"An Innocent Look" by Leon Charles Huber

This is painting "An Innocent Look" by Leon Charles Huber.  Parisian artist Leon Charles Huber was a talented painter of still-life and animal subjects. He specialized in painting cats, and it is noted he won various awards for them.

Huber was born in Paris in 1858 and lived most of his life there. He studied painting at the L'Ecole des Beaux-Arts with P. Dawant and Jules Grun. From 1887 on, he exhibited yearly at the Society of French Artists.

Stamp is The 100th Anniversary of the Möhnetalsperre Dam, issued on 04.04.2013.


Thank you Gertrud!

Czech Republic: Krtek and Ježek

I have received another nice postcard from Czech Republic with Krtek and Ježek, created by Czech animator Zdeněk Miler.

Stamps:
Flowers: Gailliardia, issued on 12.12.2007.
Historical Vehicles: T3 Tram, issued on 23.09.2015.


Thank you Iva!

Algeria: Roufi

This is my first postcard from Algeria! Balcons of Roufi or Rhoufi or Ghoufi , is a tourist spot 1hr south of Timgad, located between Batna and Biskra. This canyon bears testament to ancient Berber dwellings hewn into the middle of the canyon face.The architecture is typical Berber. The materials used are stones joined with a mortar, tree trunks and date palms.

I have also received this wonderful mini sheet Carpets with national motives - Joint issue with Serbia, issued on 07.10.2014.

Here you can see Serbian version of this joint issue.

Stamps:

International Year of Light, issued on 20.12.2015.
Rosa odorata (from set of four), issued on 20.10.2004.
Scorpaena Scrofa, issued on 20.01.2016.

Thank you very much Abderrazak Chabane!

Darth Vader and Son

This is one of the illustrations from non-canon book by Jeffrey Brown that was released on April 18, 2012. The book shows various pictures of Darth Vader parenting his child, Luke Skywalker.

Stamps:
National Blood Donor Program, issued on 16.04.2015.
Disaster Risk Reduction, issued on 28.10.2015.


Thank you Darina!

Serbia: Ecology in Europe - Think Green

This years theme for Europa stamps is Ecology in Europe - Think Green. Serbian Post will issue two stamps and one FDC. This is celebration of the 60th anniversary of Europa Stamps.

This stamp design is winner of competition, and all posts in Europe will issue this stamp. Some posts, like Serbian, have additional stamps with original design, like first stamp.

 This is for me best looking Europa stamp from this year.  Design by Jakša Vlahović.

Designer of this stamp is Doxia Sergidou, from Cyprus. A total of 24 designs were submitted based on the chosen theme. Up to 216 confidential votes were received from 36 PostEurop members whose designs were anonymously published.  Based on the number of votes received, the design from Cyprus Post emerged as the winner. The second place went to Pošta Slovenije and in third place, Magyar Posta.

Stamps will be issued on 09.05.2016.

Serbia: Fauna 2016

Serbian Post has released four great stamps with animals!

Castor fiber or European beaver is a species of beaver which was once widespread in Eurasia. It was hunted to near-extinction for both its fur and castoreum, and by 1900 only 1200 beavers survived in eight relict populations in Europe and Asia. Re-introduced through much of its former range, it now occurs from Great Britain to China and Mongolia, although it is absent from Italy, Portugal, the southern Balkans and the Middle East.

Aquila heliaca or The eastern imperial eagle is a large species of bird of prey that breeds from southeastern Europe to western and central Asia. Most populations are migratory and winter in northeastern Africa and southern and eastern Asia. Aquila heliaca is a large eagle with a length of 72–90 cm, a wingspan of 1.8–2.16 m and a weight of 2.45–4.55 kilograms. Females are about a quarter larger than males.

Gyps fulvus or The griffon vulture is a large Old World vulture in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. It is also known as the Eurasian griffon. In Serbia, there are around 60–65 pairs of griffon vultures in the western parts of the country, around Zlatar mountain and also 35 birds in the canyon of the Trešnjica river.They are under legal protection from hunting.

Lutra lutra or The European otter, also known as the Eurasian otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a European and Asian member of the Lutrinae or otter subfamily, and is typical of freshwater otters. It is the most widely distributed otter species, has a diet mainly of fish, and is strongly territorial. It is endangered in parts of its range, but recovering in others.

Stamps are issued on 27.04.2016.

Nepal: Swayambhunath or Monkey Temple

My first postcard from Nepal! Swayambhunath is an ancient religious architecture atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. According to the Gopālarājavaṃśāvalī Swayambhunath was founded by the great-grandfather of King Mānadeva (464-505 CE), King Vṛsadeva, about the beginning of the 5th century CE. This seems to be confirmed by a damaged stone inscription found at the site, which indicates that King Mānadeva ordered work done in 640 CE. Swayambhunath is also known as the Monkey Temple as there are holy monkeys living in the north-west parts of the temple. They are holy because Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom and learning was raising the hill which the Swayambhunath Temple stands on. He was supposed to leave his hair short but he made it grow long and head lice grew. It is said that the head lice transformed into these monkeys.

Stamps:
Moths of Nepal: Eudocima salaminia, issued on 09.12.2014.
Bungy jumping, issued on 28.12.2002.


Thank you very much Pradip!

International Space Station

The International Space Station, or ISS, represents a global partnership of 16 nations. This project is an engineering, scientific and technological marvel, ushering a new era of human space exploration. Its first component launched into orbit in 1998, and the ISS is now the largest artificial body in orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth. The ISS consists of pressurised modules, external trusses, solar arrays, and other components. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, and American Space Shuttles.

Stamps:
Penguins, issued on 01.06.2015.
Flannery O’Connor, issued on 05.06.2015.
Silver Coffeepot, issued on 16.03.2007.
Navajo Jewelry, issued on 12.05.2007.


Thank you Nancy!

Vietnam: The Red Dzao lady in Sapa

This is my first postcard from Vietnam!
The Red Dzao hill tribe, one of Vietnam's ethnic minorities, traditionally wears a red head covering. The size of a woman's hat is an indicator of her wealth. The origin of the Red Dzao is uncertain. It has been surmised that they arrived not long before the H’mong during the 18th Century. The Red Dzao spoken language belongs to the H’mong – Dao language family. Their writing is based on Chinese characters adjusted to accommodate their own spelling. Their religion has elements of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.

 Stamp is Bamboo Lamp (from set of twelve), issued on 15.05.2009.


Thank you Duc Tam!

China: Year of the Sheep

Nice shaped postcard dedicated to Year of the Sheep/Goat/Ram. Sheep is the eighth in the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac. The Years of the Sheep include 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027, 2039, 2051...

Lucky Signs for Sheep:

Lucky Numbers: 3, 4, 9
Lucky Colors: green, red, purple
Lucky Flowers: carnation, primrose, Alice flower
Lucky Directions: east, southeast, south

 I have received this postcard in nice prepaid envelope dedicated to Year of the Dragon.


Thank You Jomy!