Bonus J is for Jack-O'-Lanterns

J is also for Jack-O'-Lanterns, the first ever USPS Halloween stamps issued in 2017. Halloween is huge in the US, so I am surprised that they don't have issues every year. They were certainly a success, as they are no longer available from the online store, unless you want to buy giant press sheets for $60 dollars each (I think that is 120 stamps). A few post offices might still have them in stock.

I received one as part of this months envelope exchange run by Jean W over at Pushing the Envelopes - this one is the fantastic handiwork of Chuck M. I love how the close-up photo came out - it really shows off the inner glow of the pumpkin.

For more J japery, head over to the links at Sunday Stamps.

J is for John Lennon

An unusual subject for a stamp, given that John Lennon was not a US citizen, putting him up there with the likes of William Shakespeare. Unlike Shakespeare, he did have permanent residence at the time of his death, although there were times in the past that he was denied entry into the US due to his anti-Vietnam war stance.

The stamps are issued in the usual pane of 16 designed to look like a record sleeve for the Music Icons series. Unique to the series (so far) is that there are four different versions of the stamp due to the change in color.

I received one of them on this excellent piece of mail art from Keith C.

And the other side... which reminds me that Halloween is not far off.

For more joyous Js, head over to explore the links at Sunday Stamps.

I is for Italy

This stamp arrived on a postcard sent by Eva. It shows the Piazza Ruggierio Settimo in Palermo.

This view shows the Teatro Politeama, with the statue of Ruggero Settimo (1778-1863) in the froeground. Settimo was a Sicilian naval officer, and fought in the Naploeonic wars. Later he was an important figure in the Sicilian revolution of 1848, and served as head of the independent Sicilian state until Ferdinand II put down the rebellion in 1849. He escaped to Malta, living in exile for twelve years. Ultimately he became head of the senate in the new parliament of the Kingdom of Italy following Italian reunification in 1860-1861. He held this position until his death.

For more interesting I posts, head over to the links at Sunday Stamps.

H is for History

I think history could apply to so many stamps.

In this case it is one about the history of Spain - the Treaty of Tordesillas, where Spain and Portugal divided the newly discovered (to Europeans) eastern and western lands between them.

For more links to H topics, head over to Sunday Stamps.

G is for Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez, to give him his full name, was a Colombian writer, born in 1927 and died in 2014.

His life is celebrated on this Spanish stamp, issued in 2015, that Eva sent me.

You can read about his many accomplishments on his wikipedia page. He was awarded the Nobel prize in Literature in 1982 for his body of work to that point that have themes of conflict and solitude, largely as they reflect life in the South American subcontinent, and are often written in the style known as magical realism. 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' is considered to be his masterpiece, which was published in 1967.

I have to confess I have never read any of his works.

For more great G-related blog posts, check out the links at Sunday Stamps.

F is for Frozen Treats

USPS issued a set of 10 stamps celebrated ice pops (ice lollies in some countries).

These are also the first scratch and sniff stamps issued by the USPS.

I used some of them on envelopes 925 and 928 sent out for one of Jean's envelope exchanges.

This is not one of the envelopes, and unfortunately the scanner was malfunctioning a bit, hence the grey lines.

I also used some on this envelope and minimal mail art to MomKat in Greece. I called this one 'Is it pink, or is it lime?'

For more fabulous F posts, head over to the links at Sunday Stamps.

E is for El bullying, Espana, Europa, Euro, and Eva

I think this had a postal adventure of the delayed kind, because it arrived 2 days ago, and I think it was sent a while ago.

Regardless of that fact, the are a lot of Es on this postcard.

The stamp in question, issued in 2016, is foiled, so hopefully the photo does it justice. Showing the silhouette of a person, the translation of the message is: “You can stop bullying, don’t ignore it at your school”.

Thanks, Eva, for this unique sending. 

For more excellent E postage, check the links at Sunday Stamps.