Finland -The Moomins

My Dear Friend Merja sent me these lovey maxicards. Of the Magnificent Moomins! The 2011 Moomin stamps show adventures of the much-loved Moomin characters from Tove Jansson’s picture book “The book about Moomin, Mymble and Little MY”. The different shapes of the stamps bring to mind the intriguing peepholes in the book. The stamps depict Moomin, The Mymble, Little My, Moominmamma, the Hemulen and Hattifatteners. Every stamp has a different form, some have soft edges, the others the angles. Aren’t they all really lovely? The discerning must have detected that one maxi card is missing. That is quite correct, one card has been a tad tardy in the post.

Belarus - 1950 Studebaker

Public reaction is what matters in the auto industry, and "The Next Look" 1950 Studebaker, featuring the company's signature "bullet-nose" look for the first time, was a winner -- more popular than even the 1947. Sales began in August 1949, nearly a month ahead of other 1950 cars. The 1950 models were Studebaker's most successful in terms of sales. Hundreds of dealers sent glowing telegrams describing announcement day: "Showroom crowded to capacity." "Public acceptance best ever." "Huge crowds, all agreed Studebaker still leads the way." "Showing a definite flop, showroom holds 100 people, needed room for 500!" Added in March 1950 were Champ Custom sedans and coupes with no hood ornament or rear fender shields, painted rather than chromed headlamp/taillight rims, and only a small round trunk handle/light assembly. They looked spartan, but at $1,419-$1,519, they were among the most affordable full-size cars around. Studebaker was targeting traditional low-priced leaders Chevy, Ford, and Plymouth, and thus advertised Champ Customs with the clever slogan "It's 4 To See Instead of 3!”. .Demand for the bullet-nose '50s proved so strong that Studebaker added a third shift at its large South Bend factory and ran its Southern California and Hamilton, Ontario, assembly plants at or near capacity. A 14-month model "year" (July 15, 1949, to September 27, 1950) produced 343,164 cars -- the most for any vehicle in Studebaker's long history. By the end of 1950, company employment was up to 25,000, a peacetime record. This card was sent to me by Dzianis from Minsk.

New Zealand - Cape Reinga Lighthouse

Cape Reinga Lighthouse is a lighthouse at Cape Reinga in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is owned and operated by Maritime New Zealand. The lighthouse is a common New Zealand icon and a popular tourist destination although the lighthouse itself is not open to the public. The lighthouse is at the Northern most point of New Zealand. The lighthouse was built in 1941 and first lit during May of that year. It was the last manned light to be built in New Zealand and replaced the Cape Maria Van Diemen Lighthouse, located on nearby Motuopao Island, which had been built in 1879. Accessing that lighthouse was difficult due to the rough seas in the area, so in 1938, it was decided to move the lighthouse to Cape Reinga for safety reasons. The complete lantern fittings from Motuopao Island were reused at Cape Reinga, though the new lighthouse was fitted with a 1000 watt electrical lamp instead that could be seen for 26 nautical miles (48 km). The lamp was powered by a diesel generator. In 1987, the lighthouse was fully automated and the lighthouse keepers were withdrawn. The lighthouse is now monitored remotely from Wellington. In May 2000 the original lens and lamp were replaced by a 50 watt beacon. The beacon is powered by batteries that are recharged by solar cells. The beacon flashes every 12 seconds and can be seen for 19 nautical miles (35 km). Russel sent me this nice card.

Finland - Coat of Arms

Merja gave me this card featuring a Coat of Arms figurehead from a Russian War vessel. The original is in the museum at Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland.

Czech Republic - Centenary of Czech Air Flight

This card commemorates the Special train ride from Prague to Pordubice, on the route of the First Czech air flight 100 years ago. Thank you Stan for this nice card.

Åland –Superheroes with Aland roots

Did you know that the creator behind many of the familiar cartoon superheroes of the 1940s and 1950s came from Saltvik, Åland? Three of his superheroes now appear in an Åland stamp booklet. Paul Gustafson was born in 1916 in Saltvik. Like many other Ålanders of this époque, he emigrated to the USA with his family when he was five. Having studied at Quentin High School and Manhattan’s Cooper Union, Paul spent some years apprenticing under cartoonist Frank Owen, whose wife, Vera, was also born in Åland. At the end of the 1930s, Paul made a name for himself as an independent cartoonist creating many characters, mainly superheroes, for Marvel Comics. Most of Paul’s comics were created between 1938 and 1946, some of them being: The Angel, The Arrow, Black Panter, A-man, Quicksilver, Magno, The Human Bomb, Blackhawk, Jester, Rusty Ryan and Midnight. He later focused on the comic strip Will Bragg. As a cartoonist, he sometimes signed his work Paul Earrol. From 1942 to 1945, Paul took an intermission from drawing to do his World War II military service. At the end of the 1950s, he left his career as a cartoonist to become a land surveyor for New York State. However, he did continue to do comic drawings for the local newspaper in Warwick, New York, where he lived with his family. Paul Gustafson is known to have created a number of different types of super-heroes.

For the stamp booklet, Åland Post has chosen to present The Arrow, The Fantom of the Fair and Alias the Spider. And My Dear Friend Ella sent me these maxi cards with the Super Heroes.

Cuernsey

This set of maxi cards were issued along with the set of five stamps on 15th November 1980 bu the Posta HQ at Guernsey in the Channel Islands to welcome Christmas. My dear friend Maria sent them to me.