Birds Perched, Birds Flying, Birds Aground

Good to know. I'd assume two different artists would be involved on covers, so thats good news, as some of my favorite sets I'd like to get covers on. The cachet on this example is very nice!

French West Africa #C13 featuring Great Egrets (Ardea alba), engraved by Pierre Gandon and issued in 1947. I've chosen to show here the stamp as issued (corner block), an example of a gross misperf, an artist's die proof, a maximum card and example on cover.






The last item is a bit of a mystery. It's a small format proof of the stamp in final issued color. I'm not sure if it's complete, or possibly a cut down version (for some reason) of the deluxe proof. No signs of embossing, security punch holes or other markings. My research continues on this one.

gnstamps80, if you're still reading this thread, here is the British Guyana toucan stamp I was talking about earlier. I don't know my British empire stamps so I can't say who engraved this one (maybe someone else can provide that info). Scott #265 from 1954.

I've shown this poster stamp in another thread, but thought I'd throw it on here as well, since it has both flamingos and a cockatoo... and I think it's pretty cool. "Collect the stamps of the French colonies", with the logo of the Ligue Maritime et Coloniale or French Maritime and Colonial League. Engraved by Charles Mazelin.

I haven't seen any other copies but am willing to bet it exists in other colors.

1 22-11-1938

8-10-1953

NSK what is the story behind these last 2 Netherlands stamps you posted ?
Scott only notes it is a crow in flight.

My old Michel EUROPA mentions something about a first flight to South Africa
8.12.1938 for the 100th Anniversary of the Voortrekkers (Dutch settlers).

As the stamps say: they were valid only for airmail carried on special flights. Here is the first one of such stamps from 1933: https://goscf.com/t/90026&whichpage=1#836295/ The 12½ cent stamp has a few varieties from later releases. The postal authorities would announce the flights for which the stamps could be used.


from: lampion.nu website

There have been five "Bijzondere Vluchten" issues.

Thanks for the update NSK.

In your post above the 12½ c you have written 12-11-1938
Is that the issue date?

In my 1968 Michel Europa it shows November 22 1938 date of issue.



Which is it?

Incidentally, Kjell Scharning's "Theme Birds on Stamps" website (which I highly recommend, although I wasn't able to paste a working link to the site) identifies this as a Carrion Crow (Corvus corone).

Good stuff Nils

Actually next to eagles and falcons, crows are my favourite birds
But for dinner I like chicken, turkey or duck.

[q]In your post above the 12½ c you have written 12-11-1938
Is that the issue date?

In my 1968 Michel Europa it shows November 22 1938 date of issue.[/]

You are correct. That was a typo I made when scanning the stamp and naming the file. The NVPH Speciale Catalogus, also, gives 22-11-2938 as issue date.

It is a crow that is common to the Netherlands. It is called "zwarte kraai" here. It translates into black crow.

12-11-1951
Airmail
Seagull over a collage of Dutch landscapes.

When airmail routes were re-established after the war, the tariffs were very high. Machine parts being shipped by air, mainly to to the USA, would require affixing a large number of stamps. These two stamps were issued so fewer stamps could be used.

Algeria #C8 and #C10, released in 1949 (the 50F on 3/7 and the 200F on 11/16) featuring White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) flying over a mosque, designed and engraved by Pierre Gandon. I've chosen to show here both stamps as issued (imperf), a workshop die proof in magenta for the 50F, a signed artist's die proof for the 200F, and the deluxe proofs for each.

The magenta would have been a wild color to use.