Month: June 2020

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South Africa 1991, keeping a manned science station on Antarctica

We have done a few of these Antarctica stamps. No South Africa doesn’t put out stamps from their Antarctic stations like some others. In 1991 they put out this issue to give hints about what they had going on. 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 todays offering from The Philatelist.

This issue was on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty. The treaty allows nations to have scientific stations on Antarctica but they must not be militarized. You might be surprised that South Africa took advantage of that but they have a long presence that continues.

Todays stamp is issue A280, a 27 Cent stamp issued by South Africa on December 5th, 1991. It was a two stamp issue in various denominations, this one showing the research vessel S A Agulhas. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

South Africa maintains 3 scientific stations in the South Pole region with one each on Marion  and Gough Islands and the SANAE IV station on the Antarctic mainland. To keep them manned year round is quite an undertaking and the research vessel S A Agulhas was acquired in 1978 from Japan. It is not a full icebreaker but the hull is ice strengthened. The ship is the size of a large destroyer and can accommodate 200 people. Of special importance in the hanger accommodation for 2 large Oryx helicopters. An Oryx is a South African copy  of a French Puma helicopter. Remember the ship must visit all three stations annually to replace staff and carry adequate supplies to last through the winter. All waste from the stations must be taken away as well.

I mentioned that the current mainland station is called SANAE IV. Stations tend to have a short life because over not much time at all the get buried in the snow. The current station was built in 1997 and raised up on stilts to avoid this and to just let the snow blow through. This design has been copied by newer stations. It houses 10 in winter and 50 in summer.

SANAE IV station. Notice the stilts and the red painted roofs to make it more visible from the air

The Agulhas had a bad December 1991 despite being honoured that month with a stamp. The ships rudder broke and it got stuck in a ice drift off of Gough Island. The German icebreaker and research ship R V Polarstern was able to free it. In 2002 The Agulhas’s helicopters were able to free the crew of the Russian cargo vessel M V Magdalina  Oldendorff. Part of the Antarctic Treaty is that everybody cooperates regarding safety.

Not everything is safe on board though and not just from the cold. There have been two shipboard murders on board. One by axe and one by stabbing. The charges were dropped in the first case and the suspect in the second case went overboard to escape justice. The ship was replaced in 2012 in it’s Antarctic duties by the Finnish made S A Agulhas II. Agulhas still serves as a training vessel.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the hearty crews of Antarctica stations and the ships that supply them. Sounds like great adventure but I wish they would describe more what scientific advances are being made. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

 

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United Nations(Geneva offices)2000, Painters for the new century

When you enter a new century, it is a good time to check out what is going on in the arts. The UN is in an especially good place to do that as they have offices and representatives everywhere. What did they find? 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 todays offering from The Philatelist.

The competition featured artists from around the world and all the entries went on a traveling exhibition from London to Brussels, then Stockholm, then New York City. Six stamps featured art from the exhibition with 2 stamps each issued by UN offices in New York, in Geneva, and Vienna. The artists were 1 American, 1 Japanese, 1 Philippine, 1 Kenyan, 1 Greek, and 1 Lebanese, Rita Adaimy the painter of “The Embrace” on this stamp and the only female.

Todays stamp is issue A319, a .90 Swiss Franc stamp issued by the United Nations on May 30th, 2000. The two Geneva issues had different denominations with this the lower. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.10 used. Though this is a Geneva issue, I got it in a pack of stamps I bought at the UN headquarters gift shop in New York in 2013. After getting home from that trip, I put the pack aside unopened till I found and opened it last week. Ah, Lost treasures…

The millennium art competition show us where the art world was at. Despite attracting entrants from around the world the entries turned in were remarkably uniform. In this case it might lead you to believe that Auguste Rodin might have an outsized influence on the contemporary female artists of Lebanon. Perhaps he does and maybe that is not so bad. Imagine a similar competition from the dawn of the 20th century, you would have had fewer entrants from fewer places but you would have had much more diversity of style. You also would be dealing with art from Rodin himself rather than someone who ripped him off.

Artist self portrait as a cross stitch pattern. Try that Rodin

Ms. Adaimy is still an artist and Pharmacy educator in Lebanon. She recently participated in a multi section mural at the Lebanon Museum of Contemporary Art. The mural is in the graffiti style and sponsored by the European Union in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the UN Human Rights Commission.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the UN for showing us the state of the art world in this millennium. That the state is not so good in not their fault. At least they are not yet doing a stamp set on the current state of postage stamp gasbaggery. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Brazil 1933, Lets talk more of Rio and less of Sao Paulo with all their coffee and cream politics

Power centers can shift in a large country with internal migration and economic change. During this time Sao Paulo was in open rebellion after it’s monopoly on power was removed. 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 todays offering from The Philatelist.

The stamp celebrates the first century of the small city of Vassouras near Rio. One century sounds like a short time but Vassouras was an older city that harkened back to the days of Empire, before Sao Paulo took center stage.

Todays stamp is issue A112, a 200 Reis stamp issued by the Central government of Brazil on January 15, 1933. That year the rebels in Sao Paulo had their own stamps which were weirdly declared real Brazil stamps after the uprising was put down. This was a single stamp issue. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 60 cents used.

In the 1880s slavery was abolished and there was a large migration of the newly freed to the south. The economy was also shifting with less emphasis on the sugar cane agriculture up north to coffee production in the south. The Monarchy was also fizzling out with no realistic heir and what replaced it was the new coffee and cream politics centered on fast growing Sao Paulo. Between 1890 and 1930 an informal arrangement was made between the comparatively rich and populous southern states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais that former governors of the two states would rotate as President of Brazil. The style of ruling was called coffee and cream politics because of the backing of gentry coffee planters and the creamy whiteness of the politicians.

Change is constant and the early 20th century began to see a growth of a middle class and industry in the cities. These people were to the left of the coffee and creamers that had an electoral lock on the Presidency. In 1930 a new coffee and cream guy was elected but the state refused to inaugurate him. Instead the army appointed former general Getulio Vargas as interim President and suspended the constitution. In 1932 Sao Paulo rebelled demanding a reinstatement of the Constitution and the seating of elected in 1930 coffee and creme guy. In control in Sau Paulo, the Paulites began to march toward the capital then still in Rio.

Uncle Coffee Planter wants you for the Revolution.

The Army proved loyal to Vargus and successfully blocked the path to Rio. The Brazilian Navy then began to blockade Sao Paulo preventing the arming of the army the coffee planters had raised with imported heavy weapons. The fight than seemed to shift to the idea of Sao Paulo  breaking away to become independent of Brazil. However the Paulista rebels were badly outnumbered and gave up before the national army reached Sao Paulo.

Counterpoint, The kids love Vargas

In 1934, Vargas was elected as President and ruled off and on into the 1950s. His opposition increasingly became hard leftists and facists. This took the form of coup scheme called the Cohen plan. Then there was a Nazi Intregalist coup attempt. Despite surviving all this and being one of Brazil’s longest rulers, Vargas got tired of the fight and killed himself while in office in 1954.

Well my drink is empty and I am now convinced that it is no fun being the President of Brazil. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Tahiti 1934, Will Britain help defend the eye eating Queen Pomare

The Dutch, the British, and the French were rushing around the islands of the pacific staking their claims. Often under the guise of bringing Christianity to non believers. What happens though when a local Queen has already been converted and here comes another ship of Europeans of another country and denomination? A war. 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 todays offering from The Philatelist.

I usually am a fan of French colonial stamps but this one leaves me a little flat. I suppose spear fishing is exotic if not unique, I did a British Guyana stamp showing an Indian spear fishing here, https://the-philatelist.com/2018/11/13/british-guiana-1934-interesting-picture-but-the-wrong-type-of-indian/    . The French presence in Tahiti was cloaked though in the duty of of bringing civilization and Christian Salvation to Tahiti. Might a small part of that include giving the local fellow a fishing pole?

Todays stamp is issue A12, a 2 Centimes stamp issued by the French Colony of French Oceania in 1934. This was a long running 37 stamp issue in various denominations. Among the variations were versions overstamped France Libre to signal Tahiti being in Free French hands during the war  and a version considered fake that lack the RF in the corner. They were put out by the Vichy government but not actually used for postage. According to the Scott catalog the stamp is worth 35 cents unused.

Tahiti was first occupied by Polynesians around 300 AD. They had came by small boat from the west. European visitors included first Portuguese, then Dutch, then British,  and even Spaniards coming from the other direction, their colony in Peru. Individual islands in the area often had a local King or Chief who was affiliated but not directly ruled by Queen Pomare. The London Missionary Society had established a permanent presence in the area in 1797. They were Protestants lead by a Welch Congregationalist. In 1812, they succeeded in converting the Royal Family of Tahiti.

In 1834, a group of French Catholic Missionaries landed but were not allowed to stay. They reported back that Tahiti was still far from civilized. The easily understood and true point that they harped upon was the tradition of Queen Pomare to eat the eye of a defeated foe. Ignoring the sovereignty of the “eye eating” Queen, France unilaterally declared Tahiti a French Protectorate to allow their Catholic Missionaries to operate freely. They backed up their words with a few gunboats and 400 marines. The Tahitians fought and fought hard. It took over 3 years for the last of the Queen’s strongholds to fall to the French. Giving hope to the Tahititians and making the French quite nervous was the presence of a large British naval squadron off shore. The ships were vaguely on the Tahitian side as they were aware of the presence of the London Missionary Society.

Queen Pomare sought refuge on the nearby island of Raiatea that had successfully repelled a smaller French landing. British Admiral George Seymour was invited ashore to have an audience with Queen Pomare. She tried to get the British to intervene on Tahitians behalf. She pointed to how long they had held out and how much stronger the British fleet in the area was. The Admiral came out and said that in his opinion the French declarations regarding Tahiti were null and void but that he did not have authority to intervene without instructions from London. Despite having disappointed Queen Pomare, he was allowed to return to his ship with his eyes. She then agreed to a new offer from the French that she be allowed to return to her Throne on Tahiti in return for accepting French Protectorate status. Queen Pomare IV stayed on her Throne for another 30 years in her new status. The French apparently got used to working with an eye eater.

Queen Pomare IV of Tahiti

The London Missionary Society had a lasting effect. Even after 150 years of French Catholic rule, the church going population of Tahiti is 60 percent Protestant versus 30 percent Catholic. One wonders if the French Marines, many who died, would have elected to stay on their gunboats if they knew the outcome.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the efforts of the London Missionary Society. Tahiti definitely seems a place you should go in with your eyes wide open. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Honduras 1976, don’t worry Honduran girls, Bananagate bribes will trickle down to you

What is a country to do when it comes time to participate in a United Nations Year of the Woman. Well to be honest things aren’t too good for women in Honduras. So how about just show the First Lady and the youth centers she claims to have done so much for. 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 todays offering from The Philatelist.

This stamp shows a youth center in San Pedro Sula and First Lady Gloria de Lopez Arellano. I can find no current listing for the youth center, though it may have evolved into the San Pedro Sula Dream Center  that allows Americans to sponsor a poor child there and hosts Christian mission trips. Speaking of not being current, the stamp is from 1976 when the year of the woman was 1975. Also not current, the First Lady, her husband General (de facto President Lopez Arellano) had been forced out the year before after being caught up in Bananagate.

Todays stamp is issue C575, a 30 Centavo airmail stamp issued by Honduras on March 5th, 1976. It was a 7 stamp issue in various denominations. Overprints with various currency revaluations of this issue were coming out into the late 1980s. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 45 cents used.

Former Honduran Air Force General Oswaldo Lopez Arellano had first served as de facto President after a coup in 1963. In 1971 there were elections that installed a new President. The new President left Lopez Arellano as head of the armed forces and was rewarded with another coup a year later. The central American countries were attempting to form a cartel to control and get paid more for banana exports to the USA. Europeans were getting their bananas from the Guyanas and were not involved,. The cartel attempted to impose a doubling of the fee per case on bananas exported. Allegedly half of the increase went to the governments and half went to independent farmers.

United Brands, the parent company of Chiquita Bananas got much of their supply from Honduras. The new fees were costing the company 7.5 million dollars a year. The then CEO Eli Black had the idea to bribe Lopez Arellano 1.25 million dollars of company funds immediately with an additional 1.25 million when the export fee in Honduras was cut in half. When this was done it spelled the end of the central American banana cartel. The American Securities and Exchange Commission found out about the bribes. When Eli Black could not convince the SEC to drop the case, he committed suicide by jumping from the 47th floor of the Pan Am building in New York City. Two months after Black’s suicide, Lopez Arellano was forced out by a coup by a rival General. The new General naturally blamed Chiquita and nationalized the local facilities. The episode is known in Honduras as Bananagate

Chiquita Banana CEO Eli Black and the Pan Am building he jumped from

A year of the woman stamp requires that we check in how women are fairing in Honduras. The UN keeps such statistics. Their Gender inequality index is .479 which means women there have 52% of the prosperity of men. The UN includes much talk of toxic machismo and introduces a term I hadn’t heard before. They claim the country on average suffers 32 instances a month of femicide. A femicide is the gender based murder of a woman or a girl by a man. The UN further ranks Honduras 132 out of 189 countries based on their treatment of women.

Well my drink is empty and I am wondering if Honduras would have been better off skipping their late celebration of the year of the woman. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Austria 1983, 150 years of preserving the history of Linz

Modern stamps do so much to honor milestones of institutions. Perhaps too much, wouldn’t today’s letter writer rather get excited about where his people are going rather than how his ancestors were long ago. So to make it more relatable, I thought I would get into why the institution on this stamp got going, and a little on how close it is sticking to it’s mission. 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 todays offering from The Philatelist.

I am afraid this is a fairly drab likeness of the historic building that houses the Francisco-Carolinum Museum. The drab presentation is done perhaps to imply correctly that the museum has itself downplayed the historic in order to display mainly modern photograph arts. Well those folks probably throw better conventions than the history crowd.

Todays stamp is issue A655, a 4 Shilling stamp issued by Austria on November 4th, 1983. It was a single stamp issue honoring the 150th anniversary of the museum administative organization of Upper Austria in Linz. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 40 cents used.

The museum was founded by Linz lawyer and city administrator Reichritter Anton von Spaun. von Spaun was an avid collector of historic documents and his personal collection became a basis for the archive. A special interest of his was the folk music and folk dancing of the area. He felt knowledge of this past was at risk of being lost with the movement of people to the cities.

Museum and Upper Austria archive founder Anton von Spaun

The historic building that houses the museum was acquired in 1895 and the agency has since acquired a local castle and taken charge of several other historic sites around Upper Austria.

Understandably there was a big reorganization of the organization in 1946. The emphasis of the flagship museum changed from preservation of the historical record of the area toward displays of a now fairly extensive collection of modern art with an emphasis on photography. Perhaps an interesting lesson of what happens to even a well funded history museum  and archive when nobody cool wants to talk history.

A print by Eva Schlegel from the modern photography collection

Well my drink is empty and perhaps I have had enough as that photo of the girl from the museum collection just seems a blur. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Nigeria 1936, the Apapa Port Complex helps make Lagos an important city

The British involvement in Lagos began as part of their early 19th century efforts to stamp out the slave trade. That accomplished, why not stick around and see what can be done with the place. A railroad could be built that went right up to the port. If there is to be a port for real ships, there will have to be dredging of the sandbars and something must be done about the violent tides. Gosh this sounds like a lot of work. Here’s hoping when it is done people will remember who got it done in a desolate place. Maybe if there was a stamp? 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 todays offering from The Philatelist.

This stamp was part of the Silver Jubilee stamp issues that came throughout the Empire celebrating the long, and nearly over reign of King George V. What was really great about them is that the standard design allowed a window into the actual colony. What a great thing for a collector, the comfort and beauty of a standard design and then the intrigue of the window to the far off place. The Apapa port really was a lot of work, and still important 100 years later, and stamp collectors get to open a window to it.

Todays stamp is issue A2, a half Penny stamp issued by the Colony of Nigeria on February 1st, 1936. It was a twelve stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth $1.50 unused.

The area around Lagos was first spotted by the Portuguese. The name comes from the Portuguese word of Lakes. After the British declared the slave trade illegal and that slave ships were pirate ships, the Royal Navy sent a naval squadron  to patrol the west African coast from Sierra Leonne south. There was still many slaves going to Brazil and Cuba. The slaves the navy freed were often dropped off in Lagos. The freed slaves began to wield some power in the African lead Kingdom of Lagos and when the Lagos King went after them, the British intervened on their behalf. The Kingdom of Lagos accepted British domination and outlawed slavery. With threats perceived from nearby French outposts, it was decided to formalize Lagos as a colony.

Well with a lot of new people and the banning of the biggest industry, thing may have not looked so rosy for Lagos. Well there still was the palm oil trade and agricultural opportunities and starting in 1898 the British constructed a rail network deep into the interior of the country. The spot where the new train got to the coast at Apapa was chosen to be the main port of Lagos. There were big problems. Sandbars made navigation through the harbor difficult and near impossible  for big ships. The tides also were a big challenge regarding water depth. In 1906, British money was appropriated for a massive dredging of Lagos harbor and two large moles were constructed. Moles are large stone breakwaters the ease the tide issue. Then in 1919 a 180 foot wharf was constructed  and four large ship berths with a total length of 1800 feet were completed in 1926. The port has had three major extensions since.

One thing the British got wrong was the overemphasis on the train line. By the time the port was operating and especially after independence, trucks became much more important in the movement of goods. Dealing with the traffic congestion has been a constant and ongoing issue. Meanwhile the railway system deteriorated with all rail service ending and the government owned railway declared bankrupt in 1988. Lagos however is now a megacity with the busiest port in Africa and over 16 million people. The port is now, since 2005 operated by the Danish firm Maersk.

The hustle an bustle of Apapa in more modern times

Well my drink is empty and thanks to this stamp we can  pour another to toast those with the vision to construct a large port where nature wasn’t on their side. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Poland 1951, Hilary Minc has a 6 year plan to get German industry working again and build a Socialist Dream city in Nova Huta

I like a good communist 5 year(well in this case 6 year) plan stamp that tells the people what their leaders will be doing for them. Promises can be measured against results. At the end of this 6 year plan, Hilary Minc, the architect of it, was tossed out of the Politburo, so there were consequences for failure. 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 todays offering from The Philatelists.

This stamp presents an understandably misleading picture of the 6 year plan. Constructing of urban apartment blocks was actually slowing under this plan. The last plan had been about rebuilding. This plan was about redeveloping industry and a communist dream city in Crackow. Chemical factories and utopias for bigshots might be a little too honest to put on the stamps.

Todays stamp is issue A193, a 30 Groszy stamp issued by Poland in 1951. It was a 6 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents.

The first 3 year plan from 1947 -1949 had gone reasonably well and concentrated on rebuilding the cities after the damage of the war. For the next one, more ambition was shown. Much assistance from the Soviets would be involved and Stalin personally picked Hilary Minc to lead the effort. He was a Jew that had gone east to avoid the Germans during the war and joined fellow travelers in Russia in forming the Union of Polish Patriots that sought to replace the prewar Polish regime with a Jewish, communist one post war.

Hilary Minc

Who he was had a great deal of influence on what was in the plan. There was a special emphasis on getting old German industry in the former German territory working again but without Germans. The chemical works that had once belonged to IG Farben and the synthetic rubber plant Buna Werke. These plants had been closely associated with forced mostly Jewish labor from Auschwitz during the war. It was thus very important that the previous crimes there be revenged by Jewish ownership. Understandable until you remember Poland is a large majority Catholic country. The Soviet help was still industrial but at least more aimed at the people with help with steel mills and car factories, see https://the-philatelist.com/2019/03/11/philatelist-2-parter-polish-pontoon-today-versus-tomorrows-german-fintail/  .

A six year plan should also include a vision of a better future. The area of Crackow known as Nowa Huta was singled out for redevelopment. The model city was designed to resemble Paris. Remember the Union of “Polish” Patriots had lived much of their life in exile, and lefty exile in Europe means much time in Paris.

Nowa Huta, socialist dream city

The 6 year plan was not much of a success. Poland was falling behind economically. They even had to reintroduce some rationing because agriculture was being neglected and mismanaged. The formerly German industry was no longer using Jewish labor, just Jewish management. In October 1956 workers rose up in strike and protest demanding a more Polish route to socialism. The protest centered on Wroclaw, the former German city of Breslau. In response there was a purge in the higher ups of Polish leadership. It was marketed as a repudiation of Stalinists, but hit pretty hard on the Union of “Polish” Patriots. Hilary Minc was even forced out of the communist party.

Well my drink is empty and I will ask that my stories be judged as a body of work and that I not be purged. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Cayman islands 1985, The Kirk Pride never had any dead to hold but kept her Volkswagen

These small islands are hopefully done with their pirates but that doesn’t mean they still don’t host a shipwreck occasionally. 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 todays offering of The Philatelist.

These were visually well done stamps but they lack the key detail of what ship you are looking at. That is what you have The Philatelist for. Well perhaps they were worried about treasure hunters. One of the two cargo holds of the Kirk Pride held bags of cement mix. They wouldn’t have done it this way now. Scuba diving tours of their shipwrecks are now big business on Cayman. Not so much for the Kirk Pride, the wreck shifted into ever deeper water over 800 feet. Sorry but it gets pretty dark and scary that deep.

Todays stamp is issue A85, a 35 cent stamp issued by the still British Overseas Territory Cayman Islands on May 22nd, 1985. The sun may never set on the Empire but don’t call them colonies. Cayman itself must be thrilled to no longer have it’s former status as a Dependency of Jamaica, see https://the-philatelist.com/2018/12/14/cayman-islands-1935-one-group-of-caribbean-islands-avoids-poverty-by-breaking-away-and-staying-a-colony/ , they can’t be depended upon. This was a 4 stamp issue of shipwrecks around the island in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $4.25 unused.

The Kirk Pride was an 170 foot long cargo ship that displaced 498 tons. It was built in 1947 and spent it’s life working around the Caymans. In January 1976, it made an unscheduled stop in Georgetown with engine trouble.  The two cargo holds contained bags of cement and the other a Volkswagen. A nor’easter was approaching and it was worried that the ship would damage the pier when the wind and waves began to pound. The ships engine started and it was able to move away from the dock in reverse. To go forward the engine had to be switched off to shift. It would not restart and so was helpless to control where the storm would take it. It was driven into a reef that left it with a gash and water coming in. It was hoped that the sump pump would pump the water out fast enough to keep it above water until the storm was over and the leak could repaired. Unfortunately the winds shifted and with it the position on the reef. Now the gash was bigger and the ship was in 3000 feet deep water. The ship was abandoned with no loss of life. There was no effort made to salvage the wreck because of the belief  of the depth.

In 1985 a small research submarine spotted the wreck in only 800 feet of water. The bow and the stern  were wedged onto two small underwater hills. This was shallow enough for deep sea divers to be able to go have a look and the BBC did an episode about it on their travel show “Wild Caribbean”.

The Kirk Pride in it’s 1990s position

Sometime in the early 2000s the wreck shifted again and went deeper. Nobody ever came for the Volkwagen, I wonder how much is left 44 years later.

Well my drink is empty and the website’s publishing machine tells me that this is my 700th offering. I may pour myself another. I hope you are enjoying these as much as I am. Come again Monday for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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East Germany 1982, talking up ships we no longer have

You can tell that a country is running out of gas when they just want to talk of old achievements that are not current. This is especially true when the stamp doesn’t tell you that what your looking at isn’t current. 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 todays offering from The Philatelist.

This has happened to me  before where what is happening on the stamp was no longer current. A Guatemala stamp where a dictator built his actress mistress an opera house. Sounds fun see https://the-philatelist.com/2017/11/06/guatemala-columbus-theatre-still-impressive-on-the-stamp-but-really-in-ruins/   . but the opera house had since been leveled by an earthquake and not rebuilt, all before the stamp. Here we have a stamp issue of an important class of East German cargo ships, that had served and been scrapped when they got old and expensive to operate. Was there anything new coming out of the Rostock shipyard in 1982?

Todays stamp is issue A685, a 5 Pfennig stamp issued by East Germany on June 22nd, 1982. It was a 6 stamp issue of the Type 4 cargo ships built in Rostock shipyard in the late 1950s, in this case the class leader M S Frieden(peace). According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents.

The Type 4 Frieden class of large cargo ships were 9000 ton (empty). They were diesel powered and capable of long journeys. They were the first large ships to come out of the Rostock shipyard after the war. The Frieden was built in 1957-58 so that was quite a gap. The shipyard was founded in 1850 and still exists employing 500 people.  They mainly now make river cruise ships. The ships were operated by the East German VEB line, which went through a few reorganizations before fizzling out in 1992.

When the ships were current, they went far and wide. The most famous journey was to North Vietnam in 1972 when MS Frieden and a sister ship were caught in the American bombing of Haiphong harbor. Neither were sunk. The MS Frieden was retired in 1978 and sold to China for scrapping. A club for former sailors of the ship still meets every other year.

The Type 4 ship can still be experienced in Rostock. In 1970 sister ship M S Dresden had engine trouble that was deemed too expensive to repair. As the hull was still in good shape the shipyard decided to maintain it as a museum ship. For a while the ship even hosted a youth hostel. There is talk of moving the ship from the shipyard to a mooring in the old town waterfront where it might attract more visitors. The museum is one of the best collections of the maritime history of the East German era.

Well my drink is empty and I may have another while longing for the time when we can visit museums again. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.