Purgatory Post commemorates Bedell Bridge, Bunker Hill
June seems to have been a rather quiet month in the world of local posts, which is probably to be expected. Some folks travel during the summer, and with longer daylight hours, others simply spend more time outside than on stamps; however, one local post that has been active in terms of releasing new stamps over the past month is Purgatory Post.
On June 10, the New Hampshire-based local post issued a 26-sola stamp picturing the Bedell Covered Bridge, which spanned the Connecticut River between Haverhill, New Hampshire, and Newbury, Vermont. The bridge was built in 1866.
Purgatory Post 26-sola Bedell Bridge stamp
The Bedell Bridge was closed to traffic in 1958, but a committee later raised $250,000 to rebuild the bridge, which was rededicated in July 1979. Unfortunately, the structure was demolished by a windstorm later that year, and the bridge was never rebuilt.
On June 18, Purgatory Post issued a 10-sola stamp commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. The vignette reproduces part of John Trumbull’s The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Purgatory Post 10-sola Battle of Bunker Hill stamp
British forces won the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, but not until colonial forces had repelled them twice. It was only after the colonists exhausted their supply of ammunition that they retreated, leaving the hills around Boston under British control.
I’ve had a very busy week, and as a result, I’m a little tardy in writing about this…but as of Sunday of this week, the Summer 2025 Supplement (123 KB, 2 files, 9 pages) for The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album is available. This update includes spaces for all United States postage stamps (and Philosateleian Post’s newest local post stamp) issued from March through May of this year.
You can download and print the new pages at your convenience, and as always, thank you for your interest and your support.
Purgatory Post marks anniversary of Second Continental Congress
Purgatory Post earlier this month released the latest in its series of stamps leading up to the United States of America’s semiquincentennial celebration. The 9-sola stamp marking the 250th anniversary of the start of the Second Continental Congress was issued may 10.
Purgatory Post 9-sola Second Continental Congress stamp
The stamp’s vignette is comprised of a portion of Robert Edge Pine’s Congress Voting Independence of Confederation
The Second Continental Congress is perhaps best known for producing the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, but it also served as the fledgling nation’s de facto government until it was disbanded in 1781 once the Articles of Confederation came into effect.
As longtime readers of this blog will know, Purgatory Post is a private local post based in New Hampshire.
Philosateleian Post FDC shows some scrapes and bumps
When I released Philosateleian Post’s new prickly pear cactus stamp earlier this month, I sent a first day cover to myself. That envelope was in my post office box last week, and it has signs of some rough handling.
Philosateleia 1s Prickly Pear Cactus first day cover
As you can see, the Philosateleian stamp has a long horizontal scrape across roughly 75% of its width. Additionally, there’s a bite “missing” from the bottom edge of the envelope, a chunk that was apparently removed by mail processing equipment somewhere along the way.
On the plus side, the Appalachian Trail (Georgia) stamp I used survived unscathed, and since I used my mailer’s postmark to cancel it, I have a nice used copy with little of the image obscured.
The newest local post stamps from Beverly Hills-based Bat’s Private Post celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova (1725–1798).
The designs of the 10¢, 20¢, 83¢, and $1.75 stamps, all of which were issued April 2, 2025, are based on a portrait credited to Francesco Narici.
Bat’s Private Post 10¢, 20¢, 83¢, and $1.75 Giacomo Casanova stamps
Today, Casanova’s name is synonymous with that of a playboy due to his many amorous exploits during his lifetime, but his lasting claim to fame is an autobiography detailing customs and norms of 18th-century European social life.
According to a release included with the stamps, the 10¢ value pays the Bat’s Private Post fee to carry a letter to a United States Postal Service facility, while the 83¢ value covers the cost of local transport plus domestic postage (which Bat’s Private Post pays). The 20¢ stamp pays either Bat’s Private Post’s parcel fee or its fee to carry a letter to the Servicio Postal Mexicano, and the $1.75 stamp covers the cost of local transport plus US postage to international destinations.
