In: from the United Kingdom

"Postman with a pony and trap in Northern Ireland, 1938, Photographer unknown", the text on the back side of this card says. The card was issued by the British Postal Museum & Archive.
Also on the back, these stamps, among them one showing the former politician, once youngest Prime Minister in the UK, William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806).

Thank you very much, John!

Sunday Stamps: costumes

This Sunday Stamps' theme is 'Folk or national costumes'.

In our country there's no such as 'national costume': as far as I know traditional costumes always are local. I think that's the same with traditional costumes in many (most?) other countries.
While looking for suitable stamps for this post, I suddenly realized that there's one thing in common, all-over the world. At least in the countries of which I've seen traditional costumes on stamps: women wear skirts or dresses, and never wear trousers in their traditional costume. Men do, although there are some exceptions, I remember having seen stamps with men wearing kaftans.
As I think trousers more practical, I am wondering why there is lack of trousers in women's traditional costumes.

Nevertheless, traditional costumes look nice, good, and in several countries they are honoured by stamps.

First I'll show you a few Asian stamps:

From Indonesia:



From Malaysia:



From Japan, accompanied by a beautiful postmark (thank you, Hana!):



In European stamps I found this one, from Lithuania:



In the Netherlands traditional costumes depend on the place, city, region, also. Nowadays traditional costumes hardly are worn anymore. Only in a few places you can see some (mainly elder) women wearing it. Putting on the clothes needs a certain amount of patience, and I think that we, in these modern, hurrying days, don't have and take time for this.

Also the Dutch PostNL has honoured traditional costumes: in 2013 they issued a nice serie of five sheets showing traditional clothing stamps.

These are two of them, both from places in the center of our country:



The different locations of Dutch traditional costumes can be recognized by the cap or bonnet. Most well-known, world-wide, is the cap of the costume of Volendam, a fisherman's city in the north west of the Netherlands. Strange enough this famous head wear hasn't been shown in this stamp serie. Maybe in future?

There's an other costume I immediately recognize, not by the cap but by the striking shoulder part: the traditional costume of the city of Spakenburg. You can see this shoulder part on this stamp sheet, and also via this link.



The five stamps also have been united in a sixth stamp sheet:



Although the city of Marken is close to Volendam (in the north-west of the Netherlands), the caps differ a lot.
The other stamps are from places in the center of the Netherlands (Staphorst, Veluwe and Bunschoten-Spakenburg) and from the south-west (Walcheren).

My favourite province, in the east of the Netherlands, alas isn't represented in this stamp sheet serie. Fortunately the cap of this province, Drenthe, has been shown on a previous stamp, issued in 2010 on a stamp sheet on Suriname.

Here you can see two traditional headwears united: the so-called angisa from Suriname (bonnet which shows a message, according to the way it has been folded, and the cap from Drenthe in the Netherlands:



The complete stamp sheet has an other stamp showing traditional costume of Suriname (the koto) and the Netherlands (Spakenburg), and some interesting information about the headwear. You can find the complete stamp sheet via this link.

See more traditional costumes on - and via the links under - the Sunday Stamps blog.

Sunday Stamps: Technology, industry

This Sunday Stamps' theme is 'Technology, Industry'.

The theme made me think of this stamp sheet:



The sheet has been issued in 2010 for the 100th anniversary of the national Patent Act. It shows Dutch technological inventions, and I think inventions are the basis of industry.
Among these are the submarine, the artificial kidney, the bicycle's chain case, handwriting recognizer, automatic milking systems and LED light.

In: from Spain (and Taiwan)

Wind and water...
I love wind turbines, as they provide us with clean energy.
Eva was so generous to send me this wonderful photo, which has been made for her by Chi from Taiwan.

The wind turbines came in a great suitable envelope, with a stamp showing clean water.



Thank you very much, Eva! And via you, thanks a lot to Chi!

In: from Sri Lanka

Beautiful landscape, animals (among them the grizzled giant squirrel and Sri Lankan leopard) and stamps from Sri Lanka. Thank you very much, Ravindra!

In: from France

Some years ago I was in the south of Spain, and along the way I suddenly saw flamingoes in the wild. I was surprised, because until that day I always had thought these amazing birds were living in countries more southward.
Last week, also to my suprise, I learned that flamingoes even are living north from Spain, too. This postcard shows flamingoes in Sigeán, in the south of France.

The card came with more than one stamp.



Thank you very much, merci beaucoup, Val!

Sunday Stamps: Bridges

This Sunday Stamps' theme is 'Bridges to anywhere'.

I love bridges. Similar to mail, bridges connect.

Fortunately mail companies all-over the world have issued bridge stamps, and I was the lucky receiver of some of them. Among them this one from Japan:



An other suspension bridge (so to see) is this one in Iceland:



The following Chinese stamp on top shows a covered bridge. I am not sure if the second stamp shows a bridge too, but at least the stamps belong to one serie:



This stamp from Germany seems to be a 'common' one as I received it more than once. Nevertheless the image keeps on being a beauty.
The bridge pictured is an arch bridge, a kind of bridge which is dear to me (I'll show stamps on my favourite - Dutch - bridge an other day). And don't you love the postmark?



From Russia arrived these great bridge stamps:



In the United Kingdom the Royal Mail has issued many bridge stamps. You can see them via the links at the Sunday Stamps post of today.
Here are two from the United Kingdom:





Besides receiving bridge stamps I've also send out.
This pretty bridge reminds of the Amsterdam canals. It has been designed by the late Dutch illustrator and author Sieb Posthuma:



A photo of the Skinny bridge, a movable bridge in Amsterdam, is this one:



The famous painter Vincent van Gogh has painted a similar bridge, after the drawing bridge in Arles, France:

Out: to Sri Lanka

Another tram postcard found to send to Ravindra in Sri Lanka! I happened to find a temporary 'brocante' market on my way in my home city, and of course the old black and white photo postcards attracted my attention.

This card has travelled and will travel far, both in time and in place.
Concerning time: the card has been written and sent for the first time in 1929. And more than 86 years later it is sent again.



Concerning place: the card - originally from Marseille, France - was sent from Tanger in Morocco, to Haarlem in the Netherlands.
And now will travel from the Netherlands to Nugegoda in Sri Lanka!



On the envelope I added these train stamps, which I hope Ravindra will like, too. These I bought in the city of Utrecht at the stamps shop of Wim van der Bijl, a very friendly and remarkable stamp collector and seller.

Sunday Stamps: Rocks

This Sunday Stamps' theme is: rocks, gems and minerals.

My dear late grandmother collected stones and minerals, so the theme is dear to me. And I love to see the stamps the other Sunday Stamps pals have collected and shared! You can find them at Sunday Stamps and the links under the post.

For me it was not easy to find suitable stamps. That is, I could not find any mineral or gem in my collection at all!

Fortunately the following rocks I found. Both are large, and both in the sea (so, island rocks!?!).

From Hong Kong:



And an illustrated one, from Spain: