Sometime in my late teens, I received a large parcel from a relative — found when helping to clear out the home of a friend’s deceased parent. It contained thousands of stamps, postal cards and covers from Persia and Iraq, mostly dated to the early part of the twentieth century up until the late 1920s and early 1930s. Thus began a lifelong fascination with the … Continue reading Iran (Y&T #BF64): The Silk Road
On March 19, 1932, the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, opened. This is a heritage-listed steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbor, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of Sydney, … Continue reading Post #995: Sydney Harbour Bridge
On March 8, 1576, Spanish explorer Diego García de Palacio first sighted the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Copán. This is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization in western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. Today, it lies within the municipality of Copán Ruinas in the department of Copán. It is in a fertile valley among foothills at 2,300 feet … Continue reading The Spanish “Find” Copán
Lyndhurst, also known as the Jay Gould estate, is a Gothic Revival country house that sits in its own 67-acre (27 ha) park beside the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York, about a half mile south of the Tappan Zee Bridge on US 9. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. Designed in 1838 by Alexander Jackson Davis, the house was owned … Continue reading Lyndhurst Mansion
Pro Patria, officially Stiftung PRO PATRIA Schweizerische Bundesfeierspende, is a Swiss patriotic and charitable organization. Its purpose is to give meaning to the Swiss National Day (Schweizer Bundesfeiertag in German, Fête nationale suisse in French, Festa nazionale svizzera in Italian, and Fiasta naziunala svizra in Romansh), August 1, by collecting donations to the benefit of social and cultural works of national public interest. Pro Patria … Continue reading Pro Patria and Swiss Castles
On January 20, 1841, Hong Kong Island was occupied by the British during the First Opium War. The island was ceded by Qing China in the aftermath of the war in 1842 and established as a Crown colony in 1843. The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 after the Second Opium War and was further extended when Britain obtained a 99-year lease of … Continue reading The British Colony of Hong Kong
I cannot think of very many, if any, other stamps in my collection, that portray restaurants but that is what is pictured on Michel #4392 issued earlier this year by Portugal. Peter Café Sport is a historic café and restaurant located in the town of Horta, on the island of Faial, Azores. In 1986, Newsweek magazine included the café among the best bars in the … Continue reading Peter Café Sport
On November 21, 1877, Thomas Edison announced his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record and play sound. Born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio, Thomas Alva Edison has been described as America’s greatest inventor. He is credited with developing many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, which include the phonograph, … Continue reading Thomas Edison’s Invention of the Phonograph
A Stamp A Day 