February 2018 - Sneak Peek

GREECE
CHRISTMAS
On December 5, Greece
issued a strip of four
whimsical Christmas
stamps showing children
decorating animals – a
bear, penguin, deer and
squirrel – in a woodsy
scene. Yes, that IS a penguin
in the woods!
RUSSIA
NEW YEAR
AND SOCCER
Russia, on December 1,
issued its annual New
Year stamps, promoting
this year’s World Cup
soccer tournament, which
will be held this summer
in Russia. Three designs
show the tournament’s
mascot – Zabivaka – playing
soccer against a starry
night sky.
ROMANIA
POISONOUS
CREATURES
On December 7, Romania
issued a set of four
stamps, called the Most
Poisonous Creatures,
featuring animals whose
stings and bites are
dangerous and possibly
deadly. Featured are the
golden poison frog along
with the southern blueringed
octopus, the box
jellyfish and the desert
taipan.
LUXEMBOURG
CARS OF YESTERYEAR
On December 5, Luxembourg
released four
new semipostal (charity)
stamps in the fourth
edition of its Cars of Yesteryear
series, including
a Packard Standard 833,
which was delivered to
Buenos Aires, Argentina
in 1931.
ARMENIA
HISTORICAL CAPITALS
On December 12, Armenia
issued stamps honoring
two of its capitals
- Kars and Shirakavan.
An antique map showing
10th-century Kars appears
on one stamp.
CROATIA
CENTENARY OF MEDI-
CINE AT U. OF ZAGREB
On December 4, Croatia
issued a stamp celebrating
the 100th anniversary of
the founding of the medical
faculty at the University
of Zagreb. The stamp
shows a bas-relief sculpture,
Medicina (Medicine;
prior to 1920), by Robert
Frangeš-Mihanović,
which can be found at the
Croatian Institute of History
in Zagreb.
THE NETHERLANDS
ABSTRACT ARTIST
On December 15, The Netherlands issued a block of
four stamps featuring artworks of Peter Riezebos (b.
1980), a Dutch artist now based in Shanghai, China.
The block appears on four souvenir sheets, each with
one of the featured artworks as background selvage.
Riezebos is a high school dropout and self-taught artist
who specializes in the abstract and
neo-expressionism.
NEW
WORLDWIDE
STAMPS
A quick peek at stamps issued in
December from ten different countries
around the world.
FRANCE
CABINETMAKER
André Charles Boulle
is considered one of the
greatest cabinetmakers
of all time. With a strong
inventiveness, he also had
many talents as draftsman,
bronzier, cabinetmaker.
The stamp, issued December
15, shows a small
cabinet table by Boulle.
CROATIA
ARTISTS
On December 1, Croatia
issued three stamps
featuring artworks from
native artists Robert Auer
(1873-1952), Ivan Tišov
(1870-1928) and Ferdo
Kavačević (1870-1927),
a founder of societies,
including the Society of
Croatian Arts.
ISRAEL
ROMAN INFLUENCE
On December 19, Israel
issued three stamps (only
one shown) with tabs
depicting the influence
of ancient Rome in the
region. Shown are gladiators
fighting and a lion
in an amphitheater, a
theatrical performance
and a chariot race in a
hippodrome. The tabs
show these areas as ruins.
CZECH REPUBLIC
POSTAL HISTORY
The Czech Republic, on December 13, issued a souvenir
sheet celebrating the nation’s postal history. The two
stamps feature portraits of two pioneers in Czech postal
services: Jiří Stříbrný and Maxmilián Fatka. Stříbrný
(1880–1955) was a politician, journalist, member of
the first resistance movement and served as a government
member several times. Fatka (1868–1962) was
a civil servant, politician and the first director general
of Czechoslovak Post, from 1918 to 1935. The selvage
includes images of postal services drawn from history,
including a stagecoach, train and early and modern
postal carriers.
FEBRUARY 2018 / AMERICAN PHILATELIST 199