Monday, February 20, 2017

Germany: The Girl with the Wine Glass

The Girl with the Wine Glass (Dame en twee heren) is a painting by Johannes Vermeer from 1659-1660. Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer (1632 – December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime. The Painting can be seen in the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig, Germany.



Stamp:
Treasures of German Museums - Paintings (from a set of two) - Issued: 02-01-2017 with special First Day of Issue Postmark

Thursday, February 09, 2017

Kenya: African Safari

Some days ago I received my first card from Kenya. Officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country in Africa and a founding member of the East African Community (EAC). Its capital and largest city is Nairobi. It is bordered by Tanzania to the south and southwest, Uganda to the west, South Sudan to the north-west, Ethiopia to the north and Somalia to the north-east. Kenya covers 581,309 km2 (224,445 sq mi), and had a population of approximately 48 million people in January 2017.

Kenya has considerable land area devoted to wildlife habitats, including the Masai Mara, where blue wildebeest and other bovids participate in a large scale annual migration. More than 1 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebras participate in the migration across the Mara River.The "Big Five" game animals of Africa, that is the lion, leopard, buffalo, rhinoceros, and elephant, can be found in Kenya and in the Masai Mara in particular.



Stamp:
African Fish Eagle (from a set of 9) - Issued: 00-00-2014


Many thanks to Ramona for this great card!

Tuesday, February 07, 2017

USA: Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character is said to be a founding member of the Justice League, demigoddess, and warrior princess of the Amazonian people. In her homeland, she is Princess Diana of Themyscira, and outside of her homeland, she is known by her civilian identity Diana Prince. Wonder Woman was created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston, with his wife and co-creator Elizabeth Holloway Marston, and artist H. G. Peter. The character first appeared in All Star Comics #8 in December 1941 and first cover-dated on Sensation Comics #1, January 1942. The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986. In 2016 The U.S. Postal Service celebrates Wonder Woman’s 75th anniversary with a set of four stamps.



Stamp:
The 75th Anniversary of Wonder Woman (from a set of four) - Issued: 07-10-2016 with Special First Day of Issue Postmark


Many thanks to Eric for this great Card!