New Czech stamps + an offer

Talking about vintage cars, I am happy to show a new set of six self-adhesive stamps which were issued by the Czech Post on 5 September. These are pictures by self-taught Czech artist Václav Zapadlík who specialises in the so called "Auto Art". The big stamps (5.5 x 3.3 cm) show:

a) Duesenberg SJ - 1933
b) Wikov 70 - 1931
c) Mercedes Benz 540 - 1936
d) Rolls Royce Phantom III - 1938
e) Bugatti Royale 41 - 1934
f) Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8a - 1929

and are simply awesome. Since I noticed that our local post-office has quite a lot these booklets, I am offering to send one stamp from the series on a postcard or a cover to anyone interested. In return please send me a nicely-stamped postcard showing the place where you live. (In case we haven't exchanged before, please send first, I will reply right upon receiving your card). The E rate means "EUROPE" and one stamp covers the postage to all European countries, for overseas I will add a definitive. I will send the mail hand-cancelled.

If interested, please drop me an email at milan @ noir . cz

Postcard from Slovakia no. 8

Here's a postcard sent by our granny from Bardejov, in the east of Slovakia. It shows the Church of St. Giles (Aegidius), which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Historic Centre of Bardejov.

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The engraved EUR 0.80 stamp from 2011 shows Tatra 87, one of the classic Czechoslovakian cars, made by Tatra in Kopřivnice here in Moravia in 1936-1950. According to Wikipedia, John Steinbeck and Jay Leno, among others, drove this highly original car with the unmistakable shark's fin. The other stamp in the series shows the Prague-made Aero 30. Print-run 1 million each.

Cover from Hong Kong no. 6

Another great cover sent from Hong Kong by Brian, with one stamp from the series HK Delicacies, issued on 30 August 2012, with the first-day-of-issue postmark. The stamp features Wonton noodles. More about the whole set is here. Thank you very much, Brian!

Postcard from Spain no. 6

Another postcard from Catalonia, sent by me from L'Estartit, showing the map of the province of Girona. I assume there is a whole series of these attractive cards, covering the entire Spain, published by Escudo de Oro in Barcelona. I saw this one only in one place of all the kiosks and card-racks, in one of the narrow streets leading to the Girona cathedral. And the stamps:

The EUR 0.36 civic value "No contaminar" shown earlier, and a rose from 2007.

Postcard from Spain no. 5

We spent the last few weeks on holidays in Spain (Catalonia) and France (Department of Herault), and here is a postcard we sent home showing the city of Girona. Even though it was a very hot day (for me quite unexpected for September) the city amazed me, it is a pure medieval jewel. The card shows the historic centre and the River Onyar.

Here are the stamps I used: a EUR 0.34 trompeta from 2010 and a 0.36 "Civic values" from 2012, together making the actual rate for Europe of 0.70 EUR. The card was posted in the town of L'Estartit.

These "Civic values" stamps issued on 9 January 2010 can be currently found in most Spanish tabac stands that I visited (the other stamp on offer is the 0.70 EUR "Turismo" from 2012).

Czech cover no. 7

This is a cover of a small registered packet sent in November 2011 from Brno 12 Post Office to Kromeriz. The delivery cost 64 CZK (approx. EUR 2.5) for a 660 gram shoebox. The first stamp on the right shows Alois Musil, Czech traveller, from a series of stamps dedicated to explorers, the 3 CZK stamps is a Christmas stamp from 1995, the 10 CZK is a Baroque stove from 2008 (located in Castle Sternberk), and on the left there's a quartet of Christmas stamps issued in 2007 with a painting by Josef Lada.

Cover from Argentina no. 5

Received in January 2012, a big cover with a miniature sheet showing the polo player Adolfo Cambiaso. The stamp was issued as part of the series "Ídolos del deporte argentino - Serie 3", on 12 November 2011. It was cancelled with the first-day-of-issue postmark, plus there is a regular postmark from Villa Nueva (Córdoba) with the date 15 December 2011. Gracias, Germán!!

Another recent Czech issue (2012)

This is the current Czech EUROPA stamp in the Visit... series, showing the present and the past of Prague: the old Bridge Tower and the avant-garde Dancing House. Nominal value 20 CZK, the rate for sending mail up to 20 grams to Europe. Classical engraved stamp issued on 2 May 2012.

Cover from Spain no. 10

Aa usual, I received the current Spanish EUROPA stamp from Jose Luis in Carballo, Galicia. This year's topic is Visit... specific country. And this is the nice Spanish contribution. Muchísimas gracia!!

Some recent Czech issues (2012)

The lovely Italian engraved stamp showing the Santissima Trinita Montastery near Cava de' Tirreni reminded me that there were two recent Czech issues of similar old-school engraved stamps... In the Beauties of Our Country series, on 7 March 2012, there were two stamps showing the landscape of Kuks in East Bohemia and the statue of Wisdom by Matyáš Braun located in the famous Kuks sculpture avenue.

The other engraved stamp presents the Baťa Canal in East Moravia, also known as the Otrokovice-Rohatec Canal, which is a historical 52 km waterway built in 1935-38 to connect the town of Otrokovice with Rohatec. The waterway partly follows the Morava river, the rest is a complex of man-made canals with a number of gates, locks (14), and other water structures. There are 23 bridges across the canal, with pedestrian underpasses (platforms with iron-bound low railing used to support tow ropes when towing boats below the bridge). The main material transported on the waterway was lignite from the Ratiškovice mines owned by the Baťa company (text from the Czech Post website). There are plans that the canal should be extended even to Kromeriz where I live. The stamp was issued also in a booklet with two different tabs/coupons.