Mucha’s work of Art

A cover from Czech Republic with a beautiful stamp ! 

Zodiac was Mucha's first work under his contract with the printer Champenois and was originally designed as an in-house calendar for the company. In this composition, Mucha incorporated twelve zodiac signs in the halo-like disk behind the woman's head, one of Mucha's customary motifs. The majestic beauty of the woman is emphasised by her regal bearing and elaborate jewellery.

The striking design of the Zodiac calendar quickly attracted the attention of Léon Deschamps, chief editor of La Plume; he bought the rights to distribute it as the magazine's calendar for 1897. It became one of Mucha's most popular designs; at least nine variants of this lithograph are known, including this one which was printed without text to serve as a decorative panel.

Alfons Maria Mucha  was a Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist, living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, best known for his distinctly stylized and decorative theatrical posters of Sarah Bernhardt. He produced illustrations, advertisements, decorative panels and designs which became among the best-known images of the period. 

Such a beautiful piece of art on a stamp ! 

An envelope through three post offices

An envelope that travelled from India ——> Czech Republic ——> Hongkong ——-> and back to India . 

Three different set of stamps 

India - ( Russia India joint issue ) 

Czech - ( Skoda Rapid car stamps , flower definitive ) 

Hongkong - ( Conserve water , definitives ) 

Three different cancellations 

India - GN mills PO ( 18th August ) 

Czech - Voltice ( 23 August ) 

Hongkong-  ( HK doesn’t use a postal code system at all . For dummy purposes and mails originating from China , 999077 is the postal code for Hongkong) 

Two different AirMail labels 

One from Hongkong and a prioritaire label from Czech ( probably because all mails are AirMail in Czech ) . I couldn’t get an AirMail label - so you don’t find an Indian one on the cover ! 

Thanks Znamecka and Ivon for the beautiful cover ! 

A castle - bridge - and a postmark

Again a cover from Czech Republic- from the Prague world exhibition! 

The 27Kc stamp - The stamp issued on September 7, 2016 depicts one of the most famous view of the Prague Castle with the Charles Bridge in the foreground. The view is offered from the right bank of Moldau river a few hundreds meters southwardly from the Charles Bridge. The multicoloured stamp is part of a stamp series dedicated to World Heritage sites in the Czech Republic.

Prague Castle has been an important symbol of the Czech state for more than a thousand years. It was founded in the 9th century and became the seat of Czech rulers and later presidents ( since 1918). The castle, one of the largest complexes in the world, is made up of historical palaces, offices, church and fortification buildings, gardens and picturesque spots. It covers an area of 45 hectares. The panoramic view of Prague Castle is one of the most spectacular in the world.

Charles Bridge is a stone Gothic bridge that connects the Old Town and Lesser Town (Malá Strana). It was actually called the Stone Bridge (Kamenný most) during its first several centuries. Its construction was commissioned by Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV and began in 1357. In charge of the construction was architect Petr Parléř whose other works include the  St.  Vitus Cathedral  at  the Prague Castle. It is said that egg yolks were mixed into the mortar to strengthen the construction of the bridge.

The stamp printed in Czechoslovakia (Ceska) shows illustration of blue anemone (sasanka) flower on white; beauty of flowers series; 4k blue violet purple green, circa 2010 - anemones are also called “ wind flowers “ . Anemoi in Greek means wind. 

The Postmarks : 

Occasional postmark with the text "PRAGA 2018 EXPO, Olympik Congress, Prague 8" for the occasion of the World Exhibition PRAGA 2018, the stamp picture is a stylishly modified postage stamp with text

An occasional postage stamp with the text "PRAGA 2018, World Exhibition of Postage Stamps, Prague 8" in the postmark is a stylistically modified globe, a globe outline and a postal envelope.

The other philatelic material on the cover is a commonerative sticker - probably APOST sticker . I have been unable to find details about it yet ! 

Thanks Alexander for the cover ! 

A cover with the “Bombay cover “

A cover from Czech Republic with the Bombay cover MS :) 

The Bombay cover is famous due to the two rare Mauritius post office 1-penny stamps and its unique wide margin. The sender of this mail was unknown till 1976. The cover was mailed on Jan. 4, 1850 by Reverend L. Banks living in Mauritius to Auxiliary Bible Society in Bombay. The envelope shows the strikes of the Port Luis postmarks.

The cover is considered anaristocrat of Philately for many reasons : 

First it was sent in 1850, three years after the issue (all other covers were posted in 1847); 

Second, it was sent eastbound, to Bombay (all the other covers were either used on the island (including a large piece with  the 2d) or to Bordeaux. 

Third, the quality of the stamps is remarkable: each has four large even margins, very unusual for this issue, and brilliant original colour. Finally, the two stamps differ in impression: the right one is very sharp and clear, the left one a bit heavier and slightly lighter in colour.

The cover was discovered in an Indian bazaar in 1897 and has since then passed many hands and is right now in the possession of an unidentified Czech philatelist. The cover was on display at the Praga specialised world stamp exhibition held in August 2018. This souvenir is issued by the Czech Post; this sheet illustrated the design and motif of the stamp and the historical map. 

This exuberant masterpiece of philatelic wonder was created by the graphic designer Kamil Knotek. This sheet gives a unique chance to collect the replica of the most famous stamp which is one of the most expensive philatelic products in the world. 

Date of issue - 08.08.2018

The postmark on the cover is also significant . An occasional postmark with the text "Postage History Day PRAGA 2018, Prague 8" and the postmark image is a post carriage. It was one of the postmarks designed specifically for the stamp exhibition and available only for one day ( 17-8-2018 ) 

The formation of the Czechoslovak state in late October and early November 1918 led to changes of not only political and legal but also economic and administration nature. The latter directly affected the way of organising and controlling of postal services. All postal, telegraph, telephone and radio communication services were transferred under the Czechoslovak Ministry of Post and Telegraph Offices set up on 13 November 1918. The establishment of an independent ministry for communication services that used to be controlled by the Austrian (Cisleithanian) Ministry of Trade was intended to underline their growing social and economic importance and improve their quality.

 The mail coaches were initially used during 1918 for few decades . 

Thanks Alexander for the cover ! 

Czech postcrossing

Received a nice cover today from Czech Republic. The sender had graciously agreed to send me a cover with the Czech postcrossing stamp - and he has also pasted two beautiful rose stamps too ! Cancelled on 25 June 2018 - it reached me on 19 July 2018 . 

The postcard shows a lovely photo of Ostrava - the city of origin of the envelope . 

Issued Sept. 2 -2015, this nondenominated, self-adhesive definitive stamp honors Postcrossing, an international project in which people from around the world send each other postcards.

The design shows three basic steps involved in Postcrossing: writing, sending and receiving postcards.

The large “E” in the upper left indicates that the stamp pays the first-class rate for letters to Europe weighing up to 50 grams, currently 25 koruny.

Maria Noguiera designed the stamp. The Post Printing House in Prague printed it by offset in sheets of 40.

The Czech Republic is the eighth postal administration to issue a stamp promoting Postcrossing

Thanks Roman for the cover and the postcard ! 

P.S: I was wondering - the postboxes of Czech Republic look way different from the one on the stamp ! The postbox looks more like a Portuguese one :) .. I can think of only one reason why it can be so ;)