With such an overabundance of Royals, it became devilishly difficult for Germans to unite. For Bavaria, a long lived but schizophrenic King Otto was sidelined by his uncle and therefore the inevitable unification happened. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in […]
The sugar cane plantations were no longer making anyone rich. Diamonds and gold were also discovered but not in any great quantity. So why are we here again. To fight communism? So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable […]
Is it better to leave some places uninhabited? Columbus labeled the place the land of pariahs and moved on. Perhaps France would have been wise to do the same. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome […]
Welcome to a special weekend offering from The Philatelist. Today is a special Veterans Day as it is the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I that inspired the holiday. I chose a German stamp from their new government in 1919 that well captures the devastation of that war. So slip on your […]
The same portrait of a airplane is modified to show the new emblem and the stamp value plummets. Not really unique but shows stamp collectors have their favorites, So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to […]
The USA Canal Zone did not recognize Panama. They operated under the spirit of the USA constitution but not it’s particulars. This added leeway made the labor intensive construction possible, but also allowed the American tradition of not putting live people on stamps to be dispensed with. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your […]
The countries of South America were sparsely populated after independence. There was little incentive to pledge to the new governments as citizens in spread outposts were on their own when trouble came. Uruguay hit on a path out of this, take in large numbers of immigrants and allow them to build for themselves and you […]
Ethiopia was the only African nation to not give in to colonialism. So it was natural to look to them for leadership, even if their style was not what was intended for Africa’s future. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in […]
You can’t tear it down, your country is no longer a kingdom and most of the royals are not well remembered. So lets make some money and rent it out for weddings. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most […]
Germany tried to occupy Belgium in a way that previewed their view of the post war era after a German victory. This was not of a united Belgium but rather one divided on linguistic lines. Belgium remember was a new country with the Walloons dominating the way the Flemish had under Holland. Was their room […]
