COMMEMORATIVE STAMPS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 255, 28 October 1939, Page 3

COMMEMORATIVE STAMPS

EUROPEAN ISSUES. In som- countries occasions of national rejoicing are attended, almost inevitably, by the i.w-uc of com- ; mcmorative stamps. 'Die celebrations I in honour of the twenty-tilth anniversary of the formation of the Polish Legion were no exception. Of the face value 25 groszy, ob’ong in format, and printed in slate grey, this single slam.) shows in the centre a statue of / late Marshal Pilsudski with legi/.aries deliling past it from either side. Simultaneously there was placed on sale a miniature sheet composed- of the Legion stamp with two others of the same denomination, on" bearing the likeness ol Pilsudski in the mourning type of 193.5, and the other that of Marshal Smigly-R.v dz. ' The block is sold with a surtax of 1 1 zloty in aid of national defence j It is reported from Prague that the I temporarily overprinted stamps of I Bohemia and Moravia are exhausted, j and already the first values of the i new definitive series arc to hand. The 1 vignettes consist ol pictorial subjects engraved by B. Heinz after the dei signs of the Czech artists Vlk and I Vondrous with inscriptions “Bohmen ' u. Mahren" at lhe top and "Czecliy a Morava” at. the foot, and comprise 50 haleru, green (view of Karluv Tyn Castle); 60h., violet (cathedral of Kutna Hora); and 1 Kruny. red (cathedral of Prague). The remaining denominations are expected tn be seen at. early dates. The forerunner of the new Albanian stamps incorporating in their picturesque designs the head of King Victor Emmanuel HI. is a 20 quind value printed in brown for use in the air mail service. The latest pictorial postage -lamps of the Hat ay have received an over- : print commemorating the return of the sanjak to Turkey. The superscription reads “T.C. ilhak tarihi ‘ .30. 6. 1939.” the initials signifying “Turkiye Cumhuriyeti” (Turkish Re- • public), the date being that of the actual transfer of authority. An unusual stamp has been provided by the French Post Office for 1 use on correspondence of Spanish refugees interned in France, which passes free through the post. For this purpose a supply of the contemporary 90 centimes stamp has been overprinted with a bold letter “F,” signifying “Franchise.” The celebration of Aviation Day ;n the U.S.S.R. on August 18 was marked by the application of a ‘commemorative overprint to certain of the existing air mail stamps which were struck off for the occasion in distinctive colours-- namely, olive-brown (instead of rod) for the 10 kopeks; lilac (instead of blue) for the 30 kop-H's: groenisnblue (instead of nine) for the 40 kopeks; blue-gren (instead of lilac, for the 50 kopeks; and greenish-blue (instead of brown) for the 1 rouble.