World's first postage stamp made of Rubber

       World's first postage stamp made of Rubber

On 28th September 2018, Spain issued the World's first postage stamp made of rubber to commemorate the 200th birth anniversary of Cosme García Sáez, a Spanish inventor.  Cosme García Sáez was born in Logroño in 1818.  The stamp depicts Garcia and 2 of his inventions, a submersible and a seal impression which depicts the year when it was adopted by the postal service.

A submarine is a fully self-sufficient craft, capable of independent cruising with its own power supply and air renewal system, whereas a submersible is a remotely operated vehicle usually supported by a nearby surface vessel.

He offered several improvements to the post, where he built sealing machines in post offices.  It is a machine for all kinds of ink stamps to date letters and other forms. I was adopted by the Spanish Postal Service in 1857, for more than twenty years. The inventor himself was in charge of instructing on its handling.

Diwali - Festival of lights

Diwali - the festival of lights, is of course India's biggest festival.  But it is celebrated in many countries.  Though Indonesia is a Muslim-dominated country, Diwali is celebrated on Bali island where most of the population is of Indian descent.  In Fiji, this day is a national holiday, as there are many Hindus living in this Oceania country.  It's a national holiday day in Mauritius and Malaysia too. Singapore and Sri Lanka also celebrate Diwali with great enthusiasm.

Diwali celebrations are catching up in the western world too.  Canada issued many stamps for the Diwali festival.  In the USA, since 2021 it is a federal holiday.  

Here is a greeting to everyone on this wonderful occasion.  Fairy lights are set up and firecrackers are burst.  It is an occasion that one must witness at least once in their lifetime.

Below are some of the stamps issued on the Diwali theme from my collection,

Modica Chocolate Industry - QR code Italy stamp

 Modica Chocolate Industry - QR code stamp

Every stamp tells a story and they are issued for a reason.  Same way, the below stamp also tells a sweet story of the Italian Modica PGI Chocolates.  It was issued on 15th October 2020 by the Italian post.  The value of the stamp is 'B' which is equal to € 1.10.

What makes Modica Chocolate special? Modica Chocolate is mainly made with cocoa butter, naturally present in cocoa beans and sugar mixed in a cold-working process(ingredients are never heated above 45 C). The cold-working process keeps sugar crystals whole in the chocolate bar.  All the beneficial properties of cocoa are kept intact.

Modica chocolate is the first and only PGI chocolate, a mark of origin and protection of typical European Community products.

The stamp has many elements like the antique clock tower of  Modica adjacent to the castle (constructed around 1725 and needs manual winding in an old-fashioned way, but still working), an artisan preparing chocolate, cocoa beans, and Modica chocolate bars. On the top left the trademark of the Protected Geographical Indication and “Cioccolato di Modica”.  But the one that attracted me most is the QR code at the right side top.  Usually, the QR codes take us to the postal website, But my intuition told me to scan the QR code, and surprisingly it took me to the below Youtube site, 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awa_uvX57TE

The video shows how Modica chocolate has been made.  I am lucky to get this stamp on the cover as well as in mint condition for my Odd and unusual stamps collection.  

Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CkBASEjjw5V/

Fourth Saturday, September - World Rabbit Day

4th Saturday of September - World Rabbit Day

International Rabbit Day is celebrated on the fourth Saturday of September every year.  It was founded in 1998 by The Rabbit Charity in the U.K., and it became a significant day to celebrate and spread awareness about rabbit protection and conservation.

In their natural habitats, rabbits serve the two main functions of keeping plant life in check and providing food for carnivorous predators.  Because they can eat a wide variety of plants. Populations of rabbits play an important role in keeping fast-growing weeds and plants from overgrowing. In recent years its population has declined due to several factors including habitat transformation and viral diseases. 

Do you know, Rabbits perform an athletic leap, known as a 'binky' when they're happy-performing twists and kicks in midair.

Evolution of Flight - Amritpex

 

Evolution of Flight 

South India Philatelists' Association conducted a National level stamp exhibition from August 13th, 2022 to August 15th, 2022.  I participated in that exhibition and won a bronze medal.  Thanks a lot to all the friends who have helped me with material and knowledge.  Long way ahead, hope to do better in future exhibitions.

World's first flight across South Atlantic

 World's first flight across South Atlantic

Pilot, Naval Lieutenant aviator Artur de Sacadura Freire Cabral (1881-1924) and navigator rear admiral Carlos Viegas Gago Coutinho (1869-1959) successfully completed the World's first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic on June 1922, from Lisbon, Portugal to Recife, Brazil.  They covered 8383 kilometers in 62 hours and 6 minutes.  They departed on the 30th of March and reached on the 5th of June.  As they realized that the journey would require landing on the sea, they flew in British-made floatplanes - the Fairey III biplane. 

In May 1919, Albert Cushing Read(1887-1967) commanded a crew of five on the Curtiss NC-4 flying boat, the first aircraft ever to make a transatlantic flight with 6 stops on the way.  

A.C.Read reached this milestone a couple of weeks before Alcock and Brown's non-stop flight, and eight years before Charles Lindbergh's first solo non-stop flight. Albert Read flew from New York, the USA to Plymouth, England.  On the way he stopped at Lisbon, Cabral was part of the group that greeted him.  This incident was the inspiration for Cabral.

Helicopters

 Helicopters

Although most people believe that the Russian inventor, Igor Sikorsky invented the helicopter, it was actually a French engineer by the name of Paul Cornu who designed and flew the first successful rotary-winged aircraft in Normandy, France in 1907.

I am looking for a 2008 S.Tome E Principe miniature sheet

Near Lisieux in northern France in 1907, Monsieur Cornu became the first person to (ever so briefly) pilot an airborne rotary-wing, vertical-lift aircraft. The rotorcraft (using an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift) from Cornu’s own design was a twin-rotor job,  the blades rotating in opposite directions which neutralized the torque. M. Cornu’s craft levitated about 1.5 meters off the ground, hovering for some 20 seconds.  The Cornu ”Ur-copter” wasn’t maneuverable at all (requiring manpower to hold it in position from the ground) and therefore wasn’t practical,  but it is considered to be a forerunner of the modern helicopter.

Etienne Oehmichen, whose early prototypes included vertically-mounted rotors and a tail rotor, allowing it to fly a distance of one kilometre in 1924!  Oehmichen was also the first to carry passengers in his Oehmichen No. 2 helicopter. 

1957 French Inventors "Etienne Oehmichen" stamp I am looking for

By the early 1920s Spanish aviator and engineer  Juan De la Cierva built the autogyro (sometimes called a “windmill plane” or ‘gyroplane’)… his success advanced the understanding of rotor dynamics.

In 1936 Focke and Gerd Achgelis‘ Focke-Wulf Fw-61 smashed existing helicopter records for range and altitude and demonstrated autorotation descent to landing.  This plus a control system much more reliable and robust than earlier rotorcrafts leads many aviation geeks to consider the Fw-61 to be “The world’s first truly functional helicopter”.

Sikorsky is commonly thought of as “The father of helicopters” because he invented the first successful helicopter upon which further designs were based. The VS-300 (commercial name R 4) became the model for all modern single-rotor helicopters.

Sikorsky was credited with developing the first “mass-produced” helicopter. 

The VS-300, the world’s first successful helicopter, is a predecessor of all modern choppers. Igor Sikorsky developed the first practical helicopter and was his own original flight test pilot. The first prototype of course had only one seat, in the center.  He flew on Sept. 14, 1939.

Nikolay Ilyich Kamov was a Soviet aerospace engineer, a pioneer in the design of helicopters, and the founder of the Kamov helicopter design bureau.

Ka-10 1950 Single-seat observation helicopter. NATO reporting name Hat.

Ka-22 Vintokryl 1959 Experimental rotor-winged transport aircraft. NATO reporting name Hoop.

Ka-26 1965 Light utility helicopter. NATO reporting name Hoodlum.

Ka-27 1974 Anti-submarine helicopter. NATO reporting name Helix.

Ka-50 "Black Shark" 1982 Single-seat attack helicopter. NATO reporting name Hokum.

1st September : World letter writing Day

In the late 1990s, Richard Simpkin, an Australian author, artist, and photographer wrote letters to those he considered to be Australian legends. He became excited when these legends responded to him by letter.  In 2005, he penned down his experience of writing letters in the book 'Australian Legends'.  In 2014, he founded World Letter Writing Day.

In this fast electronic world, the habit of writing is slowly vanishing.  One's handwriting reflects their state of mind, education, person's character, and more.  Handwritten letters give emotional bonding between people.  There is even one branch of science that deals with handwriting called graphology.  Graphology is the study of personality through one's handwriting. 

Here are a few interesting anecdotes about the power of 'letter writing': 

An 11-year-old girl named Grace Bedell wrote a letter to Lincoln stating that his face is  “so thin,” and would benefit from a beard.  Lincoln had taken her advice to heart and did grow a beard perhaps the most famous one in American history.

India's first Prime Minister, Nehru's letter to his 10-year-old daughter Indira Gandhi, who later became India's first woman Prime Minister not only shows the bonding between them,  But it helped him to teach her about human history and the history of India while he was away on business.  It was published as a book called "Letters from a Father to his Daughter".   Even when we are away, the letters shorten the distance.

The below stamp was issued by Thailand Post in the year 1969

The below stamp was issued by Japan Post in the year 1993

30th August : International Whale Shark Day

International Whale Shark Day

Whale Shark?  We know Whales. They are mammals like humans.  They give birth to young ones and feed them milk. We Know Sharks, they are fish, they lay eggs.  Whales produce sound to communicate, whereas sharks don't have that skill. What is Whale Shark? A whale shark is a shark.  It is the biggest living species of shark on our planet.  

Despite the fact that they are so big, their teeth are very small, and they move slowly in the ocean at 5 km per hour. Despite the fact that they can dive up to 1,000 meters, they prefer to roam seas that have around a 50-meter depth.  For this reason, they can be hunted easily. The skin pattern of each whale shark is unique, just like the fingerprint of humans.

We are losing this unique animal because of overhunting for its meat, skin, and bone, colliding with boats, getting trapped in fishing nets, and consuming plastics thrown at sea.

In 2008, during the International Whale Shark Conference held in Isla Holbox,  over 40 whale experts and ocean activists declared August  30th as International Whale Day. In 2012, it got its momentum and since then it is celebrated all around the world.

Below Rhincodon_typus (whale shark) stamp was issued by India Post in 2009.

First Supersonic Flight

On October 14, 1947, Air Force brigadier general Charles Elwood Yeager set a world record on Bell Aircraft Company's Bell X-1. “Chuck” Yeager became the first pilot to break the sound barrier. Flying the rocket-powered Bell X-1, he achieved Mach 1.06 (Mach is the ratio of the speed of a body to the speed of sound in the surrounding medium).

Fifty years later the USPS commemorated that event with a 32-cent postage stamp honoring the first supersonic flight.

While coming to stamp issuing policy, many countries, includeing India, USA, the living persons can not appear on a stamp. So, neither Yeager’s name nor his image is part of the stamp design. This was not the first time in USA, that an airplane on a stamp appeared as if no pilot was on board. After Charles Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927,  USPS issued an airmail stamp depicting the Spirit of St. Louis with no mention or image of Lindbergh.

But Yeager’s wife, Glennis Faye Dickhouse is half lucky as she has her name on the stamp. Yeager had named the Bell X-1 “Glamorous Glennis” in her honor. But because of the error in this stamp design, the plane's name near the nose is misspelled "Glenna" instead of "Glennis".

I am lucky to get this 1997, First super sonic stamps on cover.

The first supersonic transport (SST) was the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144, which had its first supersonic flight in June 1969 and began flying mail between Moscow and Alma-Ata (Almaty) in 1975.

The first supersonic passenger-carrying commercial airplane, the Concorde, was built jointly by aircraft manufacturers in Great Britain and France. It made its first transatlantic crossing on September 26, 1973, and entered regular service in 1976. British Airways and Air France stopped flying the Concorde in 2003.

The Concorde had a maximum cruising speed of 2,179 km (1,354 miles) per hour, or Mach 2.04.

Balloon Mail

 Balloon Mail

Homing pigeons had long been used to send messages (an activity known as pigeon mail),  the first mail to be carried by an air vehicle was on 7 January 1785, on a hot air balloon flight from Dover to France near Calais. It was flown by Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries.  The letter was written by an American Loyalist William Franklin to his son William Temple Franklin who was serving in a diplomatic role in Paris with his grandfather Benjamin Franklin.   

During the first aerial flight in North America by balloon on 9 January 1793, from Philadelphia to Deptford, New Jersey, Jean-Pierre Blanchard carried a personal letter from George Washington to be delivered to the owner of whatever property Blanchard happened to land on, making the flight the first delivery of air mail in the United States.  

The first official air mail delivery in the United States took place on 17 August 1859, when John Wise piloted a balloon starting in Lafayette,  Indiana, with a destination of New York. Weather issues forced him to land near Crawfordsville, Indiana, and the mail reached its final destination via train.  

In 1959, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 7-cent stamp commemorating the event. 

Balloons also carried mail out of Paris and Metz during the Franco-Prussian War (1870),  drifting over the heads of the Germans besieging those cities. Balloon mail was also carried on an 1877 flight in Nashville, Tennessee.

Ivan Sarić - Aviation pioneer

 Ivan Sarić - Aviation pioneer

Ivan Sarić (27 June 1876 – 23 August 1966) was a Yugoslavian sportsman and aviator. He was one of the most important pioneers of aviation in Eastern Europe. 

He is a successful cyclist and a football player.  He won several awards in cycling competitions. while visiting Paris in 1909, Sarić met some of the French flight pioneers,  including Louis Blériot.  He saw his planes and instantly became fascinated with the prospect of flying. Upon his return to Subotica, he immediately started building his own aircraft. His first construction was made entirely from materials he had like wood, linens, motorcycle wheels, and even piano strings.

In early 1910, he completed his one-winged Sarić 1 aircraft by incorporating the 24-horsepower Delphos engine.  On 16th October 1910, in front of 7,000 of his fellow citizens, Sarić took to air successfully.  In 1911, he constructed a more improved plane with 50-horsepower. He tried to build helicopters. World war 1, slowed his experiments, but till his end, he continued his inventions and constructions.

The below stamp was issued by Serbian Post on 9th December 2010 on account of the 100th anniversary of aviation in Serbia.

Permanent Pictorial Cancellation : Tabo Monastery

Permanent Pictorial Cancellation: Tabo Monastery

The oldest continuously operating Buddhist enclave in both India and the Himalayas is the Tabo Monastery.   It is situated at the height of 10,007 feet in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh in north India. It was founded by the Buddhist king Yeshe Ö in 996 A.D. and carries the Tibetan name ‘Place of Happiness’. Tabo is considered a ‘daughter’ monastery of  Tholing Monastery in Ngari, western Tibet.

It is spread over an area of 6300 sq metres. The monastery comprises nine temples and gompas,  in addition to cave shrines along the mountain slope. All of which are originally made in mud and have been standing like this for more than 1000 years. The main temple hall has all its walls painted with Buddhist stories and 33 stucco sculptures of Bodhisattvas.  As murals and stucco sculptures are just like Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra. it is fondly known as Ajanta of the Himalayas.   

Tabo served as a meeting point for two cultures, Tibetan and Indian cultures - usually described as Indo-Tibetan. Because of its archaeological and historical importance, the monastery is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. 

India Post honored Tabo monastery with a special permanent pictorial cancellation on 22nd March 2022.  Thanks to Mr. Kamran for helping me with Tabo PPC.

The cancellation depicts the new Tabo monastery with the backdrop of the Himalayan mountains.

The New Tabo Monastery

July 3rd : Belarus Independence Day

Belarus Independence Day

Belarusian Independence Day is observed on 3rd July since 1996.  The date was chosen through a referendum to honour and pay tribute to the heroism of those who fought to free the capital, Minsk from the Nazis' occupation during the Great Patriotic War (World War II).  

Earlier, from 1990 to 1995, they were celebrating Independence Day on the 27th of July, the day they got freedom from the USSR.  But this freedom they got from the fall of the Soviet Union, like many other ex-soviet states.  But for the 1944 freedom Belarus paid a hefty price, a third of the population was killed during the war.  In 1996, Alexander Lukashenko, the country's first President passed a referendum, and the majority of Belarusians voted for 3rd July.  From 1996 to date, they are celebrating independence day on the 3rd of July. 

The below hologram stamp was issued by the Belarusian post on 3rh July 2001 for the 10th anniversary of the Republic of Belarus.

June 22: World Camel Day

World Camel Day

World Camel Day(WCD) has been celebrated on June 22nd every year.  Dr. Raziq Kakar, who has been working with camels for more than 20 years saw the potential of camels and the need to safeguard them.  Since camels can sustain in hottest places and long thirsty days, Razig decided to celebrate World camel day on 21st of June, as it is the longest and hottest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.  But June 21st is already assigned for the World Father's day, he decided to celebrate on June 22nd, which is just 2 seconds shorter than June 21st.

Camels are used in combat, transport, and to provide food.  In those days, without camels, it is hard to travel in the desert.  That's the reason they are fondly known as the ‘Ship of the Desert'.  Scientists found out that camel milk has miraculous powers and high nutritional value.  In fact, the Raikas of Rajasthan, India survived a year-long drought by just drinking camel's milk.  Several studies show that Camel milk has more vitamin C, iron, and calcium than Cow's milk and it showed a positive impact on autism, liver disease, diabetes, jaundice, and even cancer.

Dr. Raziq Kakar started a camel dairy. Al Ain Farms for Livestock production is the world’s first commercial camel dairy.  He believed that promoting commercial values of camel milk and dairy products will create an awareness to breed camels.

From 2009 to 2012 WCD was celebrated in the province of Balochistan. Slowly and gradually, it earned support at the global level. And from 2014, it has been celebrated every year all around the world.

Below stamp was issued by Lebanon post in the year 1968 under the theme, domestic animals.

June 21st : World Giraffe Day

World Giraffe Day

The longest day is for the tallest animal on the earth.  June 21st is the longest day of the year in the Northern hemisphere. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) the only NGO in the world that concentrates solely on the conservation and management of giraffes in the wild throughout Africa decided to celebrate June 21st as World Giraffe Day to promote awareness to save Giraffes.  It was first celebrated in the year 2014.

The friendly, active (they sleep for just 2 hours a day), inspirational and unique animal is found at just around 100,000 in the wild.  In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, giraffes have recently had their listed status changed to Vulnerable to extinction.  Giraffes are officially extinct in more than seven African countries.

It's all because of human greediness.  On one side, they have been hunted for medicinal use and to make fashion products.  Another side, their habitat was reduced by 90% because of encroachments.  It would be a tragedy if giraffes were to go extinct in the wild. 

There are four separate species of giraffe in the world. The Masai giraffe lives on the border between Kenya and Tanzania, the reticulated giraffe and the southern giraffe live in countries like Botswana, and the northern giraffe, dominates much of the north of Africa. 

Like how no two humans have the same fingerprints the same way no two individual Giraffes have the same spots. 

If you want to donate, please visit the below link. Please check for authenticity before donating.

https://giraffeconservation.org/2021/11/29/worldgiraffeday2022/

When I was digging into my stamp file, I got only one Giraffe stamp.  The below stamp was issued by Poland in the year 1972.

World's Oldest Post Office

 World's Oldest Post Office

The world's oldest post office is celebrating its 310th birthday in 2022.  The Sanquhar post office in Dumfriesshire began its journey in 1712.  Since then it has been operational till now, in spite of a lot of struggles.

It turned 300 in 2012.  To celebrate this iconic mile stone this post office received a legend postmark, "Worlds Oldest Post Office" on request of people from around the world.  It received recognition from both the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and the Guinness Book of World Records.  

When the post office was opened, the postmen, who were called “runners,” ran between offices to deliver letters and parcels.  In 1738, the post office began stamping mails and later introduced horses which were used to deliver letters and parcels. It was modernized in 1974 with the hand-operated canceling machine called bacon slicer.  Unfortunately, the historic post office was put for sale in 2014 due to the persistent losses and the uncertainty of the business.  The post office was almost closed down when it was apparent that a buyer could not be found. However, it reopened its doors in 2015 under a new postmaster after its renovation and refurbishment.  Again it went on for sale in 2019 as the postmaster decided to retire.  Luckily it is continuing its business till today.

I got the world record stamping on a picture postcard, through my friend Beth.  Thanks a lot, Beth.

The closest rival to the Sanquhar Post office, which is 8 years younger than Sanquhar, can be found in Stockholm, Sweden, which was founded in 1720. The third oldest is found in Santiago, Chile, and was established in 1772.  I am looking for cancellations from these post offices and would be grateful if someone could help.

14th June : World Blood Donor Day

 World Blood Donor Day

Karl Landsteiner, the Austria - Hungarian has been described as the father of transfusion medicine. Landsteiner made numerous contributions to pathological anatomy, histology and immunology.  In 1909, he classified the bloods of human beings into the now well-known A, B, AB, and O groups and showed that transfusions between individuals of same groups A or B do not result in the destruction of new blood cells.   This great invention not only fetched him Nobel Prize in 1930, but also saving millions of lives today.

For transfusion we need blood.  90% of blood are received from volunteer donors for free.  To commemorate the donors and encourage others to donate, World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) , decided to celebrate World Blood Donor Day on 14th June since 2005, Which is the birth day of Karl Landsteiner.   

World Blood Donor Day is one of 11 official global public health campaigns marked by the WHO.  The global theme of World Blood Donor Day changes each year.

Today the whole world celebrates this day in recognition of the selfless individuals who donate their blood for people unknown to them.  If you haven't done this yet, today is the day to do the noble thing.  Blood donation is next to Godliness as you are saving a unknown person without any expectation.

Below stamp set issued by Papua New Guinea in the year 1980 to commemorate Red Cross Blood Bank.

World Doll Day

No childhood could have passed without dolls.  Dolls give a child complete happiness and knowledge.  Though we had a number of dolls when we were young, only a few remain in our minds forever.  The one which is part and parcel of everyone's childhood should deserve a day right?  Yes, we do have a World Doll Day.  It is celebrated every year on the second Saturday in June since 1986.

There is an interesting story of how posts/chain letters played a role in commemorating a day for dolls.  Mildred Seeley, an avid doll collector, and doll-related entrepreneur thought of having a special day for the dolls.  She started sending out letters asking people to participate in the doll day and requested each person who have received the letter to spread the word to 5 more people.  This spread like a wildfire and the very first world doll day was celebrated on June 14, 1986.

Can you believe that dolls have been around since 2000BC?  Archeologists found the oldest dolls in Egyptian tombs.  Thereafter dolls have been made from several materials like wood, clay, porcelain, leather, cloth, metals, plastics, nuts, and even bones. Inuit make dolls from soapstone and bone, dressed in fur.

In India, we have an International Doll Museum in New Delhi, our capital city. Celebrated political cartoonist, K. Shankar Pillai received a doll as a gift from the Hungarian ambassador.  Since then, he became passionate about collecting dolls. This museum was founded by him in 1965, with over 6500 dolls from over 85 countries.

What is your favorite doll?  It's time to cherish them.

The below stamp is issued by India Post in the year 2010.

World's one and only Floating Postoffice

You might have heard about floating markets, floating houseboats, floating hotels, and floating gardens. But what about the "Floating Post office"?

When you go to the Dal Lake, in Kashmir, you will come across many shikaras.  If you keenly see, one of the Shikara belongs to the India post, which serves as the one and only floating post office, not only in India but also in the world. This 200-year-old British-era post office had a facelift in 2011, to attract more visitors.

This post office offers regular postal services along with banking services.  The floating market vendors don't have to step out of their shikara to deposit their money or to connect with their loved ones.  The Postman hires a shikhara and delivers the letter to shikaras/houseboats.  This also serves as a Postal Museum, unfortunately, it was worst affected by the flood in 2014.  The letters posted here will carry a special pictorial cancellation of a man rowing a shikara, as shown below.

Thanks a lot, Muthu Krishna Kumar for this nice cancellation.

12th May : International Nurses Day

Nurses are professionals who care for the general well-being of patients.  The ongoing pandemic has made us realize that nursing is one of the biggest healthcare professions in the world.

The practice of Modern Nursing was founded by Florence Nightingale. She was a social reformer and statistician. She is better known as "The Lady with the Lamp". She was born on 12th May 1820 and her birthday is remembered as International Nurses Day.

Though Dorothy Sutherland, an official in the US Department of Health, had proposed Nurses Day in 1953, the first Nurses Day was celebrated only in 1965.  And in 1974, May 12th was chosen as International Nurses Day.

The above stamp was issued by Indonesia in the year 1994 to commemorate the Sixth Five-year plan for Indonesia's development strategy. The stamp depicts a nurse weighing a baby using a hand-held machine. 

The above stamp was issued by India in 2009 and shows the "Lifeline Express" (Jeevan Rekha). It shows the mobile hospital train that started operating in 1991. Since the Indian Railway network is the largest in the world, this allows Jeevan Rekha to reach the most remote areas of India and provide medical care.

Trained Nurses Association of India was founded in 1905. A stamp commemorating it was issued by India in 2011. 

A stamp issued by Spain of unknown vintage shows a nurse tending to a baby. This stamp was for commemorating the National Anti-tuberculosis Campaign. The red emblem is the 'Cross of Lorraine'.

A stamp issued by Laos in 1982 for child healthcare, shows a nurse using a stethoscope to check on a child. The occasion was the 7th republic day of Laos.

Permanent Pictorial Cancellation : Udupi

 Permanent Pictorial Cancellation: Udupi

Udupi is a town in southwest Karnataka. It is a pilgrimage center.  Though it has a lot of temples, it is notable for the Krishna Mutt Temple. It is the native place of the Vaishnavite saint Shri Madhvacharya who founded the Krishna Mutt in the 13th century.

India Post commemorated Sri Krishna temple - Krishna, by introducing a permanent pictorial cancellation on 23rd January 1985.  

The unique feature of the Sri Krishna Mutt temple is that the Lord is worshiped only through a window with nine holes called the Navagraha Kitiki (9 planets window).  The window is exquisitely carved and silver–plated.

Navagraha Kitiki

Udupi lends its name to the popular Udupi cuisine.  If you are visiting Karnataka and you are a pure vegetarian, then it is very likely that you have eaten at one of the many Udupi restaurants across the globe.

My Animal Kingdom

 My Animal Kingdom

Alderney

Australia

Belarus

2023 Features of waterfowl

Belgium

1996 Insects - 150th Aniv. of Institue of Science

(Partial set 1 stamp is missing)

Brazil

Bulgaria

Bhutan

Canada

China

Christmas Island

Croatia

Czech Republic

Cyprus (Greek)

2009 Birds

2021 Europa stamps 
Endangered National Wildlife

2021 Cats

2012 Horses

2021 Nature 2000

2022 Birds - Owls of Cyprus

2023 Dragonflies

Dominican Republic

Finland

1998 Birds - Owls

1997 Cranes

2001 Birds - Woodpeckers

1996 Birds

France

Germany

Ghana

Green Land

Guernsey

Indonesia

Iceland

Israel

Jersey

Kazakhstan

Korea - South

Malaysia

Mauritius

Nederland

New Zealand

Pakistan

Poland

1969 Dogs

Portugal

Russia

1995 Birds 

Russia Post issued a souvenir sheet with 4 triangle stamps on 23rd July 2019 depicting Mednovsky blue fox, red wolf, white-faced dolphin, and narwhal.

The Red Book of the Russian Federation is an official document containing a set of information on the status, distribution and protection measures of rare and endangered species (wild subspecies, populations) of wild animals and wild plants and fungi (objects of the animal and plant world) living (growing) on the territory of the Russian Federation, the continental shelf and in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation.

Switzerland

Singapore

Slovakia

Srilanka

Suriname

Sweden

Taiwan

Thailand

Ukraine

USA

United Arab Emirates