On February 23, 532, Byzantine emperor Justinian I ordered the building of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople which would become the Hagia Sophia. That is what I had planned to write about today. However, every stamp in my collection that I thought depicted the Hagie Sophia in fact portrayed some other mosque in Istanbul or elsewhere in Turkey, none of which I felt … Continue reading The Britten-Norman Trislander
With these early posts celebrating October as U.S. (and Philippines) National Stamp Collecting Month, I have been concentrating on the early history of the mail itself, from the earliest postal systems and methods of transporting the mail itself. Future articles will deal with aspects of the hobby including tools we collectors use and a few famous (and not so famous) stamps along the way. If … Continue reading National Stamp Collecting Month: The Mail Coach
In the 19th century, the population of the Channel Island of Jersey increased rapidly and the main town of St. Helier expanded with many new streets in the middle portion of the century. Two railways, the Jersey Western Railway in 1870, and the Jersey Eastern Railway in 1874, were opened. The western railway operated from St Helier (Weighbridge) to La Corbière and the eastern railway from … Continue reading The Jersey Eastern Railway
Herm Island is one of the Channel Islands and part of the Parish of St. Peter Port in the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It is located in the English Channel, north-west of France and south of England and is 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) long and under 0.5 miles (0.80 km) wide; orientated north-south, with several stretches of sand along its northern coast. The much larger island of … Continue reading Herm Island B&F #75 (1961)
The Isle of Jethou lies somewhat centrally in the Channel Islands three miles east of Guernsey and 500 yards south of Herm Island. Unlike the largely autonomous islands of Sark and Alderney within the Bailiwick, Jethou is administered entirely by the States of Guernsey, and elects members to the States of Deliberation as part of the St. Peter Port South electoral district. The island of Jethou … Continue reading Isle of Jethou B&F #10 (1961)
On June 30, 1940, the Nazi German armed forces (Wehrmacht) invaded Jersey and the other Channel Islands, starting a five-year occupation that wouldn’t end until May 9, 1945. The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles to be occupied by the Germans during World War II. Anticipating a swift victory over Britain, the occupiers experimented by using a very gentle approach that set the … Continue reading Jersey Under German Occupation #N8 (1943)
The Bailiwick of Jersey (Bailliage de Jersey in French and Bailliage dé Jèrri in Jèrriais), is a Crown dependency of the United Kingdom, ruled by the Crown in right of Jersey, off the coast of Normandy, France. It lies in the English Channel, about 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers, 14 miles) from the Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy and about 87 nautical miles (161 km, 100 … Continue reading Jersey #12 (1969)
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is one of three Crown dependencies of the United Kingdom. Separated from the Dukedom and Duchy of Normandy by and under the terms of the Treaty (or Peace) of Le Goulet in 1204, the Bailiwick comprises the inhabited islands of Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Jethou, Lihou, and Sark together with many small islets and rocks situated around 49°35′N 2°20′W. in the English Channel. … Continue reading Guernsey #32 (1970)
A Stamp A Day 