Judi Dench

Dame Judi Dench, b. 1934
Alessandro Raho, 2004.  Oil on canvas, 2521 X 179mm
Commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery and made possible by JP Morgan
National Portrait Gallery, London

This is postmarked in 2013 with a Shakespeare stamp featuring Dame Judi Dench and two Queen Elizabeth II stamps.

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Dame* Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English film, stage and television actress and occasional singer. Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth.

Over the next two decades, she established herself as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her film appearances were infrequent until she was cast as M in GoldenEye (1995), a role she continued to play in James Bond films through to Skyfall (2012).

*Dame is the female equivalent of the honour of knighthood.

Great Britain stamp 2011

Royal Shakespeare Company

The Other Place 1.00

Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth from the 1976 production of Macbeth.

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The Other Place was a black box theatre on Southern Lane, near to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It was owned and operated by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

 

Aspire Tower and Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar

Doha - Aspire Tower and Khalifa Stadium

photograph by: Nicole Luttecke in 2012

This Hallmark postcard is postmarked in 2013 with two State of Qatar stamps.

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Doha (literally: "the big tree") is the capital city of the state of Qatar.  It is Qatar's largest city, with over 60% of the nation's population residing in Doha or its surrounding suburbs.

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The Aspire Tower, also known as Torch Hotel, is a 300-metre (984 ft) tall skyscraper hotel located in the Doha Sports City complex.  It served as the focal point for the 15th Asian Games hosted by Qatar in December 2006.

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Khalifa International Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Doha, Qatar as part of the Doha Sports City complex.  It is named after Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar's former Emir. The final of 2011 AFC Asian Cup was held at this stadium and it will be the host for 2022 FIFA World Cup in 2022.

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In the Doha Sports Complex is a large statue of a book with two hands coming out of it and holding a globe.  That is the picture you see in the bottom right hand corner of the above postcard.

Hawaii - Hula Dancers Real Photo Postcard with a Censorship Back (1942)

Hula Dancers, Hawaii

real photo postcard, postmarked in 1942 from a soldier (S. H. Chiles of the United States Army Air Forces) to Betty Chiles at the Florida State Board of Health Laboratory - Soldiers were able to send mail with no stamp, I wonder why he used one??

It was examined by the U.S. Censorship

the sender writes:

Dearest Betty
Called the folks Sun. and sure wish you'd been there too.  Am at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel now and it's beautiful.  Am going swimming in the surf at Waikiki  in a little while - wish you were here to be in on it.  Am really hoping to have some fun soon.  Wish you didn't have to miss out on all of it.  Will try to send cards for a while if no more.  bye, Scabo-

The attack on Pearl Harbor happened on December 7, 1941 - and this was sent on Jul 1, 1942.

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The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the military aviation arm of the United States Army during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force.

Every Dog Has His Day on a Leather Postcard

Every Dog Has his Day

This is a postcard made from leather (the kind this bulldog would love to chew up)!

There is a faded address on the back, but no stamp.

Axel's Tackle Box in Waterville, Minnesota

Visitors to Axel's Tackle Box of Waterville, Minnesota are greeting by Tonkah, the sunfish.
photo: Dan Hoehn

postmarked in 2013 with a 33 cent stamp

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Waterville is a city in Le Sueur County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2010 census.

WWII 1938 Hitler Germany Map, Sudetenland

Wir Danken Unserm Fuhrer
(We thank our leader)

The pre-paid stamp on the back reads: Deutsches Reich, 4 December 1938

unused propaganda postcard for Hitler's Germany

below is a view of the back of the postcard

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I read on the internet that Konrad Henlein is next to Hitler and this is for the German Anschluss and annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938.

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The Sudetenland is the German name to refer to those northern, southwest, and western areas of Czechoslovakia which were inhabited mostly by German speakers, specifically the border districts of Bohemia, Moravia, and those parts of Silesia located within Czechoslovakia.

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Konrad Ernst Eduard Henlein (6 May 1898 – 10 May 1945) was a leading Sudeten German politician in Czechoslovakia. Upon the German occupation he joined the Nazi Party and was appointed Reichsstatthalter (Imperial Lieutenant or Imperial Governor) of the Sudetenland in 1939.

Rocky

Rocky
Movie Score
United Artists Corporation

Post Card from Import Images $2.99

postmarked in 2008 with two 41 cent stamps

This postcard is 8 by 10 inches! It has a place on the back for a stamp and the words 'Post Cards' on the price tag.

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Rocky is a boxing saga of popular films all written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, who plays the character Rocky Balboa. The films are, by order of release date: Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky V (1990) and Rocky Balboa (2006). The film series has grossed more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office.

The above card is from the first Rocky:
Released on December 3, 1976
A small time boxer gets a once in a lifetime chance to fight the heavyweight champ in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.

Tioman Island in Pahang, Malaysia

 Malaysia
The simple pleasures of sea, sky and sand make Tioman island in Pahang a perfect holiday for the wary traveller.

This is postmarked in 2013 with a Malaysia stamp featuring flowers.

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Tioman Island is a small island located 32 km off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It has eight main villages, the largest and most populous being Kampung Tekek in the north. The densely forested island is sparsely inhabited, and is surrounded by numerous coral reefs, making it a popular scuba diving spot. There are also a lot of resorts and chalets around the island which has duty free status.

Its beaches were depicted in the 1958 movie, South Pacific as Bali Hai. In the 1970s, TIME Magazine selected Tioman as one of the world's most beautiful islands.

Xmas verses Christmas

Gerhard Gluck "Xmas Post"

the sender writes on the back:  Merry Christmas

postmarked in 2012 with two Germany stamps

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For me, a believer in Jesus Christ as my personal savior, I am not a fan of Xmas.  Christmas is about the birth of Christ and taking his name out of the word and adding an X is, in my humble opinion, wrong.

When people write to me and say Merry Xmas, I don't write back my feelings or opinions, I just write:  Merry Christmas.  I respect peoples opinions even when they don't agree with mine.

 

Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Spitsbergen

Scenery of Midteehuken

postmarked in 2013 with a Norway stamp

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Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago. Constituting the westernmost bulk of the archipelago, it borders the Arctic Ocean, the Norwegian Sea, and the Greenland Sea. Spitsbergen covers an area of 39,044 km2 (15,075 sq mi).

Svalbard is about midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole.

Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota

Crazy Horse Memorial
World's largest mountain carving in progress
Black Hills of South Dakota

"My lands are where my dead lie buried." - Crazy Horse

Blasting continues on the largest sculpture in the world, which will look like the scale model when completed.  Crazy Horse's face was finished in 1998. SInce then work has focused on the horse's head.

postmarked in 2013

The sender told me that this will probably never be finished because they are making too much money in donations.  As long as they work on it slowly, they can still raise money.  The sad thing is, by the looks of the postcard they are selling now in the gift store, I would say she is right.  Below is a postcard they printed in 2000 - 13 years ago. (I think it took 14 years to make all of Mount Rushmore.)

Crazy Horse Memorial
Now in Progress - open year round - Black Hills, S.D. U.S. Hi-way 16/385
Blasts like this continue on the largest sculpture in the world, which will look like the scale model when completed.  Crazy Horse's face was finished in 1998 when work began on the horse's head (Photos by Robb DeWall)

postmarked in 2002 - photo was taken in July 2000

Thanksgiving Greetings, Before and After

BEFORE:

Thanksgiving Greetings
(with embossed turkeys, fruit, grapes, flowers, and flag)
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AFTER:

Thanksgiving Greetings
All the food, dishes and the pilgrims (and his sword) are embossed.

Pietarsaari Jakobstad - Suomi Finland

Pietarsaari Jakobstad
Suomi Finland

the sender writes:
Hello!
I live in the small town of Pietarsaari, (it's the Finnish name of the town, the Swedish name is Jakobstad)
It's on the west coast.  To the top left you can see the town church.  Top right is the old fire-station, not it's used as a theatre.  Down to the left is a picture from the 'shopping street" in the town centre, and the last picture is from the town part called Skata, it's the old part of town with three houses.

postmarked in 2013 with a Finland 'Moomin' stamp

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The town was founded in 1652 by Ebba Brahe, the widow of the military commander Jacob De la Gardie, and was granted city privileges by Queen Christina of Sweden. The Swedish name literally means Jacob's City or Jacob's Town. The town was founded at the old harbour of the parish Pedersöre and this name lives on in the Finnish name of the municipality, Pietarsaari, literally Peter's Island.