Sunday, August 23, 2015

Sunday Stamps - Lighthouses

Today's Sunday Stamps theme is lighthouses - a popular subjects for stamps, and certainly the US with its extensive coastline, including the Great Lakes which have lighthouses too, has plenty to choose from.




The last set issued in the US featured five New England coastal lighthouses. Above is the commemorative panel from USPS, which is still available at their online store. The strips and sheets of stamps are no longer available, however there is a nice write up here. The stamps are also sold accompanying a set of notecards featuring the lighthouses.

I have sent a few of these stamps, and received at least one - this one is in a creative setting. And it also has the light-related energy-saving finger turing off the light switch on the machined cancellation. Many people noted that this frank looked more than little weird/creepy/odd.




The other stamp I want to highlight today was sent to me from Morocco by Eva.




This stamp celebrates the Cape Spartal lighthouse, which turns 150 this year. It is located on the southwest approach to the Straits of Gibraltar, and was built on request of the King of Morocco following a shipwreck where many sailors lost their lives.

And bonus - I received this nautically-themed envelope from Hester this week featuring a set of 4 stamps from 1972 celebrating Cape Hatteras National Seashore, a national park stretching along 70 miles of the coast of the Outer Banks. The top right stamp features the distinctive black and white lighthouse. The current lighthouse is the second to have been built on the Cape. In 1999, due to encroachment of the ocean and erosion, the entire lighthouse was moved 2900 feet (880 m) inland.

The lighthouses of North Carolina all have their own distinctive black and white design - this one's 'barber pole' design seems to be one of the most famous.




12 comments:

  1. I wandered off to check out the other lighthouse stamps designed by Howard Kuslow (and forgot to come back and leave my comment). Couldn't figure out how to buy this sheet, so I'll have to keep a lookout at the next stamp fair.

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    1. I added a link to the USPS store. If you don't have an account you'll have to sign up, and I have no idea if they ship outside the US.

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  2. Glad to contribute a Light House for today.

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  3. Beautiful stamps! And awesome envelopes!

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    1. Thanks! I almost didn't have a post this week due to my bad memory. Then it turned out I had more lighthouses than I thought.

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  4. A fine collection of lighthouses, I've had one or two of the U.S. ones but they look stunning as a set. The finger on the switch is an amusing touch.

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    1. I had no idea there was a special sheet issued until I did some research for this post.

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  5. I like the America stamps. They go well with the ones I posted earlier at http://bobscotney.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/american-lighthouses-sunday-stamps.html

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    1. Apparently the lighthouse stamps are very popular with the public.

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  6. Your selection is great. It's amazing to see how different the designs can be.

    This is one of my favourite themes, you know.

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    1. It was fun to see all the different stamps in this week's Sunday Stamps.

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