Arches, Columns & Gates On Stamps

Here are some fine looking Columnar Italian Cypress.

ITALY

Scott 935B

Some more columns and arches.

ITALY

Scott 1020

There are two columns in the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) in Venice, Italy. The eastern column is surmounted by a creature representing the winged lion, which is the symbol of St Mark. This figure has a long history, probably starting as a winged lion-griffin on a monument to the god Sandon at Tarsus in Cilicia (Southern Turkey) about 300 BC.

The columns are now thought to have been erected about 1268, when the water was closer and they would have been on the edge of the lagoon, framing the entry to the city from the sea. Gambling was permitted in the space between the columns and this right was said to have been granted as a reward to the man who first raised the columns. Public executions also took place between the columns.

Here is an image of a stamp depicting St. Mark's Square, with the eastern column in the left foreground, after a painting by Bernardo Bellotto (ca. 1721/2-1780), a Venetian urban landscape painter or vedutista, engraved by Jean Pheulpin, and issued by Monaco on April 27, 1972, Scott No. 835, plus a contemporary photo of the columns from a reverse angle.

- nethryk

Spain

Scott 1787

MONASTERY OF SANTO DOMINGO DE SILOS, BURGOS
Romanesque cloister

SPAIN
Scott 1998


Spanish Parliament building housing the Cortes Generales,
the legislature of Spain.

Notice the fine neo-classical columns topped by Corinthian
capitals.

Here is an image of a stamp depicting the Gate of France, Vaucouleurs, designed and engraved by Gabriel-Antoine Barlangue, and issued by France on May 11, 1952, Scott No. 676, Y&T No. 921, plus a photo of the Gate. Historical note: Joan of Arc stayed in Vaucouleurs for several months during 1428 and 1429 while she sought permission to visit the royal court of Charles VII of France.

- nethryk

Searching through my accumulation led me to discover this 1931 French stamp with the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
What better reason to reopen this thread?

Jamesw .....and your searching caused me to search through my albums looking for that one hoping I had it. No such luck but I still have envelopes and stuff to check.

Don't hurt yourself looking too hard, cynical. You're welcome to this one if you want it.

James - just noted your post and I thank you for your kind offer, however, my days of adding to my collection are over. Spurred on by posts from Nethryk, Lithograving and others such as yourself I now spend a lot of my time scurrying through my collection and my old catalogues to see if I have a stamp to represent the posted images. Some of the stamps I haven't seen for years. Nethryk's recent post of Andorra's Bridge of St. Anthony (Andorra French Administration Scott#34) sent me off on another chase just this morning. Straightening out my Andorra stamps between the two administrations (Spanish and French) will now occupy my time for a few evenings this winter.

Same here cynical. Even though there are lots of stamps I wish I had,
I haven't bought anything for awhile.

I enjoy going through my stuff, looking at stamps and covers which haven't seen
the light of day for many a year. Also scanning has added another
dimension to collecting since I now notice detail which I had never seen before.

Take care old stamp buddy.

Litho: thanks for the kind words. The scans on here shifted my appreciation of the stamps that I do have to a higher gear. I was a bit jaded about many sets of my own country's stamps but that all changed when I saw the large-scale scanned engraved stamps and could appreciate the artistic and creative talent that went in to making them.

lithograving & cynical - I hear you! My appreciation of the stamps in my collection has also increased greatly since I first began scanning and posting them online almost one year ago. This technology is undoubtedly a major boon for all stamp collectors, and particularly for collectors of engraved stamps. - nethryk

Ok. Here is my contribution.

Litho, I did not wanted to sound negative with my remark that sometimes I wished I could say things. That also could be a too much of a good comment. Your communication is appreciated.

Heidelberg. I left my heart (half of it) in Heidelberg (German song)
the other half I lost in San Francisco.

The Bab Chorfa (Gate of Nobles) in Fez, Morocco was built in 1069 AD; it is the gate of the Kasbah Nouar (Blossoms Fortress). Here is an image of a stamp depicting the Bab Chorfa, designed by Africanist and illustrator Alexandre Delpy, engraved by Jules Piel, and issued for use in French Morocco in 1955, Scott No. 316, SG No. 453.

- nethryk