Posts

Showing posts from February, 2021

Stamp review: Ludwig van Beethoven, 250 Years (2020-12-15)

Image
The " Ludwig van Beethoven, 250 Years " stamp was issued by Israel Post on 15 December 2020 to mark the semiquincentennial of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth. Face valued at ₪11.80, corresponding to the postage rate for domestic priority 100-300g mail, the stamp depicts an image of Beethoven based on a portrait of him by Joseph Karl Stieler and the iconic opening notes of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67. The tab below the stamp proper illustrates the opening notes of Symphony No. 5's second subject and features a "Philately Day" inscription indicating that proceeds from the stamp's sale go to the Philately Promotion Foundation. Gray is the stamp's dominant color. It was designed by Zvika Roitman (צביקה רויטמן), who has been a stamp designer with Israel Post since 2003. בולים של מוצארט, באך J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart stamps Israel Post (2000, 1991) Beethoven was born on 17 December 1770 and, along with Bach (1685-1750) and Mozart (175...

2020 | Year in Review

Image
2020 was, in one word, a frustrating year. Plans unraveled, goals weren't reached, and it was often the case that preparations made one day were rendered irrelevant the next. It was a year whose engine never really got started but in some ways still hasn't cooled off. Along with the setbacks, however, there were moments of triumph; and along with the disappointments, rewards. Last year this second paragraph was devoted to an overview of my collection, but that too fell apart as I abandoned Colnect for personal reasons and haven't found a viable alternative since. Moreover, despite my best efforts to regulate my philatelic intake, which included avoiding ordering 2020 stamps from Iceland, Armenia and Azerbaijan, among other countries, stamps still penetrated my defenses at a rate faster than they could be properly accommodated. Philatelic world news 2020 was a year of record news consumption. 1 The main stories trending and making headlines had to do with the gl...