Month: August 2021

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French India 1941, Flip Flopping toward reality

In stamp collecting there is much about colonies. If there is a universal theme, it might be that trouble comes when a settlement goes beyond a trading post. Sometimes even maintaining a trading post is not realistic when the times are against it. 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 aesthetics of this stamp are fun. It celebrates the 1939 New York World Fair. But colonial issues stay around a while probably as they have to be ordered/requested from the home country. In this case the colony of Pondicherry and a few other trading posts had aligned with the Free French on the Allied side of World War II. Hence the old New York Fair is overprinted France Libre. These were issued in the French trading posts. Vichy France, the German wartime occupation puppet also printed stamps for French India which they still claimed ownership. These new issues did not get to the colony, only collectors.

The stamp today is issue CD82, a 2 Fanon 12 Cashes stamp issued by the Territories of French India in 1941. The overprint was on the 1938 two stamp issue of the New York Worlds Fair in 1939. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $4.75 mint. The version without the overprint is $1.25. A later version of the overprint that added a cross is $7.25.

Several European countries set up trading posts in India. France and Britain agreed to respect each others posts and both agreed not to meddle in Indian affairs. While that is pretty laughable it explains how the relatively tiny area around present day Puducherry was allowed to last into the mid twentieth century.

World War II created a conundrum  for the still far flung French Empire. This can be seen in the behavior of French India governor Louis Bonvin. Bonvin had been appointed governor by the prewar French government after serving in Gabon, French Africa. After the German invasion on June 20th 1940, Bonvin radioed that he felt it was his duty to fight on the Allied side after French defeat. On June 22nd, an armistice between France and Germany was signed and Bonvin immediately recognized the authority of the new German backed Vichy government under Marshal Petain. He was quickly informed by the British that French India would be occupied if it sided with Vichy France. By the 27th, Governor Bonvin announced is unwavering loyalty to the Free French cause. The Vichy government tried Bonvin in a military tribunal in Saigon, Vichy French Indo China convicting him of delivering French territory to a foreign power. He was sentenced to death and his wife sentenced to life in prison. Since the couple was not present the sentences were not carried out. Bonvin returned to France in late 1945 but died the next year of an ailment he received in India. Kind of sad or is it funny that the Vichy death tribunal never got him but colonial jungle fever did. Funny!

Governor Bonvin. You wouldn’t recognize his dancing ability by looking at him

French India was later made untenable by the independence of India in 1947. Already there had been stirrings in labor troubles at Pondicherry textile mills. France and India agreed that the territories should vote on their future. In the event the vote never happened. Socialists unilaterally declared union with India with the support of the mayor of  Pondicherry but not the colonial governor. However when the Indian flag was raised over the police station in 1954 that was the de facto end of French India. No one was forced to leave the area and French was still an allowed language. The French government formally ended French India in 1962. Pondicherry was formally renamed Puducherry in 2006 and the left over French architecture is a major tourist draw.

The pro merging with India forces were of course dancing to a different drummer. No doubt the French residents seeing this, were all in favor of a shirt wearing movement among the Indians

Well my drink is empty so I will pour another to salute the dancing ability of Governor Bonvin. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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El Salvador 1938, pretending to honor the Pipil Indians

In 1932 there was a peasant uprising. It was quickly put down but Pipil Indians were blamed and severely repressed. That might not be approved of by outsiders such as the USA. Thus this stamp, printed in America was a bit of a deception implying everything was fine. 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 today is a farm out stamp from if not a banana republic, more precisely a coffee republic. Therefore when the home country is having problems with their Pipil Indians who were the coffee plantation workers, why not put out stamps for America that show happy productive Indians. I find myself having some respect for the deception. Stamps should be used to put forth a countries best self. The displaying of the ideal also reinforces that it is indeed the way things should be.

The stamp today is issue A137, a 5 centavo stamp issued by El Salvador in 1938. It is part of a nine stamp issue in various denominations that display various aspects of Pipil Indian life. According to the Scott catalog, it is worth 25 cents used.

El Salvador received independence from Spain in 1821. At first it was feared that El Salvador and the other central American areas would be absorbed by Mexico. To avoid this, A Federation of the Central American states was started and El Salvador even petitioned to become an American state. Luckily the petition was ignored and Mexico decided that they would not press claims in Central America. The Federation dissolved in 1837 and the states went forward alone. At first the main crop was indigo with the then numerous Pipil Indians engaged in subsistence farming on reservations. With the decline in indigo, coffee became the cash crop. More land was needed and Indian land was taken under newly passed vagrancy laws and the Indians themselves set to work the coffee plantations for a days pay that only covered 2 tortillas and a few beans that had to be bought at the plantation store.

A coup lead to a new regime lead by Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez that stabilized the government and was favored by the wealthy landowners. The new regime allowed previously exiled Communists such as Farabundo Marti to return. Marti started signing up members and organizing a peasant uprising. He was educated and personally secure but managed to win some support from the Indian peasantry. An uprising occurred during Holy Week while the government was off. Indians attacked landowners with machetes and communist officers in the Army took briefly the radio station. Once Hernandez Martinez was back in place he rallied loyal army units to put down the rebellion. Marti was captured and quickly shot. He became an important figure in El Salvador and both the eighties left wing rebellion and the current El Salvadoran left of center party use his name in their title.

President Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez. Quite youthful and dashing, no?
Farabundo Marti from the poster of a Soviet film. Locally they tried to make him look like a man of the people and less like Patti Hearst’s guru.

More importantly, Hernandez Martinez began to heavily go after the Pipil Indians. The Indians had to stop wearing there traditional dress and stop speaking their language to avoid trouble with Hernandez’s troops. There is very little left of the Pipil Indians in El Salvador today. Hernandez Martinez was into the occult. Once during a small pox epidemic he had colored lights hung around the capital believing this a cure. He also thought it worse to kill an ant than a men as a man would be reincarnated while the ant was just finished. After he was in power for about 15 years he finally resigned when a student strike went national and paralyzed the country. He went into exile. As an old man living in Honduras in the 1960s, Hernandez Martinez was assassinated by his chauffeur. It seems the driver’s father was killed in the uprising 30 years earlier. What goes around comes around.

Now they have it. When making a ridiculous claim, look sad, downcast, unthreatening and most importantly! Pretend you still exist.

Well my drink is empty. Today there are myriad stamp issues from all over gushing about a minority. I wonder if in the fullness of history they will seem as being as fraudulent as todays stamp. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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French Somaliland 1940, The colonials get taken advantage of in Djibouti

Ethiopia is landlocked. However there are trading posts on the coast that have been there forever. Controlling them goes a long way to benefiting from Ethiopian trade. 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.

Todays stamp shows a Mosque in a French colony. In doing show it goes along way to describing the colonies purpose. Getting products into and out of African and Christian Ethiopia has long been a job of Arab traders. However progress meant that railroad construction would be helpful. To get that done, the French were invited in by the Arabs. Hence the area becomes French Somaliland and there is little effort put toward Christianizing. The target was Ethiopia.

Todays stamp is issue A24, a 3 Centimes stamp issued by French Somaliland in 1940. It shows the Sunni Mosque in Djibouti city. It was part of a 33 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents mint or used.

The area had been ruled into antiquity by Arab sultans who pledged their allegiance to Egypt. The villages on the coast of the Red Sea were transshipment points  for camel trains of goods in an out of landlocked Ethiopia. Ethiopia was Christian and fairly uniquely in that period, African ruled. The trade in coffee and other goods was quite lucrative. It was thought that a train line from Ethiopia through the Ogaden dessert would be lucrative and the French were invited in to get one built.

The train was initially successful  with Djibouti experiencing a population and trade boom at the expense of other trading posts in British and Italian Somaliland. The new population however was largely Somali and therefore African and Muslim.

Eventually a second train line opened up through Eritrea to the coast and the train line to Djibouti failed requiring a French government bailout. When Somalia got it’s independence there was a push to join that was resisted. Eventually Djibouti achieved a measure of independence under a one party state headed by the French selected President and now his nephew. Independent Somalia did not fare much better after plunging into war with Ethiopia over the Ogaden desert.

The Sunni Mosque on the stamp still stands. The country of Djibouti today is 96 percent Muslim and it is the state religion.

Years go by and not much changes at the Djibouti Mosque

The railroad declined and the Ethiopian leg of the journey nationalized. The EU appropriated 50 million Euros to try to keep it going but it still closed in 2016. A new railroad company was set up 75 percent owned  by Ethiopia  and 25 percent by Djibouti. China was contracted to design, build, and train locals to operate a new train next to the old French line with construction finishing and a trial run happened in 2016. The Chinese got paid but the company found itself so deep in debt that there was no further capital to get the new train into commercial operation. One can imagine the railway company furiously calling China, France, the USA to help. Hopefully they no longer pay their phone bill.

A reminder of the old not operational French railroad to Djibouti
A reminder of the 2016 trial run of the not operational new Chinese train to Djibouti.

Well my drink is empty and to me the French come across fairly badly for getting sucked in to build the railroad. I doubt any profit from it ever made it back to France. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018

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China 1957, Building on Japanese and Russian foundations in Changchun, Manchuria

The first automotive plant in the biggest country by population in the world. Now the biggest automotive market in the world. 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.

You don’t often see smokestacks on a stamp. Today a developing country would probably just show the factory gate. The complex shown with its large size and wide boulevard gives a real sense to its importance to China. A truck factory was a big deal. the first domestic truck factory is a really big deal. Imagine a poor country where all the motorized transportation has to be imported. Inevitably this means there will be too few of them and the trucks will cost far more than they should, both to acquire and maintain.

Todays stamp is issue A73, a 4 Juan stamp issued by the Peoples Republic of China on May Day 1957. It displays the first automotive works that opened the year before. It was a two stamp issue. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth $2.75 mint.

Changchun has been an important center for industry since the 19th century. Located in Manchuria, it was the recipient of Russian and Japanese ambitions. In 1898 the train came to Changchun as a result of Russian construction building off their railroad network. It was for a while the end of the line as Japan fought a war with Russia in 1905 and for a short period their systems did not connect. The Japanese eventually set up a puppet state in Manchuria under old Emperor Puyi with it’s capital in Changchun. The Japanese put much effort into making Changchun a showcase city for the Greater East Asia Co Prosperity Sphere. They lavished much money on architecture and infrastructure. The population skyrocketed and in 1944 contained over 140,000 Japanese workers and 5 times that many Chinese. Some of that carried over  when the Chinese regained control of the city in the late 40s. Even today most Chinese bullet trains come from Changchun.

Japan Co Prosperity era government building still in use as a hospital in modern Changchun. Architectural Brutality with Japanese and Chinese flair. The Co Prosperity Sphere for the win.

The Russians accepted the Japanese surrender in Manchuria in 1945 and played a further role in the future of the Chinese city. When the plant on the stamp opened in 1956, the first product was a Russian truck, the Zis-150. The Chinese rechristened the truck the FAW Jia Fang C-10. It was the most common Soviet truck of the 50s and the Chinese made it until 1986. In 1958, the factory expanded its offerings to include the Hong Qi,(Red Flag), a long running series of limousines and large sedans for high officials.

The Soviet original Zis 150 truck. An image search for Gia Fang just gets you androgenous Chinese people with that name. I miss white wall tires as much as the next guy, but on the towed cannon?

The first factory is still around. The third largest domestic automaker FAW is still based in Changchun. FAW stands for First Auto Works. It is known today for its license production of Audi sedans and its own line of economy cars and commercial vehicles. As of yet, they have been unable to re-launch  the Red Flag series of limousines.

Well my drink is empty. This is perhaps not the story of success it would seem at first blush. Yes China fully supplies it’s own automotive market and indeed exports. What it has not been able to do to date, over 65 years later is design their own instead of licenses and pathetic thievery.  Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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Spanish Guinea 1953. In the rush to leave, Spain turned it over to a witch doctor

This is kind of a rough one. The colonial system was horrible with slavery work arounds to try to keep cocoa plantations staffed after slavery was banned. Then independence when things got worse and 40 percent of the population was killed and 70 percent of those remaining fled the elected President who was a drug addled psychopath. Some places seem cursed. 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.

There was a big change in the aesthetics of the colonies stamps after World War II. Out were the portraits of Spanish leaders and in were National Geographic style representations of the native population. As we discussed recently with a Franco era stamp from Spain. It was the opposite in Spain where the stamp issues were increasingly traditional. For this reason, I think the stamps were clearly signaling independence was coming.

The stamp today is issue B25, a 5+5 Centimos semi postal stamp issued by the Colony of Spanish Guinea on July 1st, 1953. This was part of a four stamp issue celebrating local musicians. Two of the four stamps had surcharges with the funds  going toward charity benefiting the indigenous people. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents in it’s mint condition.

Spanish Guinea was awarded to Spain after a treaty with Portugal. It was very small consisting of the port of Rio Muni and the offshore island of Fernando Po. It was administered originally out of Buenas Aires in South America and then the post and island separately until they were combined administratively as Spanish Guinea in 1926. Fernando Po contained large cocoa plantations that required much labor. Britain had banned slavery and their navy policed the trade. Work arounds were accomplished by contracting with Liberia  to send contract labor but the League of Nations put a halt to it and recruiting workers from British Cameroun and Nigeria also did not go well. It seems that all over the world these large plantations can’t work without slave labor. Well then good riddance.

Spain did the usual things in arraigning for independence by assisting with a constitution  and  elections. In 1968 independence occurred and Francisco Macias Nguema was elected after a runoff. He had previously served as a colonial era mayor.

The Unique Miracle in all his glory

Nguema’s opponent went into exile for a short period  and was killed upon his return. This was only a taste of what was to come. In 1971 he modified the constitution banning other political parties and allowing him to rule by decree. He changed his title to Unique Miracle and the national motto to “There is no other God than Macias Nguema.” He ordered all person and place names Africanized and banned non African medicine. In 1975, he had 150 of his opponents shot at a soccer stadium while the loudspeakers played the Mary Hopkins song “Those were the days”. Naturally there was a rush to leave the country so the Unique Miracle banned boats and had the one road out mined. His rule ended when he started killing those in his own family.

Nguema during his show trial after being overthrown. His reputation as a witch doctor meant that his execution firing squad was brought in from Morocco.

Naturally everything was fixed when Nguema was overthrown and tried and shot. A new start was needed and so his nephew took over. He still rules.

Still ruling Unique Miracle nephew Teodoro Nguema Mbasogo. Notice former USA Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice soiling herself in the involvement.

Well my drink is empty. The lesson seems to be, stay away from shit holes. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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Republic of Northern Epirus 1914, We are Greek and we sure don’t want to be Albanian

Sometimes countries suddenly pop up, most don’t last. One thing that could be counted on for such places at the beginning of the twentieth century was a declaration would be accompanied by a postage stamp issue. Perhaps before the declaration, and maybe even continuing after the lights went out. 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.

Todays stamp looks to my American eyes Czar era Russian. The writing did not look correct and thankfully my childhood Mincus World Wide album had an identification page that indicated Epirus and was Greek related. So what I was perceiving has Russian was more likely the stylings of the Orthodox Christian church, that Greece and Russia share.

Todays stamp is issue A9, a 40 Lepta stamp issued by a Epirus General fighting Italians and Albanians in the area in September 1914. The stamps show the two headed eagle on the coat of arms of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus. The stamps of this issue, 15 of them in various denominations, are known as the Moschopolis issue, after the town captured by Epirus in June 1914 and turned over to the Greek army in November. After the turnover the stock of stamps of this issue were sent to Athens and eventually destroyed. Moschopolis is now the Albanian city of Voscopoj. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 80 cents mint. Though none of this issue is particularly valuable, cancelled versions are worth more. At the chaotic time of the stamp, there seemed to be more stamp printing than the actual mailing of letters.

Epirus was an ancient Greek state located in modern day northwest Greece and southern Albania. It was one of the last Greek states to fall to Rome in the years before Christ. The Roman campaigns there were the origin of term pyric victory. As the Ottoman empire fell back in the 19th century, Epirus found itself with a small majority of Orthodox Greeks and a large minority of Albanian Muslims.

The Great powers came to an arrangement that saw Epirus divided between Greece and Albania. Those of Greek heritage in Albania rebelled and declared independence as the Autonomous State of Northern Epirus. As their leader they chose a Greek former foreign minister named Georgios Christakis-Zografos. He was able to convince many countries to recognize the new state.

The 1914 independence declaration of Northern Epirus. Note the clergymen and the two headed Eagle from the stamp.

However the Albanians and their allies the Italians did not and started a war to reclaim the area. The Greek Army then intervened on the side of Northern Epirus and the state ended as Greece occupied the area. Georgios Christakis-Zografos returned to Greece and worked for a bank and again later as Greek Foreign Minister. The fortunes of war reversed in 1916 and the area fell to the Italians/Albanians.

1913 Albanian propaganda showing Mother Albania being attacked by a Greek leopard, a Montenegrin monkey, and a Serbian snake. She is exclaiming “GET AWAY FROM ME, BLOODSUCKING BEASTS!! Fun stuff!

World War II saw the area again a hotly contested battleground with the Greeks facing off against the Italians and Albanians before losing to the Germans who bailed out the Italians in the area in 1941. From 1944-1949 Epirus was the site of much fighting between the Greek government and Albanian supported Greek communists. Arguments over where the border should be in the area meant a state of war technically existed between Greece and Albania until 1987 when Greece renounced claims to the area. Post World War II the Albanian government had attempted to make the area more Albanian and atheistic. This was not entirely successful as many of Greek parentage fled to Greece at the end of the cold war. The Albanian communist regime had especially targeted people who shared the Christakis surname from the Epirus leader’s hometown as enemies of the state.

Well my drink is empty and I will drink some more commiserating with those who tackle the impossible task of drawing satisfactory borders in the Balkans. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

 

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Qatar 1973, The Emir is here and doing things for you

Britain walking away from it’s global commitments often meant that their partners had to adapt. 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.

Today we have a stamp from an oil and gas rich Emirate two years after independence from Britain. Already we see the leader wants to make his citizens understand that the benefits of the oil boom will benefit them. In this case, we see a modern operating room in a new hospital complex. As you can see this largess was brought to you by the new Emir in town Sheik Khalifa. The oil revenue was so vast and the population so small that development was able to go forward faster than any capitalist or communist system could have mustered.

The stamp today is issue A51, a 4 Dirhams stamp issued by the Emirate of Qatar on February 22nd, 1973. It was part of a 10 stamp issue in various denominations depicting Sheik Khalifa and various of the many development projects going on in Qatar at the time. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 80 cents in its mint condition.

Qatar had been ruled for many years by an Emir. The Emirate as with many in the area were under the status of protectorate of Great Britain. In 1940, oil was discovered in Qatar and as a result the lot of the people became much better. In fact Qatar became host to a great number of guest workers in the realm. Mainly from this many from North Yemen, desired for a pan-Arab socialism similar to the model of Nasser’s Egypt came to the forefront. At the same time, the British were no longer wiling to guarantee the status quo in their protectorates. In 1968, The British government announced they were ending their treaty commitments “east of Suez”.

It was hoped that the many Emirates in the area could form a federation that could preserve the status of the Royals involved. The federation got as close as an agreement in principle, but later collapsed when details over a capital or power in government ministries could not be agreed to. As such, Qatar achieved its independence from Great Britain in 1971.

When the announcement of independence was made by Sheik Ahmad not from Qatar but rather from the Swiss villa where he spent the bulk of his time, it was realized that he was not the leader to take the small country into an independent future.

Sheik Ahmad in his home away from home in the company of an unnamed falcon friend

Ahmad’s cousin and Prime Minister deposed him in early 1972 while Sheik Ahmad was on an Iranian hunting trip. New Emir Sheik Khalifa worked “hard” to reform the government and see that the benefits of the oil and now gas revenue benefited more native Qataris. His efforts saw that Qatar'[s system was able to yield enough results to stave off the pan Arab socialist movement.

As his predecessor and cousin had done before him, Sheik Khalifa eventually delegated much of the day to day running of the country to his first born son from his first wife. He himself began spending more time in Europe. This again left room for some intrigue. Sheik Khalifa had four sons and twelve daughters by his four wives. A son from his second wife deposed him in 1995 bloodlessly while  he was in Paris. Sheik Khalifa was allowed to return to Qatar in 2004 and died with full honors in 2016. His first born son and assumed heir remains in exile, from where he attempted a coup in 2011.

Oil Minister for Qatar Abdelaziz, Khalifa’s first son and heir and thus the road not traveled. When he attempted his own coup from exile in 2011, he complained about the Emir’s uppity wife. What a thing to complain about. If you don’t like an Emir’s wife. It is not like he doesn’t have 3 more to pick from.

It is strange that such an ancient ruling family as been so adept in the maneuverings necessary to stay in power in the modern world. They also outlasted the fall of the Shah in Iran and more recently the Arab Spring movement. For this, I will toast the House of Thani. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

 

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Great Britain 1996, remembering Triumphs past but not present

A bright red TR3A. The peak of the early postwar export or die British sports car boom. 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. Don’t rev your engines, it bothers the neighbors and there is all those adult beverages to think about.

The aesthetics of the stamp is great because it is a good looking car. But modern. By then in 1996 the British motoring industry was out of affordable sports cars. If the challenge was export or die, then death was chosen. As such, there is a touch of the melancholy.

The stamp today is issue A470, a 20 Pence stamp issued by Great Britain on October 1st, 1996. The stamp displays a late 1950s vintage Triumph TR3A. It was part of a 4 stamp issue in various denominations celebrating the history of British sports cars from the 1950s period. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents in it’s used state.

With Britain war ravaged goods that could be exported and thereby restore wealth were prioritized. The basis of the Triumph line was fairly prosaic. The separate frame of the car was adopted from a pre war family saloon from the companies Standard line. The suspension was adopted from the new post war smaller sedan called the Mayflower. Yes they called it the Mayflower because they hoped to export it to America. The engine was a pushrod unit from Standard’s new larger sedan, the Vanguard.

This is not to say it was not a proper sporting machine but rather that it was built to sell overseas at a reasonable price. Triumph may have wanted you to think of a dashing Duke’s son as the proper driver, but it was available at a lower price. The USA price was $2675, a little less than $25,000 in todays money.

Triumph did a lot to the basic design to give a proper sporting experience. The frame rails allowed the bucket seats to be quite low. It lowered the cars center of gravity but more importantly made the driver feel in more contact with the road. The doors were severely cut down and roll up windows were replaced by seldom used plastic side curtains as on a Jeep. The engine was tuned up to 90 horsepower from dual carburetors, and sport exhaust. The sedan version of the same engine made 69 horsepower. The engine, though still an economical 4 had much more displacement than the cars German and Italian competitors. In combination with the available electric overdrive, it made the car much more suited to sustained high speed cruising as would be done on American interstate highways.  The overdrive offered 7 forward gears including a relaxed top cruising gear. The short geared forty percent smaller engine Italian sports cars were simply not up to this type of travel. The design made the cars distinctly British and much different from the more expensive but very German Porsche and the more expensive and very American Corvette.

Ready for fun, anywhere, anytime

The car line developed from the TR2 in the late 40s through the TR6 in the mid 1970s. The car got new bodies, an independent rear suspension, roll up windows, and even a six cylinder engine. When the Triumph line of sedans was dropped in favor of a new line of Rovers in a consolidating industry, the TR6 was dropped.

As late as 76, a little safer, but still in the spirit

The Triumph name was last used in the 80s on a rebadge of the Honda Civic. While the Civic has a good reputation as a small car, it was no Triumph. When the car was not accepted as a Triumph a luxury brand Rover badge was attached to it. Britain of the time apparently had more underutilized car names than distinct models. Those that thought that there was nothing intrinsically British about a car were no doubt shocked that the perfectly competent Honda was not celebrated and certainly not exported successfully. The Honda based line died in 2005 and the tooling exported to China. At least it died with a last export, the original point.

Something seems a little off at Triumph by 1983? Maybe colour choice?

Well my drink is empty and while I check what a Morgan costs now. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

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Belgium 1935, a deadly vacation before treason and abdication

A young Queen dies while on holiday away from her children and so avoids the tarnish of her husbands treason. 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.

It is interesting to compare Queen Astrid’s mourning stamps with the many for Princess Diana. Both stamps showed the glamourous young royals at the height of their beauty. What in my mind makes the early stamp superior was the back background and the surcharge of the semi-postal issue. I like the tradition of the mourning period and that the occasion is used to raise money for causes important to the Queen. In this case tuberculosis.

Todays stamp is issue B174, a 70 +5 Centimes stamp issued by Belgium in 1935. It displays a mourning portrait of Queen Astrid after her death in a car accident near their vacation villa in Switzerland. It was part of a 8 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents in it’s used state.

Queen Astrid was born a Princess in Sweden. She married Belgian crown Prince Leopold in what her mother in law Belgian Queen Elisabeth insisted was a marriage of love. They quickly had 3 Children including future Belgian King Baudouin and a daughter who became a Grand Duchess Consort of Luxemburg. She converted to Catholicism from being a Lutheran. In 1933 they became King and Queen when Leopold’s father King Albert died mountain climbing.The couple were vacationing in Switzerland with the King driving, Queen Astrid holding a map and the chauffer in back of the convertible Packard which went off the road. Queen Astrid died at the scene but King Leopold was only lightly injured.

The wrecked Packard in which Queen Astrid died. The wreck was later sunk deeper in the lake at King Leopold’s instruction.
Queen Astrid’s Chapel on Lake Lucerne at the site of the accident. It has been declared Belgian territory.

Leopold III actions when Belgium was invaded by Germany forever tarnished him. He assumed command of the Belgian Army and refused to evacuate with the rest of Belgium government to London. He claimed it was his duty to be with his men but the government thought it a way to fall into the hands of the Germans and thereby remain King of the German puppet government of Belgium. He did indeed come into German hands and Churchill believed him quick to surrender when Belgium’s troops were still helping keep the Dunkirk evacuation going.

King Leopold III met with Hitler and indeed asked to form a government. Hitler refused and decided to keep Belgium under a military occupation government. Leopold was allegedly confined to palace but managed enough freedom to remarry and have a new set of children. When Belgium was liberated by the Allies in 1944, Leopold and his new wife were not there but had left with the Germans. He left behind a treatise where he stated that he did not consider the Allied arrival a liberation but rather an occupation.

When the war ended there was a real question as to whether  Leopold could return as King. He argued that since Hitler had not allowed him to form a government there was no treason. In his absence the Belgian government  declared Leopold’s brother Charles regent while Leopold stayed in Switzerland.

A political poster in favor of Leopold’s return to Belgium post war.

In 1950 a new more right wing government in Belgium was elected and allowed Leopold to return. It did not go well as the government  was hit by general strikes and a few weeks later Leopold abdicated in favor of his  20 year old son, by Queen Astrid,  Baudouin. He lived on in Belgium living a jet set lifestyle until his death in 1983. He lays in the royal tomb between his two wives.

Well my drink is empty and as I have another I will toast those that went on strike upon Leopold’s return. Many were just anti monarchy communists, but they were right that a country should be able to expect more from their King. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.