Month: February 2024

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United States 1966, Remembering a folk hero, Johnny Appleseed

Johnny Appleseed’s real name is John Chapman. That happens to also be my name. So when I spotted this stamp, I knew it was time to learn more about him. Below is what I found. 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 came out in an opportune time as the reputation of Johnny Appleseed was on the upswing in the sixties and seventies. The idea of an itinerant man planting trees and communing with the animals and the indians appealed directly to the youth movement of the era.

Todays stamp is issue A739, a five cent stamp issued by the United States on September 24th, 1966,  Johnny’s 192nd birthday. It was a single stamp issue. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents mint or used.

Johnny Appleseed was born in 1774 in Massachusetts. His mother died when he was two and his father quickly remarried and soon Johnny had many half brothers and sisters. When he was 18 he left home taking with him his 11 year old half brother. He first went to Pittsburgh and became itinerant throughout the midwest. His business, and yes it was a business, was to come to a town, buy a small patch of land in the near country, fence it off and plant nurseries. When the plantings were established, he would find a neighbor willing to tend the trees in return for a share of the profits. He would then visit his nurseries annually. This was not a coat and tie type of job and many thought Appleseed a hobo. He played into this by wearing a tin bowl on his head that he would remove to eat out of. He also tended to hire children to be helpers.

How Johnny Appleseed is remembered

Johnny was a deeply religious man and was always recruiting for his obscure Christian denomination, the New Church. This was and is a tiny denomination founded in the 18th century by Swede Emanuel Swedenborg. Swedenborg believed he had received a revelation from God that the Christian church would be replaced by a “new church” that would worship Jesus Christ and him alone as God. This was in the lead up to Jesus returning to Earth. Johnny would bring New Church pamphlets with him in addition to the seeds for which he was more famous.

The emblem of the “New Church”

Johnny Appleseed lived to age 70 and died in a cabin next to one of his nurseries in Fort Wayne Indiana. At the time of his death he owned more than 1200 acres spread out around the midwest. As he never married his estate was left to his one full sister. During his life everyone assumed him poor and the government entered litigation seeking back taxes for all the lands. His sister ended up losing most of the wealth in litigation expenses relating to the estate. Interestingly the variety of apple trees he was planting produced apple not fit for eating but only for use in cider, an alcoholic drink

Well my drink is empty. Not really the story I was expecting, but it should be remembered that even heroes are foremost human. Come again soon when there will be another story to be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2021.

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Singapore 1984, Giving a nod toward Coleman Bridge, before it is taken down

The British Colonial architectural style has been long lasting, both for it’s tradition and for the accommodations made to it to account for the alien climates of other side of the world outposts. As the independent city state of Singapore has grown into one of the great world cities, it is not often possible to preserve what came before. So why not at least a stamp to remind that what came before was pretty good too. 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.

One wonders about lead times for stamps in Singapore. The printing of the time was farmed out to Japan which could lengthen the lead times. This stamp came out months before it was announced that the Coleman Bridge was coming down in favor of a much larger structure with the same name. The government had been designing the new for years before. I wonder if those who put together the stamp only knew the bridge was historic and attractive and not that it was breathing it’s last.

Todays stamp is issue A112, a 10 cent stamp issued by Singapore on March 15th, 1985. It was a four stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

George Drumgoole Coleman was born in Drogheda, Ireland in 1795, the son of a building supply merchant. He received some training in civil engineering before setting off at age 19 for Calcutta and once there putting out his shingle as an architect. He built several homes for merchants in the neighborhood of Fort William. Soon he signed on to travel to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies, now Jakarta, Indonesia, to build a string of churches. After working on the project for two years, funding fell through and no churches were completed. In the mean time he had met Sanford Raffles who was in the early days of founding the trading post of the British East India Company at Singapore. Raffles hired Coleman to be in charge of public works. Among his  works was this brick bridge that connected Old Bridge Road and Hill Street over the Singapore river, At the time, it was just called the New Bridge.

George Drumgoole Coleman

 

Among his other projects was a surprise hilltop thatched roof bungalow built for Raffles while he was away. He had been having health issues with the tropical conditions and poor city air. There were of course a series of grand homes built for merchants including one for a Resident Magistrate that was so grand that when it was finished the outpost decided to rent it for use as a courthouse.

Living so far from home proved difficult for Coleman and he took a native Malay wife after previously fathering a daughter by an unknown women. After 20 years of work, Coleman was tired and homesick, so he returned to Ireland leaving behind his childless Malay wife in their home he had designed. Once there, he quickly married an Irish women who gave him a son. He was perhaps gone too long because soon he was taking his new family back to Singapore. Once there he was able to rent a home he had designed. It was not on a hill like the one he made for Sanford Raffles and soon Coleman contracted a tropical disease that took his life. His Irish wife remarried one of his business associates a month later. His son later died on a long sea journey at age four.

We can see that development has brought the end to most of Coleman’s work. The brick bridge on the stamp  was torn down in favor of a much larger concrete bridge with the same name. The lampposts and iron railing of the old were reused to provide continuity. His personal home with his Malay wife was torn down in 1965 to make way for the Peninsula Hotel. The thatched roof bungalow built for Raffles is long gone despite being used by many British Residents after Raffles. In 2003, a new structure, vaguely in traditional style was built on the original site as Raffles’ House. It is used as an upscale wedding venue. The house that became a Courthouse still stands and is in use as a venue for art shows, though it has been refurbished so many times that not much of Coleman’s work remains.

The new Coleman Bridge
The house that became a Courthouse.

Well my drink is empty. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2021.

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Poland 1978, The Havana Committee for the Defense of the Revolution turns a young commie convention into a Carnival

Communism is a worldwide movement. For the first time in 1978, the regular Soviet backed world youth festivals was held outside eastern Europe and in  a poor brown country. Things got a little weird. 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 really is a great emblem for the convention that captures what happened very well. As the movement expands outward from where it started in Europe, it will naturally change to cope with the sensibilities of the new arrivals. That doesn’t mean it won’t be fun though and you could never tell where or when Fidel Castro would pop up to sign autographs and hand you a cigar. You wouldn’t have gotten that at the previous youth convention in East Berlin. Interestingly, the official emblem for the event in Cuba has been dumbed down. Below is what they display now.

The real emblem of the Havana convention. Good for Poland for stylizing it to better tell what was happening.

Todays stamp is issue A898, a 1.5 Zloty stamp issued  by Poland on July 12th, 1978. It was a single stamp issue. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether used or unused.

The theme of these conventions was anti imperialist solidarity, peace, and friendship. Thousands would gather, mostly eastern European youth, but a few invited westerners, ( the several hundred Americans had to travel by way of Canada to get around the travel ban) and solemnly debate how best to bring the world the good news of communism. Sorry but the Cubans really weren’t interested in that. Those debates were in Havana considered derisive and against the party atmosphere. What they instead had in mind was listening to the Africans such as Oliver Tambo tell them how great they were for being multiracial followed by the grievance porn of what went on in South Africa. Then the delegates and Cubans would celebrate until late at night with street dancing in a Latin Carnival atmosphere. Neighborhood committees of the Defenders of the Revolution had stands set up where they would hand out rum and cigars and offer Samba demonstrations.

Welcome delegates, and thank you for color keying your outfits!

The western young lefties seemed to be the biggest problem. Americans wanted to bring up Soviet dissident hassling. They were rightly I think heckled. Weirdly as the whole thing was supposed to be anti imperialist, the young Italian commies tried to heckle the Ethiopians because they wanted former Italian colony Eritrea given back. I am sure that they would add they wanted Eritrea communist, just not Ethiopian. That record wasn’t going to play in Havana. Also in showing what you could and couldn’t do in Cuba, a group of female young French delegates created a stir when they tried to sunbathe topless on a Cuban beach. Shocked local Cubans called the police but the bathers were let off with a warning.

About 20,000 delegates from 145 countries attended the 10 day event in Havana. The Russians still back these lefty conventions and the most recent one was in Sochi, Russia in 2017. It had a record 30,000 delegates from 185 countries. The slogan has been modified a little bit. For peace, solidarity, and social justice, we struggle against imperialism. Honoring our past, we build the future. I think there is a petty strong hint there that they are just doing these for old times sake. Good for them.

Well my drink is empty. If a Cuban offers me a cigar I will indeed ask for his autograph. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2021.

 

 

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Israel 1979, Remembering Rabbi/Sanadal maker/Pretty Boy Johanan from the time of Roman Syria Palaestina

There is a lot going on on this stamp. I thought I would be writing about a newspaper man  but instead we get to go back in time to the Roman Empire. 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 celebrates the Jewish New Year. So three ancient Rabbis who worked on the post Jewish rejection of Christ Talmuds. The Talmuds explained Jewish law and Theology. Interestingly the stamps emphasize the Rabbis in addition to their Theological work also had trades. In the case of Rabbi Johanan, he was a sandal maker. This sounds strange until you remember the left government of early modern Israel and the importance they were putting on new Jewish arrivals engaging in physical work to help build the new country.

Todays stamp is issue A303, a 13 Pound stamp issued by Israel on Sptember 4th, 1979. It was a three stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents.

In the period after Christ’s death on the Cross, the majority of Jewish people in the Roman ruled area were in frequent rebellion. The Jewish Temple and indeed much of Jerusalem was leveled. For a few years around 130 AD part of Roman Judea was independent under Simon bar Kokhba before being crushed by the Romans. In revenge, Rome reorganized the area as Syria Palaestina, that took away recognition of the area as Jewish and administration was moved to Antioch.

Simon bar Kokhba from the Knesset Menorah

 

One can see how this would leave the Jewish people out in the cold and several Jewish Rabbis worked in the area to preserve the faith. One was Rabbi Johannon who was born the son of a blacksmith but very soon lost both parents. His grandparents saw him taught by prominent Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi. When Nasi died Johanan was only 15 but Johanan spent his inheritance to continue his studies. Afterward he opened a school in Tiberius that was controversially open to anyone including non Jews regardless of whether they could pay. This left Johanan in poverty explaining his sandal making. He was thought of as one of the more liberal Rabbis and his Jerusalem Talmud contributions are in the Gemara.

A German biography of Rabbi Johanan

There was one aspect to Rabbi Johanan that was not taken advantage of by the stamp. He was said to have been extraordinarily good looking. He once extolled while sitting outside the public baths. “Let the daughters of Israel look at me when they come from the public baths,(Mikveh), and their children will be handsome like I am and know the Torah as I do”. I guess having a Rabbi pose nude like a male model on a 1800 year later postage stamp wouldn’t do.

Well my drink is empty. It is said the Rabbi lived to be over 100 years old. Hope he didn’t linger too long outside the baths in his later years. Come again soon when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2021.

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Manama 1968, Finbar Kenny discovers another country with an assist from the Emir of Ajman

This one is a little confusing. Manama is the name of a fairly large city in Bahrain. This is not that place. This is the tiny agricultural village that pledges to the United Arab Emirates by way of the Emir of Ajman. Current population is five thousand. 1900 population 50. 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.

These so called dune stamps are considered fake as they were printed by an outsider by a place that really are not countries, just sand dunes. The fact was though the leader or the area did sign the deal and open post offices. When the United Arab Emirates took over the postal system, the stamps of the dune places were valid for postage for another six months. All sounds pretty real to me. Plus doesn’t this stamp capture the excitement buzzing in Manama during the leadup to the 1968 summer Olympics in Mexico City. The biggest occupation in period Manama was bee keeping, so hopefully they weren’t too distracted.

The not mythical Manama Post Office. Once bringing forward unique stamp issues, it still serves postal patrons in the UAE

Finbar Kenny had been the head of the stamp department of the American Macys chain of department stores. Department stores had previously seen the wisdom of allowing a card table near the elevator where a person would try to interest children in stamp collecting. Mothers could leave their children and shop in peace. The idea for this was originated by the old Minkus stamp album publisher. Finbar Kenny was interested in becoming an important stamp dealer. When Great Britain ended their postal service for the Trucial States in 1963, Kenny was ready. He approached the Emirs of Um al Quain, Fugeria and Ajman  with the idea of independent post offices with the stamp revenue divided 50/50 with the Emirs.

The Emir of Ajman, a poorer area, had the idea to increase his revenue further. He would open an additional post office in Manama that would offer separate stamp issues. The Trucial states in earlier times had relied economically on pearl diving, but that industry moved to Japan. The Emir of Ajman started promoting Manama as the potential bread basket of Ajman. Papaya and a few lemon trees were planted on the sand dune by the local Sharqiyin tribe.

Discovering so many new countries did not go too well for Finbar Kenny personally. The Dune stamps ended with the forming of the UAE in 1972. Interestingly one of the first things the UAE had to do was bring into line the rebellious Sharqiyin tribe. Kenny still had the contract to produce stamps for the Cook Islands. The Prime Minister of Cook then approached Kenny and asked for a loan secured by future stamp revenue to fund his reelection campaign. Kenny made the loan thinking he did not have a choice. The Supreme Court of Cook then decided that the loan was a bribe and an attempt to throw an election. So Kenny got the honor of paying Cook a fine of $60,000.

Finbar Kenny in 1965

Authorities were not done with Finbar Kenny. The USA had just passed the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that made it illegal in the USA for Americans to offer bribes overseas and charged Kenny over the Cook Island situation. Kenny was the first to plead guilty under the act. At least he didn’t go to jail.

Well my drink is empty. I wonder if a postal patron at the post office in Manama today can still buy any of the old issues. It was a long time ago but the same building. Come again soon when there will be a new story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2021.

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Peru 1936. Mail with no stamps, or even writing, but sometimes knots

The Inca empire covered over 2000 miles and is estimated to have contained 10 million people. Sounds like a management headache, especially with no computers or even a written language. Well some times an ancient people will come up with a work around, or in this case a run around. 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.

Waterlow and Sons had some fun with the design of this exotic stamp from far off Peru. The presentation of the ancient Inca courier is straight forward and at first glance appropriately regal. Notice however how playfully they presented the surrounding designs. Specifically the figurehead at the top center. He made me laugh.

Todays stamp is issue A143, a 10 Centavo stamp issued by Peru in 1936. It was an 18 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents used.

With such a spread out Inca empire. there was a need to have a system of communications. They developed a profession of road running mailmen who worked along regular chain routes throughout the empire. In addition to the skill of fast road running, the mailmen also had to be adept at quick memorization as remember the empire had no written language.

Inca road running postman crosses a rope bridge to deliver his message

There was a sort of exception to the all verbal communication for the road runners were sometimes tasked with carrying Quipu. The Quipu was a series of strings and knots. The shape, shape, and distance apart of the knots conveyed the meaning. You of course  had to understand the code and be able to make the knots. This was a skill passed from father to son using much repetition. The knots were supposedly also able to keep a record of numbers.

Quipu strings and knots

In the way of the modern historian, there is a a way of making romantic this backward work around as an equivalent of the modern binary code of computer languages. It seems to me to be an awfully labor intensive substitute for the talking drum method of long distance communications used in old days west Africa, see https://the-philatelist.com/2020/06/16/the-gold-coast-1954-listening-out-for-the-talking-drum/   . The Africans also had the problem of no written language to work around.

Sometimes even today simple people condemn as evil old systems they do not take the time to understand. After the Spanish Empire’s conquest of Latin America, the Catholic Church declared quipu knots the work of Satan and that they should be destroyed on sight. This might not have been just ignorance. The few in number conqueror will not want the masses to have a form of communication that they don’t understand. A little like Josef Stalin banning the Esperanto language during his 1930s purges. In any case it was the end of the use of Quipu knots and today we have only uncovered a few examples of the old system.

Well my drink is empty. Come again soon when there will be another story to be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2021.