Star Wars Droids - Sheet and Covers

My favourite stamp issue of this year so far comes from the USA. On 4th May an impressive sheet of Star Wars Droids stamps was issued, which includes twenty stamps of ten different droids. These Droids range from the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy to the anthology movies and the TV shows. As soon as it was possible I ordered this sheet online and got it delivered directly to me on 22nd May. I do not want to get into the details of these stamps, as I try to get all of them on postcards as well, but look at this beauty!

Some of the stamps I already got on cards (see last post and stay tuned!), but all of them I already got on covers. These ten covers were all sent with Star Wars postmarks from different cities. It is interesting to see how different these covers are handled.

The first two covers arrived on 17th May. BB-8 here was cancelled with the special postmark and the additional stamp on the left was cancelled with a normal red postmark. A machine cancellation was applied as well. 

The card in the cover shows the Four Corners Monument, where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet. It is the only place in the USA where four states meet each other.

D-0 on the second cover only is faintly touched by the special postmark from Anthony and the stamp on the left remained uncancelled.

I really love the card in this cover. It shows a photo of a family vacation at the World's most famous UFO landing place.

This cover was sent in a bigger cover and the cover that was used to mail the cover to Anthony was included in the big cover as well. Interestingly a Global Forever stamp was added to the actually prepaid big cover, which got also cancelled with the Star Wars postmark.

The next four covers arrived one day later on 18th May. On this one again the additional stamp remained uncancelled, but R2-D2 got a proper cancellation.

New Mexico - Land of Enchantment? This view looks like this is true.

The card was taken out of the cover, a stamp of D-0 was affixed and got cancelled with the special postmark. This is a very cool service. I have never seen it before.

The next cover comes from Alamogordo. Here the additional stamp got cancelled and C-3PO is also nicely cancelled.

The card inside shows a view of the most famous road in the USA and maybe even the World, Route 66.

Roswell cancelled Chopper well, but President Harding is untouched. In Roswell they surely know how to deal with an alien roboter!

This card shows another view of Route 66. This car looks like it was already there, when the road was established in 1926.

The 2-1B Droid from Animas is also well cancelled. The additional stamp is also cancelled and a machine postmark can be seen as well, but it is upside down.

More Route 66 here, it gets more modern again.

On 19th May L3-37 arrived with special postmark and machine cancellation. Benjamin Franklin is uncancelled.

Albuquerque is shown on this card. It is the largest city in New Mexico and was also located on the historic Route 66.

The Gonk Droid also arrived on 19th May. This is a bit of an overkill: special postmark, two machine cancellations and the stroke of a pen. The Droid thus got three cancellations, the American Kestrel only the pen.

The card in this cover shows Oatman, the town of the free roaming Burros.

After the Pentecost weekend IG-11 arrived on 25th May. Here the additional stamp got cancelled, Albuquerque however uses blue colour. Also look at the other nice stamps. On all ten covers is a complete set about Comic Strip Classics (issued 01-10-1995). Just like the Droids this is another nice addition for my collection of Childhood Heroes on Stamps, although I only know Popeye.

Route 66 might be the most famous road in the World, but this is probably the most used tourism phrase in the World. Although it is more suitable for a t-shirt. A postcard is never lousy!

The first nine arrived quickly, but number ten was in no hurry. K-2SO just made it to Germany on Monday, 14th June, nearly a month after the first cover. Probably Taylor, Arizona got the most postmark requests. The postmark is already a bit faint and Andrew Jackson is uncancelled as well. 

The last card brings us back to Route 66 once again.

Thank You very much for all these great covers Sam-Quito!

USA: Devils Tower

On 22nd May I got a postcard from the USA.

The card shows an impressive night view of the Devils Tower in Wyoming. Devils Tower is a butte, an isolated hill with steep sides and a small, relatively flat top. The place appears in the legends of multiple Native Americans tribes and became the first US National Monument in 1906. Featured in the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the fame of the Devils Tower rose and nowadays it is popular with climbers.

I love the stamps used here and they perfectly match the brilliant night sky on the card and its Science Fiction connection. On the left is a stamp about Skylab (issued 14-05-1974), the first US space station, and on the right are two of the ten new Star Wars Droids stamps (issued 04-05-2021). This is so far my favourite stamp set of 2021. Used here are the stamps about D-0 and BB-8, both introduced in the sequel trilogy. BB-8 first appeared in The Force Awakens as an BB astromech droid owned by Poe Dameron. Later working together with Rey, he became a hero of the Resistance and one of the most popular characters of the sequel trilogy. D-0 on the other hand was once owned by a Sith assassin and was just introduced in The Last Jedi, the last movie of the sequel trilogy, where he however quickly befriended the Resistance heroes and BB-8 in particular. While these two are the first of these stamps I show you here, they are not the first I received. On the same day as this card I also got my ordered mint sheet of them and a few covers with these I also got before this card. Those I will show you in my next post.

Thank You very much Patrick!

Italy: Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius

On 21st May I got a postcard from Italy.

It shows the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. Marcus Aurelius was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. His reign was marked by military conflicts, the Antonine Plague and increasing persecution of Christians, but nonetheless he is remembered is one of the Five Good Emperors and last emperor of the Pax Romana. Also he is known as philosopher. His "Meditations" are still widely read as source for Stoic philosophy and as guide to self-improvement. The bronze statue was erected around 175. Many bronze statues of Roman Emperor were later melt down to reuse the material, but this one survived due to an mis-identification as Constantine the Great. Its original location is unknown. In the 16th century however it was moved to the Capitoline Hill during Michelangelo's redesign of the area. Today only a copy stands on the square, as the original one was moved to the Capitoline Museums in 1981. The statue however can also be seen in wallets around Europa. It is shown on the Italian 50 Cent coin.

One of the most famous modern Italian stamps was used on this card: the Nutella stamp (issued 14-05-2014). The other stamp is another one from the tourism series. This one in particular is from a set of four and shows the Isole Tremiti (issued 04-06-2010).

Thank You very much Marco!

Marco also has a postcard blog, which you can see here: NINU POSTCARDS.

Germany: Städtisches Museum in Braunschweig

Due to Covid-19 the museums in Germany had to close on 1st November 2020. Depending on the numbers of new cases, they were just allowed to reopen in some cities and regions in March, but here in Braunschweig they had to close already one week after they opened, as the numbers were rising. As I did not grab the chance in March, I had to wait nearly two more months to finally visit the first museums of the year on 21st May. At first I visited the Natural History Museum and later that day also the Städtisches Museum (Municipal Museum). Although I already have plenty of cards from both museums, I still bought a few in the Städtisches Museum. The first two here are the most interesting, as they are connected to the current special exhibition about special prints normally hidden in the museum's depot. These two are by Marc Chagall and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.

Germany: Bavarian Forest

On 19th May I got a postcard from Germany.

It shows a map and various views of the Bavarian Forest National Park. The Bavarian Forest is a wooded, low-mountain region on the border with Czechia. In 1970 Germany's first national park was established here. As part of the larger Bohemian Forest it belongs to the largest contiguous area of forest in Central Europa.

I bought this card online and send it to me with this year's German EUROPA stamp (issued 06-05-2021). The reason why I chose this card is because the three beetles shown on the card are native to the national park.

cover from the USA

On 19th May I got not only a postcard but also a cover from the USA.

The stamp on the left honours the Bicentenary of the Alliance between the USA and France (issued 04-05-1978) while the two on the right are from a set of ten about Botanical Art (issued 29-01-2016). They got cancelled with a big postmark from Barnet, Vermont.

Did you know that young Rattlesnakes are born live, as they already hatch in the body of the mother? This and much more you can read on the card in the cover.

Thank You very much Sam-Quito!

cover from the USA

On 18th May I got a cover from the USA.

The cover got a postmark about the Pioneer Days in Guymon, Oklahoma. I could not find out what these Pioneer Days are actually about, but it seems like a big festival. Events during this week include a rodeo, a parade, a carnival, a golf tournament and much more. The stamps on the right are about Christmas (from a set of four) (issued 25-10-2007) and the Eastern Tailed Blue (issued 24-09-2016), but the most interesting one is on the left. It was issued on 29th September 1959 and shows Ernst Reuter, the mayor of (West) Berlin during the Berlin Blockade. This stamp is from the series Champions of Liberty, which also honoured such famous persons as Simón Bolívar, Giuseppe Garibaldi and Mahatma Gandhi.

Inside was this fact card about the Gambel's Quail.

Thank You very much Sam-Quito!

Singapore: Gardens by the Bay

On 17th May I got a postcard from Singapore. 

It shows the Gardens by the Bay. The Gardens by the Bay are one of Singapore's most famous landmarks and are built on 101 hectares of reclaimed land. It consists of 3 waterfront gardens and showcases a great diversity of flora and fauna from around the World. There are also 2 cool conservatories called Flower Dome and Cloud Forest. This card in particular shows some of the 18 Supertrees at night. These Supertrees are between 25m and 50m high and have many functions such as planting, shading and working as environmental engines for the gardens. The Gardens by the Bay are very high on the list of places I want to visit one day.

The whole Singaporean set about the Year of the Ox (issued 08-01-2021) was used on this card.

Thank You very much Jun!

cover from the USA

On 14th May I got a cover from the USA.

The postmark on the cover honours the League of Women Voters for its 100th anniversary. The League of Women Voters was formed in 1920 to help women take a larger role in public affairs after they won the right to vote. The left stamp celebrates the Bicentenary of the First Civil Settlement in Alta California (issued 09-09-1977), while the two on the right are from a set of four about Winter Berries (issued 17-09-2019).

The card in the cover gives much information about the Cougar.

The cover was sent within a larger cover and the Postmaster also added a postcard about the League of Women Voters.

Thank You very much Sam-Quito!

Austria: Wolf

On 12th May I got a postcard from Austria.

It shows a Wolf. The Wolf is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. It is the ancestor of most domestic dog breeds, but unlike the human's best friend they were feared and hunted since at least the Middle Ages, although attacks on humans are rare. In the 19th century the Wolf was wiped out from many of its former habitats that were near human settlements, but luckily since the 21st century the animals return. 

In Austria the Wolf was exterminated by 1882, but since 2009 some animals immigrated from Eastern Europa. Today there are approximately 30 animals in Austria, which mainly live in the state of Lower Austria. The Wolf was chosen for this year's Austrian EUROPA stamp about Endangered Animals. Issued on 8th May the stamp was used on this card together with its First Day Special Postmark. Although there is nothing really special about the stamp in terms of printing, it looks impressive. Probably its because of the animal's majesty and its piercing look. 

Thank You very much Anita!

covers from Germany

On 11th May I got two covers from Germany.

Both covers I had sent to myself to get a special postmark about the 500th anniversary of the Diet of Worms, one of the most famous events within the Lutheran Reformation when Martin Luther refused to withdraw his theses. Unfortunately no stamp was issued for this jubilee, but a prepaid cover was issued instead. I got this postmark once on the special cover and once on a normal cover. If you want to know more about the Reformation go to my history blog. Back in 2017 I wrote some posts about it there, which I later merged into two posts. Just search for "Luther" and you will easily find them.