrich

The day has come to a close and the great German Romantic painter Casper David Friedrich paints 'Man and Woman looking at the Moon' in 1824.  A rare painting of his personal life for this is him and his wife Caroline Bommer who he married in 1818.  For a contrast in style I turn to

1975: Europa - Paintings of Oskar Schlemmer

Oskar Schlemmer (1888-1943) painter, sculptor and theatre designer who interestingly created a robot ballet and so we have the mechanistic creatures painted on the left  in the almost abstract 'Concentric Group' (1929).  This year it is the Bauhaus Centenary so what better stamp than the painting of the 'Bauhaus Staircase' (1932), the last major work of Oskar Schlemmer.  It shows students leaving a class in Walter Gropius's Bauhaus building in Dessau

1986: The Artist Bjørn Winblad

Bjørn Wimblad (1918-2006) liked to portray whimsical round faced people and this design was specially made for this stamp. He was a painter, designer and ceramicist and these same round faces appear on his vases.   Make People Happy was his motto and what raises the spirits more than the sound of bird song.

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Paintings - See It On A Postcard

Flatford Postbox

Ice-Cream kiosk and EIIR Lamp Box, Flatford, Suffolk

While on holiday I took a wander along the River Stour and arrived at Flatford, made famous by Constable's huge landscape painting of 'Flatford Mill'.  An ice cream shop is always a welcome sight especially on a warm summer's day, this kiosk also has the added attraction of a postbox (postcards available at the nearby National Trust shop)

Postbox CO7 382, Flatford Rd, East Bergholt, Suffolk

The postbox could do with some TLC.