The International Website for People Interested in Netherlands+Philately!
In 2013 PostNL introduced the “Postzegelcode” (Stamp Code). Simply put: by writing a number combination on the envelope after buying this code through the PostNL app, the letter could be put in the mail without stamps because the postage was correctly paid for. Initially, PostNL …
The 1916 Distributiewet (Distribution Act) entered into force on August 19, 1916. There was a shortage of food in the Netherlands and a lot of things were going on. Sometimes a shortage was created, such as that of potatoes.
King Carl Gustav XVI of Sweden is not only interested in Swedish stamps. In this photo, Alan Holyoake (to the left) shows his collection of Penny Black stamps to the king at the Stockholmia 2019 philatelic meeting/conference.
Documents and deeds are often boring and of little interest. But not always! Sometimes attention is drawn to a special combination, such as the document shown here. It was created on so-called formaatpapier (format paper) with an impressed formaatzegel of “50 cents ‘sGr. 1940”. In …
In this blog entry I will try to understand why the five picture postcards below were initially unsuccessful in reaching their proposed addressee: E.W. Rose. A philatelist approached me during our last auction because he had read somewhere that I fancied postal items with a …
In the 1930s the world became increasingly smaller by the introduction of regular flights between every possible destination. The aircraft industry could barely keep pace with the ever demanding airlines, which asked for safe, less noisy, air-pressured cabins and larger aircraft. Comfort and luxury were …
Recently I acquired the following postcard which shows the Oostpoort in Delft. By some curious coincidence postcards with this Delft city gate on them seem to have been regularly sent at strange times or from strange places. I possess, for example, some quite rare postmarks …
A postcard with attached reply card, franked with the rate of a foreign postcard could be send from abroad back to the country of the sender, without extra charge. Some nearby countries as Belgium and Germany are easy to find, but sent from Russia you …
In April 1960, 70 western-oriented countries issued stamps for the proclaimed UN World Refugee Year. Since most of the refugees at that time came from communist countries, four of them protested by declaring these stamps invalid. These countries were Poland, Czechoslavakia, Sowiet Union and Romania. …
The printed matter (“Drukwerk”) cover shown here was mailed aboard the frigate Hr. Ms. ”Johan Maurits van Nassau” in January 1953. Its destination was Yokohama, Japan. The frigate was on assignment in Korean waters during the Korean War. Upon the frigate’s arrival on January 22, …
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