Morse Code And Keypunch Tape On Stamps

I lived through it Tomoko, as a Real Estate Agent, the pager (at the time) was brilliant technology.

My computer at the time (Green screen) could list about 100 stamps, then run out of memory.

Yes, Rod - the pager!!

I didn't use it, but know of many people in Japan who had and being controlled by. I remember huge mobile phone (size of a shoe box) started to be on board in their car when Estate Agents became rich in Tokyo (late 1980s to early 1990s). And the discussion we heard, the computers make your reproduction organs weak (thus apron with lead) and the "mobile phone will harm you" (well, they did and still do) arguments. I didn't find any stamp with the page, but here is an early mobile phone;

Israel
2000 ( I wonder what it says on the little screen...?)





Yes, I made a very simple rendering of a building on CG, press a key to calculate it and left for overnight - and it was still not completed in the next morning... that was in 1990.

I notice this French stamp with Morse key is not shown here yet!!

France
17 May 1965 / Centenary of International Telecommunications Union / design & engrave: A. Decaris

And I got this recently, from the same year, same theme as above, with Morse key.

French Somali Coast
17 May 1965 / AIR ITU Centenary / design & engrave: J. Combet

Cool coloured key punch tape and symbol of the event.

Portugal
1983 / World Communication Year

Same year and celebrating the same event;

Czechoslovakia
30 September 1983 / World Communication Year: Ilyshin II-62, envelopes & punched tape / design: I. Strnad, engrave: J. Mrácek

I love the stamp from Israel a few posts back of a cell phone made of cactus thorns. I wish I could enable that feature when the kids overrun their screen time for the day. Steve Jobs, are you listening?



Google Translate says "Mobile Personal Communication / International Communication Day".

Back on-topic, in the early 2000's Jay Leno had a contest between a super-fast teen texter on a T9 flip phone versus a guy doing morse code, and obviously the morse coder won. :-)

Thank you! ZebraMan for your assist on translating the text on the monitor of 'harsh' mobile phone. I am surprised that was not warning your health, but celebrating it with those thorns...



That is amazing! But by now, with audible or AI assisting words to type, maybe the morse code master has no chance to win..

This one below is showing early words of on-line (in 1977 - did they really have the service then?), and key of bank safe is depicted together with key punch tapes.

Singapore
1977 / Post Office Saving Bank: On-line Banking Service

Square punches on tape... I guess this is for some sort of telecommunications? SG catalogue does not give me a clue.

Bulgaria
23 July 1965 / Balkanphila Stamp Exhibition, Varna / design: St. Kunchev

Rectangular punches on tape - these two from Netherlands are showing that this system with corner of paper off are used for data analysis, such as census. Anyone knows the name of this system?

Netherlands
16 January 1968 / Memorial seal: postal cheque and giro service / design: P. Zwart



16 February 1971 / Fourteenth Census / design: Dienst voor Esthetische

Are you sure those are rectangular holes on tape and not on card? Punch cards (Wikipedia Punched Cards: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punched_card ) with rectangular holes were commonly used for the census or voting machines.

Thanks for all great scans!!

Thank you, ZebraMan - oh yes, Punch Cards!! Great snaps in the article and I learnt a lot, understand now why you need the corner-off, and that detail is already seen in 1920s! Amazing piece of history.

Here are very typical census cards, nicely mounted into stamp designs.

Portugal
1981 / National Census

Thank you, Eli for your message!
I have more Traditional Hairdos And Headdresses to feature .

By the way, my images are from photos, shooting with tripods, and not scans. I am thinking to get small scanner for stamps, though..