Veikko Savolainen aka Joonas

Veikko Savolainen, who signs as Joonas, has been active in the field of comics since the late 1940s, when he produced 'Heikki ja Esa' in Karjala and 'Ruutinyrkki' in Veikkaaja. In the 1950s, he was present in the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat with 'Joonas' (1950-58) and 'Toope' (1955). 'Joonas' was later continued in Seura ja Kotiposti and ran until 1972. He subsequently cooperated with Pellervo ('Unto Uneksija', 1966-), Aja ('Kaista', 1966-69), Poni ('Hirnu', 1972-), Iltasanomat ('Oloneuvos', 1986) and Lääkärin Paikka ('V. Vaivainen', 1989-91). His comic series 'Leo ja Kaverit' ran from 1975 to 1991. Albums with his work are published since the 1980s, such as 'Joonas' collections, 'Sirkus Napoleon', 'Hypnoosimurha' and 'Unto Uneksija'.

Ella sent me this card with a self portrait by Veikko Savolainen and his trade mark signatures as ‘Joonas’. The stamp on the card commemorated the 100th anniversary of Finnish comics and was issued on 5.9.2011. The stamp is itself a part of a set of six.100 Years of Finnish comics

Passenger Ferries

In June 2009, Àland Post started a new series of stamps on the theme of passenger ferries, which operate or have operated to and from Àland since the start of passenger ferry service in 1959. The two stamps depict the first ferry and the newest one. One of the ships featured in this post is the SS Viking; the other was still under construction and was thus called Newbuilding 2009. On 1 June 1959, the first proper passenger ferry, the SS Viking, sailed on its maiden voyage from Galtby in the Finnish archipelago of Turku, via Mariehamn to Gràddò in Roslagen. The shipping company Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen, founded by the Alanders Gunnar Eklund and Henning Rundberg, owned the ship. The Viking was built as the SS Dinard in 1924 for Southern Railways Company.

Viking Line is a Finnish shipping company that operates a fleet of ferries and cruise ferries between Finland, the Åland Islands, Sweden and Estonia. Viking Line shares are quoted on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. Viking Line is operated from the Åland Islands. Viking Line's history can be traced back to 1959, when a group of sea- and businessmen from the Åland Islands province in Finland formed Rederi Ab Vikinglinjen, purchased a steam-powered car-ferry SS Dinard from the UK, renamed her SS Viking and began service on the route Korpo (Finland) — Mariehamn (Åland) — Gräddö (Sweden). In the same year the Gotland-based Rederi AB Slite began a service between Simpnäs (Sweden) and Mariehamn. My dear friend Merja sent me these maxi cards.

Marilyn Monroe

My dear friend Maria tempted me with this card and wanted to see if I’d post it on this blog. I had no hesitation whatsoever, as I’ve always had a soft corner for MM ;-)) Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortenson but baptized and raised as Norma Jeane Baker; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962 was an American actress, singer and model. After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946. Her early film appearances were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950) were well received. By 1953, Monroe had progressed to leading roles. Her "dumb blonde" persona was used to comedic effect in such films as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and The Seven Year Itch (1955). Limited by typecasting, Monroe studied at the Actors Studio to broaden her range, and her dramatic performance in Bus Stop (1956) was hailed by critics, and she received a Golden Globe nomination. Her production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, released The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination and won a David di Donatello award. She received a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like It Hot (1959).

The final years of Monroe's life were marked by illness, personal problems, and a reputation for being unreliable and difficult to work with. The circumstances of her death, from an overdose of barbiturates, have been the subject of conjecture. Though officially classified as a "probable suicide", the possibility of an accidental overdose, as well as the possibility of homicide, have not been ruled out. In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute. In the years and decades following her death, Monroe has often been cited as a pop and cultural icon as well as an eminent American sex symbol.

Aland World Championships Of Optimist Dinghies

The Optimist is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy intended for use by children up to the age of 15. Nowadays boats are usually made of fiber reinforced plastic, although wooden boats are still built. It is one of the most popular sailing dinghies in the world, with over 130,000 boats officially registered with the class and many more built but never registered. The Optimist is recognized as an International Class by the International Sailing Federation. This maxi card given to me by my dear friend Merja and the 3.40 stamp on it were issued on 9.6.1995 to commemorate the World Championships Of Optimist Dinghies held in Aland.

Messerschmitt Bf 109

My dear friend Ella sent me this card featuring the Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s. It was one of the first true modern fighters of the era, including such features as all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, a retractable landing gear, and was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine. The Bf 109 first saw operational service during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II, during which time it was the backbone of the Luftwaffe’s fighter force. From the end of 1941 the Bf 109 was supplemented by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.

Originally conceived as an interceptor, later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and as reconnaissance aircraft. It was supplied to and operated by several states during World War II, and served with several countries for many years after the war. The Bf 109 was the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 units produced from 1936 up to April 1945 The Bf 109 was flown by the three top-scoring German fighter aces of World War II, who claimed 928 victories between them while flying with Jagdgeschwader 52, mainly on the Eastern Front, as well as by Hans-Joachim Marseille, the highest scoring German ace in the North African Campaign. It was also flown by several other successful aces from Germany's allies, notably Finland, including the highest scoring non-German ace Ilmari Juutilainen, and pilots from Romania, Croatia and Hungary. Through constant development, the Bf 109 remained competitive with the latest Allied fighter aircraft until the end of the war.

Costa Brava

Jordi sent me this pretty card of The Costa Brava, a coastal region of northeastern Catalonia, Spain. Costa is the Catalan and Spanish word for 'coast', and Brava means 'rugged' or 'wild'. The Costa Brava stretches from Blanes, 60 km (37 mi) northeast of Barcelona, to the French border.

In the 1950s, the Costa Brava was identified by the Spanish government and local entrepreneurs as being suitable for substantial development as a holiday destination, mainly for package holiday tourists from Northern Europe and especially, the United Kingdom and France. The combination of a very good summer climate, nature, excellent beaches and a favourable foreign exchange rate was exploited by the construction of large numbers of hotels and apartments in such seaside resorts as Blanes, Tossa de Mar, and Lloret de Mar. Tourism rapidly took over from fishing as the principal business of the area.

While part of the Costa Brava coastline lent itself to tourist developments on a very large scale, other parts have retained a more traditional look and have become "hidden gems" for visitors who want a little more than sun, sand and sangria. Small towns like Cadaqués, which is close to the French border and close to the foothills of the Pyrenees, have attracted artists, such as Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso. The Dalí Theatre and Museum in Figueres is one of the most important and visited museums in Catalonia. One can also visit Dalí's House-Museum in Port Lligat, near Cadaqués and the Castle of Púbol in Púbol. The coast between Roses and Tossa de Mar has many delightful small coastal towns.

Vintage cars in Åland

The stamps on the maximum cards given to me by my dear friend Merja were issued on 04 March 2005. The cars represent four different decades: the 1920’s, 1930’s, 1950’s and 1960’s. First out on the road was an Oakland Sport Convertible from 1928. The following car model is a shining black Ford V8 from 1939. The second youngest of the cars is a Buick Super 4D HT, a classic red-and-white American car. The beige Volkswagen 1200 from 1964 is the youngest of the featured vintage cars. This car is still a very popular model all over the world. All four cars are registered in Aland.
The car stamps are inserted in a booklet with a brief informative text about each car. The booklet cover shows a detail of the right rear wing of the Volkswagen. The denomination of the stamps is 1st class each.