Sunday, 26 July 2015

Slovenia - Austria Joint issue - Postojna Cave



Thanks to Mateja for sending this lovely stamp on cover. Another great addition from my want list. I am looking for Austrian side issue. If any of you ready to trade Please contact me through snail mail.

Postojna Cave is located in Western Slovenia and it is a network of 20 Kilometers of Passages, Galleries, Chambers and of course, a Post office. It is the largest cave in the "Classic Karst". Karst means landscape formed by the dissolution of a layers of soluble bedrock, such as limestone or dolomite. This cave was first discovered in the 17th century and opened to the public in 1819.  

The cave management asked Austria to open a post office inside the cave.  In 1899 August 15th, Austria finally opened the first underground cave post office in the world, near Kongresna Dvorana 500m inside the cave from the entrance. Until 1911 the post office was operated only on special occasions. Even during WWI the underground post office stayed open and continued to operated till 1927.

After the Annexation of this cave to Italy, in May 1927  Italy replaced this stone post office with a new building 1.4 Km away from the entrance.
In the last 196 years more than 3.5 crore people visited the cave and the Cave Post Office.  It  is the most visited cave in Europe. 

At first the mails carried the special cancellation "Adelsberger Grotte - Postojnska Jama" and after it came under the Italian authorities it carried "Postumia (Grotte)" special cancellation. 

Even though the cave is in Slovenia, Austria Post opened the First under ground cave post office. So no wonder that Slovenia and Austria joint hands to issue the Joint MS on this historical Postojna Cave on 6th April, 2013.

In 1872, railway lines were laid in the cave and railway cars were pushed by the cave guides. Then they used gas locomotive to carry the tourists. In 1884, electricity connections arrived. Today, tourists take the electric train.

The cave was used for many purposes.  It was used as storage room, a hideout, a bunker and of course a concert Hall.  During World War II Germans used this cave as an fuel depot.  Since the Italians took all the maps of the cave, the Germans with limited knowledge about the cave were not aware of the back side entrance and they didn't guard it. The partisans took this opportunity to enter the cave through Crna Jama and used the artificial tunnel dug by the Italians to enter the cave from behind and set the fuel alight.  The fire took seven days to die-out and it destroyed a huge part of the cave.  


                             

Saturday, 25 July 2015

Want List - Canada

I collect Air Planes, Air balloons, Space and Unique stamps.   I am looking for the following Ms/stamps. 




I need both the odd shaped self adhesive and the varnished miniature sheet.

[Roadside Attractions - Self-Adhesive, type ]ll





[Winter Olympic Games - Vancouver 2010, Canada, type ]



[Winter Olympic Games - Vancouver 2010, Canada - Mascots and Emblems, type ]



[Rhododendrons, type ]



I need the varnished miniature sheet of

[Canada Strikes Gold, type ]


[Flowers - African Violets, type ]



[Roadside Attractions, type ]

2011




[Flora - Sunflowers, type ]

[Roadside Attractions - Self Adhesive Stamps, type ]




Saturday, 18 July 2015

Want List - Malaysia

As I am collecting unusual stamps and great fan of Malaysian stamps I am looking for the following stamps(Except the ones in red).  If you have anything to trade please contact me through my email.


Stamps with unusual feature (by Scott Catalogue Number)
Malaysia 1963 S#7-8       Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (shape-quadrangle)
Malaysia 1966 S#31-32     National Monument (shape-triangle)
Malaysia 1967 S#48-50     Centenary of postage stamps (shape-quadrangle)
Malaysia 1970 S#63-65     Satellite (shape-quadrangle)
Malaysia 1971 S#82-83     Bank Negara (shape-round)
Malaysia 1971 S#84-85     Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (shape-quadrangle)
Malaysia 1996 S#577       MEASAT M/S (hologram)
Malaysia 1997 S#645       Philately M/S (shape-quadrangle)
Malaysia 1997 S#645a      Philately M/S overprint INDEPEX ?7 (shape-quadrangle)
Malaysia 1999 S#727       Petronas Twin Towers M/S (hologram)
Malaysia 2000 S#767-768   Year of the Dragon Artifacts (shape-quadrangle)
Malaysia 2006 S#1087-1088 Mountain MNH (embossed)
Malaysia 2006 S#1093      Fresh Water Fish M/S (hologram)
Malaysia 2007 S#1163      Children Folk Tales M/S (silver foil)
Malaysia 2007 S#1166      Insects M/S (hologram)
Malaysia 2008 S#1192      Nocturnal Animals M/S (glow in the dark)
Malaysia 2008 S#1196      Butterflies M/S (shape-butterfly)
Malaysia 2008 S#1196      Butterflies M/S overprint Jakarta Expo (shape-butterfly)
Malaysia 2008 S#1200-1202 Cultural Instruments & Artifacts (shape-triangle)
Malaysia 2008 S#1216      Unique Flowers M/S (spot varnish)
Malaysia 2008 S#1227      Comics Cartoons M/S MNH (silver)
Malaysia 2009 S#1247      Palm Trees M/S (shape-irregular)
Malaysia 2009 S#1247      Palm Trees M/S overprint Korea'09 (shape-irregular)
Malaysia 2009 S#1256      Tuber Plants M/S (shape-quadrangle)
Malaysia 2009 S#1265      Unity M/S (transparent hot foil stamping, shape-irregular)
Malaysia 2009 S#1272-1273 Caring Society UNICEF (Braille)
Malaysia 2009 S#1278      Arachnid - Spiders Scorpion M/S (shape-hexagon, embossed)
Malaysia 2010 S#1279-1281 Currency (shape-round, Silver Metal Hot Foil Printing)
Malaysia 2010 S#1282      Currency M/S (Silver Metal Hot Foil Printing)
Malaysia 2010             Currency premium stamp (metal Silver 999)
Malaysia 2010 S#1297      Firefly M/S (transparent holographic foil)
Malaysia 2010 S#1323      Traditional Festive Food M/S (shape-quadrangle)
Malaysia 2010 S#1324-1326 Lifestyle of the Aboriginal People (shape-quadrangle)
Malaysia 2010 S#1332-1334 Traditional Past Time Games (Spot UV & Glitter Ink)
Malaysia 2010 S#1335      Traditional Games M/S (Spot UV & Glitter Ink)
Malaysia 2011 S#1339      Children's Pet M/S (shape-round,gold stamping)
Malaysia 2011 S#1340      Children's Pet M/S overprint Indipex (shape-round, gold stamping)
Malaysia 2011             Children's Pet M/S overprint Indipex imperf (shape-round, gold stamping)
Malaysia 2011 S#1345-1346 Suzuki Cup Champion full sheets (shape-round)
Malaysia 2011 S#1364      Post Boxes (Spot UV, embossed)
Malaysia 2011 S#1373      Underground Engineering Excellence M/S (moving stamp)
Malaysia 2012 S#1378-1379 Legacy of the Loom M/S  (shape-irregular, laser foil)
Malaysia 2012 S#1378a-1379a Legacy of the Loom M/S (shape-irregular, laser foil)
Malaysia 2012 S#1380-1381 IFNGO -- Yes to Life, No to Drugs (shape-triangle)
Malaysia 2012 S#1392      Installation of Agong M/S (gold stamping)
Malaysia 2012 S#1392c     Installation of Agong M/S overprint (gold stamping)  
Malaysia 2012 S#1395      Aromatic Plants M/S (fragrance)
Malaysia 2012 S#1400      Installation of Agong miniature sheet (gold stamping & iridescent gold)
Malaysia 2012 S#1404-1411 Currency (embossed, gold & silver foil, shape-hexagon)
Malaysia 2012 S#1412-1413 Currency M/S (special ink)
Malaysia 2012 S#1421-1425 Festivals (glitter foil)
Malaysia 2012 S#1428      750th Anniversary of Melaka M/S (hot foil stamping)
Malaysia 2012 S#1428      750th Anniversary of Melaka M/S overprit (hot foil stamping)
Malaysia 2012 S#1438      Children's Hobbies M/S (special foil stamping -- love/heart pattern)
Malaysia 2012 S#1438      Children's Hobbies M/S overprint (special foil stamping -- love/heart pattern)
Malaysia 2013 S#1446      Woodpecker M/S (embossed)
Malaysia 2013 S#1451      Exotic Pets M/S (transparent foil printing)
Malaysia 2013 S#1457      Lighthouse M/S (glow in the dark)
Malaysia 2013             Lighthouse M/S overprint (glow in the dark)
Malaysia 2013 S#1466-1468 Tri-Nation Stamp Exhibition (silver)
Malaysia 2013 S#1468      Tri-Nation Stamp Exhibition M/S (shape-triangle, silver)
Malaysia 2013 S#1469-1470 Museum & Artifacts (thermochromic ink)
Malaysia 2013 S#1471      50th Anniversary (gold printing) 
Malaysia 2013             50th Anniversary M/S (gold printing)
Malaysia 2013 S#1472-1474 Children's Day (Braille) 
Malaysia 2013 S#1478      100 Years of Banking Excellence (silver foil)
Malaysia 2013 S#1481      Baba & Nyonya Heritage M/S (laser die-cut)
Malaysia 2014             Horses M/S (gold printing, Spot UV)
Malaysia 2014             Roses M/S (shape-heart, fragrance)
Malaysia 2014             KLIA2 M/S (special surface effect)
Malaysia 2014             Baba & Nyonya Heritage premium stamp (22K gold plated)
Malaysia 2014             World Youth Stamp Exhibition (WYSE) M/S (glitter foil)
Malaysia 2014             World Youth Stamp Exhibition (WYSE) M/S (gold printing) 
Malaysia 2014             World Youth Stamp Exhibition (WYSE) M/S (glitter foil)
Malaysia 2014             World Youth Stamp Exhibition (WYSE) M/S (gold stamping)
Malaysia 2015             Baba & Nyonya Heritage M/S premium stamp (embroidery)
Malaysia 2015             Farm Animals M/S (wood)
Malaysia 2015             International Cooperation Project on Giant Panda Conservation M/S (fabric)
Malaysia 2015             Installation of Sultan Johor M/S (gloss varnish)

Malaysia 2015             Endangered Marine Life M/S (shape-octagon, silver foil)

Tuesday, 7 July 2015

A.N. Tupolev - Pioneer in Russian Aircraft design

Irina from Russia sent me a card depicting various air crafts with my themed stamps.  Thanks Irina.






Tu-22M3 and TB-7 are strategic Bomber and These stamps were issued by the Russian Federation in the year 2013 to commemorate the 125th Anniversary of Birth of A.N. Tupolev.