Hong Kong Museums Collection, Hong Kong

useful or practical items...thats what this Sunday theme is over at Viridian's...with the possibility to of course interpret it widely...and with me that is rather complicated since the more choice you give me, the harder for me it is to decide...if you narrow me to something particular, it goes more easily...so this was no exception...i mean, i could have picked something related to trains since trains are a useful thing (though that depends where you live, cant really say that about ours here :))..anywyas, after browsing through my collections, my choice fell on this Hong Kong cover with a set of six stamps showcasing some of the finest collections in local museums that epitomise Hong Kong's historical and cultural lineage....and if you take a better look all these are useful and practical items, despite being from BC times maybe :)

At the top row, the first $1.40 stamp shows a forehead headdress...looks really nice though im not sure how heavy this actually is with the 'pendants' at the sides. This item can be found at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum.
The $2.40 stamp next to it shows a Silver footed bowl decorated in repousse...it can be found at the HK Museum of Art. 
At the very right is the $2.50 stamp showing a sequined reversible palace costume, which can be found at the HK Heritage Museum.
At the bottom row, first is the $3 stamp showing a green glazed barrel for herbal tea. I like this idea that it is green and intended for herbal tea...i like the connection :) This item can be found at the Dr. &Mrs. Hung Hin Shiu Museum of Chinese Medicine, HKBU. It is the first time I hear such a museum exists. It is situated at the Hong Kong Baptist University. For those who would like to read more about it, just click on the link provided above. You can also do it for the other museums, the links are provided with the Museum name.
Next to it is a $5 stamp showing a baby carrier with head support and can be found at the HK Museum of History.
The last, $1.80 stamp also shows an item that can be found at the HK Museum of History. It is a qipao, which is a one-piece Chinese dress that has been worn since the Manchu ruled China in the 17th century. It is also known under the name of Chenogsam. The stylish and often tight-fitting cheongsam or qipao that is most often associated with today was created in the 1920s in Shanghai and was made fashionable by socialites and upperclass women.

For more useful and practical items, click on the big button below :) And of course, enjoy your Sunday!

Greetings from America, USA

well, today's theme at Viridian's is anything you wish, so I just had to show(read: brag!) this amazing birthday cover that arrived in my mailbox some days ago...ok...it actually didnt arrive in my mailbox since it was too big to fit in, so my dear postman had to hand it in to me :)
This must be one of the most amazing covers I have ever received...all covered with ONE set of stamps! And yeah, it definitely wins the cover with most stamps received contest :)

this set of 50 stamps was issued on April 4 2002 (reissued October 25, 2002), and was the first time a U.S. postage stamp was issued on the same day in every state.
The Greetings from America stamps are reminiscent of the large-letter greetings postcards that vacationing tourists of the 1930s and 1940s sent back home. In addition to the state name, each stamp contains images identified with that state.

Text on the back of each stamp lists the state's bird, flower, tree, and capital, as well as the date the state entered the Union.

It is gonna be way too much to go into details about each and every stamp, so I'll just let you enjoy it visually :)

Thanks a million to dear Bryon for such a thrill! and for actually putting down the effort to stick and line each of these 50 stamps in an alphabetical order!

for some more interesting themes, see what others have picked for today by clicking on this big button below