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HSE On the Road (or Sea)  to  Martha’s Vineyard

Ferry to Martha’s Vineyard Island

September on the island of Martha’s Vineyard is a glorious time of year and September 17^th was exceptional.   It was the perfect day for Alan and Diane Bauer of the Hungaria Stamp Exchange to sponsor a presentation on Eastern European Stamp Collecting.

The Community Room at the Oak Bluffs Public Library was a delightful venue for the presentation.

The Eastern European Postal Stamps presentation focused on the enduring stamps of the “Dead Countries of Central Europe” and was enlivened by audience participation and interest in the ebb and flow of the borders of these countries that no longer exist but previously issued their own postal stamps.

Participant stamp collectors and aficionados of regional geography and history               alike came to ponder the question:

“What do Central Lithuania, Cilicia, Crete,

,Danzig, Memel, Eastern Silesia,

Epirus, Hatay, Istria, Ljubljana, Eastern Rumelia,  Thrace,

Istria, and Trieste – Zone A/B have in common?”    **

After participating in a game of Stamp Trivia to win prizes, all were winners that day.

We hope you  enjoy some of our event photos .

Stamps of Epirus

Stamps of Crete

Stamps of Central Lithuania

We extend a hearty thank you to the participants and the programming staff at the          Oak Bluffs Public Library.

**And the answer is….

“ All of these countries/sovereignties no longer exist and are now part of other countries. They have all issued their own postal stamps which endure over time for collectors.”

And be sure to check out our online store for stamps of these “Dead Countries” including some beautifully cancellations on the stamps of Memel!

Are you looking for that special Father’s Day gift for your dad? Then consider getting him a Frank Sinatra souvenir sheet newly issued by Magyar Posta!  Look no further than our online store for Hungary’s 2015 Frank Sinatra Souvenir Sheet. You can check out this special offering which we hope you and your Dad as well as the rest of the family will enjoy!

Magyar Posta is issuing a special stamp to commemorate the centenary of the birth of the American actor and singer Frank Sinatra, who won eight Grammy awards, three Oscars and several Golden Globe awards. The stamp design features the famous performing artist’s portrait. Fifty thousand copies of the miniature sheet containing four identical stamps designed by graphic artist Ágnes Berta were produced by the Pénzjegynyomda printing company.

Francis Albert Sinatra (1915–1998) was the only child of Italian immigrants. He left school to start singing when he was 16 years old. He won a talent show with the Hoboken Four but left the group seeking an independent career and began working as a singing waiter in a small restaurant. His real career started with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey in the late 1930s. He became a successful solo singer in the early to mid 1940s. In the 1950s his appeal waned but his career gained new momentum in 1954, when he won the Oscar for the best supporting actor for his performance in From Here to Eternity. He signed a contract with Capitol Records, where he recorded a series of highly successful albums. In 1960 he founded his own label Reprise Records. In the 1960s he appeared in many TV shows dedicated to him and took part in a world tour. In the same decade he received 6 Grammy Awards for two of his albums and produced his greatest hits. By the end of the 1960s his popularity was declining, so he gave a farewell concert on June 14, 1971, but made a comeback with a new album just two years later. Sinatra spent most of the 1970s and 1980s giving concerts and producing albums. In 1994 he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He last appeared in public at the end of 1995. Frank Sinatra died of a heart attack in 1998. He released over 70 LPs and almost 300 singles during his life and his songs appeared in several compilation albums after his death. (Source: wikipedia.hu / Magyar Posta)