Street Art and Stamps

Check it out: Stamp street-art! How wonderful. I spotted this at the Laneway Music Festival in Footscray (Melbourne) on the weekend. The festival was great fun - Bat for Lashes headlined, but Alt-J ( ∆ ) were possibly the highlight for me... they sounded amazing and were great fun to dance to.

Anyhow it is not all that regularly that the worlds of rock'n'roll and stamp nerds collide, so I was pretty thrilled to see these paste-up images of an early and iconic Australian Stamp at a music festival.

I do actually have this stamp in my collection, courtesy of Grandma Nellie. Although the stamp I have is not in great condition.

The stamp was part of the George VI series of definitives released in 1950-51. The thing that makes me uneasy about the image is that it was released in that time well before the 1967 referendum which recognised  indigenous people as citizens. So this image smacks of paternalism to me - while it is depicting, and in a way celebrating, the nameless Aborigine on the stamp, the image seems to be loaded with the racist ethnocentric assumptions of the day.

It is an enduring image, even if it is a racist one. And in 2009 another version of the stamp was celebrated as one of "Australia's favourite stamps." I think the image reads slightly differently in the 2009 version than it did in the 1950/51 version. It is a bit more like, "Look! We love Aborigines! We always have: check out this old stamp!" And of course that is blatantly untrue.  But I see an attempt at reconciliation in the 2009 stamp, a more genuine respect that doesn't have the same patronising tone of the 1951 release.

And what of the 2013 paste-up on a brick wall in Footscray of the same image?  I love it.

Nerds on Film

Hello blogosphere.
Today I am particularly thrilled about the awesomeness of the internet, excited by its connectivity and vastness. This warm and fuzzy love of cyberspace is in part due to the fact I had a film director (a film director!) contact me this week after he had found my corner of the internet. And he is making -- wait for it -- a film about stamp nerds. Yup! Crazy.

This is the preview for his film... you've got to check it out, because it is hilarious. And it goes a long way in proving that I am not the most stamp-nerdy stamp-nerd in the universe. Am not sure about the chick with the cleavage at the beginning of the preview, but I guess you gotta sell a film about collecting postage stamps somehow (I know not everyone loves post as much as I do).



I have to agree with the googly-eyed dude in the beginning who says "stamps define what a culture stands for, and once you start looking at that, it is really cool". Couldn't have said it better myself. Although I do think his googly-eyes add something to the profundity of his statement.

Anyhow, a film about hijinks in the stamp world. Sounds like a good time to me!! The film is due out in Spring 2013 (northern hemisphere, I assume), so I will keep you posted if I hear of more developments. I am a little excited - thanks for getting in touch Mark. Your film looks ace.

In other post news, I received my first Christmas card today from my friend Rach.  And speaking of nerds, the card came with a personalised Christmas stamp featuring Rach's cat, who is lovingly called 'whingey'.

If you think Whingey looks pretty cute, you may wish to look her up on twitter. I believe she has her own account. I am so not a cat person, and from my perspective, Rach saw my nerdy and raised it to a whole new level when she decided to personalise her Christmas stamps with her cat (and lets not even get started on the twitter thing). But I love nerds (even if I don't love cats) so full respect, Rach.

Her Christmas greetings came with a postscript: 'no pressure, but I think the Whingy stamp should feature on your blog.'  Pressure aside Rach, I have never received a personalised postage stamp before, so I think it is definitely worthy of note. And the very lovely fact you sent me Christmas greetings the postal way also makes me very happy. It seems you love post as much as I do... but maybe we should all be a little worried about a future "I heart whingey" blog??

Gorgeous postcard from Fish

Thank-you internet world and real world for being awesome this week. Thank-you to the very intriguingly nicknamed Fish from Taiwan who recently sent me some gorgeous postcards from Laos (I promise I will write back this week) and to João from Brazil who offered to do a stamp swap. It is so nice to hear from everyone from all far-flung corners of the globe who have found my blog.

Peace out, post lovers.
xx H.

Guest Collection: Danni's 1990s FDCs

One of the lovely things about doing this blog is that now many people tell me about their stamp collections. "Oh, I had a stamp collection when I was young" they'll say. But the truth is, they always still have the collection, tucked away somewhere, they just haven't added to it for a while.

Now, this may surprise some of you, but not too long ago, I used to keep my stamp collecting a bit of a secret. I mean - you don't really want to shout from the rooftops that you're a giant nerd, do you? Not if you're sane.

Christmas 1993 - a better effort than Christmas 2012, Australia Post 

But since I decided to blow caution to the wind and broadcast my insane pleasure in small perforated postage stamps, I have discovered I am not alone. People more often than not want to share their collections with me, and I think they find some pleasure in having an excuse to dust them off and rediscover them.

As is so often the case with FDCs, this one features a nice postmark!

So this is exactly what happened with my new(ish) housemate Danni a couple of months ago. I was hanging out in the kitchen and Danni brought in her collection of First Day Covers for me to look at. They are from the early 90s and they are kept in a Lindt Chocolate box.

This was in the early stages of living here, so it was in many ways a nice "getting to know you" exercise:
Danni - So, you blog about stamps.
Helen - Yup. It's not as tragic as it sounds. Or at least I don't think it is. I guess it might be...
Danni - Well, guess what? I have these First Day Covers!
Helen - Wow! FDCs! Awesome!
--
Or, at least, it went something like that.

So today I share with you, fellow lovers of post, Danni's collection of First Day Covers.

And here is my pick of the lot - the Queen's Birthday 1991. Would you take a look at the Mother-Daughter outfits with the matching black satin gloves. I am almost speechless. I certainly have FDC envy.

You know how I love a bit of Royal Kitsch! And check out those dresses!!

Thanks for sharing your cool collection of 90s FDCs with me Danni. They are ace!

You Can Telephone All Over the World

I had another go at creating a collage card this weekend, and the above was the result. It was made using a 1960s editions of National Geographic with an advertising slogan from a 1964 edition - "You can telephone all over the world" underlined by a much more recent satellite image. But what a quaint slogan! So anachronistic in today's world. But it got me thinking.

Ross Coulter,  10 000 Paper Planes - Aftermath via Centre for Contemporary Photography

On the weekend I went to this wonderful exhibition at the Centre for Contemporary Photography and heard several artists talk about their work. One of the artists was Ross Coulter, and his photographs depicted the aftermath of a performance art piece involving 10,000 paper planes being launched into the domed reading room at the State Library of Victoria. Now, for starters, the domed reading room is one of my favourite places. But, more than that, I loved Coulter's photographs because there was something incredibly compelling about the inherent rebellion in 10,000 paper planes being strewn across that hallowed space reserved for hushed tones and studious concentration. The photographs are big (156 x 200cm), glossy and wonderful.

Coulter explained during his floor talk that he worked at the SLV in 1999, right at that time when email was transforming the way we communicate with one another. The computer age was dawning, and Coulter described the paper planes as, in a way, symbolising the transmission of an idea through space. He was also asking a question about the role of libraries into the future, as we move from the analogue past into the digital future.

When I came across the Bell Telephone Company's 1964 slogan "You can telephone all over the world" that night after hearing Coulter's talk, it made me think of the cutting edge of communication - an international telephone call was a big deal in the sixties; and we were still adjusting to sending emails in the 1990s. How times have changed! Which is exactly what Australia Post was trying to capture in their "Then and Now" stamp release from earlier this year.

Actually, I think the stamps are a little ugly.  Despite the fact I have strict (ok, lax) rules about not collecting ugly stamps, I had to have them, because they had a cool gutter strip (and I love a good gutter strip). But really, the best way to find out about the "then" (as opposed to the "now") is to go directly to the source by looking at stamps issued at the time. So check out this fantastic stamp from 1985 visualising Electronic Mail:

Don't those triangles resemble Coulter's paper planes zooming through the aether, though his had landed and these are mid flight? It is such a space age image. I love it. So that is how Electronic Mail was imagined in 1985. 1985! Very cutting edge.

Could Australia Post have possibly imagined the transformative nature of e-mail for their industry at that point in time? I don't think so. I think at that point Australia Post might have presumed that they would be delivering, in some capacity, those electronic mails, and this 1985 stamp was advertising that futuristic hope.

So, as we ponder the roles of libraries and postal services as technology races ahead into the future, I think (and hope), for the time being at least, there are enough bibliophiles and philatelists (read: nerds) to keep these historic and vital institutions alive. And we can only imagine what people in thirty years might think of our communication practices today! Maybe our dependence on emails will be laughably quaint. Who knows?? Lets just hope that there are still postage stamps for us to gaze at, decipher and treasure.

Nerd alert: I was a teenage stamp collector

Okay... it is possible that this blog is helping to turn me into an even bigger nerd than the guy in this clip.



That is all I am going to say on the matter this week. I am tired after a few days in the field, and the prospect of moving house next weekend is making me want to scrunch into the foetal position. So, basically all I am capable of doing is listening to strangely compelling 80s pop about stamp nerds. (You would never have guessed, but I have a soft spot for teenage stamp collectors). I can't believe this song even exists, but, my lord it makes me happy. So wrong, yet so right.

With thanks to this guy for putting me onto the song. And meanwhile, if you are looking for some techni-colour escapism, check out his other blog, which is super cool, all  about awesome postcards like the two below, that, well...  totally float my boat.

Happy Wednesday folks. Have a great week. 

Plura Scriptum Epistola

Hello Friends!
I am feeling the love at the moment, or more precisely my mailbox is feeling the love, and I just wanted to say thank-you to all the wonderful people who have sent me mail lately.

Postcard from Rohan, my semi-retired jungle-explorer friend (for real!)

This blog is not really supposed to be about the mail I receive, but the thing of it is, stamps and mail go hand in hand.

I love stamps, and I love post. Part of what makes stamps so special though, is that they adorn envelopes, which in turn promise to hold gems of  correspondence. Hand-written personal notes. Ah, the warm and fuzzy feelings I get when I receive hand-written personal notes in my mailbox!

And I certainly felt very warm and fuzzy the other night, when I went to my special "I heart post" post box and found the following amazing card waiting for me, from Carla at 365 Letters; not least of all because this was my first piece of post directly from the blogosphere.

There are so many things that I love about the card, that I feel it warrants a list:

1) Check out the awesome vintage-ness of the colours, the rounded corners and the image. BRILLIANT.

2) This came from Carla's holiday in June 1980... and she labellled the back of the card with that information when she bought it. Swoon. I love a bit of historical record-keeping.

3) THE STAMPS ARE AMAZING (and worthy of an exclamation in capitals). Click on the image above to check them out properly. They are worth it.

4) Did I mention it was the first piece of mail from a random fellow blogger?? 

Yep, I am feeling all warm and fuzzy just looking over it again. Thank-you Carla, you made my day (slash week)!

My parents are travelling at the moment, and they sent me the above lovely postcard from Austria featuring a Gustav Klimt painting... and the Wiener Werkstätte logo on the reverse, with a very nice stamp indeed. And they also sent me a Swedish map postcard. Thank-you parents! Three of my favourite things!

The thing is, with this blog, I have been thinking alot about why I like post so much. The correspondence part is definitely an element. And with that in mind, I recently joined the Letter Writers Alliance, because, I feel like with all this banging on about post that I do, I really should be sending some!

 

And my membership card arrived in the mail last week... and the envelope was enough to make me happy (I am a girl of simple pleasures, it is true).

I can tell you that I do plan on using my "Letter Writers Alliance" membership/superpower for good and not evil. And they have a Latin motto: Plura Scriptum Epistola. I did a Latin major at university, and the only thing I really remember is "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus". Yep. That is the Hogwarts motto. Never disturb a sleeping dragon. In muggle idiom that would be, "let sleeping dogs lie".

Anyhow, I am all for Latin mottos, and I am very happy to be part of an organisation that has one. So, Plura Scriptum Epistola. I am going to take this on as a personal motto forthwith; and I shall, I shall, write more letters. They probably won't be in Latin.

Thankyou Laura!

Thankyou Sandra - a postcard AND stamps. Yippee!

Oh yes, my friends do know that I love a bit of royal kitsch!

Thankyou Sandy

Thankyou to all the lovely people that have sent me things in the post recently. I do so love post. xx

And last but not least, just in, vintage-post Post from Jaz!  Yay!

Brunei and Tongariro; Envelopes and Scale bars

Last time I went back home to my parents house and slept in my old bedroom, I found four envelopes that I had once sorted stamps into, labelled, and tucked away in the bookshelf above my old cast-iron bed.

This afternoon (after I clocked off work of course), I sorted out some of the stamps and tried to take some photos of them on the photography table at work. That is why, in the above photo, for my own great amusement, I have included a scale bar (hello archaeologist friends!).

Anyhow, in the envelopes, as you would plainly expect, there are lots of treasures.

There are a whole heap of stamps from Brunei, all with the Sultan's head on them. These came from my cousins who lived in Brunei in what must have been the late-eighties/early-nineties. This was about the time, I think, that my Dad thought it was hilarious if he got us to do salaams and call him Master. I think he fancied himself a Sultan. We didn't fall for it for a second.

 Anyhow, the stamps are all very beautiful, and I am not sure what I am going to do with them. Put them in an album? Make gift tags out of them? Leave them in their envelopes, so that in another twenty years when I am rifling through my stuff, I find them and get great pleasure out of tipping out the contents and discovering the delightful treasures anew? Hmmm... I am not sure. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

So many pretty pictures, so many lovely lovely treasures... but just as I was putting away the stamps, I found this one:

It shows the Tongariro National Park and Chateau. I had no idea that I had this stamp, but I totally totally LOVE it. Last year, my Mum and I went to NZ and hiked the Tongariro Crossing... and the next day went and had high tea at the chateau. So this completely wonderful little stamp epitomises a really fantastic holiday! YAY for cool stamps! Big-ups to New Zealand Post!

Mount Tongariro

High tea at the chateau with Mum

And one of the view from the top.. below the snow level. It totally made the 19km hike worthwhile!

Maps and Stamps

Part of the reason that I am so open about my nerdy interest in stamps is that I work in an extremely nerdy office. I work for an archaeology consultancy based in Melbourne, and I have truly found my people there. At work, there is a girl with a sand collection, a girl with a rock collection and a boy and a girl who are both crazy about Lego. My boss collects vintage jigsaw puzzles with English country scenes on them. We are all complete nerds - there is no two ways about it.

But being around nerds is quite liberating, and I am in a place where I can vocalise my love of stamps without being laughed out of town. Well, almost. Ben, who is a rock art nerd, thought stamps were off the scale of nerdy. An 11 out of 10 on the geek-o-metre. Humpf.

It is also known around our office that I am particularly fond of maps. I like making maps, I like looking at maps, I like collecting maps (particularly Melways). Ben, the rock art nerd, was one day scoffing at my love of stamps, and remarked "Ha! Imagine if you had a stamp with a map on it! Your head would explode!"
Hell yeah, I thought. Maps on stamps would be TOTALLY COOL. What an awesome idea!

Luckily the lovely Kris was in the room to back me up when Ben was busy mocking stamps (and me). That night I went home and did a little big of googling and discovered that I was not alone, that there was a whole society dedicated to maps on stamps: the CartoPhilatelic Society! Who knew?!

The next day I very excitedly mentioned the CartoPhilatelic Society to Ben, who was not impressed; and to Kris, who may not have been impressed, but very kindly let me rabbit on about maps and stamps anyway. I did not think much more of this exchange and happily went off on a two week holiday to Samoa. But when I got back from holidays, waiting on my desk was a little packet. A little packet full of stamps, each one featuring a little map!

Kris had mentioned the maps on stamps thing to her Dad, a philatelist whom I have never met, and lo and behold, he had gone and put together a collection for me. How truly sweet! It made my day - actually, it made more than my day, as that was about six months ago, and I am still smiling when I think about it. Certainly having a little packet of stamps all with maps on them, sitting there, waiting for me on my return to work, made the transition from holiday-mode back into work-mode all the more bearable. Maps and Stamps. What a beautiful combination! Thank-you to Kris and her lovely Dad!

And that, friends, is the story of how I came to have a whole collection of stamps all with maps on them!