From the start of the Space Age and ensuing Space Race, adjacent stamp collecting became a serious pursuit with commemorative cover depicting every mission and milestone (see previously) with the bubble inflated to bursting with the scandal surrounding Apollo 15, returned to Earth on this day in 1971 with a payload of four hundred postage stamps sent to the Moon and back.
In the unfolding of the worst case of hyperinflation (previously here, here and here) and devaluation in history, the Hungarian pengล (an onomatopoetic word for the ringing of silver struck, the clinking of coins), itself a replacement currency for the Austro-Hungarian korona, liquidated under the terms of the Peace of Saint-Germain that dissolved the joint bank of the monarchy, battered and bashed by the ensuing Great Depression and a second world war, was pegged to the reintroduced forint (in use prior to the imperial union in 1892 and named for city of Florence) at an exchange rate on this day in 1946 of one Ft for four hundred octillion pengลk, shedding twenty-nine zeros and starting over, notes in the millions and billions reused and reissued marked with exponentially higher values.
Via Kottke’s Quick Links, we are given a bit of historical perspective on the six-day plight of the Ever Given (previously) which has antecedents with a much longer, large-scale stranding resulting from the Six-Day War that broke out in June of 1967 between Israel and Egypt, trapping fifteen international ships and their crews in the Suez Canal that were passing through when the conflict broke out and remained impounded until 1975. 
Blockaded by Egypt to prevent its use by Israel, debris put in place continued to prevent transport and traffic for eight years during a time when the waterway was not the major artery of trade it is today. Named the above for the colour of the desert sand that accumulated on the decks of the vessels moored in Great Bitter Lake, a turning around point off the main canal, the ships’ crews from West Germany, the UK, the US, France, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Bulgaria quickly forged a community, sharing resources and even holding a mini-Olympic Games—the Swedish ship had a pool, and issuing their own Cinderella postage stamps with the recognition of host nation postal authorities. 
Within the first few months, countries flagged with these vessels were able to reduce crews to a bare minimum and repatriate their members, rotating in and out skeleton crews for the basic upkeep of the ships and though the population turn-over was regular and complete, the sense of comradery and community endured with each generation. The Suez was reopened with the Yom Kippur War in October of 1975, restoring this trade route but with the spectre of supplies being cut off again, businesses were pressured into making ever larger cargo ships to reduce one’s exposure, like the colossal Ever Given.
penn station’s half century: vignettes of the original New York Beaux Arts transportation hub painstaking brought to life to experience the station prior to its 1957 demolition and renovation
delightful creatures: drone captures manatees and dolphins frolicking in Florida Everglades
raven story: Alaska Tlingit artist features on new US postage stamp with a depiction of the trickster spirit
poisonous green: the paint that might have been the death of Napoleon and other toxic tinctures—see previously
de-programming: interviews with children of parents radicalised by QAnon trying to get their moms and dads back
morph and mindbuffer: a mesmerising hypersurface of a globe composed of expanding isohedrons
preservation watch: conservationists fear that the iconic, Art Deco lobby of the McGraw-Hill Building might be under threat
high dive: Casa Zicatela in the Oaxaca coastal region references Le Corbusier and the retro look of municipal swimming pools
rip: legendary actor Christopher Plummer (*1929) has passed away
gulf stream: lack of circulation during ice ages past may have meant the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans had fresh water
dataviz: sleek, informative infographics by the Great Grundini
rรฉseau pneumatique: an exploration of the pneumatic postal system of Paris—see also
hq2: a preview of the new Amazon headquarters (previously) building in Arlington, Virginia
tanssinopettaja: a few dance lessons from the reigning king of disco, ร ke Blomqvist
haunted bohemian shrine aunt: a truly cursed real estate listing from McMansion Hell (previously)—via Pluralistic
ascertainment: Trump directs General Services Administration to credential President Elect Joe Biden’s transition team
philately: United Nations honoured with a beautiful, retro series of postage stamps for its seventy-fifth anniversary
mons rรผmker: China launches a unscrewed mission to the Moon to retrieve mineral samples from a young crater—all to be accomplished in the span of one lunar day (a terrestrial fortnight)
after school special: times when television grappled with social issues in affecting ways—via the morning news
monumenta antiquitatis: a scribe’s quill and quiver
linus & lucy: tag your Charlie Brown dance—via Swiss Miss
Via Super Punch, we learn that in order to meet a federal mandate issued by the Trump administration in May that the US Fish and Wildlife Service make permanent the theme of “celebrating our waterfowl hunting heritage” and thus require the inclusion of hunting paraphernalia in the art works submitted for its popular annual “duck stamp” contest.
Purchased primarily by bird-watchers and conservationist, the yearly licensing image has generated revenues in excess of a billion dollars since the 1930s to purchase and protect habitat for wildlife by the service and many are afraid that the politicising, shift will alienate contributors. Submitting artists have found subtly cartoonish ways to insert spent gun shell casings, discarded duck-calls, etc. in their work.
Whilst what Trump advised supporters to do upon mailing in ballots only serves to further his narrative that the postal system is unreliable (the encore performance for rubbishing public confidence in the efficacy of medical science and the undoing of suffering and hard-won gains) and would needlessly endanger poll-workers as well as constituents by causing unnecessary foot-traffic (and delaying egress to already over-crowded and under-served communities) by going to one’s physical polling place to ensure that it had in fact been received and tabulated—and if not vote in person—was not technically urging people to vote twice, effectively it comes across as such. Even if one could verify in real-time that one’s vote had been counted, the disruption and drain on an already fragile may prove overwhelming, encouraging the assembled crowd to test the system as Trump made an appearance in Wilmington, North Carolina to proclaim it a World War II Heritage City just before corroborated revelations came forward on Trump’s history of disparaging remarks regarding the fallen, service members and veterans. Please vote if you are eligible, but needless to say only once.
cassandra drops into verse: a thoroughgoing appreciation of Miss Dorothy Parker (*1893 – †1967)
jazz pigeon: from the same creative studio that asked “Are you tired of being a bird?”—via the Link Pack of Swiss Miss
Though never an official motto, the phrase from Herodotus about another determined set of postal workers, the Persians, unparalleled in Antiquity, the words are stirring and befitting such a beleaguered though indefatigable group.
Knowing that he cannot win honestly and outright or retain a controlling majority of the legislature, Trump is dismantling the US mail to stop postal balloting—with the added bonus of ensuring knock-on delays downstream, for people that need to receive rent or pension cheques through the mail and potentially deadly deferrals for those refiling prescriptions. Though there was turmoil beforehand over the United States’ leaving of the Universal Postal Union, this new phase was not a necessary consequence and the actions being undertaken now could not be characterised as anything else but sabotage.
ppe: for the cost of one kit of battle rattle riot gear, one could fully outfit over fifty care staff
world leaders have floated the use of sanctions on officials close to president trump to help protect america’s ethnic minorities: applying the tone of reporting on foreign wars and civil unrest to the US
by-line: questioning the wisdom of New York Times’ editorial policy, via Super Punch
history will be kind to these painstaking recreations of these corrupt criminals responsible for the end of democracy: 2020 Battle for the White House commemorative chess set
harlem renaissance: the US Post Office issues stamps celebrating four important literary figures
history will judge the complicit: Fresh Air’s Dave Davies interviews historian and Atlantic correspondent Anne Applebaum on imperiled democracy
white collar jobs: Facebook will destroy society
Whereas prior to the introduction of a pre-paid, flat-rate and conveniently adhesive postage stamp, first issued on this day in the United Kingdom in 1840, the Royal Mail was beset with complexities and high rates usually collected upon delivery determined by distance travelled as well as the sheet-count of the correspondence.
In order to remedy this situation and make the postal system more customer-focused and efficient (see also), inventor, social reformer and educator Sir Rowland Hill (*1795 – †1879) commissioned a government inquiry which resulted in not only the Uniform Penny Post but also an inexpensive, mass-produced version of an adhesive envelop for privacy, further facilitating the rapid and reliable exchange of correspondence. Honouring the monarch and promoting its adoption amongst the public, Hall and the committee selected a cameo image of then fifteen-year-old Victoria created by engraver and illustrator Charles Theodosius Heath (*1785 – †1848) and son Frederick, this portrait of the Queen used on stamps for the remainder of her reign.
Via the always stunning Present /&/ Correct, we appreciated making the acquaintance with a wonderful resource for vintage ephemera in the Bulgarian Virtual Museum for Socialism through the lens of this cheerful collection of postal seals and cancellation (oblitรฉration, ะธะทะผะธัะฐะฝะต) stamps, especially this one commemorating sixty years of radio broadcasting in the country. With an abundance of travel, film and political posters, company and trade logos and extra philately, there’s much more to explore at the links above.
Withdrawal from conventions—especially in the form of old, established treaties always have unforeseen consequences and benefits mostly those that are positioned to take advantage of what happens at the margins, negotiating between those inside and outliers. One knock-on effect of Trump’s announcement last year that the US would be quitting the one hundred forty-four year-old Universal Postal Union of which almost every other country in the world is party to could result in severe delays (or expulsion of the community mail rooms altogether) for US military and diplomatic staff stationed overseas receiving packages and parcels just in time for the holidays and the shipping season.
America would reconsider if it can renegotiate terminal-dues in such a way that does not economically advantage China, but given the ill-will that the administration has already fostered with host countries with tariffs and even suggesting that nations should pay protection money for the privilege, it seems unlikely that any wants to talk terms with the US.
Previously we’ve explored how the existing infrastructure, network and antecedent of the mail delivery system—not to mention how every other advanced and most emerging economy on Earth already have allowed their national postal systems to provide non-usurious financial services support for convenience and for to the large swaths of the precariat that are otherwise locked out of traditional banks—might supplement and back the savings and bill-paying needs of those who cannot by dent of poor credit or remoteness avail themselves of mainstream branches, so we were quite excited to learn that a bill in the US legislature has two sponsors, both contenders for the presidency, and might have a fighting chance to counter the predatory, self-perpetuating institutions that people in a pinch have had to turn to in the States. Learn more at the link above.
Found on Booooooom, we enjoyed these little figures composed of stamps and cancelations by Sapporo-based artist Baku Maeda. The cut-up typography includes the stylised katakana symbol〒(yลซbin kigล, read more here) the service mark of Japan, derived from the word for communications teishin and used to as punctuation to indicate a zip code as well. Explore more of the artist’s portfolio, his collaborations with fellow creative Toru Yoshikawa and peruse a large gallery of his drawings and photography at the links above.
Breaking with a one hundred and forty-four year old convention that regulates postal rates world-wide in order to prevent barriers to entry by poorer nations and promote the ease of cross border communication and commerce, Trump is signalling that the US will withdraw from the treaty that legitimised and continued the Universal Postal Union, an arrangement that has fully one hundred and ninety three signatories with the four outlying states relying on other members to execute their mail delivery.
Drafted at a time when European powers were dominant exporters and much of Asia was agrarian society (also kind of a myth borne out of the idea of exceptionalism), the US believes the conditions of the treaty disadvantages American business by subsidising shipments from China and flooding markets with cheaper wares. Prior to the agreement, countries needed to negotiate separate treaties and issue stamps for each leg of the missive’s journey, often outsourcing mail delivery to forwarding agents under conditions and protocols created during the sixteenth century by the Lombard-German royal house referenced in the title. The US was already given the dispensation to dictate rates for large packages but small parcels (under two kilogrammes—in keeping with the union’s original charter to establish a uniform and affordable flat-rate across currencies and purchasing-parity for sending letters and vendors’ samples) were under the jurisdiction of the international body. The proliferation of on-line shopping translated to opportunities for retail sellers. What do you think? Maybe the house of Thurn & Taxis were the original postal Illuminati but this recent investigation on the treaty and the Universal Postal Union from Planet Money is helpful and comprehensive primer for understanding what is at stake.
A leading pro-BREXIT campaigner chided Royal Mail for issuing a set of commemorative stamps celebrating the career of Pink Floyd, as Kottke informs, whilst refusing to do the same to mark the occasion of the UK’s departure from the European Union. The internet quickly obliged to fulfil that glaring philatelic niche.
