Cover from Spain no. 8

Here is a nice cover received from José Luis in Carballo, Galicia, Spain, showing an autumnal view of a beechwood in the province of Segovia (el Hayedo de la Pedrosa). The stamp was issued on 4 April 2011 as part of the Europa stamp project and bears the new logo. Muchísimas gracias, José Luis!

I am back, hopefully:)

Hello everyone, with the arrival of a lovely foggy autumn I feel a fresh burst of energy to return to posting the dozens of beautiful covers and postcards I've received since I went silent, and also from before that time. I hope to be back for a longer time now that I've reorganised my time and work to have a better defined daily regime. Thank you for following me:)

Apology

Dear friends,
at the moment I can't dedicate myself to my hobbies for more than one reason. I hope this break from posting will be only temporary. I am afraid I can't accept any new offers for trades. But I will honour all my current exchanges. Thank you!

Covers from Italy 21, 22 and 23

A set of three great covers received recently from Giovanni. Here's a registered letter sent from Milano, Via Rimini post-office, with a sheet of 4 abstract stamps issued on 10 March 2011, dedicated to the state's Fiscal Agencies (Land Registry, Customs, State Property and Revenue), and 4 stamps issued on 7 January 2011 on the occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Italy's unification...

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... this stamp is featured also on the above a cover with a special first-day-of-issue cancellation from the Presidential Palace in Rome (il Quirinale)...

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...and the same special cancellation can be seen used also on the souvenir sheet (7 January 2011), with the symbolic Italian flag, also part of the commemoration of the Italy's Unification.

Grazie, Giovanni, for these covers, and also for the fantastic surprise from the Pitcairn Island which I will show shortly:))

Czech cover no. 6

A new stamp in the ongoing series dedicated to the tradition of the Czech stamp production, issued on 20 January 2011, reproducing the stamp from a postal card (1966) made by Josef Herčík, one of the top Czech engravers. The cover above bears the stamp with the coupon (taken from a booklet), and has two cancellations... I wanted to have it only hand-cancelled, but interestingly, the cover then still went to receive the machine cancellation, at the same post-office (Kroměříž 1 - the only one here which has the machine).

Below, the stamp is used again, this time without the coupon, but with a hand-cancellation only, from Kroměříž 2 post-office located in the Main Square. This postcard shows the Baroque Church of St. John the Baptist, within a stone's throw of the said office.

Cover from France no. 14

A lovely cover from France with a set of four selfadhesive stamps, taken from one of two booklets issued in 2010, showing typical regional dishes... Merci, Eric!!

Cover from Slovakia no. 4

Here's another bunch of splendid mail received lately from around the world. Due to further time constraints I will reduce my comments, but will show the lovely covers and postcards anyway, they speak for themselves:)

Slovakia: registered letter sent from Bratislava, 2 x Topolčany Castle (2010) with two coupons of the State Geological Institute, with two engraved wooden churches (East Slovakia, protected as a UNESCO WHS) and one offset printed coupon in the middle, taken from a sheet issued in 2008.

Thank you, Marian!!

Cover from Luxembourg

A set of two nice self-adhesive stamps on this cover sent from Luxembourg on 8 March 2011. The issue, from 16 March 2010, is dedicated to the Eischtal (the Valley of the river Eisch, or 'Valley of the Seven Castles' - only six of them depicted here:) -, in central Luxembourg).

Thank you, Arturo!

Postcard from Spain no. 4

A nice postcard showing the major sights of Madrid, sent from Ciudad Real on 22 December 2010.

The 0.64 euro Christmas stamp was issued on 3 November 2010, and is a painting by J. Carrero, a variation on Christmas themes.

Gracias Aurora!

Czech cover no. 5

Here's a Czech cover with a few stamps which I wanted to have postally used in my collection. The 6.50 crowns "Rose above Prague II." has two coupons, the right-hand one being used only once in a sheet of nine stamps which is the format these stamps were issued in. The left-hand one accompanies each of the stamps, and is a publicity for a postal savings bank (there may have been other tabs in circulation too, but this is the default version). The stamp was issued on 22 October 2003; incidentally, on 26 March 2003 a very similar stamp in a very similar sheet with different coupons was issued too, only with the nominal value of 6.40 crowns.

The cartoon stamp (28 May 2003) is by Adolf Born, and is part of the series "For Children", the two kids are Mach and Šebestová, who can work miracles with the telephone receiver Mach is holding.

The 0.40 crowns stamp is one of the twelve zodiac signs - pisces.