Stamp Rainbows and rainbows on stamps

Children everywhere have been making rainbows tohelp cheer us up during this dreadful time of Coronavirus pandemic and I was inspired to make one too, using stamps.

 Yellow stamps, as always were the most difficult to find, but I eventually found just enough  from GB, France, USA and Japan to complete the yellow band of the rainbow. On a second rainbow I cheated slightly and used gold 1st class stamps!  This was an absorbing activity for a few  hours and while making my collage, I was contemplating the sad reality of how many lives have now been lost in so many of  countries where my stamps have come from.  The iconic US stamp featuring the Statue of Liberty, a proud symbol of New York, is a poignant reminder of how tragically large cities are the worst affected by the virus.  

Lucy Stone - 1818-1893 - an American Suffragist,Abolitionist and Orator - and on an American stamp

Listening to Radio 4 Woman's Hour today, 26th September,  I heard for the first time, the story of Lucy Stone. (You can "Listen again" online.)   Her name immediately brought  to mind  a 50c Magenta stamp with the name Lucy Stone on it, with a portrait of a strong and determined looking woman.
  I had seen this stamp many times in the boxes of  American stamps that I have and which I trawl through to find suitable stamps for  collages.I often get sidetracked by picking out random stamps and looking them up to find out more, but had not done this in the case of Lucy Stone, but Woman's Hour did this for me today!   A campaigner for the rights of women, abolition of slavery and equality for those of other races and religions, she was also the first woman from Massachusetts to gain a college degree. It's interesting to note that this stamp is from the series, Prominent Americans, issued between 1965-8 and that she's the only woman included in the series.!!  Famous men in the series include several Presidents, Architect  Frank Lloyd Wright, Historian Francis Parkman and Henry Ford.  One of the questions asked of USA citizens interviewed recently in  2018,  the 200th anniversary of her birth,  was "What would she think of today's America", and replies varied. She would have been pleased to have seen the first Black president, but would  be dismayed at the inequalities that still exist.

Paintings by Winslow Homer - also on stamps

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a  book called Swimming Studies by Leanne Shapton - I'm very keen on swimming - and go to my local pool several times a week. It tells the story of Leanne's attempt to be selected for the Canadian Olympic teams of 1988 and 1992,  and although not successful, she retains a lifelong love and interest in swimming. As well as a fascinating and well told account of her experiences she is a talented artist and includes several series of illustrations connected with everything to do with the sport, from portraits of fellow swimmers to photographs of her costumes, and small paintings of swimming pools all over the world. And she also includes some art references, which I personally can never resist looking up!   I've discovered several paintings new to me, by the American artist Winslow Homer, whose former home Leanne was lucky enough to stay in on a visit to Maine.

Gulf Stream by Winslow Homer (1899) 

Sharks, The Derelict by Winslow Homer 

I'm not likely to ever own an original Winslow Homer, but as a stamp collector, I have a smaller example in my own collection - not quite as sinister as the first two shown above, this one is called Breezing Up( A Fair Wind) 1873-1876 - the stamp was issued by US Postal service in 1962!

Pretty in Pink - Pink Stamps make up a pretty stamp collage quilt design

Traditional patchwork quilt patterns incorporate all sorts of pretty cotton fabrics. My facebook page recently flagged up a post from the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky (www.quiltmuseum.org) with a beautiful historic 9-patch quilt - very simple in shades of pink but from the civil war period and so wonderfully conserved. Coincidentally I've been working on another simple square design using stamps which are either pink or feature pretty pink designs to make up my stamp collage, "Pretty in Pink".
I recently worried that I had upset stamp collectors who may feel that I should not be using stamps as they could be more useful to collectors, which is  possibly true of course. However, all of these stamps are readily available on the many internet auction sites, through stamp dealers and to swap with other stamp collectors.

Postage stamps used in the collage

In the case of the USA 1938 Presidential Series  I have used quite a few of  the 2c carmine pink stamps featuring John Adams 2nd  President 1797-1801, and the 9c lighter pink featuring William Henry Harrison 9th  President - 1841-1841. My fears were certainly allayed on discovering the vast number of these stamps  printed and the sheer numbers I have myself did give me a clue!
 I found that  1,692,201,400 of the 9c stamp were issued and for the 2c stamp which had several issues throughout 1938 and 1939, a total of   29 BILLION - not million, but billion, were issued! I feel no guilt! I still have many left and would be happy to swap if you're missing one from your collection!
The other stamps I've used are more recent issues : a 1st class Greetings/Flower design from 1998 (GB), and the 33c Pink Rose issued 1999/2000 as well as a few of the  33c USA Valentine Heart stamps, as well as the 2c Pink featuring Thomas Jefferson (3rd President 1801-1809) from the Liberty Issue of 1954-68.

Detail from Stamp Collage patchwork quilt design 

Headdresses of American Indian tribes - issued 1990

Having previously mentioned memories of a postcard showing an American Indian with headdress, made of stamps,  I came across this complete set of US stamps issued in 1990 featuring headdresses of various tribes.
The Smithsonian National Postal Museum has a great website which gives details of many stamps issued by the USA and provides excellent information about the contents.

USA stamp issue from 1990: 5 designs by Lunda Hayle Gill

1. Assinboine headdress circa 1920  - felt and wool, with long strips of ermine hanging from both sides.
2. Comanche headdress mid 1880s - Golden eagle and dyed turkey feathers with rabbit skin and fur.
3. Flathead headdress circa 1905 made from felt and large golden eagle tail feathers, with ermine skin spots and white cow tail hair tied to the end of each feather.
4. Cheyenne headdress circa 1890 has brass tack decoration across the brow and golden eagle feathers, ribbons and hair tassels.
5. Shoshone headdress circa 1900 has a brow band embroidered with porcupine quills, and also uses golden eagle tail feathers.

The headdresses were often made by the warriors themselves and may have been buried with them on their death.

They are also known as war bonnets and are a sign of honour and courage.  

The US law today allows the American Indian people to use eagle feathers exclusively for cultural and religious purposes.  

There's always something interesting to discover on stamps!! 

National Parks of America on stamps and photos

Last week I went to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich and while there, visited the Ansel Adams exhibition.  We were lucky to arrive just in time for a guided tour which gave insight into the life and career of this great photographer. Many of his photographs were taken in the National Parks and Yosemite was one of his favourites.
I'd recently read an article in Stanley Gibbons Stamp Monthly which featured a set of stamps issued in the USA in 1934 commemmorating the National Parks, and sent it over to a friend in the USA.  At the week-end I received a letter back containing the set of 10 stamps.  Just like Ansel Adams, I think my favourite is the Yosemite 1c green stamp, which has an almost identical view of El Capitan.


Other stamps in the set include 5c blue showing "Old Faithful" geyser in Yellowstone park, and 6c blue showing Crater Lake and Wizard Island.  I will be interested to see if Ansel Adams photographed any of the other locations on the stamps.

Although I use a lot of stamps in my collages, I also collect and these beautiful stamps  will definitely be remaining in my collection!