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Maximum Cards of Ancient Chinese Paintings Postage Stamps: “Syzygy of the Sun, Moon, and the Five Planets (set of 6) (Taiwan)
Such a long title — and we have even abbreviated it — for a nice set of six maximum cards, of which our scan shows you two. Issued on 11 November 2020 by Chunghwa Post, and with a cardboard cover. And in case you didn’t know the word “syzygy” (we sure didn’t), Wikipedia tells us it means “In astronomy, a syzygy is a roughly straight-line configuration of three or more celestial bodies in a gravitational system.” Grade: 1
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Afro-Caribbean Museum of Panama
This unused card could qualify as an ad, or not, because the message area is full of a bilingual explanation of the history of the structure. It looks like the church it was. Grade: 1
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Bucharest, National Village Museum “Dimitrie Gusti”, Lugoj costume (Romania)
The first in a series of high-quality, glossy, unused cards showing folk costumery at Bucharest’s National Village Museum. This one, of Lugoj and from the late 19th century, according to our source Tatiana “reaches a very special index of sumptuousness and pomp, because here the gold and silver thread is the one that gives … a note of nobility and wealth that we do not find in other parts of the country”. Grade: 1
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Bucharest, National Village Museum “Dimitrie Gusti”, Maramureș costume
Continuing a series of high-quality, glossy, unused cards showing folk costumery at Bucharest’s National Village Museum. This one is of Maramureș and from the early 20th century. According to Tatiana, “folk costumes from this area are real clothing art because all the pieces … are made entirely in the house, and … made of technical plants such as hemp and flax”. Grade: 1
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Bucharest, National Village Museum “Dimitrie Gusti”, Orăștie costumes (Romania)
Continuing a series of high-quality, glossy, unused cards showing folk costumery at Bucharest’s National Village Museum. These are of Orăștie, in Hunedoara County of southwestern Transylvania (once the site of an old swamp), and from the early 20th century. Grade: 1
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Bucharest, National Village Museum “Dimitrie Gusti”, Muscel costume (Romania)
Another unused card in the series of costumes at Bucharest’s National Village Museum. This one shows an example from Muscel, dating from the early 20th century. Two cards are available. Grades: 1
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Bucharest, National Village Museum “Dimitrie Gusti”, Romanați costumes (Romania)
Another in our series of unused cards of costumes in Bucharest’s National Village Museum, here is one of a pair of Romanați examples from the late 19th century. Grade: 1
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Bucharest, National Village Museum “Dimitrie Gusti,” Câmpulung Moldovenesc costume (Romania)
Refer to earlier, similar entries about cards like these. This unused one, of folkwear from Câmpulung Moldovenesc, the port of Bucovina, illustrates elaborate examples from the late 19th century. Grade: 1
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Bucharest, National Village Museum “Dimitrie Gusti,” Vrancea costume (Romania)
Refer to earlier, similar entries about cards like these. This unused one, of folkwear from Vrancea, shows an example from the late 19th century. Our friend Tatiana has provided an explanation of the origin and construction of these outfits as richly complex as the items themselves. Trust us, there’s a lot going into these. Two cards are available. Grades: 1
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Bucharest, National Village Museum “Dimitrie Gusti,” Oaș costume (Romania)
As with other, similar cards in this series, this unused one shows early 20th-century folk costume examples, from Oaș, The Ossetian port. Tataiana’s explanation of the history and evolution of these is phenomenal, and we can only imagine how critical such clothing and adornments were/are to the culture. Worthy of a graduate seminar! Grade: 1
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Vila Minovici, Bucharest (Romania)
More contemporary (2007) postcard of an old view of Vila Minovici, now a museum. Brief history: “The Dr. Nicolae Minovici Museum was the first dedicated to folk art in Bucharest. Inaugurated in 1906, “the national art museum” first functioned as a private institution. The Dr. Nicolae Minovici villa is one of the first neo-Romanian constructions in Bucharest, built between 1905 and 1906.” Unused. Grade: 1
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Vicksburg, Mississippi, multiple views (USA)
Unused Jenkins Enterprises card MS-345 showing the courthouse, museum, and Twin Bridges over the Mississippi River. Grade: 1
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Bucharest, National Village Museum “Dimitrie Gusti”, Beiuș Costumes (Romania)
Another unused card in the series of costumes at Bucharest’s National Village Museum. This one shows an example from Beiuș, dating from the late 19th century. Not incidentally, Beiuș is in Bihor County, near the Apuseni Mountains. The river Crișul Negru flows through, and the city administers a single village, Delani. Between the late 18th and early 20th centuries, Beiuș constituted one of the most important learning centres of the Romanian language in Crișana. Grade: 1
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Muzeul Satului, Bucharest (Romania)
In English, the Village Museum. Unused card. Grade: 1
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The Shore Line Trolley Museum, Car 745, East Haven (Connecticut, USA)
An extensive caption detailing what happened to Car 945 on 9/11 in New York City highlights this excellent card, mailed in 2021 with four stamps (three postmarked). The postmark itself is a very large hand-cancel. Grade: 1
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Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame (Wisconsin, USA)
Mailed in 2021, this card has the postmark and three different stamps (including one commemorating American football) and some postmark ink transfer on the front: in all respects an iconic card for this storied franchise. Grade: 2
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San Francisco, Palace of the Legion of Honor (California)
In Lincoln Park, “San Francisco’s largest art museum” (now with competition from others) opened in 1924. Unused Selithco card 1651. Grade: 1
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Chicago, Museum of Science and Industry, Atomic Reactors (Illinois, USA)
An “Atoms for Peace” exhibit on this unused Plastichrome card P30656. Grade: 1
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Elizabeth Perkins Museum, York (Maine, USA)
We didn’t know of Ms Perkins, so we Googled, and it’s interesting how many different people named Elizabeth Perkins are connected with museums. Only one in York, though, and Tripadvisor somewhat laconically describes her as “the founder of the Old York Historical Society, (and) used to spend time here with Mark Twain.” We’ve no doubt there was more to her, and the house, than that. Unused card. Grade: 1
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Dearborn, The Henry Ford Museum, Museum Tower (Michigan, USA)
The caption of this unused Curteichcolor card 2C-K17 reports that the “tower is an exact replica of … Independence Hall, Philadelphia … and contains even the mistakes made in the original building”. It might take more searching to find out what those are. Grade: 1
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New York City, The Frick Collection, Court, Looking South
Unused, unattributed, aging card — otherwise clean. Grade: 1
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Warner House, Portsmouth (New Hampshire, USA)
Unused Mike Roberts card NC363 and another of our favoured “…est” cards whose caption describes something as the “…est” of all. In this case, “perhaps the finest example in New England of an important brick urban mansion of the early 18th century”, built about 1716. Well, that’s specific. It’s a museum now, of course. Grade: 1
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Blue Mounds, Little Norway (Wisconsin, USA)
This outdoor museum in “The Valley of the Elves” on an unused Curteichcolor card 8C-K1782. It’s starting to age a bit. The card, not the museum. Grade: 1
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Fond Du Lac, Galloway House Museum (Wisconsin, USA)
(Yes, we know the D in Du should be small, but this is how the Postcard does it in the caption.) Leaving that aside, this unused “local” card does sort of make us want to visit, if only because we ourselves go back far enough to recall some places not so different from this in real life. Grade: 1
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Dayton, Huffman Prairie Flying Field, 1905 Wright Flyer III Replica (Ohio, USA)
So many proper nouns on the front and back of this card, mailed in 2021 with four different stamps and postmark. One, of course, the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. Some postmark ink transfer on the front. Grade: 2
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Shenzhen (PR China), multiple attractions (set of four)
Kindly get your coffee and relax because this description may take awhile. It’s a set of four unused cards, each measuring 4″ x 11-5/8″, so they are well oversized. The red paper wrap identifies this China Post product, from 2018, and our scan shows the front of one card (the other three are similar but with different places) and the reverse of another. All cards have pre-printed, coloured postage and a kind of “shadow” graphic further identifying most of what’s on the front. Clearly these cards fit many of our categories–in fact, they set the record–because Shenzhen is a city of about 15 million people and has everything, including several museums. So, if you have any questions about these Shenzhen postcards, please ask us. Grades: 1
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Berlin, Altes Museum
This very old, unattributed, unused postcard had been in an album and if the light is shining just right you can see the corner indentations. Otherwise, with minor staining and age foxing, it’s Grade: 2
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Copenhagen, The Museum of Art (Denmark)
In Danish, Statens Museum for Kunst, on this old and unused sepia card. Grade: 1
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Reichenberg, Gewerbemuseum (Czech)
In English, now, the North Bohemian Trade (or Industrial) Museum, on this unused real-photo card with a small age spot on the reverse. Grade: 2
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Venice Archaeological Museum, Fanciullo (Italy)
This is a remarkable photo, no matter what your thoughts of ancient sculpture. So much expression … alas, the postcard is good on the front but awful on the reverse, mailed in the USA but missing its stamp, and heavily water-stained. Grade: 5
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Târgu Secuiesc, Haszmann Pal Ethnographical Museum (Romania)
Unused promotional card from the Târgu Secuiesc municipality in Transylvania. Grade: 1
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Police Museum — 2013 (set of 10) (Hong Kong)
Issued by the Hong Kong Police Force Museum in 2013, our scan shows the cardboard cover and one card from this 10-card B&W unused set. Thumbnail photos on the cover represent four of the other nine cards. Everything is from the old days, various police vehicles. Grade: 1
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Ayr, Tam o’Shanter Museum, High Street (Scotland)
Once in awhile Google runs amok with false leads and this is one of those cases. But it’s all about Robert Burns, and the building here is reputed to be the inn described in one of Burns’s famous poems. This postcard was mailed in 1978, with stamp and clear postmark (Ayr) and bilingual airmail sticker — but also with two thumbtack holes at the top. Grade: 5
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Berlin, Beethovenhaus
Mailed in 1960, this real-photo card has two stamps, postmark, and tape abrasions in the message and address areas. Grade: 4
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Copenhagen, Glyptoteket (Denmark)
The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, commonly known simply as Glyptoteket, is an art museum in Copenhagen whose collection represents the private art collection of Carl Jacobsen, the son of the founder of the Carlsberg Breweries. Mailed in 1954, the real-photo card went with its stamp and postmark to the U.K., where it was forwarded (with another postmark) to a different English address. We enjoy seeing things like the original Danish postmark being 3rd July, and the forwarding English mark being on 5th July. Can service be that fast now? Grade: 2
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Platteville, The Mining Museum (Wisconsin, USA)
Unused Dexter Press card 41506-D. This seems to be part of a museum complex now. Grade: 1
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Watertown, Octagon House (Wisconsin, USA)
From Wikipedia, condensed: “The Octagon House, also known as the Octagon House Museum or the John Richards Octagon House, was built in 1854 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. It is one of many octagon houses built in the United States in the mid-19th century.” The unused E.C. Kropp card 4976N has an unusually detailed caption, right down to how much bread the oven could handle. Impressive. Grade: 1
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Ancient Chinese Paintings – 24 Solar Terms (Summer) (Maximum Cards) (set of 6) (Taiwan)
See our description for entry 20325474. Here comes Summer, and for this we show you the front cover and one of the cards in the set, issued in May, 2023. These are the Pre-cancelled, Chinese version. Grade: 1
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Bogota, Balsa Muisca (Colombia)
… in the Musea del Oro, and here on this unused postcard. Grade: 1
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Kenya’s Rift Valley
This unused card was issued by the National Museum of African Art, at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., in 1983. It shows “an attentive audience (watching) two Maasai elders playing mbao”. We lived exactly there, in the Masai region in Kenya, for quite awhile and never saw anyone playing mbao. Just the wrong places at the wrong times, maybe. Grade: 1