Card #5 from Canada

Many thanks to my friend, Emilia for sending me this wonderful card with the centenary of Royal Canadian Navy stamps issued this year.

The card shows image of the the German Steam Ship, SS Bremen semi-postal stamp issued on November 05, 1940. Scott #:  B185.

Europa 1992 - Gibraltar PNC

(click image to view larger picture)

Date of Issue: February 06, 1992
Scott: 611a, 613a

Today I would like to share my first PNC (Philately and Numistaic Cover) in my collection.

The stamps as part of Europa theme, were issued on February 06, 1992 and this official stamp and coin  cover (PNC) was issued by Gibraltar on August 03, 1992 with a £2 coin depicting Christopher Columbus and his flag ship Santa Maria to commemorate 500th anniversary of discovery of the Americas.

24p - Columbus and Santa Maria

24p - map and Nina

34p - map of Columbus' many voyages and Pinta

34p - map and sailor - Rodrigo de Triana

Few interesting words from the information printed on the card - ".....the fleet weighed anchor on the 3 August 1492 arriving at the Canaries on the 10 August. It was not until the 6 September that the 3 caravels set sail from the Canaries into the unknown - The NEPLUS ULTRA.

Despite various false alarms probably through the eagerness by mariners to claim the reward for sighting land it was not until 2 o'clock in the morning of 12 October that land was clearly sighted by Rodrigo de Triana (honored on the fourth stamp, see FDC), a sailor on board the Pinta about 6 miles away.

The land sighted turned out to be an island called Guanahani by its inhabitants and renamed San Salvador by Columbus. The island is now knows as Watling Island in the Bahamas...."

The coin on the cover shows Columbus and his flag ship "Santa Maria."

Dirk Hartog's Landing - 350th Anniversary

Date of Issue: October 24, 1966
Scott:  423

Dirk Hartog (1580  –  1621) was a 17th century Dutch sailor and explorer. Dirk Hartog's expedition was the second European group to land on Australian soil. He left behind an artifact to record his visit, the Hartog plate (depicted on cachet design on FDC).  He made landfall at an island on  1616, off the coast of Shark Bay, Western Australia, which is now called Dirk Hartog Island, named after him. His was the second recorded European expedition to land on the Australian continent, but the first to do so on the western coastline.

Dirk gained employment with the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1616, and was appointed master of a ship (the Eendracht, meaning "Concord" or "Unity") in a fleet voyaging from the Netherlands to the Dutch East Indies. The Eendracht is a 17th century Dutch wooden hulled sailing ship.

Fate of the ship, Eendracht: She apparently remained in the East Indies, until 13 May 1622, where on a local trading voyage she is recorded as having been wrecked and lost off the western coast of Ambon Island in the central Moluccas. She had aboard a cargo of coins, and her wreck has not been recovered.

The Dirk Hartog plate may now be seen in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

In 1985, Australia Post issued a set of four stamps commemorating 200 years of colonization and on one stamp, the ship Eendracht is depicted (see image on right). Scott #: 950

Source: Wikipedia

SS Sardinian

Date of Issue: September 01, 2010
Design: Debbie Adams
Paper Type: Tullis Russell
Printing Process: Lithography in 6 colors plus varnish.

Canada Post issued a stamp in honor of British Home Children. Starting in 1869, and continuing into the years following the Second World War, more than 100,000 orphaned, abandoned and pauper children were sent to Canada by British churches and philanthropic organizations.

At the bottom of the stamp is depicted SS Sardinian, a steam ship built by Allan Line of Canada, which carried some children from Liverpool to Canada.

I thank my friend, Emilia at Canada, for the stamp and also the envelope with three stamps posted on day of issue.

Source: Canada Post

Card #4 from Canada

I thank Ms. Emilia, Canada for this artistic card. The card  portraits a Canadian Sailor in his costume on 1940s. The stamp on back is the recently issued Centenary of Canadian Navy 1910 - 2010.  Click here to see more info about the stamps, which I have already posted.

The painting is art work of Canadian Painter - Jack Humphrey (1901-1967). The painting  is presently at the Beaverbrook Collection of War Art at Beaverbrook Art Gallery, New Brunswick.

Card #6 from U.S.A.

Received this wonderful card from my friend, Ms. Gordon, U.S.A. She has also fixed ship and boat stamps. Thank you so much Ms. Gordon.

The ship on the card is SS Columbus, built in 1924, by Norddeutscher Lloyd and made her maiden voyage on April 1924.  At the time, she was the German merchant marine's largest, fastest ocean liner.  She was one of the first liners to have an outside swimming pool installed on her top deck, as well as a platform for night-time dancing.

During the World War II, on 19 December 1939, the British destroyer HMS Hyperion sighted Columbus about 400 miles off the coast of Virginia. The still neutral American heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa  was also in the area, and silently observed the two ships. Rather than surrender the ship, her crew scuttled her, and she burned and sank.

Click here to read more about SS Columbus at Wikipedia.

Karaweik Hall - postcard from Myanmar

This is my first postcard from Myanmar and also has become one of my favorite cards. Thanks to Ms. Thitar Aung, Myanmar for this wonderful postcard.

The floating Karaweik Restaurant on Kandawgyi (Royal) Lake is one of the landmarks of Yangon. This modern architecture of a mythical creature Karaweik Hall was constructed in 1972.  This is the concrete replica of The Royal Barge, which is depicted in many stamps of Myanmar and also in a banknote.  This whole building was gilded with gold about 20 years ago. Karaweik Hall will serve lunch and dinner with Myanmar, Chinese, Eastern and Western cuisine at moderate prices. It is also an excellent idea to examine the beauty of this royal barge and the stunning view of the Shwedagon. Traditional dance performances are normally held here in the evenings.

Click here to see the Royal Barge on Myanmar stamp.

Source: Myanmars.net

William Hall, V.C. and HMS Shannon

Date of Issue:  February 01, 2010

This is the official FDC of William Hall plus some extra stamps of my theme to cover airmail postage. I thank Ms. Laura again for this fantastic cover.

William Hall was born circa 1825 to African-American parents who had been liberated from the U.S. slave trade. He launched his seafaring career at a young age, first joining the crew of an American trading vessel in 1844. In 1852, he enlisted in the British Royal Navy as an able seaman.

In 1857, while serving on the HMS Shannon, Hall volunteered with a relief force sent to Lucknow, India, where a British garrison was besieged by mutineers. Two survived the attack, Seaman Hall and Lieutenant Thomas Young, but only Hall was left standing, and he continued to fight until the relief of the garrison was assured. For this outstanding display of bravery, he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

On the stamp, Hall is shown against a seascape, with the HMS Shannon in the background. He is wearing his Victoria Cross, the Indian Mutiny Medal, the Turkish Crimea Medal and the Crimea Medal.

Click here to learn more about the stamp in detail from Canada Post site.

HMS Shannon - HMS Shannon was a Liffey-class steam frigate of the Royal Navy.

Under the command of Sir William Peel, Shannon played an important role in the Indian Mutiny landing a naval brigade which fought at the Siege of Lucknow, including the Storming of the Sikandar Bagh. Five Victoria Crosses were won by the following crew of HMS Shannon: Lieutenant Thomas Young, Lieutenant Nowell Salmon, Leading Seaman John Harrison, Able Seaman Edward Robinson and Able Seaman William Hall, the first Black person and the first Canadian sailor to be awarded a Victoria Cross.

Click here to know more about HMS Shannon at Wikipedia.

Source: Canada Post and Wikipedia