The Collecting Adventure

The Pleasure of Collecting.

African Ethnic Stamps and Postcards

A Ethnic view of Africa. The Richness and Beauty of African Culture and People.

Germany - History On Stamps

100 years of German History told in Stamps, Letters and Postcards.

French Stamps

The Culture and the History of France in Stamps.

The Virtual Art Museum

The Art in Stamps. Painting, Sculpture and Art Personalities in a Virtual Philatelic Museum.

Jan 18, 2014

Will be back soon! - Regressaremos em breve!


 At the moment we are working hard on our mountaineering blog, with the catalogation of over 20,000 photographs of our adventures and technical sheets of our hiking, biking and climbing routes.

Will be back soon to continue our work in this philatelic blog
probably with new blogs (the return of "GermanyOnStamps" and "The France Stamps" blogs).

Will be back soon!


De momento estamos a trabalhar arduamente no nosso blog de montanhismo, com a catalogação de mais de 20.000 fotografias das nossas aventuras e Fichas Técnicas dos nossos percursos pedestres, btt e escalada.

Voltaremos em breve para continuar a trabalhar neste blog filatélico provavelmente com novos blogs (o regresso dos blogs
"GermanyOnStamps" e "The France Stamps").

Regressaremos em breve!

Sep 22, 2013

Germany on Stamps: Belgian Occupation of German East Africa


Postcard from the belgian occupation of Ruanda-Urundi (German East Africa), during World War I. One 10ct postcard from 1916 to 1922.

Postal da ocupação belga no Ruanda-Urundi (África Oriental Alemã), durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial. Um postal de 10ct emitido entre 1916 e 1922.


Germany on Stamps: Belgian Occupation of German East Africa


 Postcards from the belgian occupation of Ruanda-Urundi (German East Africa), during World War I. Two 5ct postcards from 1916 to 1922.

Postais da ocupação belga no Ruanda-Urundi (África Oriental Alemã), durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial. Dois postais de 5ct emitidos entre 1916 e 1922.




Aug 24, 2013

Stamps of France: Jean-Jacques Renouard

 JEAN-JACQUES RENOUARD

(24 June 1607 – 5 March 1691)




Jean-Jacques Renouard, seigneur de Villayer, born in Nantes and died in Paris, France, was a member of the French Conseil d'État, which had been delegated special legal authorities by the absolutist reigning King Louis XIV.

In 1653 as the tenant of the Paris City Post, Renouard de Villayer ordered letter boxes to be set up at different places in Paris. Letters, prepaid with a uniform postage of 1 sol, could be put in these boxes and were then delivered inside of the city within the same day.

The receipts (billet de port payé), which were issued for this purpose and had to be attached to the letters as postage, are considered to be early precursors of the postage stamp. There are no examples still existing today. The so-called Petite Poste was an economic failure, but was later successfully imitated in other European cities (for example by the London Penny Post as of 1680).

In 1659, Renouard de Villayer became a member of the Académie française, succeeding Abel Servien.

In 1944, the family coat-of-arms of Renouard de Villayer was depicted on a commemorative stamp by the French post on the occasion of the Day of the Postage Stamp.

Stamps of France: Saint-Denis Cathedral

CATHEDRAL OF SAINT-DENIS





The Cathedral of Saint-Denis, French: Cathédrale royale de Saint-Denis, or simply Basilique Saint-Denis (previously the Abbaye de Saint-Denis) is a large medieval abbey church in the commune of Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. The abbey church was created a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis. The building is of unique importance historically and architecturally.

Founded in the 7th century by Dagobert I on the burial place of Saint Denis, a patron saint of France, the church became a place of pilgrimage and the burial place of the French Kings, nearly every king from the 10th to the 18th centuries being buried there, as well as many from the previous centuries. It was not used for the coronations of kings, this role being designated to the Cathedral of Reims; however, queens were commonly crowned there.

"Saint-Denis" soon became the abbey church of a growing monastic complex. In the 12th century the Abbot Suger rebuilt portions of the abbey church using innovative structural and decorative features that were drawn from a number of other sources. In doing so, he is said to have created the first truly Gothic building.

The basilica's 13th century nave is also the prototype for the Rayonnant Gothic style, and provided an architectural model for cathedrals and abbeys of northern France, England and other countries.


Jul 28, 2013

Stamps of France: Chartres Cathedral

 CHARTRES CATHEDRAL





The French medieval Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, is a cathedral located in Chartres, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southwest of Paris, is considered one of the finest examples of the French Gothic style. The current cathedral, mostly constructed between 1193 and 1250, is one of at least five which have occupied the site since the town became a bishopric in the 4th century.


What makes the cathedral special from an artistic viewpoint is its exceptional state of preservation. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century. Overall, the building has more than 150 medieval stained glass windows, most of the thirteenth century, providing a magnificent lighting effect inside the temple.

The west front, called Royal Portico, is especially important due to a series of sculptures of the mid-12th century. The main entrance contains a magnificent relief of Jesus Christ glorified. The transept is organized around images of the New Testament, which tell the Last Judgment, while the opposite doorway, is dedicated to the Old Testament and the advent of Christ and stands the impressive quality of the sculptural group dedicated to the Creation.

The interior impresses both by the 37 meters in height that reaches the nave, as the harmony and elegant proportions, although, unfortunately, has already lost most of the original statues (the altarpiece of the Crucifixion was demolished in the 18th century).

Since at least the 12th century the cathedral has been an important destination for travellers - and remains so to this day - attracting large numbers of Christian pilgrims, many of whom come to venerate its famous relic, the "Sancta Camisa", said to be the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary at Christ's birth, as well as large numbers of secular tourists who come to see this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stamps of France: Beauvais Cathedral

BEAUVAIS CATHEDRAL






The Cathedral of Saint Peter of Beauvais, in French: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais - is an incomplete Roman Catholic cathedral located in Beauvais, in northern France. It is the seat of the Bishop of Beauvais. In some respects, it's the most daring achievement of Gothic architecture, and consists only of a transept of the 16thcentury and choir, with apse and seven polygonal apsidal chapels, from the 13th century.


At first, the cathedral was going to be a symbol of French unity and a masterpiece of architecture. But as the project moved forward, people fell out of favor, money became tight, and priorities changed. Later the cathedral project was reinvigorated.

Under Bishop Guillaume de Grez, an extra 4.9 metres (16 feet) was added to the height, to make it the tallest cathedral in Europe. The vaulting in the interior of the choir reaches 48 metres in height, far surpassing the concurrently constructed Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Amiens, with its 42 metres (138 ft.) nave. But in 1248, the choir section collapsed and the nave was never completed.

However, large-scale Gothic design continued, and the choir was rebuilt at the same height, albeit with more columns in the chevet and choir. The transept was built from 1500 to 1548.

In 1573, the fall of a too-ambitious 153 metres central tower stopped work again. The tower would have made the church the second highest structure in the world at the time, after St. Olaf's church, in Tallinn, Estonia.

Jun 28, 2013

Germany on Stamps: Third Reich Postcards

Four new Third Reich postcards from 1937. Partial "Reichsparteitag in Nürnberg" set.

 Quatro novos postais do Terceiro Reich emitidos em 1937. Parte da série com a temática "Reichsparteitag in Nürnberg".











Jun 17, 2013

Germany on Stamps: New Third Reich Postcards



Two Third Reich postcards from Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Dois postais do Terceiro Reich, comemorativos dos Jogos Olímpicos de Inverno em Garmisch-Partenkirchen.







Jun 10, 2013

Germany On Stamps: Belgian Occupation of German East Africa at WWI





Those Postcards are from the belgian occupation of Ruanda-Urundi (German East Africa) during World War I. Three 5ct postcards from 1916/22.

Estes Postais são da ocupação belga no Ruanda-Urundi (África Oriental Alemã) durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial. Três postais de 5ct emitidos entre 1916/22.