Cuba!

From my dumpster diving (bargain boxes) at the ASDA on Friday ...

http://www.cubafil.org/MemberPages/.../Slogan.html ... hat tip to Mr Robert Littrell, and his "Machine Slogan Cancellations of the Cuban Republic" page

First up is an FDC, bearing a slogan cancel in use 1940-1955, to be found about 2/3 of the way down Mr Littrell's page as "FDC-1".



https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonza...art%C3%ADnez ... Googling the "Exposicion Tabaco Habana" cachet led me to a 1915 tobacco-themed painting of a tobacco factory in Seville.



The next three covers all bear a slogan cancel (Mr Littrell's #13) honoring the centenary of Carlos Juan Finlay (1833-1915) who "freed the world of yellow fever" (although not entirely by himself):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Finlay



Two AmEx-to-AmEx covers have a pitch on their back flap:









Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Nice find! Wish I could have been there.

Me, too ... though the twins need you, I could have used some advice!

For example, what do we think of hand-drawn stickers?



And who can pass-up those beautiful, engraved Cuban airmail stamps?



Cuba
Catalog codes:
Michel CU 89
Yvert et Tellier CU PA13
Issued on: 1931-08-15
Perforation: 10
Printing: Recess
Colors: Black
Face value: 10 ¢ - Cuban centavo
Print run: 1,000,000

http://www.cubafil.org/MemberPages/.../Slogan.html ... see slogan #13 ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Finlay

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Nice covers. Pity we don't get these at our local Asda (supermarket chain, owned by Walmart)...

Here's a pretty cover with a cool slogan ...

http://www.cubafil.org/MemberPages/.../Slogan.html ... see slogan #6



... and a lovely engraved stamp with a red-not-an-overprint that, due to its placement, is fairly difficult to read:





Cuba
Church of Our Lady of Solitude Camaguey
Catalog codes:
Michel CU 564
Issued on: 1957-12-17
Perforation: 12½
Printing: Recess
Colors: Blue green | Red
Face value: 14 ¢ - Cuban centavo
Print run: 700,000

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

ikeyPikey - By far, year-after-year, you post the most interesting items. KUDOS TO YOU and THANK YOU!

Hal

Thanks, but you need to do a better job of keeping-up with wt1.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey (still dreaming of someday becoming wt2)

I like WT1 posts also. The best part of SCF our the two of your posts.

Hal

Perhaps the edge markings of airmail envelopes deserve their own thread? This one does:



Cuban ciagrs ... right on target!



Cuba
Cigar (Tobacco industry)
Catalog codes:
Michel CU 228
Stamp Number CU 422
Yvert et Tellier CU 316
Issued on: 1948-12-06
Perforation: line 10
Printing: Recess
Size: 26 x 30 mm
Colors: Bright blue
Face value: 5 ¢ - Cuban centavo
Description: Frame size: 22½ x 26 mm

Cuba
Tobacco pickers
Catalog codes:
Michel CU 226
Yvert et Tellier CU 314
Issued on: 1948-12-06
Perforation: line 10
Printing: Recess
Size: 22.5 x 26 mm
Colors: Green
Face value: 1 ¢ - Cuban centavo
Watermark: star
ToDo: measure the stamp to confirm the ID

Cuba
Postal Tax
Construction of the Postal Ministry Building
Catalog codes:
Stamp Number CU RA16
Michel CU Z16
Yvert et Tellier CU 353
Issued on: 1952-02-08
Perforation: line 10
Printing: Recess
Colors: Slate blue
Face value: 1 ¢ - Cuban centavo
Watermark: star

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

When I was a kid, I thought the 'TABACO HABANO' stamp was a very strange design...and today, I still think it is odd. The burning ember on the bull's eye and the rather metallic-looking wisp of smoke give it a strange look in my opinion.

I can't speak to 'metallic', but commercial artists used wisps of smoke to added movement, liveliness, and style to their work ... back in the days when people saw more smoke.

Speaking of which ...

https://goscf.com/t/18882 ... Smokers on Stamps?

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Edited to remove the mind-reading.

"On further review" I think smoke might be one of the biggest challenges for an engraver. How do you accurately depict something which is so strangely translucent/transparent and not make it look like water or broccoli? Stylizing the smoke is certainly one solution. Most designers/artists just leave it off altogether.

The smoke engraving certainly doesn't work on the Ecuadorian stamp with the spectators at the wrestling match.

I've wondered, from time-to-time, about a topical collection which might be called "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts".

These would be engraved stamps with lots of little similar lines adding up to something, be it the wind's effect on smoke, or amber waves of grain, or a generously leafed-out tree, or sand on a beach, or ...

Another one of those "not sure how to define it but I'll know it when I see it" things.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

An ordinary air mail cover from Cienfuegos, Cuba.

The stamp on this cover:

- shows the USS Macon (ZRS-5) overflying the La Concordia Bridge,

- commemorates the opening of the Free Port of Matanzas,

- bears the less-common variety of the BUY CUBAN SUGAR slogan cancel, and

- was postmarked Cienfuegos on 19370622.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Macon_(ZRS-5) ... the airship USS Macon (ZRS-5)

http://www.airships.net/us-navy-rig...-akron-macon ... hobby page for the airship USS Macon (ZRS-5)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWoEQRl8dCs ... video of the USS Macon & Sparrowhawks

http://www.spiegel.de/international...-441035.html ... (2006) Uncovering the USS Macon: The Underwater Airship

http://news.usni.org/2015/08/19/exp...raft-carrier ... (2015) Exploring the Wreck of USS Macon, The Navy's Last Flying Aircraft Carrier

http://www.matanzascity.org/en/brid...ncordia.html ... the La Concordia Bridge, which appears on other stamps from Cuba

http://merrick.library.miami.edu/cd...otos/id/5796 ... a photo of the Free Port of Matanzas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matanzas ... which port hardly rates a mention on the city's Wikipedia page

http://www.cubafil.org/MemberPages/.../Slogan.html ... see slogan #5

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cienfuegos ...

Cienfuegos, The Pearl of the South ... one of several videos of the town



Cuba
Opening of the Free Port of Matanzas
Catalog codes:
Michel CU 114A
Issued on: 1936-05-05
Perforation: 12½
Colors: Orange
Face value: 10 ¢ - Cuban centavo

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

*** Edited by Staff to add YouTube tags. Please use them in the future. We prefer embedded video. ***

Re https://goscf.com/t/46288#400353

It has taken me awhile to understand what is wrong with the Cuban 1957 14c Retirement Fund / Church of Our Lady of Solitude Camaguey stamp (above).

Executive Summary: The red text has been added in the manner of an overprint.

It is as if:

- the black ink guy said "I am engraving a beautiful image, and what you do to make it into a stamp is your problem", and

- the red ink guy said "I am printing in fire-engine-red block letters, so I'll put my text where I want!"

Even if the underlying engraving was taken from some famous piece of art, they could have:

- created some open space in the image in which to place the text items (country, denomination, description), or

- added a vignette to house the text items (country, denomination, description).

Instead, they combined art that makes no accomodation for the coming text with text that obliterates part of the art, resulting in text that is hard to read ... and is even harder to look at.

Q/ Anybody know 'why'?

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

NB: They properly accommodated the second-color-text on the 1955 Retirement Fund airmails & the 1956 Mother's Day airmails - so its not as if they did not know 'how' - but then went on to epic fails with several 1957 airmail stamps.

I have a few ikey. Cuba is the paradise of tourists.