New Hampshire-based Purgatory Post on August 3, 2021, issued its latest stamps commemorating United States spaceflight missions. The pair of 15-sola stamps mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 15, which ran July 26–August 7, 1971.
Purgatory Post Apollo 15 stamps
One of the stamps pictures astronauts Dave Scott, Al Worden, and Jim Irwin along with the mission’s launch, while the second stamp features the Apollo 15 mission patch and photograph of the lunar rover that Scott and Irwin used during their time on the moon.
The members of the Apollo 15 crew after their trip to the moon faced criticism for carrying and signing several hundred stamped envelopes on the mission without approval from their managers, and for receiving payment for the covers after the fact. Although the three ultimately returned the money, they never returned to space.
On October 1, 2021, Philosateleian Post, a private local post based in San Antonio, Texas, will issue a special stamp picturing Tenaya Lake in Yosemite National Park. The blue and green 1-stamp design is based on a photograph taken by Philosateleian Post’s proprietor, Kevin Blackston, during a 2013 trip to California.
Philosateleian Post Tenaya Lake stamp
At 8,150 feet above sea level, Tenaya Lake has an altitude more than twice that of the floor of nearby Yosemite Valley, and the water that flows out of the lake ultimately makes its way through a steep canyon down to the Valley. The lake was named after Chief Tenaya of the Ahwahnechee, who lived in the area.
The Tenaya Lake stamp is Philosateleian Post’s second to feature a scene from Yosemite National Park. The first, issued in 2014, featured a view of Yosemite Valley itself.
Technical Specifications
Format: sheets of 55. Design size: 36×21 mm. Separation method: perforated 12. Adhesive: water-activated dry gum. Printing method: inkjet.
Philatelic Services
To receive a mint single of Philosateleian Post’s Tenaya Lake stamp, or for first day cover service, send either $2 or a self-addressed stamped envelope and your request to:
Kevin Blackston
Philosateleian Post
PO Box 17544
San Antonio TX 78217-0544
United States of America
Album pages for playing cards, fermented fruit juice stamps
Earlier today, I uploaded Special 2021 supplement #2 for The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album. It includes spaces for two categories of revenue stamps: playing cards and fermented fruit juice. This is part of my ongoing effort to expand The Philosateleian to accommodate many of the fiscal issues of the United States.
In preparing the pages for playing card stamps, I decided to omit spaces for the various surcharges used only by specific manufacturers in the late 1910s and early 1920s. By no means am I saying that those stamps are not collectible, or that I’ll never consider creating pages for them, but they were simply out of scope for this initial effort.
I’m now moving on to pages for silver tax stamps and hope to have those prepared soon.
Last October, I blogged about a business reply envelope that I received in a mailing from Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch. This week, I received another from the same organization.
Cal Farley’s business reply envelope
This yellow envelope has four pre-printed stamp-sized images of yellow roses in a vase against a blue background. An unusual featue is the month and year printed near the lower left corner of the envelope; this self-documents when the envelope was distributed, whereas most business reply envelopes bear no indication of when they were distributed.
This BRE was enclosed in a rather large envelope, and as you can probably tell from the scan, it got a bit banged up in the mail with some vertical and diagonal wrinkles. Nevertheless, it’s another interesting piece.
Bat’s Private Post honors Princess Diana, 2020 Summer Olympics
Bat’s Private Post of Beverly Hills, California, on July 1, 2021, issued a total of eight different stamps commemorating two different subjects.
A set of two stamps marked the 60th anniversary of the birth of the late Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997). Both stamps feature a photograph of Princess Diana.
Bat’s Private Post Princess Diana local post stamps
A release distributed with the stamps indicates the 60¢ value covers USPS and Bat’s Private Post fees to mail a letter up to one ounce in weight or a large postcard within the United States, while the $5 value pays the Bat’s Private Post fee for delivery of articles to locations close to the local post’s normal area of operations.
The second set of stamps issued by the California local post on July 1 celebrates the 2020 Summer Olympics, also known as Tokyo 2020. The games, postponed last year due to COVID-19, have been rescheduled to begin later this month.
Bat’s Private Post 2020 Summer Olympics local post stamps
Two designs are used for each of three different denominations (5¢, 60¢, and $1.25). One is based on a 1920 photograph of Duke Kahanamoku (1890–1968), who popularized the sport of surfing but also earned five Olympic medals in swimming, including gold medals in 1912 and 1920. Kahanamoku was previously honored on a United States postage stamp in 2002.
The other design depicts a geisha, a professional female Japanese entertainer.
According to Bat’s Private Post, the 5¢ stamps pay the fee for delivery of a letter or postcard to the USPS, while the $1.25 stamps cover U.S. and local postage for carrying letters bound for international destinations.
