Categories
Uncategorized

Soviet Union 1960, The USAs “operation abundance” takes on “Soviet Life” during the Khrushchev Thaw

The connections of regular Soviets to the outside world blossomed with new leadership of Khrushchev and the optimism of Sputnik. With the end of colonialism there was a worldwide battle for hearts and minds. Into this opening the USA launched operation abundance to convince the average Soviet that their government was not doing enough for them with regards consumer goods. An open door goes both ways. 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 features children’s drawings related to the world festivals of youth that the Soviets hosted. There is a quote from Khrushchev that stated that as long as he was President we are going to support genuine art. We are not going to give a Kopeck for the pictures of jackasses. The denomination of this stamp is 10 Kopecks. Hmm…

Todays stamp is issue A1202, a 10 Kopeck stamp issued by the Soviet Union on June 1st, 1960. It was a four stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

Khrushchev sought more person to person contact with the outside world to soften the harsh militaristic image put forth by his predecessor Stalin. To that end, the World Festival of Youth that promoted Communism was brought for the first time to the Soviet Union in 1957. It attracted 34,000 participants from 130 countries. There was even a new magazine for America named “Soviet Life” that presented a positive view of life in the Soviet Union. The USA agreed to allow the printings of 30,000 per month, and there was a waiting list for subscriptions. And Americans thought only Soviets waited in line.

An old issue of Soviet Life

 

The USA was not defenseless when it came to the new open door. The USA knew the Soviets used a much greater percentage of their output for arms. Perhaps that could be adjusted if the average Soviet, especially the females, started demanding more consumer goods. Operation Abundance backed American National Exhibition in Moscow in 1959 showed off all manner of consumer goods available in the USA. To drive the point home, then Vice President Richard Nixon engaged in an impromptu televised “kitchen debate” with Khrushchev as to why Soviets did not yet have stuff like this. His answer was that such things were junky and wasteful but then did what was hoped and began allocating more resources to the production of consumer goods.

The kitchen debate from 1959. Nixon is on the right. He had more hair as VP than later as President.

Modern Russia is still in the business of reaching out to the world’s youth though I am not sure what he is selling politically these days. In 2017 Russia hosted another World Festival of Youth in Sochi. It attracted fewer attendees than the 1957 one but more countries sent youth.

Well my drink is empty and I will contemplate the value of closed doors. Sure seems less wasteful. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

 

Categories
Uncategorized

Morocco 1939, the old capital Fez struggles with the strange French that have come to protect them

The Allouite Dynasty had a long run in Fez having avoided Ottoman occupation and being a mercantile center for Barbary pirates and the Timbuctoo gold trade. Then they signed on for French protection and had to flee partly from the strange people they suddenly found themselves dealing with. 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 great image of period Fez. You get a sense of it’s ancient status, it’s inland desolateness, and the Picasso style rendering communicates what a wild place it must have been. Sadly all the things that used to make it interesting faded as all diversity there fled after independence and now Fez is just left with masses of poor and a few rich enclaves.

Todays stamp is issue A33, a three Franc stamp issued by French Morocco in 1939. It was a 37 stamp issue in various denominations that lasted over many years. According to the Scott catalog the stamp is worth 30 cents used.

Fez was founded by Berbers in the 8th century AD. It was ruled for most of it’s history by an Arab Sultan. The Sultan was fairly unique in having successfully resisted Ottoman domination. The place really took off when Muslims and Jews were expelled from Spain but welcomed in Fez. The place became a center of somewhat elicit business dealings involving the Timbuctoo gold trade and Barbary pirate loot. The Sultan protected all this in order to take his cut, but there was always much intrigue. There was also some manufacturing including leatherwork and of course the hats named after the place. Early on all Fezzes were made there and the color came from a berry native to the area. In the early 20th century the Sultan of Fez signed on as a French protectorate after French had replaced the Ottomans in neighboring Algeria. Suddenly all hell broke loose.

French Protector Lyautey

The Frenchman sent to work with the Sultan was Hubert Lyautey. French Prime Minister Clemenceau referred to Lyautey as an admirable and courageous man who always had balls stuck up his ass. It just a shame that they are not always his. He communicated with the local Arabs through multilingual authoress Isabelle Eberhardt. She was Swiss of Russian anarchist ancestry who wrote dirty stories of sexual deviancy in North Africa often involving necrophilia. She herself professed a conversion to Islam but dressed as a man and was plagued by bouts of syphilis and malaria. When details of the treaty of Fez got out the city reacted immediately with outright rebellion. The French protection turned out to be minimal. Most of the troops they commanded were local Askaris and they mutinied and joined the rebellion. You can read about other Askari troops in the Congo here, https://the-philatelist.com/2018/10/10/belgian-congo-1942-can-colonials-rely-on-askari-soldiers-when-the-home-country-is-occupied/   .

Authoress, diplomat, and spy Isabelle Eberhardt

Eventually the city was bought back under French control but not before the Sultan had to flee and set up a new capital at Rabat. The Jewish quarter was especially hard hit and with that the economy collapsed. Isabelle Eberhardt died mysteriously in a flash flood at age 27.

Well my drink is empty and I am left wondering if the French sent there started acting crazy because of how Fez was or in spite of it. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

Categories
Uncategorized

USA 1985, getting around to the second string of aviation pioneers

After giving the Wright brothers no fewer that three stamps honoring their work as pioneers of aviation, it was time to dig deeper and honor lesser figures. Here we have a man who was on the staff of several important pioneers and ended his long career as a well paid consultant long after technology had moved beyond his work. 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 designers did their best to make Mr. Verville seem interesting. Verville had been on the staff of General Bill Mitchel and from him received many ideas on how planes could go faster based on a survey of European aviation development after World War I. The ideas were incorporated into Sperry-Vervillle Racers as shown on the stamp that competed  for speed records at air races held in the 1920s.

Todays stamp is issue C113, a 33 cent airmail stamp issued by the USA on February 13th, 1985. It was a two stamp issue the other of which honored the Sperry Brothers that were also involved in the plane shown. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used. The catalog politely claims unused versions of this stamp are worth more than face value to prevent the survivors being used up on modern postage.

Alfred Verville was born in Michigan in 1890. As a child he sent fan letters to the Wright Brothers and to Glen Curtiss of Curtiss Aviation. The letters were answered with encouragement. After High School Verville took a correspondents course in electrical engineering and then worked at a series of automotive firms around Detroit. A few years later he decided he would rather be flying and again reached out to Glen Curtiss. Curtiss explained to him that pilots were plentiful what was needed were aircraft designers. Verville was hired by Curtis and was on the team that designed the first Curtiss flying boat and the famous for being upside down on the stamp Jenny biplane. I haven’t wrote up that stamp as I don’t own it but wrote up this later Chinese stamp featuring the Jenny here, https://the-philatelist.com/2018/11/09/china-1929-is-chaing-kai-shek-poison-for-stamp-values/  .

Verville later jumped to other aircraft firms that did not have as much going on but then landed on the staff of then Army Air Force General Bill Mitchel when he went on a tour to survey European progress on aviation after the war. He came back asking for planes to be sleeker and less like Wire filled mouse traps. Verville teamed with the Sperry Brothers for a series of racers that were monoplanes with retractable landing gear. They competed in barnstorming displays held throughout the country but few planes were sold.

Verville then designed for his own firm a four seat Air Coach that he hoped to sell to the well off for transport. He went bankrupt after building fewer than 20 planes. After that he mainly consulted for both private industry and ever more frequently the government. After World War II he was again on a European trip to survey their wartime aeronautical advancements but this time no new aircraft designs were inspired. He continued consulting until 1960 and died in 1970.

Well my drink is empty and I have an inkling to pour another and toast Glen Curtiss who seemed in this story to be the more accomplished. The USA postal service seems to agree as the gave Mr. Curtiss his own airmail stamp issue five years before. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

Categories
Uncategorized

India 1951, Showing off the Lingaraja Temple to Shiva

In the early days of independence there must have been a competition of what to show first on the stamps and thereby tell the world about the new, large but yet ancient country. The Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar made the cut. Rightly it should as it tells the story of the conversion of eastern ancient India from Buddhism to Hinduism. Another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. 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 was a harder stamp to research than I would have guessed when I picked it out. The period English spelling of the place yields nothing now and Google close matches send you to “hot” pictures of some Bollywood actress. I will leave for the day when a stamp featuring her arrives in my collection to add my opinion as to her hotness. Meanwhile the stamp featuring the Lingaraja Temple just labels it as a place with many old temples of a similar style including an identical but smaller one to Krishna rather than Shiva. Very confusing but the kind of far off rabbit hole that must have fascinated the old time stamp collectors.

Todays stamp is issue A94, a 4 Anna stamp issued by independent India on April 30th, 1951. It was a later printing revision of a 16 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents used. The stamp being unused would have raised the value to $11. The printing quality of stamps took a big turn for the worse post independence so much more can be seen on unused versions.

The Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar was built in the 11th century AD when the area was under the rule of the Somavamshi Dynasty. This era saw the conversion of the area from Buddhist to an early form of Hinduism. The temple was built on the site of an earlier one to a different religion dating from the sixth century AD. The Scottish Historian James Fergusson refers to the Lingaraja Temple as one of the best purely Hindu Temples in all of India. The tower is 150 feet high and the stone walls are over seven feet thick.  The Temple is today open to both tourists and Worshipers receiving 6000 visits a day.

Somavamshi King Yahati I initiated construction of the temple and assigned the Brahmin Caste to serve as the priests and defenders of the Temple wich also served as a fortification defending the faith. The Lingaraja name refers to Shiva as King and the Temple contains an icon of such. King Yahati was correct to think in terms of defense in the design of the Temple. In 1114 AD, the area was conquered by the Gangas Empire but the Hindu worship in the Temple was allowed to continue.  This remained true through many subsequent changes through the continueing work of the Brahmans.

Today the old temple area of Bhubaneswar faces one of it’s biggest challenges in the form of the exploding population and urban sprawl of Bhubaneswar. From a 15,000 population at the time of the stamp to over 800,000 now. Bhubaneswar became the provincial capital as the previous colonial one flooded a lot. Colonialism now takes the form of multinational software corporations such as Infosys and IBM availing themselves if India’s low cost of labour.

Well my drink is empty and I am left to wait till tomorrow when there will be another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

 

Categories
Uncategorized

Tunisia 1968, Its Stamp Day! so lets listen to the Ney play Malouf

I doubt stamp collecting was ever a huge pastime in Tunisia. That does not mean there wasn’t an official stamp day with their post office issuing stamps that reflected the unique culture of Tunisia. So for the day, Tunisians put aside the Egyptian pop music so popular then and listened to more traditional music from Spain…. I mean Tunisia. 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.

For stamp day, a player of a traditional Arab/Persian flute called a ney is displayed. In Tunisia that probably means he is accompanying an old style of musical poetry called the Malouf that came to the area from Muslims escaping Spain and interacting with Ottomans and Berbers.

Todays stamp is issue A119 a 20 Millemes stamp issued by independent Tunisia on June 1st, 1968. It was a two stamp issue for Stamp Day that year. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 50 cents unused.

In the 13th century AD, Muslims began to be pushed out of Spain  and made their new home on the cities of the North African coasts. The music they brought with them interacted and somewhat replaced the earlier Berber musical forms. In Tunisia these crosscurrents of culture merged into the Malouf. This put to music an Arab style of poetry called Qasidah in a certain musical structure called Nuba. The instruments played were those coming from the Ottomans who were also making their presence felt in the area.

In the 20th century aside from an occasional performance at a wedding the Malouf style was dying out. Instrumental in saving at least the memory of the style was French Baron and musicologist Rudolphe d’Erainger. He wrote a six volume masterwork on the history of Arab music and arraigned with his friend King Fuad of Egypt a symposium in Cairo where performances in the traditional styles occurred. The Baron did not live to see Tunisia independent and the concomitant grasping at wisps of cultural heritage. After independence, the Baron’s palace in Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia, the Star of Zahra, was donated to the state to serve as a conservatory and venue for traditional Arab music. It is lucky for Tunisia in the absence of local historians, Baron d’Erainger filled the void.

The Baron’s palace, the Star or Zahra, now an Arab music conservatory.

Well my drink is empty and that is for the best because it is perhaps inappropriate to toast Muslim subjects. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting

Categories
Uncategorized

Spain 1976, We can now again cellebrate the rational architect who irrationally ran off

The Generalissimo Franco died a mere four months before this stamp was issued. Despite the continuity supposedly represented by the King, the other half of the story, and just that half, could now be heard. Well and good. The architect and city planner Secundino Zuazo abandoned his ongoing projects and fled to Paris when Franco came to power in 1939. His politics and his patronage were with the Republican side, but he never again designed an important building despite living another 30 years. Strange perhaps for a proponent of rationality in his architecture. 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 mentioned the continuity provided by the King. That can be seen on this stamp. No Mr. Zuazo is not someone who would be recognized under Franco even if his politics lined up. His work mainly consisted of Madrid government offices and upscale apartments for those that man them. The right views such people as leaches. Where you see the continuity is in the style of the stamp that is very traditional. So for the average not stamp collector who may not pay much attention, everything seems normal.

Todays stamp is issue A460, a 15 Peseta stamp issued by Spain on Febuary 25, 1976. It was a three stamp issue in various denominations showing prominent Spanish architects and their most famous work. This one shows Secundino Zuazo and his House of Flowers apartment building. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether used or unused.

Secundino Zuazo was born in Bilboa, Spain in 1887 and studied architecture in Madrid where he settled. At first he was an architect in the traditional style. However a trip to Holland brought him in touch with the new rational movement in architecture that began in Italy and spread. The movement did not reject traditional architecture  but thought less decoration and more functionality were called for. A typical apartment building of the time in Spain would have elaborate decoration especially at the four corners but small rooms with little light let in from small windows and little airflow. The toilet facilities were communal and consequently sanitation left much room for improvement.

To answer these issues, Zuazo created his most famous work in 1932, the House of Flowers as seen on the stamps. The apartments were larger with private bathrooms and higher ceilings and larger windows. The recessed structure next to it is not a parking deck but a structure of terraces with elaborate flowers. Notice however that the façade of the building is very plain in keeping with the modern rationality.

After the House of Flowers, Zuazo got his biggest commission, the Nuevo Ministeros in Madrid. The large structure had a large center courtyard for the government workers to enjoy away from the private eyes of the public. As the Civil War in Spain ground on progress on the complex was very slow. In 1939 Franco emerged victorious but the complex was still unfinished. Zuazo had been quite close with the previous government and decided to flee Spain for Paris. Franco eventually brought in a new team of architects that finished the complex but did not stick to Zuazo’s plans. Zuazo eventually returned to Spain but his career was in shambles.

The rational international school of architecture eventually evolved taking on more influence from industrial architecture with less respect for what was built before. This was also reflective of the great masses moving to the cities from rural areas and culminated in the brutalist school of architecture. This was most prominent in the east and I did a Polish stamp celebrating it here, https://the-philatelist.com/2019/03/20/poland-1976-would-it-be-too-brutal-to-try-this-again/     .

Well my drink is empty and I am wondering of the dichotomy of someone who promotes rationality in his profession but runs away when politics don’t go his way. It was perhaps lucky that Franco’s grip on power was so long. Imagine all the uprooting Zuazo would have to do if the government was changing every four years. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

Categories
Uncategorized

Egypt 1972, Sadat tries a Corrective Revolution

Some times it is obvious that the results of a revolution aren’t as wonderful as what was hoped. It is a time perhaps to bring in some new people and try some new things still within the framework of the revolution. We did an nineties stamp from Vietnam here, https://the-philatelist.com/2019/10/22/vietnam-1993-after-a-renovation-wondering-about-becoming-an-asian-tiger/   , when it faced similar issues. In Egypt, 20 years after the revolution that ended the Monarchy, new President Anwar Sadat was ready to put his stamp on Egypt. 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 emblem on this stamp proports to be the coat of arms of Egypt. It is not, after the Monarchy the Coat of Arms gas been a depiction of the Eagle of Saladin. That doesn’t mean that this is a bad emblem. You see the Pan Arab Socialist emphasis on progress and science. You also see the call to Faith, part of the Corrective Revolution was Sadat lightening up on religious persecution and reaching out a hand to Islamist. Getting that balance is quite tricky. Even on the stamp it seems somewhat discordant.

Todays stamp is issue A395, a 20 Milliemes stamp issued by Egypt on July 23rd, 1972 when it was in a federation with Syria, Libya, and the Sudan. It was a two stamp issue remembering the 20th anniversary of the revolution. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents used.

Anwar Sadat was born in southern Egypt to a Nubian family of modest means. He was one quarter Sudanese on his mothers side. Thus he was significantly darker than most Egyptians. He was trained as an officer in the Egyptian Army and posted to Sudan, where he met the more senior future general Nasser. He was arrested and jailed by the British for trying to contact the Axis powers to conspire to rid Egypt of Britain. He participated in the revolution that ended the Monarchy and rose fast in Nasser’s government including ultimately the Vice Presidency.

After the death of Nasser in 1970, Sadat assumed the Presidency. Most figured him a short term caretaker but he had other ideas. He threw out the Soviet Army from Egypt as a non Muslim force was unwelcome and exerted too much influence on Egypt’s actions. He arrested the head of Nasser’s secret police and lightened up on the practice of the faith. He rejuvenated efforts at Pan-Arabism by introducing a Federation of Arab Republics. After agreeing in full to a UN proposal on the Israel occupied Sinai resulted in no movement with Israel he reformed the Army toward a new war. This was all packaged as a Corrective Revolution.

In 1973, the Egyptian Army crossed on to the Sinai smashing Israel’s fortifications. Though the war did not regain the Sinai it did energize Egypt and the wider Arab world. The near defeat shocked Israel and made them suddenly more willing to deal for peace. When the peace treaty was signed with Israel many Arabs viewed it as a betrayal. The new more capable Egyptian Army was the key tool in the defeat of the Jewish entity as they put it. Egypt was wrong they felt to sellout in exchange for only the occupied land in Sinai. The Federation with other Arab states ended and even the headquarters of the Arab League moved to Tunis, Tunisia. Sadat was assassinated 4 years later. There are debates whether the assassin was motivated by Nasserism or Islamism.

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

Categories
Uncategorized

Japan1990, Remembering when Rangaku broadened to include Germany, and sex

Why is old Japanese man writing a letter in old style German. I thought he might be some sort of ambassador from the Axis alliance period. That man of course would not be getting honored with a postage stamp in modern Japan. Instead this is more interesting from a time when Japanese realized they had much to learn from the west in general and a man might find the broadened horizons life changing in the individual. 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 promotes the 8th Congress of the international Association of German studies. The group promotes the fact that the German language is the basis also for Dutch, the Scandinavian languages, and Yiddish. The commonality means there is a basis for cooperation. Well fine, but what does that have to do with Japan. The Japanese stamp designer might have peaked your interest to study the connection. Subtly but the more you look the more there is to see.

Todays stamp is issue A1578, a 62 Yen stamp issued by Japan on August 27th, 1990. It was a single stamp issue. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents used.

In 1620, the Dutch were able to set up a trading post near Nagasaki that was tolerated by the Shogun Japanese governments. The Dutch were there to facilitate exports of silk and deer hides to the West. Soon a two way trade developed as the Japanese realized the Dutch were far ahead in areas like industry and medicine.This gained knowledge was called Rangaku. Mori Ogai was born into a family of physicians that served Japanese feudal lords in 1862. As part of his medical training to join the family practice, Mori studied the Dutch language to better make use of the Dutch medical textbooks being used. Upon graduation, the new physician was commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Army medical corps. Through the Army an opportunity to further his studies for four years in Germany opened up. His knowledge of Dutch made Mori the obvious choice for the German opportunity.

Upon returning to Japan in 1888, Mori rose rapidly in the medical corps, eventually becoming it’s head. What he is most famous for however is his writing career that began after his return. His first book, “The Dancing Girl” was quite a sensation in Japan. It was the autobiographical story of a Japanese exchange student that had an affair with a German dancer named Elise. When it was time to return to Japan, the student has to chose between a promising career in Japan and his love for Elise. He choses his career and leaves Elise alone and pregnant and she has a mental breakdown. This wasn’t the typical Japanese story of the time.

Mori’s most famous story was “The Wild Geese”. This was set in Tokyo and the story of a banker who is unhappy with his nagging wife and takes a young, poor, mistress named Otama. Otama finds the situation with the banker soul crushing until she meets a young medical students who she falls in love with and dreams he will rescue her from her miserable life. These books were aimed at females who previously hadn’t much attention in Japanese literature. Mori’s real love life was also dramatic but perhaps he was not also the hero, he had a string of bad marriages.

 

USA cover of “The Wild Geese”

Mori’s daughter Mari also became an important author. She was an originator of the Yaoi style of Japanese fiction written by women for women. These are homoerotic stories of older men who have affairs with much younger teenage boys. Seems a strange thing for women to read about.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the designer of this stamp, A German language convention in Japan doesn’t sound like it would be interesting, but I really enjoyed this stamp. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.,

 

Categories
Uncategorized

Chile 1989, Chile remembers when they defeated Bolivia’s pretend navy

Bolivia is a landlocked nation. In the 1830s it confederated with Peru freaking out Chile and Argentina. I bet the Chileans were not expecting a naval attack from Bolivia, but it was a time when you could set a bounty and attract foreign privateers. 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.

Here we have a naval battle scene and a seaman of the Chilean navy. The navy perhaps should have worked harder on their uniforms, this fellow looks more like he might be one of the privateers Chile was fighting. The Chilean Captain was British and the privateer Captain was French, so perhaps they were trying to imply someone from the area was involved in the battle.

Todays stamp is issue A440, a 100 Peso stamp issued by Chile on January 12, 1989, the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Casma. It was a four stamp issue that came out as two stamp pairs depicting battles from the War of Confederation. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 85 cents used.

Robert Simpson was born in England and was a teenage midshipman on the sloop HMS Rose under Lord Cochrane. A port call in Chile saw him jump ship to join the navy of newly independent Chile. It was an opportunity for rapid advancement and by age 21 he was a Captain. An example of how threadbare the operation was can be seen in his command of the American built 18 gun brigantine Araucano. Ordered to sail to California to buy supplies after raiding Spanish commerce off Acapulco, Simpson went ashore to handle transactions. The ship then mutinied under one of Simpson’s also British deputies and sailed around the pacific ocean before ending up as a pirate ship based out of Tahiti. The French authorities there eventually seized the ship and told Chile the ship was theirs if they would come get it. They never came for it.

Simpson returned to Chile after being stranded and given later commands. In the late 1830s, Simpson was commanding a three ship squadron that was trying to blockade the port of Lima during the war with the Confederation of Bolivia and Peru. A bounty of 200,000 Pesos was put on the Chilean squadron. A four small ship force of privateers responded to bounty under former French naval officer Juan Blanchet. We can probably deduce that 200,000 Pesos was more then than now. The Chilean squadron was caught in Casma bay but the bigger Chilean ships got the better of the fighting. The privateers’ flagship was captured and Blanchet killed. The other privateers than hoisted French flags and ran. Unfortunately in running they ran into a real French warship that did not appreciate their French flags and forced the privateer squadron to disband. Simpson was made a Commodore and many years later took Chilean citizenship.

Commodore Robert Simpson, some Chileans called him Roberto but probably not Beto

The Chileans eventually also beat the confederation on the ground as well as at sea and the confederation between Peru and Bolivia ended. The leader of the confederation went into a European exile.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Commodore Simpson. We can’t know if would have risen so high in the Royal Navy but he did manage to rule the seas, Britannia style, at least in the Bay of Casma. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

Categories
Uncategorized

Vatican City 1967, Honoring Saint Peter by going outside the walls

The Vatican does not lack for items of beauty to display. The important thing to communicate is that the item often conveys a Holy meaning beyond merely the aesthetics. 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.

Vatican postage stamps are not surprisingly printed in Rome. Nearby Vienna is more well known for skill of stamp design and production but carries perhaps too much baggage regarding “Holy” Roman history. The Rome based  engravers did seem to take extra effort on the Vatican stamp issues.

Todays stamp is issue A135, a 220 Lira stamp issued by Vatican City on June 15th, 1967. It was a four stamp issue in various denominations honoring the 1900th anniversary of the martyrdom of Disciples and Saints Peter and Paul. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents.

The land on which Saint Peter was martyred in Rome was owned by a Christian woman named Lucina. She had built a tropaeum that became a site for veneration of Peter. In the late days of the Roman Empire, A Basilica was built on the expanded site. The Basilica was one of the four major ones located in Rome and the only one outside the walls of Vatican City. Outside the Walls is sometimes included in it’s title. It is still owned by the Vatican and considered their territory in the manner of a foreign embassy.

The Basilica has been the recipient of a few challenges over it’s many years. In it’s first hundred years it was heavily damaged by a lightning strike. In 846 AD, Rome and the Basilica were sacked by Arab raiders called the Saracens. The raiders did not penetrate the walls of Vatican City so the position outside was critical. In 1823 there was a huge fire during a renovation that required a total rebuilding. The alter had been constructed over Saint Peters sarcophagus, making it impossible to see or touch. This was remedied, if that’s what you want to call it by making it visible on one side recently. The Church must be fairly confident that there will not be a visit by modern Saracens.

For most of the life of the Basilica, it was the home of the Latin Patriarch of the Egyptian city of Alexandra. The city went vast majority Muslim many years ago. The Christian community  however was divided between allegiance to Rome or Constantinople after the Eastern schism within the church upon the breaking in two of the by then Christian Roman Empire. The argument over the Egyptian Coptics went on for 1000 years until 20th century Catholics first left the position empty and then abolished it. The Basilica is currently managed by an Archpriest. Today that is Cardinal James Michael Harvey, from Milwaukee, USA.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the city of Rome. The presence of the Papal enclave has added many complications to the city over the many years. Come again tomorrow when there will be another story to be learned from stamp collecting.