Friday, February 27, 2009

Welcome to Philatelic Friday!

Today is the first installment of a new mini series called "Philatelic Friday". For those of you who may be unaware, philately is the study of stamps, which often, but not always includes stamp collecting. There are philatelists who look for very rare stamps to study them, with no intent to actually own copies. I have long been fascinated by this hobby. It started when as a youngster my dad would take me to the main US Post Office in Providence, Rhode Island. I would stand in line with my dad, looking around for any distraction. Not surprisingly, the Philatelic window always had the most interesting stamps on display. I can't say I have a serious collection of stamps, but I do have a number that I've picked up over the years. This inaugural post will feature several US postage stamps that featured Hollywood legends. This first one, above left of course is the great Bette Davis. Before I show you the rest, here is a bit of trivia for you.
You might be interested to know that only one country in the world is permitted to issue their postage stamps without including the name of the country. It is Great Britain because it was the first country to ever issue postage stamps starting in 1840. They are permitted to simply show an image of the ruling monarch, either as the main image, or a small image in the corner. Here is a stamp showing a youthful profile of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. I thought it would be fun to show a variety of stamps of mostly Hollywood stars; next Friday I'll pick a different topic.






I hope you enjoyed Philatelic Friday. Have a great day!
-Rick Rockhill

13 comments:

  1. this will be fun! i like foreign stamps and have a bunch from all over the world. i'm looking forward to this series.

    love the lucille ball stamp.

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  2. Interesting -- My favorite is the stamp commemorating Audrey Hepburn; she was truly beautiful -- such a lady.
    BTW, I enjoy the snapshots on your sidebar -- especially of Ellen Degeneres and Beverly Leslie.

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  3. So very sorry!!! I got his name confused with a character he played on Will & Grace -- I meant to say "Leslie Jordan" :(

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  4. Ooh! I like the Ronald Reagan one!

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  5. Those are nice. I think I have a first issue Elvis stamp around here someplace.

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  6. wow there are some beauties there rick! look at lucille ball! wow!

    smiles, bee
    xoxoxoxoxxooxoxxo

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  7. what an awesome idea for a mini-series! I love stamps too, but never save any.

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  8. What a great idea! I've never been into stamps but I appreciate how someone could be. Very neat.

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  9. Wonderful idea Rick....I have always loved stamps but never actually "collected" them....I do save any stamps I get from outside of The Untited States, and send them to a friend who DOES Collect.
    I LOVE ALL these Stamps of The Hollywood Stars....plus, I save left-over stamps, if they are interesting, from waaay back....!

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  10. Goodness, you have been blogging up a storm this week. Is it because you're at home and not travelling for once?

    I used to have a tendency to philately, but all my stamps are either lost or stored away somewhere I think.

    Even though Audrey is my fave actress of the lot, Marilyn Monroe of course makes the most striking stamp.

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  11. My 102 yr old aunt gave me her stamp collection and I added a few. My high school drama teacher collected post stamp POSTERS and I was able to flirt into getting him a few during my job at the USPS. Some people collect these posters, fewer made.

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  12. Not that we -(philatelist/collector), have an fun from collecting stamp, it is like one diary, like one history book! I'm one small part-time dealer with postage stamp, and personally I have one collection of SERBIA - yes, one small country that was part of great country - YUGOSLAVIA.

    If You complete collection of one country, You can learn from this collection almost everything about history of same! Something that I can suggest to all of us - to made one collection - this way, You can keep track of personal root, of native country, of all what You think that it is important for You and Your future.

    Best regards to all
    Milco

    p.s.
    if You wish to see something that I prefer to have in every privat collection of stamp - go to:
    http://stampmusthave.blogspot.com

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  13. I have enjoyed Philatelic Friday on this Thursday!

    :)

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Thank you kindly.