ǺLAND – Tractors
The last two stamps in a three-year veteran tractors series were issued January 4 by Ǻland. Photographed by David Lundberg, designed by Johanna Finne, and printed by Cartor Security Printers, the €1,80 features a 1955 Ferguson TES20, owned by Sven-Åke Jansson and kept on the premises of the veteran tractor club in Jomala. The €2,90 value shows a 1960 Fordson Super Major in front of a barn on a farm located in Önningeby, Jomala. The stamps and other products are available from here.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA –
Christmas and New Year
Hrvatska Pošta Mostar marked Christmas and New Year with a pair of commemoratives on December 1. The two €1,10 values depict a snowman surrounded by gifts for Nova Godina (New Year) and St. Nikole greeting children before a village scene to celebrate Božić (Orthodox Christmas) on January 7. Bosnia has two Christmas celebrations as Roman Catholics mark the day on December 25. Cultural events and mass are a large part of Bosnian celebrations, with the prime focus on spending time with family and friends. Bosnian stamps are available online from here.
CANADA – Monique Mercure
The life and career of Francophone actress Monique Mercure (1930-2020) is celebrated on a domestic rate Permanent stamp booklet of six issued November 14 by Canada Post. According to the Canada Post website, “This stamp features an illustrated black-and-white portrait by Oriana Fenwick that captures Mercure’s striking beauty and expressive eyes, caught in a sidelong glance.” Mercure began her meteoric rise to fame while in her late 20s, eventually appearing in dozens of television series and movies as well as theatrical productions. Over her 60-year career she garnered numerous accolades and awards, including a Companion of the Order of Canada. The booklet can be found online here.
CHRISTMAS ISLAND – Christmas
Two stamps, which when put together form a single scene, were issued by Australia Post November 1 for use on Christmas Island, continuing the tradition of issuing light-hearted secular stamps. The Christmas Island airport is the scene of Santa’s arrival on the 65-cent stamp, with a reindeer pilot at the controls on the international rate $2.60 value. Numerous red crabs scramble to act as Santa’s helpers with an assortment of the island’s unique birds and butterflies on the stamps and souvenir sheet. The stamps are illustrated by Imogen Joy and designed by Jo Muré, Australia Post Design Studio, and printed by RA Printing on self-adhesive paper in sheetlets of 10. They are available from here.
GREAT BRITAIN – 100th Anniversary of the Discovery of Tutankhamun’s Tomb
The discovery of the complete, undisturbed tomb of the boy king, Tutankhamun, by Howard Carter in November 1922, is the subject of eight stamps in four se-tenant pairs issued November 24 by Royal Mail. There were 5,398 items found in the tomb and later transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum. Those shown on the stamps were photographed by Araldo de Luca. It took Carter 10 years to catalog the items. The set includes the head of the king and an inlaid fan, a gold mask and falcon pendant, a lion head from a couch and a throne detail, and a model boat and guardian statue. The set and other products were designed by Andy Altmann, printed by Cartor Security Printers, and are available at here.
GREENLAND – Walrus Franking Labels
When parcels do not fit into the franking machine, a stamp is printed onto a franking label which in, then affixed to the package. Greenland issued a set of four of these labels on November 11. The labels feature the Greenlandic walrus, which Greenlanders call “Aaveq,” and the Old Norse called “hrossval” or “the horse from the sea.” Carston Egevang, a biologist and researcher at Greenland’s Nature Institute at Nuuk, shot the photographs of the single walruses at Sand Island and Young Sound in 2007 and the group of walruses in Thule in 2013. There are estimated to be only 5,000 adult walruses in Greenland, many of which migrate to Canada in the summer. The labels can be ordered in any denomination from DKK 18.00 to DKK 100, with 25 øre intervals from here.
ISLE OF MAN – Manx Winter
Manx Winter stamps featuring scenes by renowned illustrator Julia Ashby Smyth grace the last Isle of Man issue to bear an image of Queen Elizabeth II. The distinctively Manx / Celtic illustrations feature Laxey Wheel (73p), Ballabeg Stop (£1.04), Sulby Methodist Church (£1.38), Onchan Church Hall (£1.75), Groudle (£2.01), and Agneash (£2.55). A limited edition cover was issued with a special Windsor Road postmark (December 12) to commemorate the last Manx stamp to receive royal approval by Queen Elizabeth II Lord of Mann. The stamps were issued in sheets of 20, printed by bpost and issued on November 2. The stamps, presentation pack, and first day covers are available from here.
NETHERLANDS – A Floral Greeting
Six flowers grace the floral greetings booklet issued on November 15, with the value indication “1,” intended for domestic mail up to and including 20 grams. The flowers include lupine, geranium, tagetes, Persian lily, wood anemone and French rose. The stamps and booklet design were rendered by designer and artist Joëlle Wehkamp, from Nederhorst den Berg, using drawings and watercolors from the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam’s digital archives. Her designs have been used by the museum on numerous products that they sell as Art Alphabet. The A Floral Greeting stamp booklet is available from here.
NEW ZEALAND – Year of the Rabbit
The rabbit represents the fourth year in the Chinese Zodiac calendar. The design chosen by New Zealand Post for its commemoration of the Year of the Rabbit is based on the Chinese nianhua poster. These New Year woodblock prints were commonly used as household decoration in China for folklore depictions of how the Jade Emperor immortalized the rabbit for his noble and self-sacrificing character. The four gummed stamps were issued on December 7 in $1.70, $3.00, $3.80 and $6.70 denominations as singles in sheets of 20 and on a souvenir sheet. Designed and illustrated by Ying-Min Chu, YMC Design and printed by Southern Colour Print, Napier, New Zealand, the stamps are available online from here.