From today’s Wall Street Journal, reported by Hannah Erin Lang: SpaceX shares have surged nearly 50% in their first days of trading and left a trail of remorseful traders in their wake: those who sold too early. After climbing an additional 4.8% in Tuesday’s session to $201.80, SpaceX ended the day as the world’s fifth-largest public company by market cap, surpassing Amazon. The gains came as SpaceX announced a deal to buy AI-coding startup Cursor for $60 billion.
What do you mean the market is overheated? .. the sun as the almighty dollar, and ‘feathers’ of SpaceX share certificates, $100 bills. The hippo’s side comment: Feathers don’t make the bird, but without the feathers he is no bird. (From Aesop’s Fables: Fine feathers don’t make fine birds). The cartoon probably refers the famous Greek myth and cautionary tale of Icarus and the sun. Icarus’s father, Daedalus, made wings of feathers and wax for Icarus to escape imprisonment. Disregarding his father’s warnings to avoid flying too high, Icarus soared too close to the sun, melting the wax and sending Icarus plummeting into the ocean. [Cartoon by Dr. Jack (full name Dr. Jack Swanepoel) from South African newspaper Die Burger]
The stamp albums from Japan that the proxy buyer Buyee.jp had bought for me, arrived on my doorstep a few days ago.
I will post a few pages from the albums in due course.
2003 Japan: Letter Writing Day (ふみの日 Fumi No Hi ) Issued Jul. 23, 2003 Perf. 13 x 13¼ | Stamp 28 x 37 mm | Printing: Photogravure | No watermark C1898 50 ¥ | Multicolored | Cat holding letter and camera [Sources: 2027 Sakura Catalog Of Japanese Stamps, colnect.com]
Check out the air mail envelope that contained my purchases of Japanese stamps from a seller in Asaka, Japan (in the Tokyo metro area).
He wrote my name and address in perfect print— something I absolutely cannot do with Japanese characters!
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2015 Japan: Fauna, Flora and National Parks Definitives Issued Feb. 2, 2015 Perf. 13 x 13¼ | Stamp 22 mm x 26 mm | Printing: Photogravure | No watermark 3791 A3351 10 ¥ | Multicolored | Japanese crested ibis (Nipponia nippon) [Sources: colnect.com, 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Vol. 4A]2026 Japan: Invitation to Stamp Collecting III : Ukiyo-e Issued Mar. 11, 2026 Perf. 16½ | Design: Maho Shimada | Stamp 50 mm x 35 mm | Printing: Offset Lithography | Printer: Toppan Edge Co., Ltd. (Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.) | No watermark JP 2026.03.11-01c 500 ¥ | Multicolored | Woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige “Arashiyama in Full Blossoms: Famous Places of Kyoto” [Sources: colnect.com, Google Gemini Flash]
I took the No 8 bus to Westlake Avenue and walked up along Lake Union, hoping to still catch Mark Zuckerberg’s megayacht there.
Alas, she was gone.
Someone there told me she was out in the open waters of Elliott Bay.
Checking out the Boeing 747 fuselage ‘public art’ installed between the apartment towers of 1200 Stewart Street. (I’m still on the No 8 bus).A new eight-story banner installation designed by Seattle artist Ernesto Ybarra on the east façade of the 9th & Thomas building in South Lake Union. It is called ‘The Hostess’, and celebrates Seattle’s role as a host city for the World Cup soccer matches this summer.Once upon a time many years ago, I brought my 1996 Toyota Camry to this building at 400 Westlake Ave for new tires. The Firestone Auto Supply & Service Store building was constructed in 1929 with concrete and terra cotta details in the art deco style. The façade was kept when a new 15-story commercial tower was built on the property.Nearby is the 2021 artwork by Patti Warashina called ‘Dreamer’. It was sculpted with aluminum and painted in geometric patterns.This corner of South Lake Union’s waters is for rowers and kayakers. That’s the MOHAI building in the background (Museum of History and Industry).The Marina Mart building is still there. Constructed in the early 1940s, it has deep ties to Seattle’s maritime heritage. It has transitioned from an industrial maritime site into a major dining and recreation hub.With Memorial Day behind us, sailing season is now officially open. There was a light breeze around and lots of sunshine🌞.
Happy Friday.
I’m reading up about the stamps from Greenland that had I bought at the stamp show from a friendly guy from Nuuk, at the Greenland booth at the stamp show.
2025 The 75th Anniversary of the SIRIUS Patrol Issued Jan. 31, 2025 Perf. 13 | Design: Miki Jacobsen | 40 mm x 30 mm | Offset Lithography | Printing: Gutenberg AG | Paper: FSC SecurPost 110g/ m2 | No watermark 01100788 19.00 Kr | Multicolored | SIRIUS Patrol with provisions and dog sled
The headquarters of the SIRIUS patrol is Daneborg, located on the east coast of Greenland, close to 74 degrees north latitude. The headquarters is completely cut off from the outside world. To get there, you have to fly in a small propeller plane from Iceland. At the station, twelve men and 80 sled dogs are each other’s only company for a radius of about 250 kilometers. There are not many distractions outside of work. There is mail from home six to seven times a year. SIRIUS’ northernmost station is called Station Nord. Five men are stationed here year-round. The main task is to keep a large runway free of ice, but there are also many other tasks. On the patrols, the menu is freeze-dried food, powdered milk, chocolate and rye bread, but after arriving at the station, there is food in abundance, as well as videos, music and even a shower. Everything is in sharp contrast to the patrols’ harsh living conditions. Station Nord is therefore a very popular place to stay for the patrols. In a modern era, when surveillance of Northeast Greenland could easily be carried out using satellites or aircraft, the SIRIUS patrol may seem redundant. However, the fact is that, according to international conventions, sovereignty can only be enforced by entering the areas that a country possesses. So the unique Danish military unit will probably continue to operate in Greenland’s northernmost regions in the future. [Sources: stampworld.com, stamps.gl/greenland-collector, Google AI]2025 Greenlandic Dog Sleds Issued Jan. 31, 2025 Perf. 13 | Design: Konrad Nuka Godtfredsen | 56 mm x 33 mm | Offset Lithography | Printing: Gutenberg AG | Paper: FSC SecurPost 110g/ m2 | No watermark 895 AEK 3.00 Kr | Multicolored | East Greenlandic sled 896 AEL 38.00 Kr | Multicolored | Greenlander with East Greenlandic sled [Sources: stampworld.com, Google AI]2025 EUROPA Stamps – National Archaeological Discoveries Issued May 26, 2025 Perf. 13 | Design: Maya Sialuk Jacobsen | 30 mm x 40 mm, 40 mm x 30 mm | Offset Lithography | Printing: Gutenberg AG | Paper: FSC SecurPost 110g/ m2 | No watermark 902 AER 25.00 Kr | Black and white | Boy with animal skin clothing from the Thule culture More: Qilakitsoq is an abandoned Inuit settlement on the Nuussuaq Peninsula on the West coast of Greenland, about 450 km north of the Arctic Circle. The settlement is renowned for the discovery of eight mummified bodies from the Thule culture in 1972. The discovery was made by two local reindeer hunters, Hans and Jokum Grønvold. In two graves were the mummies of six women and two boys. They comprise three generations with close familial links across the graves. Although the causes of death are unknown, they probably died at the same time in the Autumn shortly after arriving at the Winter settlement. They were wrapped in animal skins and fully clothed. They were equipped for a long journey to the underworld, carefully prepared according to ancient, traditional rites. They had extra skins and clothing to afford them a safe journey and a good life in the realm of the dead. The five oldest women have almost identical facial tattoos that can express both kinship and social status. The youngest woman of about 20 years is not tattooed. Perhaps she was either unmarried or childless. Tattoos have been in common use among Inuit women for thousands of years. There were amulets on and among their clothing. The Inuit probably employed these amulets to muster strength and protection from evil spirits. The mummies from Qilakitsoq have since afforded valuable insights into the life of the Inuit who lived in the area some 500 years ago. The stamp reproduces the most recognisable and most iconic of the eight mummies. It is presumed to be a small boy of about six months. While the gender is based on the clothing, the age has been ascertained from the development of teeth and bones through radiographic examination.
903 AES 28.00 Kr | Black and white | The Kingittorsuaq rune stone More: The Kingittorsuaq rune stone was found in 1824 by a man called Pelimut. The discovery was made on top of the mountain on the small island of Kingittorsuaq about 20 km north of Upernavik. At the highest point of the island, he saw three collapsed cairns placed in a triangle formation. Near the largest of the cairns, he spotted a stone with several markings that he did not recognise. The stone, which is known as the Kingittorsuaq Runestone, bears medieval rune inscriptions. It is conclusive evidence that Norsemen in Greenland on their fishing trips along the West coast of Greenland reached as far North as North of the present-day town of Upernavik. The stone, which currently resides in the National Museum in Copenhagen, has been dated to the Middle Ages between 1250 to 1333 AD. The last part of the runic script remains undecipherable as it appears to be a group of meaningless characters. However, the first part of the writing on the runestone translated from Old Norse reads: “Erling, son of Sigvath and Baarne Thordar’s son and Enriði Á’s son, on Saturday before Rogation Day raised this stone and rode…” [Sources: stampworld.com, europe-stamps.blogspot.com, Google AI]2025 Dove of Peace Issued Sep. 12, 2025 Woven cloth with embroidery | 100% Recycled polyester | 55 mm x 42 mm | Mfg. by Hämmerle & Vogel (Austria) | Self-adhesive 909 AEY 75 Kr | Stylized, white-and-blue embroidered dove carrying an olive branch Part of an international joint initiative where multiple postal services worldwide issued identical embroidered stamps. It features the exact same dove motif across over a dozen postal organizations (including the UN, Switzerland, Austria, and the Faroe Islands) with only the country name and local currency varying. [Sources: stampworld.com, Google AI]2026 Boston World Expo Issued May 23, 2026 Perf. 13 | Two stamps in minisheet (140 mm x 80 mm) | Design: Martin Mörck | Stamps 40 mm x 30 mm | Offset Lithography | Printing: Gutenberg AG | Paper: FSC SecurPost 110g/ m2 | No watermark 01100819 25.00 Kr | Multicolored | Leif the Lucky’s discovery of Vinland* 01100820 37.00 Kr | Multicolored | Thor Solberg’s flight aboard the Leif Eriksson biplane**
*Leif Eriksson, also known as Leif the Lucky, was a Norse explorer who is thought to have been the first European to set foot on continental America, approximately half a millennium before Christopher Columbus did. Vinland is the coastal region of North America (Newfoundland & eastern Canada) explored and temporarily settled by Norse Vikings around 1000 CE. **Thor Solberg was a Norwegian-born aviation pioneer who made the first successful flight from the United States of America to Norway in 1935. He made the journey, which started in New York City, in an open-cockpit single-engine aircraft with no landing instruments. [Sources: stampworld.com, stamps.gl/greenland-collector, Google AI]
The site of the Boston Tea Party incident is a short walk from the Convention Center.
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest on December 16, 1773, where American colonists, frustrated by British “taxation without representation,” destroyed 342 chests of tea. Led by the Sons of Liberty and disguised as Mohawk warriors, the group dumped $1.7 million worth of British East India Company tea into Boston Harbor.
The Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum had already closed for the day when I got there last night.
I took a few pictures and then walked to South Station at 700 Atlantic Avenue. It is a large train station that serves the MBTA Subway, bus lines and an Amtrak line.
The site of the Boston Tea Party in Boston harbor.The Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum.A block of four 1973 stamps to commemorate the Boston Tea Party.A modern walkway and arches leading to South Station. The tall skyscraper above South Station is the South Station Tower. Standing at 690 feet tall with 51 stories, it is the sixth-tallest building in Boston.The main entrance into South Station, at the corner of Summer St and Atlantic Avenue.The main lobby inside South Station.I took the Red Line with three stops to Charles/ MGH* station. *Massachusetts General Hospital.The Puffers Building, located at 214-218 Cambridge Street in Boston’s Beacon Hill, is a historic Queen Anne-style brick building built in 1899. Financed by carbonated beverage magnate Alvin D. Puffer, the building originally functioned as sweatshops employing newly arrived immigrants in the West End’s cigar-making industry. – Google AI Overview/ Boston Women’s Heritage TrailAnd here is what must be one of the orginal Massachusetts General Hospital buildings. Founded in 1811, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is the third-oldest general hospital in the United States and the original, largest teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School. Conceived to treat Boston’s sick and impoverished, MGH has grown into a world-renowned biomedical research and clinical care center.
I attended the opening ceremony of the Boston 2026 World Expo stamp show, and spent the best part of the day looking at the displays, and checking out the offerings from the vendors. (And making a few acquisitions— nothing too extravagant).
There was a little pomp and ceremony during the opening of the exhibition. A marching band called the Concord and Acton Minutemen came in. They performed the national anthem for us, and then marched out. Lexington is known for Lexington Common, or Battle Green, where the first shot of the American Revolutionary War was fired. This picture is from the end of the opening ceremony, with the unveiling of ten new stamps issued by the United States Postal Service, called Treasures of the Revolutionary Era. On the stage are several dignitaries of the Expo, of the USPS and the Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (The Honorable Kim Driscoll).A view of the main exhibition hall as one descends down the escalator from the main lobby. There are some 10,000 exhibits with a total of 4,000 frames, each with 16 pages, on display. An estimated inventory of some $10 million worth of stamps are for sale at the booths of the vendors and at the auctions that will be held.The USPS is a major sponsor of the show and there were long lines at the counters in the morning.Prints of about 2 ft x 3 ft of stamps of the world adorn the panels that form the spaces on the floor of the exhibition center. I still have to track down the ones depicting stamps from South Africa. (Do you know where in the world Zanzibar is?)An offering for serious collectors that also have deep pockets: a whole sheet of the 1918 issue of USA airmail stamps, 24c apiece, can be yours for $13,000.The 24c airmail stamp from the previous picture was printed in separate runs for the red link and blue ink. On one AND ONLY ONE SHEET, the Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” biplane was accidentally printed upside down. These stamps are called the 1918 24¢ “Inverted Jenny”. When this single sheet of 100 Inverted Jenny stamps was purchased by William T. Robey in May 1918, it was quickly sold to stamp dealer Eugene Klein. Klein then sold the intact sheet to the eccentric multimillionaire collector Colonel Edward H. R. Green. Colonel Green instructed Kleinto break the sheet up into single stamps and smaller blocks. While most of the sheet was split into individual singles, Green deliberately kept the most important positional units intact. The Centerline Block of Four is shown in this picture: Taken from the exact center of the original sheet of 100, this block features the horizontal and vertical guide lines used by the printers. This unique centerline block survived intact and sold at a Spink auction in 2019 for $1,740,000.The famous Cape of Good Hope stamp from the Cape Colony in South Africa, issued 1853 to 1864. It was the world’s first triangular stamp. This panel is part of a thematic collection of triangular stamps of the world.And here is the stamp that started it all: the 1840 Penny Black issued in the United Kingdom. These were imperforate and cut apart with scissors. This is one has four full margins around the edges of the stamp. The display envelope with the stamp on goes for $295. So far I have resisted the temptation to buy one!
Ebay is the 800-pound gorilla when it comes to searching and buying or bidding for postage stamps from all over the world.
Still, to complete some of my sets for South Africa, I had to resort to South African sellers that listed their offerings only locally, on a South Africa-based website for collectors.
I’m going to have to do the same for Japan, but there are additional challenges.
There is the language obstacle of Japanese language-only websites, and many times the seller would ship only to local buyers.
Enter Buyee Japan: a proxy shopping service that lets you bid for, or purchase outright, Japanese products that are listed on local Japanese websites.
The Japanese on the web pages are translated to English, and the Yen amounts are converted to US Dollar amounts. Yay! Buyee will serve as a proxy bidder for you on the auctions. If you win, you pay for the item. The item is sent to Buyee’s warehouse in Japan and then shipped overseas to the USA from there.And this is a prize item that is being offered, and certainly found very few collections of Japanese stamps. It is a 1948 issue, issued for that year’s ‘Philately Week’ in relatively small numbers. It depicts a print by Japanese artist Hishikawa Moronobu. He is known for popularizing the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints and paintings in the late 17th century.This sheet of five stamps is in top-notch, ‘mint never hinged, original gum’ condition. My 2021 Scott Catalogue says the sheet is worth/ can fetch US$350 when sold. So it should quite a bit up from its current bid prince of US$ 20.46 over the next few days and in the final countdown to when the bidding closes. (I am not bidding and will look for a single used stamp to add to my collection instead.)
Happy Friday.
It was a beautiful and mild spring day here in the city (63°F/ 17°C) with sunshine this afternoon.
I wore my sunglasses as I walked over to Chuck’s Hop Shop in Central District to join my amigos for a beer.
Check out the cute stamp booklet below, with stamps featuring an illustration by the Japanese artist Jyunichi Komi.
These stamps are prefecture stamps, issued for Fukui Prefecture, Japan*.
Sabae City in Fukui Prefecture is famous for being the eyewear capital of Japan. It produces 90% of the nation’s eyeglass frames.
*Japan has 47 prefectures (political subdivisions).
Starting in 1989, the national postal ministry has issued stamps to promote each of the prefectures.
These stamps are valid throughout Japan.
Prefecture stamps can be recognized by the different font that is used for the Japan Post 日本郵便 inscription on it.
Unfolded cover of stamp booklet with lettering that says ‘Prefecture Issue — Megane (Glasses), Fukui Prefecture’. 1991 Prefecture Issues, Japan Issued Oct. 1, 1991 Perf. 13 | Issued in sheets and booklets | Photolithography | No watermark Z112 ZA112 62y Multicolored | Stylized girl wearing large orange glasses [Sources: 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Vol. 4A, Google Gemini AI]
I bought a large batch of Japanese stamps from an Ebay seller.
These are from 1981, and depict the very first stamps issued by the Imperial Japanese Post (today simply called Japan Post).
Japan’s first postage stamps, known as the “Ryu” (dragon) stamps, were issued on April 20, 1871.
These imperforate, hand-engraved stamps featured dragon designs and used “Mon” currency.
It would be nice to own just one or two of the original dragon stamps, but man! they are listed for anything from $500 to several thousand dollars on Ebay.
Then you have to take really good care of this little square of paper.
Also: a lot of well-made forgeries are floating around.
Some sellers offer authentication certificates, but can even those be trusted?
1981 International Stamp Exhibition “PHILATOKYO ’81” Tokyo, Japan— Stamps on Stamps from 1871 Issued Oct. 9, 1981 Perf. 13 | Photolithography and engraving | No watermark 1481 A1063 60y Multicolored with vermillion 1871 stamp of pair of dragons facing characters of value 200 mon 1482 A1063 60y Multicolored with brown 1871 stamp of pair of dragons facing characters of value 48 mon 1483 A1063 60y Multicolored with yellow green 1871 stamp of pair of dragons facing characters of value 500 mon 1484 A1063 60y Multicolored with blue 1871 stamp of pair of dragons facing characters of value 100 mon [Sources: 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Vol. 4A, stampworld.com, Google AI]
Beloved South African soprano Mimi Coertse (93) passed away on Monday.
On 17 March 1956, she made her debut at the Vienna State Opera as the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) by Mozart.
She remained with the Vienna State Opera until 1978.
After retiring in 1978, she devoted her time to exposing young South African singers to the neglected art of Lieder singing.
In 1996, Austria’s Federal Ministry for Science and Art awarded her the Austrian Decoration for Science and Art.
In 1998, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Pretoria.
Picture from the front page of South African newspaper Die Burger (The Citizen). ‘Goodbye, Our Mimi‘ says the headline, and ‘She was a true opera diva. When she entered a room, you knew you were in distinguished and important company. An era has come to an end. Rest in peace, dear Mimi.’Statement from the Vienna State Opera. KS stands for Kammersängerin, is a prestigious German honorific title for distinguished opera and classical music singers.
King Charles III is on his first state visit to the United States as monarch, and addressed congress today.
The Washington Post: As the king spoke, the White House posted an image of Trump and Charles on X, calling it “TWO KINGS,” with a crown emoji. My comment: The United States of America has no king.
Meanwhile, my latest purchase from an Ebay seller in London arrived yesterday, with a stamp on the envelope that features the king.
United Kingdom, 2026 Definitives Issued Apr. 7, 2026 Perf. 15×14½ syncopated | 39mm x 30mm | Design: Martin Jennings | Engraving: Cartor Security Printing | Gravure printing | Bar-coded | Phosphor bars, lettering | Self-adhesive 5194 FCP19 £3.60 Purple Heather | Profile of King Charles III [Sources: stampworld.com, royalmail.com, Google AI]Held at an angle, the embossed printing, the die-cut security holes (to prevent lifting and re-use of the stamp) and the phosphor lettering comes to light.
I am expanding my collection of stamps from Japan, and have bought some older ones on Ebay recently.
I love the graphic design of this one.
Check out its interesting history in the caption below.
Japan, 1923 ‘Earthquake Stamps’ Issued Oct. 25, 1923 Imperforate | Offset lithography | Granite paper with colored fibers, parallel lines watermark | No gum 183 A51 4 sen Gray-green | Mount Fuji, cherry blossoms and dragonflies around the Imperial Chrysanthemum Seal (the 16-petal flower at the top center) Text on the stamp: 日本郵便 Nippon Yūbin (Japan Postal Service) 四錢 Yon Sen (or Shi Sen) 4 Sen, equal to 1/100th of a Yen [Sources: 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, Vol. 4A, Google AI]
Historical Background These stamps were created following the Great Kanto Earthquake of September 1, 1923, which devastated Tokyo and Yokohama. The disaster destroyed the government’s Printing Bureau, along with its stamp-making equipment and stored inventory. To maintain postal services during reconstruction, the government commissioned a private corporation to produce these emergency definitives. Unlike standard stamps of the time, these were issued imperforate (no holes) and without gum (adhesive) on the back due to the emergency conditions. They were used until April 30, 1925, after the Printing Bureau was restored.
Here is my final installment of the flags for World Cup 2026 on the monorail pillars in downtown Seattle.
It seems as if all the flag images on the monorail have now been installed, and I found South Africa’s flag.
(Hint: the other two are from countries that are part of the United Kingdom. Do you know which ones?)
Here comes the train from the Space Needle— I’m looking north from the 11th floor of a building on Olive Way.And this time I am standing by the Westin Hotel on 5th Avenue.
Here in Seattle, we gathered at Cal Anderson Park at noon.
There were a few speeches, and then the crowd made its way along Pine Street, past the Seattle Convention Center and on to Seattle Center.
My two amigos and I made it to the Convention Center, from where we surveyed the long parade of protesters and their signs that kept on coming.
I was downtown this morning and parked by the monorail. These flag images on the monorail pillars are part of a major public art installation by SeattleFWC26, the local organizing committee, to celebrate Seattle’s role as a host city for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The project should be completed in early April. I will definitely have to go back and look for the Stars and Stripes— and for South Africa’s flag as well. Iran’s flag is already up, and there is a picture of it below. Of course: it is an open question if the Iranian team will actually come out to the United States and play.
I bought this set of stamps in Singapore.
It is a 2024 joint issue of stamps from ten ASEAN* countries. (Different stamps for each country but issued on the same day).
*Not, not Asian— ASEAN: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
It is a regional intergovernmental organization established on August 8, 1967, to promote economic growth, social progress, cultural development, and regional peace. It comprises 11 member countries—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste.
The theme for the joint issue is not super-exciting: general post office buildings.
Some of the stamps have cool security features, though.
And I was reminded where in the world the Brunei is.
Here’s tiny Brunei (pop. 462,000), on the island of Borneo. It is a fabulously rich country, wealthy from oil and gas. From Google: Brunei is a tiny nation on the island of Borneo, in 2 distinct sections surrounded by Malaysia and the South China Sea. It’s known for its beaches and biodiverse rainforest, much of it protected within reserves. The capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, is home to the opulent Jame’Asr Hassanil Bolkiah mosque and its 29 golden domes. The capital’s massive Istana Nurul Iman palace is the residence of Brunei’s ruling sultan..Shining a UV light on the stamp from Brunei reveals the logo from Brunei Postal Services on the stamp.The paper used for the stamp from Indonesia has fibers in that lights up under UV light.The image of the Grand Postal Building in Bangkok is embossed on the stamp .... and the paper also has fibers in that lights up under UV light.The stamp from Malaysia has a watermark that shows up only under UV light. The SPM lettering is an abbreviation for Security Printer of Malaysia. The SPM watermark has been applied a long time on stamps from Malaysia, and is found on stamps as early as 1986.
Here is a sample of beautiful architecture that had caught my eye the last few days as I walked around Centro de Mazatlán (the old center of Mazatlán).
Casa Paredes Herrasti was designed by a young French architect and built in 1907 as a family home for Doña Francisca Rojas de Paredes, a direct descendant of Don Bonifacio Rojas who discovered the prosperous gold and silver mine of El Tajo in 1655. [Source: oceanblueworld.com]It need a a lot of restoration work..Founded in 1845 by the company Heymann Sucesores, in this building was the commercial house known as La Merceria Alemana. It operated as a store for luxury furnishments (pianos, porcelain from Dresden and Meissen, Baccarat and Bohemian crystal), until the beginning of World War II. The orange building opened as a commercial house in 1900 and is called La Casa Elorza. It exported products to Guatemala and Chile. The property functioned as a renowned high school at the end of the 20th century. A colorful mural. The deer is the primary symbol of Mazatlán, rooted in the Nahuatl* word mazatl (“deer”) and tlan (“place of”), translating to “Place of Deer”. *Nahuatl is a vibrant Indigenous language family with approximately 1.5 to 1.7 million speakers, primarily in central Mexico. As the historic language of the Aztec Empire, it remains the most spoken indigenous language in Mexico, known for its agglutinative structure, unique “tl” sound, and influence on English words like chocolate and coyote.The apartment building at 1402 Blvd Niños Héroes. ..The Hotel Freeman, built between 1945 and 1950 overlooking Olas Altas beach, was the first skyscraper in Mazatlán and northwestern Mexico. With 13 floors, it became an icon of modernity for its time. Its presence marked a turning point in the port’s urban landscape, playing a key role in the transformation of the historic center during the 20th century. Despite its innovative design, locals viewed its height with skepticism and often joked about its collapse. [Source: Alfredo Velazquez on Facebook]The flags of the U.S.A., Mexico and Canada are on the flagpoles on the top.Elementary school Benito Juárez on 20 Campana Street, serves children in grades 1-6. Benito Juárez was the 26th president of Mexico, from 1858 until his death in 1872.
