I posted this image on another forum topic, and I was thinking it would be interesting for us to share pictures of stamps that have taught us something new. What do you think?
I’ll go first. From the stamps above I learnt about solar terms, which are Asian seasons of sorts. There are 24 Solar terms in one year (so 2 per month) and they are descriptive — for instance, “Hibernating Insects Awaken” or “Snows a bit” . I find them fascinating!
What have you learned from a stamp you’ve received? Please show and tell!
I learned from a German stamp that the technology of payment card chips is over 50 years old; 2019 was the 50th anniversary. The US adopted chips in payment cards very late.
Recently, from the Land Down Under, I learned about silo artist Guido van Helten AU-736592, and savior of eyesight Dr. Fred Hollows AU-727778 … both on maxi cards!
I just spent a while reading the Wikipedia page about Magnus Hirschfeld thanks to this stamp. I had never heard about him before. He studied and advocated for sexual minorities in the early part of the 20th century. It says he was the first to present statistics showing that gay people were more likely to attempt or commit suicide than straight ones. His Institute for Sexual Research was destroyed by the Nazis in 1933, and he died in 1935 (unrelated, he had left Germany).
The stamp shows part of his motto: “Per Scientiam ad Justitiam” (Through science to justice).
I received a card of Auschwitz, with a stamp of Witold Pilecki, which lead to me reading about him. Warning, this is not a happy story - although he was most heroic, the end of his life was deeply tragic.
I really appreciated this - Auschwitz is a UNESCO site, but one I feel rather uncomfortable just ‘collecting’ and crossing off a list. Reading this information was important to keep the reality of the place in mind.
Sherlock Holmes stamp has a hidden message visible under UV light. Pre pandemic visited 221b Baker Street. Sherlock Holmes pub in London whose theme is the great detective and Dr Watson.
This stamp which is due to be released in March commemorates an interesting event in Swiss history, when 87’000 soldiers and 12’000 horses from the French army were allowed to enter Switzerland where they were disarmed and interned. The relief effort was huge as this represented 3% of the population of Switzerland at the time.
The stamp design comes from a 112m by 10m painting which is displayed in a circular room in Lucerne.
These stamps were jointly issued by China and Germany with the purpose of displaying the architectural gems of different styles between the East and the West.
The Puning Temple, located in Chengde of China’s Hebei Province and commonly called the Big Buddha Temple. Is the most famous temple complex among the Eight Outer Temples in the Imperial Summer Resort in Chengde. This temple began its construction in the 20th year of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty and was completed in four years. It is big in scale and completed in four years. It is big in scale and complete in structures, and also draws on the temple architectural styles of Tibetan Buddhism. In the Mahayana Hall in the rear of the temple architectural styles of Tibetan Buddhism. In the Mahayana Hall in the rear of the temple stands a 22.28-meter-high and 110-ton Avalokitesvara Buddha statue with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes made of engraved wood and painted gold. This is the highest and heaviest engraved wood Buddha statue in the world, and is a masterpiece of Buddhist artistic history in China and the world.
Wurzburg Palace is Germany’s “Palace Museum”, which is located in Wurzburg, Bavaria of Germany. Its construction started in 1720 and completed in 1744. It is the biggest and most magnificent palace architectural complex in Germany, and is called “palace of palaces”. The imperial church of the main building is typical of the Bavarian style. The imperial church of the main building is typical of the Bavarian style. The huge ceiling paintings of the church and residential palace of emperors are simple imposing and breathtaking. In 1981, the palace was listed in the Catalogue of World Cultural Heritage.
This is a set of stamps jointly issued by China and Switzerland.
Shouxi Lake is located at the western suburbs of Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. The 5-kilometre-long lake is a famous scenic spot of the city. As the lake is narrow and long compared with the West Lake in Hangzhou and beautiful in its own way, it is called Shouxi Lake. Shouxi Lake means slender West Lake. The lake was formed with crisscrossing rivers. Later, buildings were constructed by adopting the technique of Chinese garden design. Along the lake are both natural scenes and gardens of unique Yangzhou style, creating a piece of landscape painting. The most famous scenes are the twenty-four bridges including Great Rainbow Bridge and Five-Pavilion Bridge.
Lemans Lake is located in the southwest of Switzerland and to the east of France. Covering 531 square kilometres, the lake is surrounded by the mountains whose peaks are covered with snow all year round. This is a beautiful and famous scenic area and health resort in Switzerland. The Xiyong Castle on the Lemans Lake is one of the country’s oldest castles. Inside the castle are the church, bridges, towers, warehouses, prisons and underground ways. On the walls and pillars of the castles are many autographs and paintings by modern and ancient people. Standing on the top of the castle, one can see all the beautiful views of the lake.
