myStampJourney

US Army Postal Service Collecting and studying Army Post Offices (APO) is a vast subject with over 1000 different A.P.O's between 1941 and 1945. One of the main reasons, if not, the prime reason for the development of A.P.O's is to enable soldiers to receive mail whilst maintaining anonymity.  When the opportunity presents itself, by opportunity I mean military covers that are sold at very cheap prices by local sellers, I would always grab a few to study.  This was sent from A.P.O. 704 (Manila, Philippines) [1] to Amsterdam on a 6¢ orange air post envelope/ postal stationery envelope (PSE) dated 26 OCT 1943.  Mail under the care of postmaster of San Francisco, California. Passed by US Army Examiner 16470 Now that I wouldn't want to plagiarize information, make sure to check out Jim Forte's website. I have learnt a great deal from that site alone [2].  References: 1. A Price Guide to U.S. A.P.O. Cancels of the Second World War by Jim Forte & Richard W. Helbock 2. htt

In the previous Basics in Philately, date stamp or postmark (used interchangeably to some extent) were mentioned in one of the examples. The concept of postmark is very easy: It is any markings done which is made on both the stamp and the mail to indicate that the stamp has served its purpose sufficiently in terms of postage charges. Postmarks are vital to prevent repetitive usage of the same stamps for postage. Air mail from Singapore to India dated 30 JUN 57 on SINGAPORE circular date stamp (CDS) It is a common sight on mails - recipient's address in the centre, stamps on the upper right corner, and a circular postmark overlapping both the stamps and the mail. Get enough mails and you would notice that the circular postmarks vary from size, style, and at times even shape.  Postmarks, in general, are applied either via handstamp or machine cancellations.  General classification of postmarks according to mode of cancellation. *Update: The term, 'Frank' is put under machine

When walking out of a grocery store promptly after paying at the cashier, a receipt is issued to indicate (and prove, if need be) that we have purchased the items. Similarly, stamps are essentially small pieces of paper affixed onto mails to indicate that we have paid for the postage.  Stamp affixed to upper right corner of an envelope with a date stamp. Date stamps are postmarks that indicate the stamp has been used or cancelled. This step is necessary, else, a single stamp could be used again and again - that's not good for the economy. However, the term stamp is an umbrella of many categories. Reiterating the definition, stamps can therefore be divided into subcategories depending the nature of its use. Likewise, they are printed differently indicating its purpose. Say, when a parcel is posted but is paid insufficiently for postage, the post office would affix postage due stamps in which the recipient would have to bear the additional charges to collect the mail.  The four gene

Morocco was a massive war zone where European power exerts immense interest. The French bombarded Tangier, and later Mogador in the Franco-Moroccan War in 1844. 15 years later, the Hispano-Moroccan War took place. Both wars forced Morocco to negotiate with the British. Morocco became a protectorate of Great Britain after the Franco-Moroccan War, and take loans from Great Britain after the Hispano-Moroccan War. The Treaty of Madrid (1880) was perhaps the beginning to European ownership of Moroccan land but was escalated by two factors: 1. Economic instability (Morocco was in a huge debt where the French happily agreed to settle in return for revenues in the future. 2. Concern raised by the German Kaiser in 1905, which he condemned France's increasing control over Morocco, which ushered the Algeciras Conference in 1906. Germany was shut off, other European powers supported French presence in Morocco and her rights to collect revenues in Moroccan ports. This was the First Moroccan C

A very brief introduction: The British Empire Exhibition (BEE) took place in Wembley between 23 April 1925 to 31 October 1925 to showcase wealth and developmental potential throughout the empire with other member nations of the empire to the public.    A 1924 postcard illustrating the Malaya Pavilion (O'Neill, 2019) In terms of philatelic material, two commemorative stamps featuring the King's portrait, the Wembley Lion, and a rising sun at the lower left corner of the stamp were issued by the British Post Office on the opening day. Along with the two commemorative stamps, special datestamps were used too.  Some BEE datestamps. 104: Handstamp used on ordinary mail at London NW Head Office; 105: CDS with 'Paid' marking struck in red; 106: Two rubber handstamps issued to be used on packets, one in London NW Head Office and the other at Wembley sub-office; 107: Rubber handstamp used at Paddington for backstamping registered letters; 108: Handstamp used on registered mail

There is a special vibe to this color and I feel that its monochromatic yet warm tone perfectly resonates reverence towards this ancient giant.  Top: Some mint 1 cent stamps depicting Mount Kinabalu with portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Bottom: A First Day Cover (FDC) commemorating the release of the stamp on 1st October 1954  On a recent read on the Colonial Report on North Borneo 1949, the photograph featured on the cover of the report was identical to the one used for this stamp but if you were to travel to Kota Belud, prepare to bask in the glorious view of the mountain.  Cover of the Colonial Report on North Borneo 1949 Coming back to the mountain, there are many folklores and local legends gravitating around this mystery. Among various stories suggesting where the mountain got its name, I was often told three versions of the story: 1. The story of Kinohiringan, Umunsumundu, and Kondiu According to the Kadazandusun creation myth, Kinohiringan and Umunsumundu were deities that were

 I have always wanted to write about stamps and related history depicted in it.  As Selangor now goes into conditional movement control order from 14 October to 27 October to curb COVID-19, the urge to write again resurfaced and I thought now is essentially the right time to kick-start this blog. I am not sure whether this will last since I, too have commitment problems - drifting off to focus on other matter in the midst of one is my forte. That aside, this is just a foreword post and I would only start writing on random topics in subsequent posts. The objective I look forward to achieving in every post is to deliver said topics for the beginners and novice in this hobby. I would also like to highlight that one of the main purpose of starting this blog is to keep everything available in one site. I have been posting a few on my personal Facebook account but I guess it is time to import them all here to widen its reach.  Being aware that I am very new to this hobby, I do make mistakes