Here we share small stories about a variety of individual philatelic items. The accompanying PDF provides background information related to the subject of each cover or stamp — aspects that could be explored in an exhibit featuring the respective item (whether in Thematic, Open, or Social Philately). At times, you may find that the connections between an item and its theme seem rather far-fetched; at others, they will be more obvious. How far one wishes to take such associations — perhaps in one’s own exhibit — is entirely up to each individual. For us, it is simply great fun to let our imagination wander in discovering the links between a cover and its story.
TODAY
I, a Letter from Avignon: Sent in 1859 from the wine merchants J. E. Giraud Fils in Avignon to the perfumers Cavaillier Brothers in Grasse, this folded letter linked the trade in wine alcohol with the perfume industry of Provence. Stamped with Napoleon III’s 20-centime issue and sealed with red wax, it embodies the orderly world of nineteenth-century commerce — trust on paper, carried by mail coach.
By clicking on the arrow in the PDF window (the arrow appears when you move your mouse over the lower left corner of the article), you can go to the next page.
