Thematic : Umbrellas On Stamps.

Both poles protected under one big umbrella! A beautiful souvenir sheet featuring also a few polar animals, especially the young. Azerbaijan 2009

The Hugendubel Company still makes umbrellas (Schirm) in Stuttgart. Maybe they can substitute for a sail if necessary. The sign posted in the tram shows a conductor reminding the passengers not forget their Hugendubel. (Eingetragene Schutzmarke, Marque Deposse = registered trademark)

Kenting Beach near Kenting National Park at the southern tip of the Island of Taiwan is much more crowded than the stamp (2011) might suggest - when the weather is good.

The long, sandy beaches of Vietnam are very popular today - the stamp was issued in 1988, when tourism was beginning to increase.

The Kaiser company has been making cough drops for over 130 years. They issued advertising cinderellas way back during the first decades of the past century. The company isn't far from here and I can get the drops at the grocery store next door. The three spruce trees logo indicates their closeness to the Black Forest and the lady at the left is wearing a local traditional costume.

Seems that Private Post companies, are not beholden to the UPU ? directive to have the year of production on stamps.

Hi Rod, Hi Alexey, The situation with the Private Post companies in Germany is quite confusing - companies come and go, most have a license but no connection to the UPU. They do local business but you can imagine that their stamps usually cannot carry a letter beyond the reach of their own mailmen. The stamps are often pretty, but not really recognized among traditional collectors, unless you make a special topic of them. (I found a scan of the Cannstatter stamps on the web.)

(Comment: I hope the 'extras' on this thread will not upset those collectors who prefer to stay with official issues. K.)

I think not, moreover, I'd suggest it would answer questions raised by collectors of this discipline.
Thematic exhibiting, would no doubt have rules for this.
Paint with a broad brush, and let the individual decide?

PS: Thanks for the explanation, Kris.

I do not see anything complicated with private mail. Stamps are used for postal purposes, stamps are cataloged by the Michel catalog. For me, Stamperia's issues are less likely to be called the postage stamps.
    In Russia, until 1917, there were local own issues: Zemsky Post (Land Post). The stamps of these editions are the most prestigious and expensive direction in collecting

Gibraltar celebrated 50 years after the referendum with several nice stamps featuring the Queen and with a small set of stamps showing scenes of the city; here a couple strolling with a parasol. 2017

(Hello Alexey, I didn't mean that the system of private post companies is complicated, only that it can be confusing - they will take local deliveries, but not if a letter or package needs to go outside of the region they cover or to another country. And one must use their mailboxes which are sometimes hard to find or far away. By the way, the Cannstatt festival is still fun. Greetings! K.)

The Union of Burma - now Myanmar, lasted from the end of the 40s to the beginning of the 60s. The 6th Buddhist Council was attended by many monks from different countries. Buddhist umbrellas are usually beautifully decorated. 1954; the structure in the background might be a sacred cave.

The Japanese painter K Hokusai (1760-1849) was honored on a stamp of Bhutan in 1999, 150 years after his death. And just for good measure, another lovely work of art by this master, "A Couple in the Snow".

Thailand issued stamps in 2012 for the Bangkok International Exhibition of 2013. One of them shows brightly-colored paper umbrellas.

The Expo 75 was a World's Fair held on the island of Okinawa in Japan, 1975. The theme of the expo was the oceans, and focused on oceanographic technologies, marine life, and oceanic cultures. The motto was "The sea we would like to see". The Geisha's umbrella is a particularly elaborate one. The grey object represents a communications satellite.