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Isle of Man 1980, Remembering T. E. Brown from servitor, to school master to Manx national poet

When does one have too much intelligence? Perhaps when extra abilities get you sent away from the place you love to meet your potential and you are left writing poems to keep your memories stirring. Thus the story of T. E. Brown. 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.

Isle of Man did a great job with this stamp. Leaving the portrait of Brown to the top corner and bringing some of the cast of characters from Brown’s poem. The stamp size then allows those with exceptional eyesight to enjoy a few unifying verses. Imagine trying this format with one of the self aggrandizing but country loathing modern national poets.

Todays stamp is issue A48, a seven penny stamp issued by the Isle of Man on May 6th, 1980. It was a two stamp issue. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used or unused.

Thomas Edward Brown was born in 1830 on Isle of Man into a family of Baptist preachers. Even as a boy Brown displayed remarkable intelligence and at age 15 the local schoolmaster arraigned for him to attend the local Manx University. Even as a very young man at university, it was thought that Brown was not adequately challenged. Brown was sent on to Christ Church, Oxford on a full scholarship.

Brown was now severely challenged but not academically where he excelled. At the time students given a free ride were referred to as servitors. They were expected to act as servants for the faculty. There was also much hazing allowed from the paying students. Brown felt himself damaged and humiliated by the treatment.

Nevertheless he set upon a career as a school master at a string of high brow public schools in England. He attempted to be a modernizing force that put more emphasis on the sciences and less on the classics.

Public school Clifton College in Brown’s time

All the while and far from home, Brown was composing and publishing poetry that romantically portrayed his home island. Fairly uniquely, it was written with the accent and rythem of the Manx dialect of English. This dialect also owes much to Gaelic.

Getting older and feeling the pull of the island, Brown took early retirement from his last public school Clifton College and returned to Isle of Man to concentrate on his poetry. Once there there was conflict between the isolation of the island and his old role as school master. When he was invited back to Clifton to speak to the new crop of students Brown jumped at the chance. He was giving a rousing speech when suddenly a blood vessel burst in his brain and he collapsed dead.

Well my drink is empty. I am not sure I am in favor of sending away the best and brightest from everywhere to just a few places. We can understand the conflicts within Mr. Brown but left unexplored is what a more direct contribution to the island he so loved would have been possible had he stayed. Come again on Tuesday when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. Enjoy the Martin King holiday.

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Sri lanka 1977, A jewelry box to keep old Kandy cultue

Since the time of Ptolemy and Marco Polo, the island nation of Sri lanka, it has gone through more than a few names, has been known for it’s fine jewelry and gemstones. So when Sri lanka decides on a stamp issue to show of traditional handicrafts, a jewelry box overflowing with jewels is a natural. 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 issue is a little dated and childlike. I have no doubt that the tourists bazaars of Colombo contain the cheap brass lamps, and child’s masks shown on the stamps. The country did however have a long tradition of jewelry of quality. Why then show this dime store stuff? Perhaps they understood that the tradition was more of the past than the present.

Todays stamp is issue A186, a 25 cent issue of Sri lanka on April 7th, 1977. This was a four stamp issue that was also available as a souvenir sheet. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether used or unused. That sounds consistent at least with the original denomination but it should be remembered that the current value of 25 Sri lankan cents is one tenth of one American cent. The souvenir sheet’s value is $3.70 used.

Ptolemy the Greek mathemitican, astronomer, and geographer way back in the second century AD recorded that beryl and sapphires were being actively mined on Sri lanka. Arab and Persian seafaring traders made frequent stops on the island which they called Serindib. Marco Polo, the Venetian Asia explorer also stopped there and noted the quality of the gems claiming the sapphires and amethysts were the best in the world. The gem mining was and is centered on the town of Ratnapura, which translates into city of gems.

In the local context, fine jewelry was associated with the old Kandi Empire that ruled the island till the early 19th century. There exists a Kandi aristocracy that can trace their roots back to the great families of Kandi. Brides wear elaborate jewelry that passed down from the earlier time. The marriages are then performed in the old way in the Royal Palace in the city of Kandi. A full bridal set will comprise 26 pieces of jewelry that cover the bride from head to waist.

A bride with the full set of Kandi jewels

In modern times the Sri lanka jewelry industry is facing some challenges. The gem markets of Ratnapura are now mostly staffed by people from Thailand. Recently there was also a large discovery of sapphires in the Ilakaka valley of Madagascar, and now much of what you find in the markets is sourced from there. Tourists in Ratnapura still have the opportunity to pan for gems in the areas old mines.

Well my drink is empty. Come again tomorrow when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Dahomey 1970, The Bariba remember Kisra and Sabi Simi with a horse fantasia

A horse fantasia is a middle eastern tradition were a row of horseman in traditional regalia gallop for 700 feet and then fire old style muskets toward the heavens. If you are of the Bariba people of northern Dahomey/Benin, what a great way to remember when Persian King Kisra might have passed through. 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.

As practiced on this stamp, a fantasia might lose some of it’s magic. The row is only two and one is a woman, notice the closest is riding side saddle. Also the muskets are replaced by spears, so you will lose as well the heavenly directed booms at the end. The Bariba people  are divided between modern Nigeria and Benin/Dahomey and don’t have much political power, so perhaps this is a way to not let them get too full of themselves.

Todays stamp is issue A57, a 2 Franc stamp issued by independant Dahomey on August 24th, 1970. It was a six stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used. There are later overstampted versions showing the country’s later name Benin and currency devaluations.

There are several versions of the Kisra legend. One is that he was Persian King Kosrough who after being defeated in Egypt by the Byzantines around 600 AD was unable to return to Persia and so his army wondered west Africa. The other is that Kisra is a translation  of Christ who lead an army of Arabs against Mohammed and was defeated and his army wondered west Africa. Gosh even in their own legends, armies wondering west Africa are losers.

If Kisra is a Persian King. This was his coin from Persia

As Kisra’s army wondered, they attracted many Africans. He in turn would name them chiefs of their area. One of these was Sero who Kisra named King of the city if Nikki in modern Benin. He previously been his horse groom. Sero’s son, Sabi Simi took a wife from each of the five area Bariba people clans and through those wives created 5 Royal Dynasties that united the Bariba people. Stickler’s will note that the Kisra legend is unproven and it is currently thought that the Bariba people had arrived in the area from the east 600 years later than Kisra.

This is more like it. A horse fantasia as practiced in Algeria

Nothing wrong with a good legend though and every year there is a Gaani Festival presided over by the would be Emperor of Nikki. There is a lot of dressing up and sacred trumpets and drums. Of course there is also a horse fantasia.

Well my drink is empty. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting

 

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France 1965, The Limbourg Brothers get to illustrate thanks to a generous uncle, a bold Duke, a magnificent Duke, and a confined 12 year old girl

It helps to have talent and important friends. It will not save you from the bubonic plague, but it can allow you to get a lot done. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage. open your picture Bible, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

France offered these oversized, well printed art stamps in the late sixties. Notice how the presentation is much less gaudy than the concurrent middle eastern Dune stamps on similar subjects. Despite being real stamps from a real country, the stamps share with the Dunes the trait of having very little value. I am trying to decide if that is a pity or just a great place to start a stamp collection.

Todays stamp is issue A430, a one Franc stamp issued by France on September 25th, 1965. This was part of a multitude of similarly formatted art stamps all with the one Franc denomination. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents whether used or unused.

The three Limbourg brothers were born in Nijmegen, Holland in the late 14th century. In 1398 their father died. They were then sent for by their uncle Jean Malouel, there are also Dutch versions of his name, who was a resident artist in the French and Burgundy Royal Courts. He got the three young men apprenticeships with the Paris goldsmithing guild.

On a trip home to visit their widowed mother, the young men were stopped and held for ransom in Brussels that was in a period of chaos. After their mother and the goldsmithing guild were unable to raise the ransom, Phillip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, boldly stepped in and paid the ransom. He did so out of respect for Jean Malouel. Once back in Paris, they were employed on a pet project of Phillip’s, creating an illistrated Bible, the Bible Moralisee. There exist still seven manuscripts of the work, intended for the French Royal families use. Phillip the Bold died in 1404 before the brothers Limbourg had finished the project.

The French Royal House of Valois was impressed with the work of the Limbourg Brothers, and Phillip’s brother, John the Magnificent, the Duke of Berry had a new project in mind for them. He imagined an illustrated devotional book called The very rich hours of the Duke of Berry. In it were over 200 illustrations that idealized Middle Ages life in the international Gothic style. This book is where the image on the stamp comes from. It is titled Leaving for the Hunt.

John the Magnificent as painted by the Limbourg Brothers

Keeping the Limbourg brothers working again became complicated. At age 24 Paul Limbourg fell for a French girl named Gillette. Her parents opposed the match, she was only 12. John the Magnificent had the girl confined until everyone agreed on the marraige. He may have been magnificent but that does not mean he did not overstep. The King intervened and had the girl released. Soon the couple snuck off and eloped.

In the first half of 1416, all under the age of 30, one by one John the Magnificent and all three Limbourg brothers died of the bubonic plague. The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry  was unfinished. A later Duke of Savoy hired later Dutch painters to finish it. It is now in the pocession of the Conde’ Museum near Paris. Gillette survived the plague but hadn’t yet had children.

The cover of “The Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry”

Well my drink is empty. You hear of course that having a Dutch uncle can be very helpful. For the Dutch brothers, having a French one wasn’t so bad either. Come again on Monday when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Chile 1970, We need to update our geography, and our postal service

Here we have a Chilean volcano, Choshuenco. We  don’t know too much about when and how often it erupted because the maps in Chile were so bad that it was not clear which volcano might be going off. Many of the early maps of Chile were done by Jesuit Missionaires and in 1768 the Jesuits were forced out of Chile. No maps for you, was perhaps an unintended outcome. 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 Chile is not going to come across too well in this write up. In addition to the map issue, and the glacier issue we will get into later, we have the matter of the overprint. The overprint signifies that it is a postal tax issue that increases the denomination six fold. What do you do when a post office has a pile of nine year old stamps in such a low denomination that they can no longer get your mail anywhere. You could throw them away of perhaps auction them off to stamp dealers for pennies on the already too few centavos. If you just overprinted a new value you would remind the postal patron how fast prices are rising and by extension how badly managed the government was. So instead the overprint is presented as a postal tax, a one time charge to update the postal system. Was anybody fooled?

Todays stamp is issue RA1, a 12 total centavo postal tax stamp issue of Chile in 1970. It was originally part of an eight stamp issue from 1961. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether used or unused or whether or not it is overprinted.

The Chosehuenco volcano lies in the Los Rios region of Chile. It had a sister volcano named Mocho and in the valley between there is a glacier. There is some debate on where the current name of Chosehuenco came from. Some say it is from the Mapuche Indian word for yellow waters. Others think it come from the Indian Chod hu, which translates into water to be dyed yellow. Wonder how the Indians would do that?

The area was first mapped by Jesuit priest Alonso de Ovalle in 1645. He called it Peguipulli because you could see the peak from Lake Penguipuli. That was going to have to do until Abbot Molina published his book in Italy in 1795 on the geography of Chile. Molina had grew up in Chile but has a Jesuit Priest, he was forced into an Italian exile as Chile banished Jesuits in 1768. One can imagine how much his memory of the area had deteriated since leaving so many years before but he did contribute a new name for the volcano, Valdivia. Molina is most famous for noticing and writing about elements of animal evolution 45 years before Charles Darwin. Darwin quoted Molina extensively in his later work. The first reference to the current name was from 1895.

I mentioned that the two volcanos have a glacier between. In 2001, there was a grave report made that the area of the glacier had shrunk 40 percent since 1976. The remaining area was on borrowed time unless something drastic was done. Needless to say nothing drastic was done, you can’t after all snap your fingers and make it colder. Thankfully the doomsday folks have proved pessimistic and nearly 20 years later, there is still a large area of glacier in the area.

Space view of the glacier. The red triangles are the two volcano peaks and the blue-green the glacier.
Abbott Molina in 1795. In his old age he considered returning to independent Chile, but an inheritance that would have made the journey possible, had been seized as unclaimed

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Jesuit Priests with good memories. Come again tomorrow when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Thailand 1968, Remembering when the Burmese were running amok, but so were the Ramas

Two centuries and one year after the birth of Rama II. It seems to be a good time to remember the positive. Things had been off course but were coming together in a way familiar to modern Thailand. 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.

King Rama II was toward the end of the time that the Kingdom was not open to Europeans or Chinese. There is an understandable tendency to romanticize the Royal Court for their poetry and fine palaces. I will be talking more below about succession craziness and constant wars with Burma, but that doesn’t make what the Thais may prefer to remember wrong.

Todays stamp is issue A112, a 50 Satang stamp issued by Thailand on December 30th, 1968. It was a single stamp issue honoring a year and a half late the birth bicentury  of King Rama I. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

From 1350-1768 Siam was ruled by the Ayuthaya Kingdom based in the city of Ayuthaya and extending into modern Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia. In the last days, Ayuthayra was conquered by Burma and Ayuthaya leadership absconded to Bangkok.

There was still Siamese fighting the Burmese including new self declared King Taksin and his military commander the future King Rama I. It is a blessing to this writer that the current Royal line all deem themselves Rama because their Thai names are unspellable and I am not much of a cut and paister. After 15 years on the Throne and the Burmese temporarily chased off, there was a coup and the military commander declared himself King Rama I.

The rules of succession in Siam called for his oldest legitimate son be the next King. The Royal Court however was a pretty wild place and in addition to the Crown Prince’s wife and her legitimate offspring, there was the future Rama IIs relationship with Princess Bunrod, a younger sister by another mother. Finding out that Princess Bunrod was 4 months pregnant, she has banished from the Palace by her and his father Rama I. The Crown Prince begged his father’s forgiveness and negotiated her return as an official concubine. The baby ended up dying shortly after birth.

When King Rama I died in 1809, Rama II was named King. It was now his choice and he promoted his sister/concubine Bunrod to be Queen. She then busied herself making new heirs. His ascension to the Throne caused some troubles. The son of former King Taksin also declared himself King and upon hearing of the death of Rama I, the Burmese again invaded and took what is now called Phuket Island.

Princess Bunrod, later Queen and after a gap, Queen mother

One thing Rama had a lot of was sons and he appointed his original heir Prince Tub to be military commander and deal with the challenges of Taksin II and the Burmese. Prince Tub was successful and gained great esteem but was now part of the wrong line.

Suddenly, he had been healthy, Rama II came down with a deadly case of strangury. Strangury is a very painful condition where a person can pass only frequent but very small streams of urine despite an urgent need. Some think the case was a result of poisoning. When he died it was decided to bypass Bunrod’s young heirs in the official line and name the former Prince Tub as King Rama III. Though Rama III had 51 children he had never raised any of his consorts to Queen. Therefore Bunrod’s young heir got his chance and was named Rama IV.

The craziness of the Royal Court, probably inevitable with self proclaimed Kings did not mean there was not an active Thai culture. Rama II supported  writer of epic poems on Thai history Sunthorn Phu. When he died, Sunthorn Phu left the Royal Court to become a monk but continued to write. A daughter of Rama IV later looked him up and his works were again officially promoted.

Epic poet Sunthorn Phu

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast big Thai families. Come again tomorrow when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Ireland 1943, Douglas Hyde a pleasant little branch, allows the normies to take over an independent Ireland

There was a big movement to get southern Ireland out of the United Kingdom. How to accomplish that without acquiring a new master in the form of the Catholic church was the challenge. Choosing the son of an Anglican Vicar as the first President was a way to walk that line. 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 is a strange stamp. At the time Douglas Hyde was the sitting President of Ireland. Yet the stamp was in recognition of his founding of the Gaelic League 60 years previous. Yes he was quite old. The Presidency was under the Irish constitution of the day was vague on whether the ceremonial post was actually Head of State or whether that was the British King. A stamp showing him above politics was a not so subtle hint that he really was the Head of State.

Todays stamp is issue A16, a half penny stamp issued by Ireland on July 31st, 1943. It was a two stamp issue in different denominations. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth $1 used.

Douglas Hyde was born in Ireland in 1860 the son of a Church of Ireland (Anglican) Vicar. In is teen years, he befriended a local Irish game keeper. What especially fascinated was the Roscommon form of the Gaelic language that the game keeper spoke and was getting quite rare. He bucked family tradition by studying languages and literature at Trinity University instead of going into the church.

As a member of the Literary Society, Hyde created quite a stir. Under the pen name “A pleasant little branch” he published poetry in Gaelic. Then he went further publishing a manifesto on The Necessity of Deanglicizing the Irish Nation. This argued the Irish were in much danger or loosing their language, literature, style of dress, music and dance if measures weren’t taken to preserve it. This got this discussion going among a high brow group less political and less Catholic.

Hyde then became a cofounder of the Gaelic League to do the above. He tried to keep the group apolitical but was forced out during the Irish troubles as by then politics and religion were front and center.

The Gaelic Society’s early emblem

 

After Ireland formed the Free State, people remembered and respected Hyde and invited him to run and win a seat in the upper chamber of the legislature. After one term, the Catholic Church started a disinformation push to remove people like Hyde from power. The accused him of  being in favor of divorce. He had a life long marriage. He lost his seat and returned to academia humiliated.

In 1937 there was a new constitution that devolved further from Britain and created a ceremonial office of President. The two rival political parties agreed on offering the Presidency to Hyde. He seemed a good choice. There were those that felt Ireland was a confessional state that was a tool of the Catholic Church. Having an Anglican President would diffuse that. Being near 80, it was also thought there would be less threat that he would attempt to become or allow Prime Minister to become a dictator. He was also a learned man who would be taken seriously on the world stage. There was much fanfare around the world in 1938 when Hyde was inaugurated. The exception was in Great Britain where it was thought to be a personal slight to the King.

Despite suffering a stroke and the loss of his wife, Hyde was able to serve a full seven year term as President. He was able to keep Ireland neutral through World War II. The level of anti British feelings were still high and came out on the very last days of the war upon the news of the death of Adolph Hitler. Politicians of many parties up to and including  Douglas Hyde met with Nazi German Ambassador Eduard Hempel to offer the condolences of the Irish people. They found the German distraught and wringing his hands in anguish. Hempel’s wife Eva later claimed it was just that his eczema acting up.

President Hyde (seated) offers condolences to German Ambassador Hempel on the death of Adolph Hitler.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast at least the non political version of the Gaelic Society. Who isn’t a fan of Irish culture? Come again next Monday when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. Happy New Year!

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Japan 1963, Don’t call it a pre Olympics

Japan was very excited to host the 1964 Summer Olympics. To make sure they were ready, The country decided on a dry run, a pre Olympics to try out logistics and venues. The International Olympic Committee said they don’t do pre Olympics, so this became the Tokyo International Sports Meet. 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 Japanese stamp issues around the 1964 definitely give off a Japanese feel with the color choices. Showing the athletes as individuals instead of as part of teams is an interesting choice and I think comports with the original Olympic ideal of a countries best having a chance to show that individually.

Todays stamp is issue A507, a 10 Yen stamp issued by Japan on October 11th, 1963, the first day of the international sports meet. It was a single stamp issue. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether used or unused.

Tokyo was originally scheduled to host the 1940 Summer Olympics that did not end up happening. Remember Tokyo was also to host the 2020 games that also didn’t come off. In preparation for the 1940 games, many venues were constructed and were ready  for the 1964 games. Japan worried they were not and so wanted a dry run. The International meet was scheduled exactly a year before to match weather and Japanese diplomats sought out prominent athletes from around the world for an expense paid trip to Tokyo.

Japan was very worried about traffic between the hotel hosting the athletes and the spread out venues but extra traffic cops with simple placards reading stop and go worked very well.

The weather was also a worry. It was thought that Tokyo was too hot in actual summertime to host the Olympics and September was typhoon season so October was chosen. Typhoons were the nightmare of the organizers. On the first day of the meet, Typhoon Kit was heading toward Japan and the weather was already wet and windy. There were two more typhoons behind Kit named Lola and Mamie. Thankfully one by one the typhoons changed course and left the games with nice weather.

At the Daiichi Hotel where the international athletes stayed Japan had arraigned for thirteen house detectives to keep the male athletes off the female athlete’s floor. They were not completely successful. 15 year old Swedish swimmer Elisabeth Ljunggren announced that she had fallen in love with 21 year old German swimmer Hans Joachim Klein. He then said that though of course he liked her, he would not describe their relationship as love. Whatever it was, both athletes won gold medals.

Elisabeth Ljunggren at the meet

It was quite an effort to bring in the world athletes. At the 1952 games in Melbourne Australian Harold Conally hammer thrower had fallen for a Czech discus thrower named Olga. By 1963 they were married, raising a family in Finland. The Japanese delegation visited them in their home to try to get them to  participate in the 1963 meet. Harold was still in competitive form. Olga was embarrassed when she was also invited. She told the Japanese delegation that she was no longer in competitive form so it would be wrong for her to go on the free trip to Tokyo. The Japanese discussed it and said that Olga, as a famous Olympic gold medalist should come anyway and tour Japanese schools exercising with the children  while her husband competed. She went and it was the impetus for Olga to get back into shape for the 1964 Olympics.

The Conollys in Tokyo

The dry run went off quite well. The ceremonies were timed to the minute except the opening ceremonies running three minutes late. In the dry run for the dry run, the dignitaries had been impersonated  by school children and the the children proved faster at getting off the stands for the march out.

Well my drink is empty and heres hoping that the reschedule of the Tokyo Olympics is able to come off. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting

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Saudi Arabia 1987, Saudi Arabia beefs up help for the disabled

In the first years after a windfall, the stamps of a country often show shiny new buildings and factories. When the income proves long lived, we get to see stamps like this, where a society grapples with providing extra help to those among them left behind. A while back, I did an American stamp from the early seventies like that, see https://the-philatelist.com/2017/10/16/how-honoring-challenged-children-can-go-very-wrong/    . Today we can compare what was being done in Saudi Arabia a decade later. 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 are too many emblems on this stamp. While some help is directly coming from the government and some is routed though non government organizations that rely on the philanthropy of the Royal family, in Saudi Arabia that is really the same thing. At first glance of this stamp, you might think that Saudis have to rely on the UN for such aid as do poor countries. You can’t let the people think that, especially if it is not true. Where is the King on this stamp?

Todays stamp is issue A217, a 50 Halalas stamp issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on October 3rd, 1987. It was a two stamp issue in different denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.10 unused.

The idea that the disabled are worthy of dignity and help to live a useful life in Arabia dates back to the Quran and the story of Abd-Allah ibn Umm-Maktum. He was a blind man and an early convert to Mohammed. He once approached Mohammed with a question while he was preaching to tribal chiefs in Mecca. Mohammed was annoyed at the interruption until he was rebuked by Allah for not showing extra kindness to the blind man. From then on Umm-Maktum was shown the appropriate accommodation and he responded by volunteering to fight in the 636 AD battle of Qadisiyya were he was a standard bearer and was killed. Apparently Shias don’t interpret this story the same way.

The blind man goes into battle, carrying the flag

In modern times, a high proportion of Saudis face the challenges of a disability. A partial reason for this is the extremely common practice of marrying a first cousin. For males the most common cause of a disability is having been in a car accident. For females, depression grips as many as 46% of them.

Saudi Arabia has over time sought to do more for the disabled. Starting in 1958 children with disabilities were allowed to go to school. By 1962, programs were started to give them extra help once there. In 1972, it was decided to provide a monthly stipend to the disabled tied to them participating in vocational programs. There are now over 350 day care centers in the Kingdom to allow loved ones a break from the care.

In 1992, Saudi Arabia went farther to combat and prevent disabilities. Former Astronaut Prince Sultan founded the King Salmon Center for Disabilities Research. In addition to research, the center funds screenings for unborn babies for 16 different disorders.

Prince Salman is now King

There are those that say that enough is not yet being done. They point to the separate medical facilities for females that are not always accessible and the stigma still attached to mental disabilities.

 

This disabled beggar at Mt. Arafat needs help and perhaps a janitor

Well my drink is empty and so I will have to wait until Monday when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

 

 

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Central African Empire 1977, The Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa want you to know more about Charles Lindbergh

When crazy stuff is happening in a country, why do the outsourced stamp makers bother with Charles Lindbergh. Talk about a lost opportunity, 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 is surprisingly a real stamp. It was an issue of aviation pioneers that have some French connection. So here we have Charles Lindbergh’s plane The Spirit of Saint Louis landing in Paris having crossed the Atlantic. What does that from 50 years before have to do with the Central African Empire?

Todays stamp is issue A96, a 50 Franc stamp issued by the Central African Empire on September 30th, 1977. It was a five stamp issue in various denominations that was also available as a souvenir sheet. according to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents cancelled to order. The souvenir sheet is worth $6 unless you let them cancel it which sends the value down to $2.

The Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa was formed in 1949 during the French Colonial Period. It had offices in Ubangui in the then Ubangi Chari colony, Brazzaville in the French Congo and Fort Lamy in Chad. It’s goal was to unite all the black people of the world and replace racism, tribalism, and colonialism with cooperation and fraternity. So get rid of the French but do it in a way modeled on the French Revolution. The Party won a majority in the elections at the end of the colonial period and took power as Ubangi Chari became the Central African Republic.

Emblem of the Movement for the Social Evolution of Black Africa

Right before the ascending to power, the movements leader Barthelemy Boganda died in a suspicious plane crash that many in the country blame on his white wife. Wives usually use poison. Anyway the movement found a new leader and nephew named David Draco who proved ineffectual. The country had some potential as the population was small but the country was well endowed with diamonds. Foolishly the movement sought fraternity with the Israelis to handle the diamonds and so that was where the profits went.

The movement was not satisfied and so supported the coup of Cornel Bokassa, the commander of the 500 man Army. The Movement was not having much luck achieving fraternity and cooperation in the country. Bokassa had a plan though. At a Movement meeting, he was declared Emperor Bokassa I and the Central African Republic became the Central African Empire. There followed an expensive Coronation modeled on Napoleons’.

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Bokassa I

This was the time of Amin in Uganda and the fellow in Equatorial Guinea who changed his title to the “Unique Miracle” so Africa was turning into a bad joke. The French were getting nervous at what was happening. In 1979 there was a riot at an important school in Bangui. The students resented having to buy expensive uniforms with Emporer Bokassa’s image on them and sold by a company owned by Her Imperial Majesty one of Bokassa’s 15 wives/Empresses. After rocks were thrown at the Emperor’s Rolls Royce many of the children were arrested. Here the story gets a little rough and unproven. Some of the children were beaten to death and then had their flesh consumed by the Emperor in the Palace. Soon the French launched Operation Barracuda that landed French troops flown in from Chad and Gabon and bloodlessly reinstalled former President Draco. Bokassa went into exile in Gabon. The Movement for the Social Liberation of Black Africa was disbanded a few months later.

The Central African Republic is still a sad and poor place. They have not completely given up bad habits though. Emperor Bokassa I’s son his Imperial Majesty Jean-Serge Bokassa is Interior Minister and has been a Presidential candidate.

Well my drink is empty. Come again tomorrow when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.