The 100th Anniversary of Alfa Romeo, Italy

Well it would be my first time to do a Sunday Stamps on a Monday, and I almost kinda skipped it since this time I didn't even manage to do a scheduled post but, being that this is the beginning of another A-Z round, I just didn't want to miss the first post, so here I am with my A for this third round....

... and this time A stands for this set of Alfa Romeo stamps, issued by the Italian post on 20th March 2010, commemorating the 100 years since the foundation of the company. I'm pretty sure you all are familiar with this car, while for the details, I'm totally ignorant myself. And this goes with just any car brand, where unless I see the name of the car, I cannot really tell if something is a Honda or a Hyndai or a Ford... I'm just totally helpless!

Anyways, speaking of Alfa-Romeo here, founded by Frenchman Alexandre Darracq on 24 June 1910, in Milan. The brand is known for sporty vehicles and has been involved in car racing since 1911.

The stamp on the left shows the ALFA 24 HP, 4.1-litre four-cylinder passenger car, introduced in 1910, the year ALFA was founded, and produced until 1914 in ALFA's Portello factory near Milan. The model's name comes from its tax horsepower rating, then frequently used as vehicle designation.

The stamp on the right shows the Giulietta is a five-door, small family car officially revealed at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.  It is current top Alfa sales with about 40,000 cars per year. (I don't think this was the case back in 2010 when this stamp was issued though).


Alfa Romeo's logo (seen on the vignette) incorporates two heraldic devices traditionally associated with its birthplace, the city of Milan: a red cross, from the emblem of Milan, and the biscione, a crowned viper swallowing a Moor—emblem of the House of Visconti, rulers of the city in the 14th century.

So, cheers to another A-Z round and feel free to check out the rest of the great A's :)

Vintage and Classic Cars of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka

time for another Sunday Stamps episode...this time with the theme of cars...
I was actually surprised to realize how much material I have for today's post, but my decision fell on this FDC eventually, simply cos I realized I have never posted anything Sri Lankan before, so now it was a good opportunity :)

these four commemorative stamps were issued on October 28, 2011, showing Vintage and Classic Motor Cars, with the face value of 5.00 Rs each.
A leaflet with the stamps' information came inside the FDC, so I'll use that as my source today.

And the stamps go as follows:

- top left stamp shows an Austin 12 from 1928, which was Sir Herbert Austin's second model after WWI. It had a 1861 cc four cylinder engine with four-speed manual transmission. It remained in production until 1939, enjoying success throughout and recording peak annual sales in 1927.

- the top right stamp shows a Rolls Royce 20/25 from 1934 - One of the last two designs by the celebrated engineer Sir Henry Royce, before he passed away in 1933, the Rolls Royce 20/25 as introduced in 1929. It had a 3699 cc straight-6 cylinder and four-speed transmission with synchromesh on top two gears. Its gearbox came in one unit together with the engine. It could achieve 120km/h. Production ended in 1936 with 3,827 units made.

- the bottom left stamp shows a Jaguar ss 100 from 1937 - One of the most aesthetically appealing Jaguar cars, the ss100 was introduced in 1936. It was designed by Sir William Lyons. It was a two-seater sports car with a 2663 cc straight-6 engine. Its four speed gearbox had synchromesh on top three gears. The ss100 was capable of 153km/h. A rare car with only 314 units ever built, including the 3485 cc version introduced in 1938. Production ended in 1940.

the last stamp, the bottom right one, shows a Morris Minor from 1949 - Sir Alec Issigonis' revolutionary creation, Morris Minor, was introduced in 1948. Compared to other cars of its time, the Morris Minor excelled as a roomy car with superior handling. In 1961 the Morris Minor became the first British car to sell over one million units. It had a 918 cc four-cylinder side-valve engine. It had four-speed manual transmission with synchromesh on top three gears. It could reach approximately 100km/h


well, I hope you  are more familiar with cars and stuff, cos honestly, all that cylinder/synchromesh/cc kind of stuff is sc-fi for me :)

For more drives around the planet, click on the link below...and enjoy your Sunday :)

Send a Hello, USA

what a better way to greet you at the start of the new week, if not with these adorable stamps issued by USPS....so, Im sending a hello to all of you around the world and hope you have a fantastic and fruitful week ahead!

I fell for this issue, the moment I received a postcard with the "UP" stamp....I absolutely love that cartoon and i was so excited to have received it on a stamp...when it arrived on a cover, along with the rest of the stamps in the set, i was über-excited!!! And believe it or not, I have this fantastic set on 3 covers, where the one above and the one below, arrived on the very same day :D For the cover above, and the third one (which arrived a bit later), Bryon is to blame! For the cover in the middle, Patrick is to blame

the funny thing is, all covers have the stamps in the same order! I guess thats how they are sold :)

a few words about the stamps included here (how USPS described their issuing)

- Since 1986, the films of Pixar Animation Studios have stretched the boundaries of our imagination with stories about unlikely heroes who explore the bonds of friendship and family. Now some of those heroes are the subjects of colorful new Send a Hello (Forever®) stamps that encourage people to connect with loved ones through the mail. These new stamps capture the delight of finding a letter, greeting card, or package waiting in your mailbox. It puts a shine on the rest of the day-even before you've opened it. Despite all the ways we communicate with friends and family today, there's still nothing as personal as knowing someone took time to choose a card … write a letter … wrap a package … and even choose a special stamp simply to "Send a Hello"

-(dont you just recognize yourself as a postcrosser in the description above? I certainly do, coz one of my favourite moments of the day is when I find something in my mailbox, and see that someone has taken his/her time to choose a nice card for me, to choose the stamps, to write me a a nice message, to find something he/she knows I would like and send it to me to surprise me....the moments of the day when I go around the stores, finding nice cards and then coming home and see what to send to whom...finding a matching stamp or stamp(s) i know the recipient would love....the moments of going to the PO or to the philately and buy bunch of stamps, making sure there something in that pile for everyone's taste and preferences, finding that perfect card for someone and just jump around of excitement, wondering what the expression on their faces would be when they find that card as a total surprise in the mail.....)

Yup, those are definitely some of my favourite times of the day/week/month!

the following characters have been featured on the stamps (from left to right)

* Lightning McQueen and Mater from Cars (2006)
* Remy the rat and Linguini from Ratatouille (2007)
* Buzz Lightyear and two of the green, three-eyed aliens from Toy Story (1995)
* Carl Fredricksen and Dug from Up (2009)
* the robot WALL•E from WALL•E (2008)

 technical details:

 Date of issue: 19 August 2011
Denomination: First-Class Forever
Type of Issue: Commemorative Stamp
Format: Pane
Manufacturing Process: Gravure
Paper Type: Nonphosphored, Type III,
Block Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Stamp Size: 31.12 x 31.12 mm


thanks so much to Bryon and Patrick for these!!! I LOVE them!! And thanks to ALL of YOU who had ever sent me a card or a letter or anything and made my day happier and brighter! This post is dedicated to you all!!!

Motoring - 55 Years of "Zastava 750"

A Fantastic FDC from Serbia....which many older people (from this part of the world)  will probably find it sentimental, remembering the good old days, when whole families would pack themselves in this card and drive hundreds of kilometres for their summer vacations....the legendary Zastava 750, or as widely known here, Fićo!

In 1955, in SFR Yugoslavia started the production of "zastava 750", more popular under the name of "fića".
This vehicle was largely derived from Fiat 600 D, which had at first an engine of 633 cc, and later of 767 cc with 23 to 27 HP.
Although intended for the transportation of smaller passengers on shorter distances, whole families have used it to travel from one side of the country to another, in order to visit their relatives.
Some time earlier, Fiat's general engineer. dr. Dante Giacosa (1905-1996), got the task to construct a small vehicle which would enable comfortable driving  of four passengers. He succeeded to create the Fiat 600, which was, according to many, the most successful and most popular Fiat of all times. Shorter than his predecessor for 130 mm, this Fiat was a miniature four-seat vehicle with two doors. It had a four cylinder engine of 633 cc with 16kw, placed behind the rear axle, with an independent shock absorber setup on all wheels. The whole vehicle weighed only 585 kg.
Fiat 600 instantly won the hearts of many drivers so that five years after the car's launch, the millionth "600" was produced.
Definitevly "fića" had a crucial role in the Yugoslavian motoring. This car was used as a police car, an ambulance, for military needs, and in driving centres. In April 2000, at the Motor Show in Belgrade, "zastava 750" (the popular "fića"), was declared to be the car of the century and millennium, according to the opinion of the Serbian drivers.

Well, you know what they say, Best things come in small packages :)))))))))))
Our family never had a fićo....and i feel like i am missing a great part of history coz of that.
Even nowadays in the streets here, you can see these cars on the street...people who have them, often cant give them up....sentiments :)