New Love Stamp

New Love Stamp from La Poste

Date of Issue : 12 January 2018

French Post issued new stamps for this year's Valentine's Day France's La Poste is continuing its tradition of having famous fashion designers or houses create the illustrations for its heart-shaped Love stamps issued in time for use on Valentine mail.

The most recent stamps, issued Jan. 12, were designed by the fashion house founded in 1968 by Sonia Rykiel (1930-2016).

The stamps also commemorate the 50th anniversary of this fashion house, and each design is inscribed “1968” at the bottom.

The new heart-shaped €1.60 stamp includes black-and-white stripes on the stamp and red and black stripes surrounding it. Shown in the center of the stamps are lips with “S’aimer” (love) written on them.

On the 80¢ stamp, red silhouettes of a couple kissing are shown on a white background. The word “baiser” translates to kiss.

Friendship is Light ....

Date of Issue : 24 January 2018

Here is a beautiful set of stamps for Valentine's Day to be issue d by Finnish Post on 24th January 2018. The stamps are unique in design. These are all floral designs full of light with the dark background focusing the illuminated part. It is a symbolic design to convey the message " Friendship is Light " .

The Valentine's Day  stamps of 2018 have been designed by Leena Raappana-Luiro , Lecturer at the University of Lapland . In the colors and colors of full-light plants, the cardiovascular pattern repeats, as the idea of ​​the whole implementation came from the wound magazine.

- A creative process took me, and I noticed I was pursuing a mystical, dramatic and sad-hearted mood. The hearts make up the vegetation of the fairy-tale forest, which shines its light in a dark environment, "Raappana-Luiro says.

- Even though I realized the illustrations digitally, I am inspired by the art history. I admire 17th-century Dutch floral paintings and old science illustrations, he continues.

Raappana-Luiro participated in the 2017 Valentine's Day Stamp Design Competition, at that time the Red Star was chosen as the winner. However, Raappana-Luiro's work attracted a lot of fascination and co-operation with the Post began.

Friendship in the light-stamped ink has five domestic stamps.

Source : Finnish Post

From our Readers ...

2 FDCs of Acharya Gyansagar Ji Stamp issued on 10.09.2013 both having first day cancellation of Agartala GPO but in different designs. How it is possible?

- Sudhir Jain, Satna (MP)

The celebration of love.....

Date of Issue : 3 February 2017

Here is a beautiful stamp issued by Croatia Post for Valentine's Day depicting the real meaning of love.

The celebration of love, not just infatuation!!!

The famous Plato once wrote: 'At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.' Love is probably the topic on which verses and lofty words were written more than on any other topic. As an inexhaustible source of inspiration, love has moved the world from ancient times until today, so it is not surprising it is the only emotion which deserved to have - its own day!

At the present time, when Valentine's Day has become too commercialized and when the amount of gifts we send to one another is being measured, it is worth recalling the legend of how this holiday was actually created and what is its deep meaning.

There is a legend that says that in the 3rd century, in the era of the ancient Roman Empire, a wise and virtuous priest named Valentine lived in Rome. At the time Emperor Claudius forbade Roman soldiers to get married, believing that their family would be a distraction at the battlefield, but Valentine had disobeyed his command and secretly wedded many couples, risking his life. At the end, because of his protection of love (and lovers) he was caught and executed on the day of February 14th. Later on Valentine was canonized, and February 14th  was declared as the day of Saint Valentine, and the day of lovers. This version of the legend of Valentine is most widespread, but there is a legend that says that Valentine worked in his garden when he didn't serve Mass. One day a girl asked him to give her a rose for a sick friend. After a few days she had come back and told him that the boy was overjoyed with the given rose and asked him for another. Then Valentine decided to visit the poor, the sick and the lonely, and make them happy by giving them roses and other small things. It is believed that exactly because of his kindness to others he was later canonized.

Perhaps more than ever, in these days when most feelings, even love as the most sublime of all, are measured by material things, it is worth to think about the sacrifice of St. Valentine and ask what is a true love is and why we should celebrate it every day,  and not just one day a  year. Therefore, celebrating Valentine's Day we should really celebrate love – for the person we are in love with, but also for our parents, children, dear friends and everyone we carry deep in our heart !

Greetings on Valentine's Day

Love safely kept in a box.....

Date of Issue : 27 January 2017

14th February is celebrated as Valentine's Day all over the world. Slovenia Post issued a beautiful stamp to commemorate this very special day .

Over the centuries people in Slovenia have traditionally used at least three different types of chest. Large ones were used to store clothes and various valuable items. The most numerous kind were those used to store grain, and also dried fruit or beans. The third type consists of small chests, frequently also mere boxes or caskets, made of wood and other materials, that people used to store little items of value, gifts, letters and photographs.

These small chests are still widely used today. People use them to store special gifts that often represent the tangible manifestation of a romantic relationship, or even simply the memory of a love story. A first love letter, a chain, a ring, a pendant... All these items find a home in a vast variety of little boxes and caskets, where they represent, for their owners, the most intimate ties to specific individuals, memories of a special person, events, encounters, special days, personal celebrations or important milestones in their life. Such chests or boxes are often carefully stored and, together with the items they contain, afford us a genuine experience of memories of people, events and expressions of love.

Love is in the air.....Happy Valentine's Day !

This year’s Love stamp from Ireland issued on 11th February 2016,  is based on the theme the chain of love. The stamp features an interesting and unusual graphic design of hearts forming a chain.

The heart symbol we see here has been used to symbolise love for generations. Hunters reportedly scrawled the symbol on cave walls, though why they did this nobody knows. Ancient Egyptians believed that the heart epitomised life and morality while the Greeks suggested it controlled reason, thought and emotion.

Love Letter with Fountain Pen

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Love letters are one of the ways people express their feelings of love. In our modern age of computers and the internet, this form of amorous communication is gaining entirely new forms, modes and dimensions.

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We are dealing with a phenomenon that probably goes beyond the classic dimension of writing love letters, which, after all, was conditioned by the individual’s degree of literacy, sense for the written expression of romantic feelings and ability to create a suitable text. Love letters were – without exception – written by hand, using pen and ink. Love letters were not mere brief communications, but deeply considered sentences. They could even take the form of poetry, but in any case they were written with carefully chosen words and the finest calligraphy. Illiteracy, or other handicaps such as poor handwriting or a lack of dexterity with romantic content, resulted in the phenomenon whereby gifted individuals would write love letters on behalf of others. There were even books and manuals published with sample content to help people compose letters and express their romantic feelings.

Love letters are (were) therefore a lot more than the mere expression in words of one’s feelings towards a certain person. They represent excellent examples of interpersonal communication, and also varying degrees of literary creativity and sense for the visual design of a text, which in some cases even included illustrations full of romantic iconography and symbols.

New Valentine’s Day stamps

 

Heartwarming stamps:  Special stamps celebrating Valentine's Day will be released on February 12.

Hongkong Post will release a set of special stamps and associated philatelic products on 12 February to celebrate Valentine's Day.

14th Feb is Valentine’s Day in the West, a time at which people send loving words and warm blessings to their loved ones. To celebrate this special day, Hong Kong Post is issuing a set of six Heartwarming stamps featuring different heart-shaped designs.

Lollipop (Local Mail Postage) ‒ The colourful heart-shaped lollipop with swirls brings to mind a romantic and warm-hearted mood.

Cake (Local Mail Postage) ‒ Let the intricately decorated heart-shaped cake convey a sense of heartfelt care.

Bread with Fried Egg (Local Mail Postage) ‒ The heart-shaped, double yolk, sunny side up egg on the bread depicts a harmonious and happy life.

Four-leaf Clovers (Air Mail Postage) ‒ A three-dimensional heart formed by a cluster of four-leaf clovers denotes a lifetime of bliss.

Balloons (Air Mail Postage) ‒ Arranged in the shape of a heart, the brightly-hued balloons call to mind happy and joyful thoughts.

Photo Frame (Air Mail Postage) ‒ An exquisite heart-shaped photo frame decorated with beautiful pastel coloured roses is ideal to remind us of delightful memories captured in photos.

Valentines Day Stamps from Philippine Postal Corporation

 

Date of Issue : 14 January 2015

The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) issued Forever in Love comic strips stamps to celebrate the season of heart. These special stamps accentuate cupid's role in how two people fall in love, and stay in love forever.

PHLPost started to release the Valentine's Day stamps as early as January 14, one month before the much anticipated red letter day for love and romance, to drum up the interests in the said stamps. This is the first comic strips stamps issued for this occasion, illustrated by in-house graphic artist Rod Teodoro.

 

Club News

“GREETINGS FROM OMAN” – A philatelic exhibition at Berlin

From March 5th to March 29th 2015  a philatelic exhibition “GREETINGS FROM OMAN ” will be held in Berlin Museum . On March 5th and 6th a pictorial postmark will be available at 10117 BERLIN.

The pictorial postmark is featuring a  dagger from  Oman( Khanjar), the logo of the German-Oman Society and the gate of Brandenburg in Berlin. Interested philatelists (maybe from the Sultanate of Oman) may please contact:Wolfgang Beyer,Vice Chairman of the German Philatelic Collector Group ARGE Zoologie. Mail: Wolfgang.beyer1@aol.de. Postage rates:0,80 Euro AIRMAIL and 2,95 Euro Registered AIRMAIL.

Courtesy: Wolfgang Beyer, Joachim Duester (German-Oman Society) and Wolfgang Hoelzl

New stamp on Int. Year of Light

 

Date of Issue : 19 February 2015

Vatican Post will release a special stamp on 19^th of February celebrating “International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies”.

The commemorative stamp issued by Vatican City features a detail of a Sistine Chapel fresco by Michelangelo on the creation of the stars, an eternal symbol that comes from and returns to God the Creator. At the beginning of the Bible we read: “Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light. God saw that the light was good. God then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day’, and the darkness he called ‘night’. Evening came, and morning followed” .

The United Nations General Assembly 6801 Session proclaimed 2015 as the “International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies”. Light plays a fundamental role in sustaining light on earth through photosynthesis. Studies and ongoing discoveries have shown how the many applications of light through medicine, communications, culture, and entertainment have revolutionized society. The international year will have a broad focus, not only on the scientific dimension, but also on the need to promote greater public knowledge and awareness on the way light-based technologies can sustain human development

Numerous and varied events will take place during the year with activities organized at the regional, national and international levels. Other goals of the initiative include improving the quality of lite, promoting science careers for women, and education for young people. The Holy See takes an active role in contributing to the international scientific community dedicated to the study of natural phenomena and their effects and influence on society. The Vatican’s historic telescopes at the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, and its ultra-modem telescope in Tucson, Arizona, are a living testimony to this longstanding and ongoing commitment to scientific research.

New Love stamp from USPS

Love was certainly in the air at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond for the dedication of the Forever Hearts Forever® stamps on January 22nd.

Combining artistic vision with a timeless symbol of affection, the newest stamps in the long-running and ever popular Love  series feature lacy lettering in the shape of a heart. Artist Jessica Hische created the lettering, first drawing her design by hand and then finishing the stamp art digitally.

“Today, the heart is everywhere,” said U.S. Postal Service Capital Metro Area Vice President Kristin Seaver in dedicating the stamps.

It can be found in religious art, pop culture, greeting cards and so much more, but the meaning remains the same—love—the universal language of the heart. Our Forever Hearts stamps remind people of the power of everlasting love. In that spirit, we hope the stamp will help you send all of your cards and letters to those you care about with a special touch of love and cheer.
Moreover, there is nothing like the feeling of receiving a love letter in the mail or a valentine from that special someone. But remember, these stamps can be used year-round because love never goes out of season or style.

World’s first valentine’s Day stamp with music video

 

Slovak Post has  released on the 30^th of January, a special stamp celebrating St. Valentine’s Day. It is first music video-stamp in the world issued for Valentine’s Day.

The motif of a Valentine postage stamp was selected on the grounds of an opinion survey of the general public, interconnected with the publisher’s intention to address especially the young teenage generation, who prefer the virtual world of electronic media, by issuing a stamp with a personalized coupon.

Taking into account the postage stamp was designed in the form of an illustrated QR code with a link to a video clip about love. The QR (Quick Response) code was originally developed by the Japanese company Denso-Wave in 1994 to monitor manufacturing processes in the automobile industry. As the company published code specification without claiming patent protection, the QR code became freely available to different types of both commercial and non-commercial activities all over the world.

The principle of QR code usage is based on reading a code via a mobile device by means of freely downloadable software (QR code reader) designed to decode text information included in a code, which takes the form, for example, of a web address. However, a QR code on a postage stamp is not a novelty of the world. Two Valentine postage stamps with QR codes and individual perforations in the shape of a heart were issued by Taiwan in 2011 with the text messages “Happy Valentine’s Day” and “I Love You!”.

The new Slovak postage stamp incorporates all current achievements of QR code postage stamps. It is not only in the shape of a heart, i.e. an illustrated QR code, but can also be identified as the first music video-stamp in the world issued for Valentine’s Day, as the QR code comprises a link to the video from the mega concert of the band Elán in Prague on September 20, 2003 with sequence of the song “Čakám Ťa láska” (I am Waiting for You, My Love) from their debut album “Ôsmy svetadiel” (The Eighth Continent). The classical postage stamp has thus become not only an interactive expression of love between the two in love but it is for all who would like to express their love in an untraditional way.

St. Valentine’s Day – a day of love and sincere feelings

 

Date of Issue : 3 February 2015

 

Australian Post will release a set of stamps celebrating the upcoming St. Valentine’s Day. The issue consists of four stamps that will be put into circulation on the 3rd of February.

Stamp and Coin Cover

The heart is quite simply the most iconic love symbol of all. The exchange of heart-shaped Valentines is believed to have gained popularity in Victorian England.

This latest issue of stamps, for special occasions and everyday use, is a fresh and contemporary take on the subject of love and the love heart form. Each stamp presents a heart shaped object, floating in a panorama of blue sky and fluffy white clouds.

There is a heart shaped kite, skywriting smoke trail, hot air balloon and cloud. The stamps convey a sense that love is something limitless, uplifting and exciting; that love is about to happen; that love is in the air…

New Valentine’s Day stamps

 

Date of Issue : 19 January 2015

In Finland, Valentine's Day is the second most popular postcard season immediately after Christmas.  This year's Valentine's Day stamps have as their theme joyful encounters in the forest.The stamps depict snowflakes, trees, a mouse, birds, berries, and a fox and a rabbit.

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Greeting stamps : Vintage Tulip & Vintage Rose

US Postal Service will issue two beautiful stamps on 14 February 2015 for Valentine’s day .

   

Date of Issue : 14 February 2015

Traditionally a symbol of devotion, tulips add a sentimental touch to correspondence. Vintage Tulip, a new two-ounce stamp, can be used to accommodate the weight of heavy invitations for weddings and other celebrations, greeting cards for all occasions, and mailings such as small gifts that require extra postage.

As a universal symbol of love, a rose adds a sentimental touch to correspondence. Vintage Rose, a Forever® stamp for all occasions, can be used for wedding RSVP cards and thank-you notes, Mother’s and Father’s Day cards, Valentine’s Day cards, birthday cards, sympathy cards, thinking-of-you cards, or for any time a beautiful stamp is fitting

 

Club News

Special Cover : Centenary Celebration of Vani Vilasa Sabha

Special Cover was issued at Kumbakonam, Tamilnadu on 26 December 2014 on Centenary of Vani Vilasa Sabha, Kumbakonam

- R . Kasinath - Tanjore

 

Valentine’s Day

 

 

Greetings on Valentine’s Day !!

Today is Valentine’s Day . Saint Valentine's Day, also known as Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine,is observed on February 14 each year. Today Valentine's Day is celebrated all over the world on February 14. It is a festival of romantic love and many people give cards, letters, flowers or presents to their spouse or partner.  There are many stories behind this special day. But it is a day of celebration to express   love for the dear ones !! Here are some lovely stamps issued for this special day.

 

St Valentine's Day has roots in several different legends that have found their way to us through the ages. One of the earliest popular symbols of the Valentine's day is Cupid, the Roman god of love, who is represented by the image of a young boy with bow and arrow. Several theories surround the history of Valentine's Day.

Three hundred years after the death of Jesus Christ, the Roman emperors still demanded that everyone believe in the Roman gods. Valentine, a Christian priest, had been thrown in prison for his teachings. On February 14, Valentine was beheaded, not only because he was a Christian, but also because he had performed a miracle. He supposedly cured the jailer's daughter of her blindness. The night before he was executed, he wrote the jailer's daughter a farewell letter, signing it "From Your Valentine." Another legend tells us that this same Valentine, well-loved by all, received notes to his jail cell from children and friends who missed him.

New Love stamp from Australia..

 

Date of Issue : 4 February 2014

Australia Post issued two beautiful Love stamps    for this year’s valentine’s Day greetings.

According to historians, the English word “romance” was developed from a vernacular dialect within French language meaning “verse narrative”, referring to the style of speech and writing of the elite classes of Europe.Originally, the word was an adverb of the Latin Romanicus, meaning “of the Roman style.”

Other meanings developed over time, with a romantic tryst seen as adventurous and passionate. The modern meaning of romance is an expression of love or desire. The stamp designs in this Australian issue are perfect for sending written expressions of such sentiments.

Romance Maxi Cards

Valentine Post Office set to postmark Valentine's Day cards

 

Incurable romantics who believe the most heartfelt messages for Valentine’s Day are personal and sent by mail -- not text or tweet -- are expected once again to deluge the Valentine Post Office so their greetings go out with the coveted Valentine postmark.

This year’s special postmark features the words “Love on Valentine’s Day … Valentine, NE,” and is available Feb. 2 to 15. The office has been providing the special postmark annually since 1941. Hand stamps with messages like “With Love from Valentine, NE” or “Crossroads of the Sandhills” also grace each envelope.

The Valentine office expects to receive approximately 5,000 requests for the special postmark, with some coming from as far away as Japan.

“It’s busier for us than Christmas,” Acting Postmaster Diedre Markus said in a news release advising senders to get their cards and envelopes to Valentine as soon as possible. “It really is a labor of love for everyone involved.”

Anyone wanting to have their valentines postmarked in Valentine should address their envelopes, ensure appropriate first-class postage is affixed, put the envelopes inside a larger envelope, and mail to: Valentine’s Day Postmark, Postmaster, 239 N. Hall St., Valentine NE 69001-9998. There is no charge for the postmark.

A new Cut Paper Hearts Forever stamp recently issued by the Postal Service should prove popular with those sending Valentine greetings this year. The stamp includes a large white heart enclosing a smaller pink heart with a saw-toothed edge along its left-hand side. The stamp takes its inspiration from the folk traditions of paper cutting.

Valentine cards and envelopes destined for re-mailing within the United States should be at the Valentine office no later than Saturday; those destined for Nebraska addresses should be in by Monday.

Other U.S. post offices that are popular for Valentine's Day include Bliss, NY 14024; Beauty, KY 41203; Aromas, CA 95004; Hartsville, TN 37074; Loveland, CO 80538; and Paradise, PA 17562. Juliette, GA, and Romeo, MI, have a special joint postmark; send requests for it to Romeo and Juliette Valentine Postmark, Juliette, GA, 31046 or Romeo, MI 48065.

Read More…

New Valentine’s Day stamps

 

Date of Issue : 20 January 2014

As the valentine’s Day approaches  new stamps are being issued from different Postal administrations, Here are new stamps to be issued tomorrow by Finnish Post.

This year’s Valentine’s Day stamps from Finland depicting furry teddy bears convey a message of friendship and remembrance of others. The Bear Friends stamp series is drawn by a new face to the world of stamps from Kemi, Henna Takkinen, an artist who has specialized in teddy bears.

Born in 1969, Henna Takkinen is influenced by naivism and story illustration and has combined these elements into her own unique form of teddy bear art. In the early 2000s she completed her Master’s thesis on teddy bears, whose history dates back to ancient bear worship and up to the modern soft commercial teddy.

“Teddy bears have taken me on an endless adventure, everything is possible in their world. I want to share through art a teddy bear world of universal peace and love. Through stamps that message of caring and friendship can be shared with the world,” says Henna Takkinen, describing her artistic vision.

The Bear Friends stamp sheet has six 1st class stamps and four teddy bear stickers.

 

Club News

New Special Cover

A special cover was released in Bangalore by Karnataka Postal Circle  to commemorate fifty glorious years of service of Bangalore Police Commissionerate,which was established in the year 1963.

: Suresh R. – Bangalore : email : suresh.hobbies@gmail.com

 

EIPEX-2014, Bhubaneswar

A Philatelic exhibition namely EIPEX-2014, Bhubaneswar is going to be organised by the Eastern India Philatelists’ Association to commemorate the 15th year of Foundation of EIPA with an objective to promote philately and to encourage new and emerging philatelists. The main theme of the exhibition is ‘Save our Environment’. The exhibition will be held on 08th and 09th, February, 2014 at the Kalinga Buddha Vihara, Unit-IX, Bhubaneswar-751007. There will be 100 frames for display in the exhibition. The participation is limited to the members of the Eastern India Philatelists’ Association whose membership is accepted by 31.12.13 only and the school students of Odisha. No previous award is required for the exhibition. The exhibition will be a Non-competitive one. Only one exhibit from a philatelist subject to two from a family is allowed. The maximum number of frames per exhibit is limited to one only. Exhibitors will submit their entry form in duplicate to the Organizing Committee, EIPEX-2014. The last date of submission of entry form is 30.01.2014.

The entry to the exhibition is free. All the exhibits will be treated as Non-Competitive Class only.
Contact persons:
Ajit Kumar Dash,
Email: akdash2000@yahoo.com
Anup Kumar Rout,
Email: anupraut@yahoo.com
Anil Kumar Dhir,
Email: anildhir2k5@hotmail.com
Shri Shanti Swarup Rath,
Email: ssrath@hotmail.com
Scheduled dates:
Receipt of Entry Forms: 30.01.2014

 

List of Prticipants ar BIRPEX 2014, Poitiers

List of participants at BIRDPEX 2014, Poitiers is available at following link .

http://www.mg-o.de/mgobirdpex2014htm.

Courtesy : Wolfgang Beyer, Vice Chairman of the German Collector Group ZOOLOGIE.

Mr.Beyer is interested to contact with the Indian participants at BIRDPEX 2014.

Mail: Wolfgang.beyer1@aol.de

New Love stamp from USA

 

US Postal Service will issue a beautiful  “Cut paper heart stamp”   on 21st January 2014 for this year’s Valentine’s Day Greetings.

The romance of the Love stamp series continues with the Cut Paper Heart Digital Color Postmark. This First Day Cover  features an affixed Cut Paper Heart Forever® stamp. The whimsical digital illustration depicts a red square with “pinked” edges — as if cut with pinking shears — containing a large, pink heart surrounded by pink swirls and smaller red hearts.

The color postmark features the stamp title surrounded by a flower-like formation of familiar folded-and-cut red paper hearts, accented with green hearts resembling the flower's leaves. Also included are the official First Day of Issue date and location for the stamp.

Valentine’s Day Postmark from Loveland

 

"A unique design created by a local artist and selected via a competitive contest is stamped on the outside of all Valentine envelopes and re-mailed from the Sweetheart City,  "More than 200,000 cards and letters were handled last year, from more than 100 countries and every state in the Union.
"Since the start of the program in 1947, more than 12 million Valentines have been re-mailed by Loveland.
"To have cards and letters re-mailed with the Loveland postmark, properly stamp and address each individual Valentine and put them all in a larger, stamped envelope and mail them to:

Postmaster
Valentine Re-mailing
446 E. 29th St.
Loveland, CO 80538

"Deadlines for re-mailing and delivery by Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14:
•Feb. 4: Outside of the U.S. to other countries and international destinations
•Feb. 10: Within the U.S. and outside of Colorado
•Feb. 11: Within the state of Colorado"

Valentine’s Day stamp from France..

 

 

Date of Issue : 8 January 2014

Here is new stamp from France for thi year’s Valentine’s Day.Every year, for Valentine day, La Poste (the French postal service) issues postage stamps designed by the greatest name in the French fashion industry such as Hermes, Chanel and Cacharel. These Valentine day stamps are heart shaped and comes in various denomination and presentation. They are gorgeous tiny pieces of art, and can make a cheap affordable collection.

This year glass maker Baccarat has the honor of being featured on the Valentine themed heart stamps. These come in souvenir sheet and 2 values both on gummed and adhesive back. A small luxury at low postal rates (starting at 0,61€) that conveys couture potential to paper and land mail should awaken the collector souls.

The stamp is characterized by bling and divinely elegant side given by the serigraph print with golden ink that symbolizes the sparkle of crystal, but also the central illustration setting forth leading creations by the House of Baccarat.

Since 2000 (with the exception of 2002), this honor have always been awarded to the French fashion designers Yves Saint-Laurent (2000), Christian Lacroix (2001), Torrente (2003), Chanel (2004), Cacharel (2005), Jean-Louis Scherrer (2006), Givenchy (2007), Franck Sorbier (2008), Ungaro (2009), Lanvin (2010), Maurizio Galante (2011), Hermes (2013).

New Stamps on World Heritage Sites in Germany

-- Pradeep Kuma Mallik

On 2^nd January 2014, three stamps were issued by German Postal authorities, Deutsche Post, related to World Heritage sites of Germany.

Scholass Stolzenfels am Rhein (Stolzenfels Castle on the river Rhine): The castle was constructed in 1259. It was used to protect the toll station at the Rhine, when the ships were the main transport for goods, had to stop and pay toll. Over the years it was extended several times. The castle was occupied by French and Swedish troops in the Thirty Years' War and finally, in 1689, destroyed by the French during the Nine Years' War. For 150 years the ruins decayed, until in 1815 they were given as a present to Frederick William IV of Prussia by the city of Koblenz.

Following the romantic traditions, the prince started to completely rebuild the castle after 1826 as a summer residence. Supported by famous neoclassic architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, the castle was completely remodeled in the then fashionable neo-Gothic style, aiming to create a romantic place representing the idea of medieval knighthood - the architects even created a tournament site.

On the steep slope to the river Rhine, a neo-Gothic castle chapel was built. The design of the gardens - at the northern tip was the charming pergola garden with views of the valley - was also associated with the natural surroundings. The road from the valley to the castle was designed like a park with a stone bridge, a waterfall and a hermitage.

This castle palace found its place in the World Heritage List in 2002, is a part of World Heritage – Upper Middle Rhine Valley.

1250 years of Lorsch Abbey: The Abbey of Lorsch is a former Imperial Abbey of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany. In 1991 the ruined abbey was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The stamp shows a painting created in 1854 by the Darmstadt court painter August Lucas (1803-1863) with the Torhalle (Gatehouse) in the foreground, the romantic excessive fragment of the monastery church in the background and a look at the Hessian mountain road. The 9^th century Torhalle is a unique survival of Carolingian era. This combines elements of the Roman triumphal arch with the vernacular Teutonic heritage – baseless triangles of the blind arcade, polychromatic masonry.

Ancient Beech Forests of Germany: In 2011, UNESCO granted extension to the World Heritage namely - "Beech forests of the Carpathians" by including five forests in Germany. The new World Heritage Site called "Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany" and consists of lowland and upland beech forests in Germany and mountain beech forests in Ukraine and the Slovak Republic.

The beech spread in Europe since the last Ice Age, the enormous competitive ability of beech and the variety of types of beech forests are a globally unique phenomenon.

In the German part are selected forest areas of the national parks Hainich in Thuringia, cellar-Edersee in Hesse, Jasmund and Müritz in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well as the forest area Grumsin in the Biosphere Reserve Schorfheide-Chorin Brandenburg. They represent the most valuable remains of large areas of natural beech stands in Germany. Each field in this case has peculiarities and characteristics that make it unique and irreplaceable.

- Pradeep Kuma Mallik : email : mallikphila@gmail.com