Recently at Flea Market H.Q. I've been researching and writing about all things Philately. In digging through the archives I've found some pretty cool Stamps from around the world that I would hate to think aren't getting appreciated. So this week I'm going to take us on a bit of a trip through stamps! Please keep all hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times.
In this blog we'll take a look at three postcards, a brief history of their unique stamps and what notes were included when they were first sent -- some as long as almost one hundred years ago!
First Stop? India!
How beautiful are the colors on this vintage Indian postcard? Just wait till you see the stamps the writer chose...
Talk about beautiful blues! These two stamps date the postcard from post 1940s. The "n.p" represents "nay paise" which is Hindi for "new paise". The rupee had been divided in 100 n.p. and in the 1960s the "n" was dropped, likely indicating that while this postcard's postmark is illegible could be from close to 1964.
The note on this card to California reads: "Dear Lara + Chas, Having a fabulous time in India. Making the tour from New Dehli to Jaipur to Agro + then to New Dehli tomorrow in Thailand also. Will write from there. Pax"
Next Up...Italy!
It's into the time machine we go for this 1925 card from Milan, Italy. This card depicts the Milan Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Mary, which construction began on in 1386...and ended in 1965! A full 40 years after this card was sent, received, and forgotten about!
This stamp depicts King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. He reigned from 1900 to his abdication till 1946. These stamps aren't terribly rare so not very valuable but easily recognizable which makes them good for early Philately collectors to know about.
Written in soft, nearly faded pencil this card reads: "Dear Mr. and Mrs. [unreadable] We are in Italy after a beautiful trip through [unreadable]. The Domo is beautiful. There are lots of American People here, very few we met in Germany. Living is very high there I guess that accounts for it. Had an all around [unreadable] only time as [unreadable] to first. Best Regard, [unreadable]"
Finally, Belgium!
While this mysterious Belgian postcard has very little to say, the colorful stamps can tell us much about the Brussels where the writer was visiting at the time it was sent!
With the postmark almost completely illegible we can barely tell that this was sent sometime in the "19--". The style of black and white postcard indicates it was likely pre-1950s but could have been later still. Dating by the central Blue Airplane stamp we know that the engraving for that stamp design comes from the 1940s (1946 to be exact). The green stamp to the right celebrates the centenary of the Oostende Dover ship 1846-1946. I'm confident dating this card post as early post WW2.
Our writer here is very sparse with just "Best Regards from Brussels" and his signature. I wonder if this comes from a U.S. G.I. perhaps based in Brussels as part of the post-war effort? Interesting nonetheless!
Get in Touch.
Something here strike your interest? Have a letter story you'd like to share? Write to us at info@fleamarketloveletters.com today!
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