With a stressful work week nearing an end, I wanted to share with you something fun that I received in the mail earlier this week.
This cover created by mail artist Linda W. features a small cutout from a map showing the border between New Mexico and Texas, plus three Japanese landscape stamps, which are of course right up my alley.
Mail art by Linda W.
I’ve previously shared other examples of Linda’s work here as far back as 2014, and I never cease to be amazed at the creativity that she and other mail artists have. My own outgoing mail, despite being adorned with Philosateleian Post stamps, seems a bit pale in comparison, but I think it’s safe to say that we all have fun!
San Francisco realtor seeks home for Rosback perforator
If you live in the San Francisco area, a local realtor is looking for a new home for a full-size Rosback pinhole perforator.
Kim Wiley of the San Francisco Real Estate Group tells me that she’s getting a house ready to go on the market, and the perforator pictured here needs to be moved out as quickly as possible.
Motorized Rosback pinhole perforatorRosback perforator head
The current owner is asking for $800 or best offer. That’s probably a little bit above average asking price for a Rosback, but it looks like it’s in really nice shape, too.
If you’re interested in this machine, you can contact Kim at (415) 519-5595. Please let her know that you read about it here.
Philosateleian Post sets new record, introduces new marking
Philosateleian Post set an all-time high for the number of outbound mail pieces carried last year. By the end of 2019, my little family dispatched 485 envelopes, postcards, and packages, which represented an increase of nearly 30% from 2018 and topped the old record of 417 pieces of mail set the year before that.
I attribute a large part of the increase in mail volume to me sending a number of acknowledgment cards in response to individuals who mailed sympathy notes following my mom’s death last spring. In any case, though, it was a very, very busy year for mail!
In other news, Philosateleian Post yesterday, January 6, began using a new handstamp reading “First-Class Mail International” on outgoing mail bound for destinations outside the United States.
First-Class Mail International marking
Prior to yesterday, I was using a handstamp reading “Via Air Mail / Par Avion,” but since there is not actually a specific airmail rate from the United States, the change in wording seemed appropriate.
2019 annual supplement available for The Philosateleian
Most users of The Philosateleian U.S. Stamp Album use the recommended quarterly update track, which requires printing updated album pages four times per year. This ensures that you have spaces for newly issued stamps within no more than three months of their date of issue.
For those who prefer to print once and be done with it, however, The Philosateleian does offer an annual update track, and I’m pleased to announce that The Philosateleian’s complete set of pages for 2019 is available as of this morning. The file is listed as the bottom of the individual stamp album pages webpage.
Once again, this is intended for those who print updated pages only once a year. If you print the quarterly supplements for The Philosateleian, you already have spaces for all of these stamps in your album, and you can ignore this update.
Boys Town uses bird cinderellas for third time in month
Boys Town managed to squeeze in one more fundraising mailing to finish up 2019. The thick envelope stuffed with a calendar, return address labels, and other “gifts” was waiting in my post office box today, but the most interesting part to me from a philatelic perspective was of course the business reply envelope that was included.
Boys Town business reply envelope with cinderella stamp depicting four birds
The cinderella stamp on the envelope includes four different roughly stamp-sized designs picturing a bluejay, a cardinal, a thrush, and a bluebird. The designs are separated by vertical lines, but are all printed on the same label.
Boys Town cinderella stamp depicting four birds
If the designs look familiar, there’s a reason. The business reply envelopes in two separate Boys Town mailings that I received earlier this month bore individual labels featuring the same cardinal, bluebird, and thrush artwork by Washington state artist Jane Shasky, though the designs were cropped slightly differently for those labels than for the combined strip that I received today.
Neither of the earlier mailings that I received featured the bluejay design. I’m not sure if that means the bluejay was not included among the individual labels that were printed, or if I just didn’t happen to receive one.
