New Zealand unveil new issue: extreme sports featured on stamps

New Zealand Post are to issue a new collection of stamps focusing upon Extreme Sports.

Five stamps make up the issue which is released on 1st December. The designs are as follows:

45c - Whitewater rafting
90c - Snowsports
$1.35 - Skydiving
$1.50 - Jet boating
$2.00 - Bungy jumping

A first day cover will also be made available depicting the rich New Zealand landscape.

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
November 27, 2004

Stamp to Recognize 1957 Crisis at Central High School

Little Rock's Central High School will be the subject of a postage stamp next year that will recognize the 1957 desegregation crisis.

The stamp is part of a U.S. Postal Service stamp series that will mark ten civil rights milestones.

Nine black students known as The Little Rock Nine fought to integrate Little Rock Central High School in 1957. They were the first black students to attend the school.

The stamps will be available next year.

KATV
November 24, 2004

Tennessee's Robert Penn Warren to be on 2005 stamp

Tennessee poet, novelist and educator Robert Penn Warren will be on a US postage stamp next year.

Warren was a US poet laureate who won the Pulitzer Prize twice for poetry and once for the novel "All the King's Men."

Warren attended Tennessee public schools before entering Vanderbilt University, where he became part of the literary group the Fugitive Poets. His last novel, "A Place to Come To," drew heavily on his Tennessee experiences.

Also on stamps will be Kermit the Frog and his Muppet friends, the late President Ronald Reagan, singer Marian Anderson, actor Henry Fonda, songwriter Yip Harburg and others.

WVLT VOLUNTEER TV
November 23, 2004

St Lucia mark World AIDS Day

St Lucia are to issue two new stamps on 1st December in order to commemorate World AIDS Day.

The two stamps have been designed by Andrew Robinson with education and prevention the key message.

HIV currently claims 8,000 lives a day around the world.

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
November 22, 2004

Jhuluo celebrates 300th Anniversary: new stamps commemorate Taiwanese city

2004 sees the 300th anniversary of the founding of Taiwanese city Jhuluo and two new stamps are to be issued on 20th November to commemorate the event. The two stamps depict the "Chiayi Prefecture Hall" and "Chiayi East Gate" based on historic photographs provided by Chiayi City Government.

The city, also known as Chiayi, has endured an eventful history largely due to extreme weather conditions including heavy rains and earthquakes. It was founded as a county during the 23rd year of Emperor Kangsi’s rule but became a city in 1704 when its resident built a wooden fence around the perimeter. These wooden fences would later be replaced with stone walls strong enough to repel an attack from Lin Shuang-wun.

The residents successfully defended the city and in order to honor this, Emperor Cian Long sent an imperial decree to change the name Jhuluo into Chiayi, which means "in praise of a chivalrous act".

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
November 18, 2004

Jersey to celebrate Chinese New Year

Jersey Post are to continue to mark the Chinese New Year with the release of a new stamp in February to celebrate the Year of the Rooster.

This will be the tenth sign of the Chinese Zodiac to be depicted for Jersey Post by stamp artist Victor Ambrus and will be issued on 9th February.

A Miniature Sheet will also be made available, the latest of the twelve Miniature Sheets which will complete the series.

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
November 14, 2004

Postage stamp honors Marian Anderson

In her retirement, Marian Anderson lived in ease at her farm – a small, decent woman who was aware of the part she played on the world's stage.

Anderson, one the nation's greatest classical singers and a symbol of integrity in the face of racial hatred, died in 1993, but her legacy continues to burn brightly.

In February, the entire nation will see her image when the U.S. Postal Services honors her with a stamp as part of its Black Heritage Series. She will be the second Danbury resident – after composer Charles Ives – to grace the nation's letters.

THE NEWS-TIMES
November 13, 2004

Faroe Islands Christmas Issue: children to benefit from stamp sales

The Faroe Islands issue their Christmas stamps on 15th November with proceeds from sales going directly to The Christmas Seal Foundation, a charity which supports children.

Artist Astrid Andreasen is responsible for this year’s designs, which feature dancing elves dressed in clothing suitable for the climate found on the Faroe Islands.

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
November 11, 2004

Hermann Maier stamp sells out in six weeks

The Herminator is selling well, just not as well as The Terminator. An Austrian postage stamp depicting Hermann Maier, the country's first skiing star to adorn a stamp, sold out in just six weeks after it went on sale September 25, the country's post office said Tuesday. Fans from all over the world snapped up 600,000 stamps.

"There are no more stamps for sale," said post office chief Herbert Goetz, who presented the first of the stamps to the four-time World Cup champion. As impressive as that was, it couldn't top the demand for a stamp released last summer honoring Austrian-born California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, which sold out in just three weeks.

Maier, nicknamed the "Herminator," took the defeat in good humor, conceding he failed to achieve his goal to top his friend.

SKIRACING.COM
November 10, 2004

Reagan postage stamp unveiled

During a special ceremony today, former First Lady Nancy Reagan joined Postmaster General John E. Potter to unveil the image of the President Ronald Reagan commemorative postage stamp.

The Reagan stamp, honoring the nation's 40th President, will be issued next year. The event was held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley.

The first-day-of-issue stamp dedication ceremony will also take place at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, Wed., Feb. 9, 2005.

It is Postal Service tradition to honor prominent Americans with a stamp no sooner than 10 years after death but presidents may be honored the first birthday following their deaths.

HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM
November 09, 2004

Royal Mail unveil next year's first issue: Farm Animals kick off 2005 program

Royal Mail’s 2005 stamp program kicks off on 11th January with the release of the Farm Animals issue.

Ten first class stamps make up the issue, featuring the following favorites:

Pig - British Saddle back and piglets
Duck - Khaki Campbell, duck and drake
Horse - Suffolk Punch, mare and foal
Cow - Shorthorns
Puppy - Border Collie
Chicks
Sheep - Suffolks
Goat - Bagot Turkey - Norfolk Blacks
Geese - Embden geese

The Farm Animals issue represents the fifth in the Royal Mail’s Animals series which began in 2001 with Cats and Dogs, continued in 2002 with Kipling’s Just So Stories, Birds of Prey in 2003 and Woodland Animals this year.

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
November 07, 2004

Gibraltar show innovation: slivers of HMS Victory to be used in stamp

The Gibraltar Philatelic Bureau are to release a special set of stamps to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar next year which will contain slivers of wood taken from HMS Victory.

An innovative printing process devised by French company Cartor Security Printing means that tiny wafers of wood taken from the ship during its recent restoration will be attached to the stamps.

Nigel Fordham, a member of the Nelson Society and the former head of the Crown Agents’ Stamp Bureau came up with the idea for the stamp when he learned that wood removed from the ship during its refit would be made available to buy. He bought 50kg of the wood and then searched for a printer who could somehow incorporate it into a stamp.

A decision on the issues’ release date is expected in January.

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
November 06, 2004

Decorate with festive Holiday Ornaments U.S. postage stamps

Happy memories of lights, tinsel and other favorite Christmas-tree decorations are warmly evoked in the upcoming Holiday Ornaments commemorative postage stamps. Each of the four stamps features a richly colored painted glass Santa ornament. The stamps will be issued on Nov. 16.

The ornaments pictured on the stamps were made in Lauscha, Germany, in 1999.

Christmas trees and decorations began as a German tradition and, originally, the decorations were edible treats such as fruits, nuts and cookies. In the mid-19th century, glassblowers in Lauscha began creating colorful molded glass ornaments. Their designs included bells, trumpets, stars, angels and Santas, as well as glass versions of the familiar food decorations. During Queen Victoria's reign, trees with glass ornaments became popular in England, and by the 1890s the glass ornament tradition had spread to the United States.

USPS.COM
November 05, 2004

Russia unveil Christmas issue

Russia release their festive issue today consisting of a stamp in the shape of a Christmas tree. An 8 stamp miniature sheet and first day cover will also be made available.

The self-adhesive stamp measure 32.8 x 47.6 mm and has been designed by V.Beltyukov.

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
November 04, 2004

Harvard scholar appointed to Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee

Distinguished scholar, author, literary critic and Harvard University professor Dr. Henry L. Gates Jr. will serve as the newest member of the Postmaster General's Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee, effective January 2005.

Holder of more than 40 honorary degrees, Gates has authored 12 books and edited more than three dozen books on African American issues. He has also served as director on more than 30 boards.

The members are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Postmaster General. The Committee is composed of 14 members whose backgrounds reflect a wide range of educational, artistic, historical and professional expertise. All share an interest in philately and fulfilling the needs of postal customers.

USPS.COM
November 03, 2004

Vermont reservoir gains spot on US postage stamp

A new series of US postage stamps about cloud formations features Chittenden Reservoir as a backdrop.

It's on a stamp depicting stratus opacus clouds.

As clouds go, stratus opacus are not the most dramatic or beautiful. They amount to thick, gray fog. So, to make a more appealing stamp, the US Postal Service chose a gorgeous backdrop: Vermont's very own Chittenden Reservoir in all its autumn glory.

Stanley David Gedzelman, a professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at the City College of New York, took the photograph on October 3, 1987, just before a snowstorm dumped 21 inches of snow on the mountains.

His photo and 14 others provide vivid examples of the main cloud types. The cloudscape series was created to help promote atmospheric sciences and information about the clouds is included on the back of each stamp. "

BOSTON.COM
November 02, 2004

Portugal unveil Christmas issue: Religious imagery takes center stage

The Portugal Philatelic Bureau have revealed the designs for their Christmas issue. Unlike many other countries, Portugal have opted for religious imagery rather than festive.

The issue consists of four stamps featuring paintings of the baby Jesus and will be released on 19th November. The decision to use religious paintings on the stamps is in sharp contrast with the majority of Postal Administrations, who have mainly used images of Santa, snow and kids opening presents in their designs.

GIBBONSSTAMPMONTHLY.COM
November 01, 2004