Desert Bighorn Sheep in Zion National Park

Zion National Park

One of the most majestic creatures of the North American deserts, and one of the rarest, is the Dessert Bighorn Sheep.  Bighorn sheep are sometimes called a "wilderness species" because they require some of the most remote and protected areas in the West.  The desert bighorn are a symbol of Zion's wilderness.  This species disappeared from the park in the 1950's, and through an intensive reintroduction program the herd was re-established by introducing 12 individuals in the 1970's.  The Zion herd now includes over 150 individuals.

Photographer - Joann Hinman

unused, bought in 2011
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Here is a postcard a friend gave me earlier the same year ....

Zion National Park
The 1,500 foot walls of the Kolob Canyons glow in the early morning sun.  Located in the northwest corner of Zion National Park, these canyons provide a colorful panorama of some of southern Utah's best red rock scenery.

Photographer - Tom Till

The Marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton

The Marriage of HRH Prince William of Wales with
Miss Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey, 29 April 2011.

Both of these postcards are unused.

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The wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton took place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London. Prince William, second in the line of succession to Queen Elizabeth II, first met Catherine Middleton in 2001, when both were studying at the University of St Andrews.

The build-up to the wedding and the occasion itself attracted much media attention, with the service being broadcast live around the world, and being compared and contrasted in many ways with the 1981 marriage of William's parents, Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales.

As Prince William was not the heir apparent to the throne, the wedding was not a full state occasion and many details were left to the couple to decide, such as much of the guest list of about 1,900.

Hours before the service, the Queen conferred the titles Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus upon William. Upon her marriage, Middleton therefore became Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge.

Viva Vigan Festival, Philippines

 Viva Vigan Festival
Philippines
Vigan Ilocos Sur, Philippines (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
28th April - 7th May

the Vigan Festival guarantees a colorful celebration of Vigan's finest arts and traditions.  Some of the activities it showcases are: Binatbatan Street Dancing Contest, Boklan Art Contest, Abel-Iloco Fashion Show, Celasa parade and Contest.  The festivities display some of Vigan's indigenous materials such as Abel Iloko (native handwoven cloth), Burnay (jars), Damili, agricultural products and processed foods like longaniza, agnet and kankanen.

postmarked in 2011 with 5 fish stamps from the Philippines: 1) True Clownfish 2010 - 2) Striped Surgeonfish 2011 and 3) three stamps of the Manta Ray 2010

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The week long Viva Vigan Festival of Arts is held every first week of May. It is held in the historical town of Vigan, Ilocos Sur featuring various events that demonstrates the cultural inclination and historical significance of the place.

The Calesa Parade serves as the main attraction of the Viva Vigan Festival of the Arts. It features 100 calesas (horse drawn carriages used in the Philippines) decorated with different indigenous materials depending on the theme of the celebration.

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana

Preprinted on the back: 

Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Prime Minister of Ghana

(Then in large letters where the personal message would go):

Commemorating Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah's Visit to U.S.A. and Canada

This postcard is postmarked in 1958 with a Gold Coast, Ghana stamp.

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 Accra-Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah memorial center provides inspiration for all Africans young and old alike.  He was the architect of the O.A.U. and assisted Ghana in achieving independence in 1957 to become the first West African nation free of colonial rule.


Photo by Kwaku Boateng

This is postmarked 2007 with Ghana Butterfly stamp.

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Kwame Nkrumah (21 September 1909 - 27 April 1972) was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana.

Over his lifetime he was awarded honorary doctorates by Lincoln University, Moscow State University; Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt; Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland; Humboldt University in the former East Berlin; and many other universities.

In 2000, he was voted Africa's man of the millennium by listeners to the BBC World Service.

He died of skin cancer in April 1972 at the age of 62.

                                           

 

Bronze Cherub From the Wreck of the Titanic

Recovered from Titanic's wreck site, this bronze cherub probably once graced the ship's aft first-class grand staircase entrance on A deck.  The figure's upraised arm supported a lamp.

This unused postcard was bought at: Titanic: The Exhibition - Florida International Museum in 1998.

Juma Masjid Mosque in Delhi, India

Juma Masjid Delhi,
Built Between 1650 to 1656

postmarked with two India stamps

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The Masjid-i Jahān-Numā of Delhi, is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal,in the year 1644 CE and completed in the year 1658 AD, it is the largest and best-known mosque in India.

The later name, Jama Masjid, is a reference to the weekly Friday noon congregation prayers of Muslims, Jummah, which are usually done at a mosque.

The courtyard of the mosque can hold up to twenty-five thousand worshippers.

India stamp 1974

Chital (Spotted Deer) 25 p. 

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India stamp 1965 or 1967

Mangoes 50 P.

Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria and his wife Elisabeth

Wien - Vienna - Vienne - Viena (Austria)

Kaiser Franz Josef I. von Osterreich, 1830 - 1916
(Regierungszeit 1848 - 1916) und seine Gemahlin
Kaiserin Elisabeth von osterreich, 1837 - 1898
Gemalde von F.X. Winterhalter

translation:
Emperor Franz Josef I of Austria, 1830 - 1916
(Reigned 1848 - 1916) and his wife
Empress Elisabeth of Austria, 1837 - 1898
Paintings by F.X. Winterhalter

unused, from 2011

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It was generally felt in the court that the Emperor  should marry and produce heirs as soon as possible. Various potential brides were considered: Princess Elisabeth of Modena, Princess Anna of Prussia and Princess Sidonia of Saxony. Although in public life the Emperor was the unquestioned director of affairs, in his private life his formidable mother still had a crucial influence. She wanted to strengthen the relationship between the Houses of Habsburg and Wittelsbach, and hoped to match Franz Joseph with her sister Ludovika's eldest daughter, Helene ("Nené"), four years the Emperor's junior. However, the Emperor became besotted with Nené's younger sister, Elisabeth ("Sisi"), a girl of sixteen, and insisted on marrying her instead. Sophie agreed, despite some misgivings about Sisi's appropriateness as an imperial consort, and the young couple were married on 24 April 1854 in St. Augustine's Church, Vienna.

Their married life was not happy. Sisi never really adapted herself to the court and always had disagreements with the Imperial Family; their first daughter Sophie died as an infant; and their only son, Crown Prince Rudolf, died, allegedly by suicide in 1889, in the infamous Mayerling Incident. The Empress was an inveterate traveller, horsewoman, and fashion maven who was rarely seen in Vienna. She was stabbed to death by an Italian anarchist in 1898; Franz Joseph never fully recovered from the loss. According to the future Empress-Consort Zita of Bourbon-Parma he usually told his relatives: "You'll never know how important she was for me" or, according to some sources, "She will never know how much I loved her" (although there is no definite proof he actually said this).

On a personal note, they were married on the same date as my husband and me.

Peter Pan used in Advertising for Chocolate

Walt Disney
Peter Pan

Achetez les Delicieux Chocolates Tobler
et demanez a votre fournisseur l'Album  Gratuit
qui vous permettra de faire vous-meme un film
avec les vrais dessins de Walt Disney contenus dans les tablettes.

I put this in the translator and it came up with this ....
Buy Delicious Tobler Chocolates
and ask your supplier Album Free
that you can do yourself a movie
with the real Walt Disney drawings contained in the tablets.

This is from a series of postcards that could be found inside the chocolate bars from the 1950's and 60's.  Each bar had a different card.

unused

Lucayan National Park, Freeport, Bahamas

Lucayan National Park

Freeport, Bahamas

Burial Mound Cave; Mangrove Swamps; Gold Rock Creek Beach at Lucayan National Park.

Postmarked in 2011 with a Bahamas Christmas stamp

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The Lucayan National Park is 40 acres (0.16 km2) in extent and includes five ecological zones. There is an extensive underwater cave system beneath the Park. One cave entrance is accessible by stairs at the national park. Other caves are accessible for certified scuba divers. 

Mantenga falls, Swaziland

Mantenga falls, Swaziland

Photography and design: Dirk Schwager (what a great name! - I want to say it like I am a 1940's Private Eye)

unused

Monsoon Season in India

April - Before the Monsoon.
July - During the Monsoon.
October - After the Monsoon.

The Monsoon in India.
India receives most of its annual rainfall from the south-west monsoon which breaks in June.  Agriculture in India is dependent upon the arrival of the monsoon because if it fails so do the crops.

unused

Nute Gunray from Star Wars

Nute Gunray
Star Wars Episode I
Lucasfilm

unused

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Silas Carson plays Nute Gunray (and Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundiin) all three of the Star Wars Prequels.

Nute Gunray was a Neimoidian from the planet Neimoidia. Following a stint as Minister for the Trade Federation, he rose in power after the Stark Hyperspace War in 44 BBY, eventually becoming Viceroy of the Trade Federation. In 32 BBY, Gunray participated in the occupation of Naboo to settle a trade dispute that began in the Galactic Senate. With the help of Darth Sidious, Gunray invaded the planet to end the trade dispute and secured all facilities in the capital of Theed. He attempted to force the incumbent Queen of Naboo Padmé Amidala to sign a treaty to make the invasion of his legal, however she denied and the Siege of Naboo continued. The Trade Federtion soon surrendered to Naboo forces following the Second Battle of Theed. Gunray was taken to the Galactic Republic captial on Coruscant to be charged with acts of war.

Battle Droid, Nute Gunray and Rune Haako from Star Wars Episode I.

Paul Revere and the Old North Church in Boston, Massachusetts

Paul Revere Home, Boston, Massachusetts
Situated on North Street, one of the oldest sections of Boston.  This house still stands in its originality, all around it is now located a district which is mainly populated by Italian residents.

This postcard is unused.

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Paul Revere (January 1, 1735  – May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith and a patriot in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting Colonial militia of approaching British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord, as dramatized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride. As a result, his "midnight ride" is a legendary part of United States history.

Here is a start of the poem .....

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."
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Here is a postcard of the inside of the Old North Church .....

"Old North" (Christ Church) of Paul Revere Fame (1723) - Showing original High Box Pews, Oldest clock in use in Public Building (1726), First Metal Pipe Organ Made in Colonies (1756). - Services every Sunday. -

This card is postmarked in 1993 with 19 cent balloon stamp.

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Paul Revere had instructed Robert Newman, the sexton of the North Church, to send a signal by lantern to alert colonists in Charlestown as to the movements of the troops when the information became known. In what is well known today by the phrase "one if by land, two if by sea", one lantern in the steeple would signal the army's choice of the land route while two lanterns would signal the route "by water" across the Charles River.

USA Stamp 1991

Hot Air Balloon

Ballooning 

19 cents 

Star Trek's 'Seven of Nine'

Star Trek Voyager
Seven Of Nine

both postcards are unused and from 1999

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Seven of Nine (born Annika Hansen) is a fictional character on Star Trek: Voyager, portrayed by actress Jeri Ryan. Born human, she was assimilated by the Borg at the age of six. Eighteen years later, Voyager left Borg space with Seven on board, after attempts to negotiate passage through Borg space proved only semi-successful. After The Doctor had removed the majority (82%) of her cybernetic implants, her human organs began to reassert themselves, but Seven still required a cortical node to control the remainder of her cybernetic implants. Although her link to the Collective had been severed, Seven of Nine retained the ability to sense nearby Borg activity.

Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Illinois & Titanic Newspaper

Museum of Science and Industry
Chicago, Illinois

The Story of the Living Room - The same living room gives glimpses of home life in four historic periods.  This card shows the 1912 room with an Edison phonograph with cylinder records, and a Chicago American dated April 16, 1912, announcing the sinking of the Titanic.

This is postmarked in 2011 with a 28 cent stamp.

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The newspaper has 1,342 people died, the correct number was 1,517.

The Titanic postmarked in 1912 - with errors!

Le "Titanic" jaugeant 45,000 tonnes, longueur 28 S.M. 977, largeur 28 m. 193, profondeur 29 m. 66, a counte 46 milions.  Coule a 3,200 metres de fond dans la tra. Versee de Southampton a New York a la suite d'un abordage avec un bloc de glace.
1,800 victimes - 16 Avril 1912

loose translation:

"Titanic" tonnage 45,000 tons, length 28 SM 977, width 28 m. 193, depth 29 m. 66, counter 46 milion. Flows to 3,200 meters deep in work. Sank from Southampton to New York following a collision with a block of ice.
1.800 victims - 16 April 1912

This was postmarked on May 3, 1912 with a France (Republique Francaise) 10c  c stamp. (It was sent to Oran, Algeria).

This postcard must have been made right after it sank without having all the facts.  They wrote 1,800 people died, when it was actually 1,517 and the correct date was April 15th, not the 16th.

Denver, Colorado

Denver, Colorado
"Queen City of the Plains," or "City of Mountains".
Denver holds many well-appointed titles, but is perhaps known best as a first-class urban center, with a worldly mix of cultural attractions, business communities and recreational offerings.

Photo: Scott Rogers

postmarked in 2012 with a USA stamp

Titanic Exhibit

Book Passage
Titanic
The Artifact Exhibit -

Feel the impact. Live the memories. Touch the heart.
Exclusive member preview on Thursday, October 2, 2003 -
Also showing the IMAX film "Titanica" at 7:00 p.m. -

MOSI - Museum of Science & Industry in Tampa Florida

This postcard is postmarked in 2003 with machine stamp.

Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin

 archive photo

design & reprint by kalashnikova

1961 - 2011

Although it is not printed on the postcard, (except in Russian on the stamp) this is Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

postmarked in 2011 with four stamps from Russia - two for 10 P of a building, one of a rabbit and one dealing with space for 3.00

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Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (March 9, 1934 – March 27, 1968) was a pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human being to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961.

Gagarin became an international celebrity, and was awarded many medals and honours, including Hero of the Soviet Union, the nation's highest honor.  He later became deputy training director of the Cosmonaut Training Centre outside Moscow, which was later named after him. Gagarin died in 1968 when a MiG 15 training jet he was piloting crashed.

Motu - Gem of the Lagoon, French Polynesia

 Un (motu), gemme des lagons
A (motu), gem of the lagoon
Tahiti, Polynesie francaise

postmarked in 1986 with two French Polynesia stamps

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Only vegetation that can adapt to a dry and salty coralline environment can be found on motu.
Much more diverse life like fish and corals are found under the water than above it.

 French Polynesia - Stamp 1986

Crabe de cocotier (Coconut Crab) 31

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French Polynesia - Stamp 1984

Tikis in French Polynesia 19 F

Fulani Shepherds in Nigeria

Fulani shepherds grazing cattle near Bakori Town.
Nigeria

unused

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Fula people (or Fulani) are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa.
They are traditionally a nomadic, trading people, herding cattle, goats and sheep across the vast dry hinterlands of their domain, keeping somewhat separate from the local agricultural populations.

Orkney Islands in Scotland

Orkney
The Old man of Hoy: The Standing Stones of Stennes
Marwich Head and the Kitchener Memorial: St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall

postmarked in 1978 with a Great Britain 7 p 'Queen' stamp

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Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands is an archipelago in northern Scotland, 16 kilometres (10 mi) north of the coast of Caithness. Orkney comprises approximately 70 islands of which 20 are inhabited.

The name "Orkney" dates back to the 1st century BC or earlier, and the islands have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years. Originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts, Orkney was invaded and forcibly annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse. It was subsequently annexed to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James III's bride, Margaret of Denmark.  Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, and the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney" is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Heart of Neolithic Orkney refers to a group of Neolithic monuments found on the Mainland, one of the islands of Orkney, Scotland. One of the sits is in picture two above:
Standing Stones of Stenness - the four remaining megaliths of a henge, the largest of which is 6 metres (19 ft) high.

Happy Easter from Germany - Make a Sheep Kit Included on the Postcard!!

 Frohe Ostern! (Happy Easter)

The pieces are glued onto the front of the postcard.  The receiver of the card pulls them off and the directions for making a sheep are on the back!  The legs and ears are made of wood. 

Osterlamm zusammenstecken ....
... und auf der schonen Blumenwiese grasen lassen.

(Put the Easter Lamb together ....
... and let it graze on the beautiful flowers.)

unused, bought in 2011

Boaz - Ruth and Naomi, painted by Jacob Jordeans

Boaz
Ruth and Naomi, c. 1641-1642
Jacobs Jordeans
Flemish, 1593-1678
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida

unused, from 2011

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During the time of the Judges when there was a famine, an Israelite family from Bethlehem—Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their sons Mahlon and Chilion—emigrate to the nearby country of Moab. Elimelech dies, and the sons marry two Moabite women: Mahlon marries Ruth and Chilion marries Orpah.

The two sons of Naomi then die themselves. Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem. She tells her daughters-in-law to return to their own mothers, and remarry. However, Ruth says to Naomi, "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me." (Ruth 1:16–17 NKJV)

The two women return to Bethlehem. It is the time of the barley harvest, and in order to support her mother-in-law and herself, Ruth goes to the fields to glean (collect left over crops). The field she goes to belongs to a man named Boaz, who is kind to her because he has heard of her loyalty to her mother-in-law. Ruth tells her mother-in-law of Boaz's kindness, and she gleans in his field through the remainder of the harvest season.

Boaz is a close relative of Naomi's husband's family. He is therefore obliged by the Levirate law to marry Mahlon's widow, Ruth, in order to carry on his family line. Naomi sends Ruth to the threshing floor at night and tells her to "uncover the feet" of the sleeping Boaz. Ruth does so; Boaz awakes and asks,"Who are you?" Ruth identifies herself, then asks Boaz to spread his cloak over her. The phrase "spread your cloak" was a woman's way of asking for marriage. For a man to spread his cloak over a woman showed acquisition of that woman. Boaz states he is willing to "redeem" Ruth via marriage, but informs Ruth that there is another male relative who has the first right of redemption.

The next morning, Boaz discusses the issue with the other male relative, Ploni Almoni before the town elders. The other male relative is unwilling to jeopardize the inheritance of his own estate by marrying Ruth, and so relinquishes his right of redemption, thus allowing Boaz to marry Ruth. They transfer the property and redeem it by the nearer kinsman taking off his sandal and handing it over to Boaz. (Ruth 4:7–18)

Boaz and Ruth get married and have a son named Obed (who by Levirate customs is also considered a son or heir to Elimelech, and thus Naomi). In the genealogy which concludes the story, it is pointed out that Obed is the father of Jesse, and thus the grandfather of David. This also places Ruth among David's ancestors.

Artwork of Albrecht Durer

The sender writes that this is a collection of the artwork of Albrecht Durer (May 21, 1471 –  April 6th 1528).  He was born in Nuremberg, Germany and was a great painter, printmaker, engraver and theorist.  This card was bought in the Albrecht Durer Museum in Nuremberg!

postmarked in 2012 with a Germany stamp 

Germany stamp 2011 - 75

Altstadt Regensburg (Old Town of Regensburg)

Weltkulturerbe der UNESCO (World Heritage Site by UNESCO)