The 43rd issue of the Society’s Journal, The New CartoPhilatelist, is filled with 20 pages of articles, news and images. Starting out this issue, are meteorologists Don Hillger and Garry Toth who take a look at The Earth as Seen from Space. Their detailed article traces the history of geostationary earth observation satellites and various full disk earth images as they are shown on a number of stamp issues. Be sure to check the author’s web site for a very comprehensive checklist of related issues. Continue reading TNCP 43 Dispatched to Members
As many of our members know, we use HP’s MagCloud “print on demand” service for printing of the hardcopy TNCP journals. Recently we began investigating the use of MagCloud to also handle the packaging and shipping of those journals to our members. The shipping, to some members, of the October issue was carried out by MagCloud as a trial. While this has worked very well from initial feedback, we recently discovered that a few digital members may have received a printed October issue. We apologize to those digital members that were surprised upon receipt of a hardcopy issue. If you unexpectedly received a hardcopy issue, please keep it as an example of MagCloud’s high-quality printing service. For those members that regularly receive a printed Journal, we would like to hear if there were any issues regarding the packaging or delivery of your October issue. Please contact us with your feedback.
Revision 6 of the Maps on Stamps Checklist will be available by the end of October 2013. It will include approximately 600 new issues plus the addition of many older issues that had been overlooked and numerous corrections, additions of catalog numbers and other updates. It is expected that the printed version will be about 800 pages. The cost for a hardcopy version of the Checklist will be established after it is complete. At that time all members will be notified through the journal and on the web site. Contact Checklist Editor David Wolfersberger for more information.
 Belgium 2013-06-24 Fellow map stamp collector Julien writes from Europe to inform us of a very interesting and hidden map on the June 26, 2013 issue from Belgium Post which marks the 100th anniversary of the Belgium Royal Meteorological Institute and their forecasting of the weather. The souvenir sheet shown below contains five stamps. Along the top edge of the sheet are a series of weather condition icons. The foreground of the sheet is covered by a large grassy hill, and in upper center is a single stamp which depicts the institute’s headquarters located in Uccle. On the right side of the sheet is a researcher with a weather balloon and standing near an instrument station. Arranged along the bottom of the sheet are four evenly sized rectangle stamps depicting a tree with green foliage. Around the trees, in the background of each stamp, are weather conditions marking each of the four seasons, spring, summer, autumn and winter. Julien tells us that the hidden map can be found in the shape of the trees represent the outline of Belgium, rotated slightly counter-clockwise. However, there is another interesting point about this sheet. When you press your finger on each of the trees, or when the temperature is more than 77F (25C) the foliage of the trees will be transformed to a seasonal color and each tree will have a series of small images representing a common daily forecasts for each season visible in the leaves. This is shown in the image below. [ Thanks Julien for alerting us to this very important cartophilatelic issue! We know of one other map sheet from Iceland (sc1162) issued in 2009 for the International Polar Year which has a similar heat triggered coating, does anyone know of any others? — web admin ]
 Detail of Belgium 2013-06-24 with temperature above 77F (25C)
 New Caledonia sc651 |
 New Caledonia scC275 |
 China sc3031 |
 South Korea sc1516 |
Cartophilatelic Society president Mark Honig informs us of finding some previously unknown map stamps. First up is the 170fr August 26, 1991 issue from New Caledonia for the French Institute of Scientific Research (sc651). A number of research themes are depicted on this very colorful stamp. In the center is a stereo or dissecting microscope and on the stage of the microscope is a map of New Caledonia. Definitely a hidden map! The next newly discovered map stamp also comes from New Caledonia. The 130fr airmail issue of July 20, 1996 marks the Indonesian Centenary (scC275). The stamp depicts a man and woman dressed in traditional Indonesian attire. Behind the couple is a tree. In the branches and leaves of the tree, the islands of the Indonesian Archipelago can be seen. A very interesting and uniquely designed map stamp. From the South Pacific we move to North Asia. Here, the first newly discovered map stamp is from the June 1, 2000 “Stampin’ the Future” children’s stamp design issue (sc3031). The 60f denomination stamp features an image of a young girl in front of a computer screen which depicts a map of China and Taiwan and a “bridge being constructed” across the South China Sea between China and Taiwan. The next discovery is from South Korea (sc1516), with the 80w October 8, 1988 issue marking the 22nd Congress of The International Iron and Steel Institute, that we assume was held in Seoul about that time. This thematic stamp depicts a large foundry ladle in a steel mill pouring out molten metal. A world map with a very interesting looking projection is shown on the side of the ladle. For our final discovery we move to the Netherlands and a personal note from Mark regarding the next newly discovered map stamp. Mark writes, when I was browsing ebay for map stamps I noticed this stamp with what looks like a small map. I immediately knew I must have this stamp because it is a stamp from my own country. I pulled my album and I scanned for the stamp. This stamp has been issued, as part of a set of 4, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the liberation for the Netherlands from nazi-Germany in 1945. The detail shown in the map is part of a newspaper, “The Flying Dutchman,” air-dropped by the Allied Air Forces, and shows the Russian front advancing from Tarnopol to Cherzon. After a bit of searching I found the map was shown on the cover of the March 16, 1944 issue. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that this stamp has been in my album for 28 years without me noticing it as a map stamp. The stamp (and set) are not expensive. The stamp has also been issued as a coil stamp. These coil stamps can be recognized by the cut perforations along the top and bottom. Mint coils have a number on the back of every 5th stamp. Perhaps now is the time to check your own collections for more hidden map stamps, you never know what may be hiding there. Please let us know what you find!
 Netherlands sc666 |
 “The Flying Dutchman,” March 16, 1944 |
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Welcome to the CartoPhilatelic Society Celebrating our 71st Year as a Society. Come and Join Us!
The CartoPhilatelic Society has entered our 71st year as a Society! In 1955 a group of philatelists with a keen interest in map stamps founded the CartoPhilatelic Society. Today we carry on their passion for map stamps in the collections we assemble and the research we conduct.
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