Soil Science: Sunday Stamps

Hello blogosphere!
I am pretty excited to be linking back in with Viridian's Sunday Stamps this week, where the theme is all about geology, rocks and the environment. I am excited because I get to share this very cool first day cover I found at a market the other week, when I took a day trip out of the city with two of my sisters.

We visited the Mill Markets, a massive vintage/retro-goods market in Daylesford, about an hour out of Melbourne. I was pretty wrapped with this First Day Cover,  the 9th International Congress of Soil Science from 1968.

It is not entirely geological - but definitely related, I would say.  I loved the stamp and the cover instantly, because working with archaeologists makes one rather enamoured with soils, strangely enough.

The type on the cover is red foil embossed, so it is all pretty spiffy, what with the nice type and little rural scene. I had not seen the cover before, so I am pretty happy to add it to my collection. However, I already had the stamp in my collection.

 I do like the "science-y" imagery of the stamp. It has a pair, issued for the World Medical Association Assembly. Not as nice as the soil stamp, but still pretty cool, it features Hippocrates floating above a syringe. I am glad the designer chose to also write the name of the greek head somewhat randomly perched on the syringe, because otherwise I would have been a bit puzzled.

Following on from the above, I thought I would include one last stamp today. I think it fits quite nicely, both visually with the hands, and thematically with the science. It was released eight years after the soil stamp, in 1976. It celebrates 50 years of the CSIRO - the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation - which is Australia's national science agency.

I love the CSIRO stamp. I love the CSIRO. I love the stamp for featuring graph paper and a scale bar. Awesome.

** New: Follow my blog with Bloglovin **

Swedish treats: Forstadagsbrev Part 1

Last week I bought a desk. A beautiful wooden desk with seven drawers to hide all my stuff in. As a result, I spent the weekend finally unpacking the last box from my move to North Fitzroy... which happened four months ago!

Anyhow, as I was unpacking said box, I found these wonderful first day covers that my parents brought back from their trip to Sweden earlier this year. As they gave them to me just as I was moving, I put them in this box and promptly forgot all about their very existence. So, boy was I delighted when I found them the other day. This first one is my favourite, for three very good reasons:



             1) Map Postmark
             2) Viking ship stamps
             3) Map and flag illustration on envelope.

There is not much more you can ask for, in a first day cover, really. And this particular cover taught me the Swedish for first day cover:

              FORSTADAGSBREV

I like the ring of it.

Now, I have always been partial to Vikings, but I am especially more so since watching the entire series 1 - 5 of True Blood over the course of the past two months... Those of you who have seen it will hear what I am saying, but basically, Eric Northman makes me want to move to Sweden. Anyhow, all desire for undead Viking Vampires aside, you have to admit the woodcut design viking ships featured on the stamp are pretty special.

And speaking of ships, this next cover features the Vasa, sunk in 1628 and now housed in a museum in Stockholm.

The FDC

The ship in the museum

The Vasa is a war ship from the time in the 17th century when the Swedes were a force to be reckoned with, and had acquired power over much of the Baltic area. In 1961 the shipwreck was salvaged, and the stamps feature some of the different sculptures that would have adorned the ship.

I visited the museum in Stockholm that houses the Vasa in 2006, and I have to say that it was one of the highlights of my stay in the city. Not only is the Vasa fascinating because it represents a time in history when Sweden was an imperial power and because the ship is almost a microcosm of society, but the thought of the archaeology of an underwater salvage is enough to float my boat (sorry! I couldn't help it!).  The pamphlet that comes with the FDC (issued in 1969) states "the restoration of the ship continues - a puzzle with more than 10,000 pieces." And that right there, my friends, is why I love archaeology!

Since I have actually been to see the ship featured on the stamp, I am doubly pleased that Mum and Dad picked this one out as a souvenir to bring back for me. It is pretty great, you have to agree.

There is one last FDC that I am going to share with you now from my little Swedish collection, just because I think it is beautiful:

The stamps on this last cover illustrate scenes from the Arctic Circle, in northern Sweden, where on the summer solstice the sun is above the horizon for 24 hours.

The one showing the Northern Lights is my favourite of the group... and it has taught me yet more Swedish: 

NORRSKENS FORSKNING

The Northern Lights - totally up there on my list of things/places that I simply must see before I die.

Thanks for tuning into I heart post for another week... and watch this space for still more Swedish delights in Part II of this post, which I will be uploading on Sunday. Until then, keep it real, nerds and hipsters. Over and Out. H.

Back in the USSR

Check out these treasures from the USSR I found amongst the stamps in the little album I bought home from Indonesia recently. I didn't mean to acquire Russian stamps as souvenirs from my trip to Indonesia, but there you go. It just happened.

But aren't they just lovely? Isn't the typography wonderful? Don't the colours make your heart sing?

I went to Russia back in 2006. It was amazing. I didn't buy any post though. Don't know what I was thinking. I did, however, take great delight when signing my postcards with "From Russia With Love"! So not all was lost on the postal front. But now I have my very own soviet birds from 1962 within my collection. I don't think I could have found nicer stamps if I had tried!