Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
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Not a new acquisition, but pertinent to the subject of refugees, is this Vietnam "Family postal card":
In 1954, the Geneva Convention agreed to separate Vietnam into two parts, the communist north and the "democratic" south. Families with members in both North Vietnam and South Vietnam suddenly were not able to travel to visit each other, or even to send ordinary mail since, I presume, North Vietnam was not recognized by the United Nations. These postal cards allowed these family members to communicate with each other, after a fashion. Note the transit time: the postal card was postmarked in North Vietnam on Aug. 8, 1963; the receiving postmark is dated Jan. 17, 1964, more than four months later. I've always been curious about that dark red spot, which looks suspiciously like blood, and lord knows there was enough blood spilled in Vietnam. Some of mine included!
These family postcards aren't easily available, and are never inexpensive. They're usually in bad condition as well, which is as it should be — the condition certainly reflects the chaos that Vietnam suffered for decades between the Second World War and the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. They certainly fit in the category of "adversity mail".
Bob
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Hi Everyone;
Thanks for showing that piece Bob, very interesting. I didn't even know about those.
That kinda makes me wonder how the middle-east exodus of refugees will affect postal
history that the next generation of collectors will speculate over, and wonder.
Just Chillin'
TuskenRaider
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One of the earliest sets of Refugee stamps issued is from Lebanon in 1926 "Aid to Refugees" overprints. This is Scott # B1-B12, and CB1-CB4, SG # 79-94, or YT # 63-74 and PA 17-20
This set commemorates and raised funds for the 29,000 Armenian refugees who left Cilicia and other Turkish Territories in 1921-1923. I am not sure if this is the earliest set issued on the topic of refugees, but it could well be.
The earliest migration of Armenians to Lebanon was in 1915 during the Armenian Genocide.
The history of this area is always depressingly interesting:
Edited quote: As a result of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, Cilicia, an Ottoman region in the southeastern corner of Asia Minor, was brought under French control from December 1918 until October 1921. The initial months of occupation were marked by measures taken first by the British and then by the French to bring over 170,000 Armenian refugees back to their homes with dreams of reinstituting the Armenian Cilician Kingdom of ancient times.. The majority of repatriates were Cilician Armenians, whom the Turks had forcibly deported to the Syrian desert in 1915.
However, postwar rivalries between the French and British allies on the one hand, and Turkish Kemalist incursions, on the other, gradually destroyed Armenian aspirations towards an autonomous Cilicia. On October 21, 1921, France signed the Ankara Agreement with the Kemalists and relinquished Cilicia to them. By January 1922 the region was brought under total Kemalist control, and the Armenian exodus (to Lebanon and Syria) accelerated.
reference: http://www.armenian-history.com/Nyuter/HISTORY/G_Moumdjian/Garabet_M_Cilicia_under_French_mandater_1918_1921.htm
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And that Armenian diaspora led, in a roundabout way, to this recent acquisition:
William Saroyan was an Armenian-American author and playwright, and winner of Pulitzer Price for drama before the Second World War. This cover, signed by the artist who designed the joint U.S.-Russia Saroyan commemorative issue, was sent to me by an American woman who had found my web page about Saroyan, William Saroyan posts a letter; the web page is mainly about a paquetbot cover in my collection posted by Saroyan himself, from U.S.S. America, in 1962. (Apologies to those who are familiar with the story of my Saroyan paquetbot cover — I've bragged about it before.)
Bob
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09:56:33pm
Bragged and well deserved praise as usual, Bob.
Once again shedding light on one of History's dark forgotten corners.
Forgotten, here in the US assuming it was ever well known in the first place, an assumption that may well justify the comment about the word itself.
My son had a couple of friends over a week or so ago and one of them asked about stamps so I brought out a small pile of 102 cards that contained an un-remarkable accumulation of issues being readied for mounting when I get back home to my beloved albums. ( My wife and dog as well.).
As he looked at the "mishmash" I commented on what was being illustrated and some history of its creation for each card. Afterward he said he had never realized how much was involved in the hobby. He, as many do, thought it was simply a matter of aligning a bunch of colored pieces of paper on a page, saying, "I never thought about those things that happened were reflected in the stamps."
Other than someone who is just starting I have never met another dedicated stamper who was not more aware of our diverse cultures, convoluted histories and aspirations than the average citizen. Sometimes that knowledge is quite deep in some totally obscure area, but still usually interesting. Other times the knowledge contains a different slant on events that played out right in front of us as we lived out our lives.
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Recent comments in the "Show your most recent acquisitions - Part 3" concerns refugees and stamps. Rather than hijack the "recent acquisitions" topic, I'm opening this thread about refugees, stamps, and postal history.
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Not a new acquisition, but pertinent to the subject of refugees, is this Vietnam "Family postal card":
In 1954, the Geneva Convention agreed to separate Vietnam into two parts, the communist north and the "democratic" south. Families with members in both North Vietnam and South Vietnam suddenly were not able to travel to visit each other, or even to send ordinary mail since, I presume, North Vietnam was not recognized by the United Nations. These postal cards allowed these family members to communicate with each other, after a fashion. Note the transit time: the postal card was postmarked in North Vietnam on Aug. 8, 1963; the receiving postmark is dated Jan. 17, 1964, more than four months later. I've always been curious about that dark red spot, which looks suspiciously like blood, and lord knows there was enough blood spilled in Vietnam. Some of mine included!
These family postcards aren't easily available, and are never inexpensive. They're usually in bad condition as well, which is as it should be — the condition certainly reflects the chaos that Vietnam suffered for decades between the Second World War and the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. They certainly fit in the category of "adversity mail".
Bob
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re: Refugees, stamps, and postal history
Hi Everyone;
Thanks for showing that piece Bob, very interesting. I didn't even know about those.
That kinda makes me wonder how the middle-east exodus of refugees will affect postal
history that the next generation of collectors will speculate over, and wonder.
Just Chillin'
TuskenRaider
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this post
Retired Ap. Book Mod, Pres Golden Gate Stamp Club, Hi Tech Consultant
28 Sep 2015
05:26:01pm
re: Refugees, stamps, and postal history
One of the earliest sets of Refugee stamps issued is from Lebanon in 1926 "Aid to Refugees" overprints. This is Scott # B1-B12, and CB1-CB4, SG # 79-94, or YT # 63-74 and PA 17-20
This set commemorates and raised funds for the 29,000 Armenian refugees who left Cilicia and other Turkish Territories in 1921-1923. I am not sure if this is the earliest set issued on the topic of refugees, but it could well be.
The earliest migration of Armenians to Lebanon was in 1915 during the Armenian Genocide.
The history of this area is always depressingly interesting:
Edited quote: As a result of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, Cilicia, an Ottoman region in the southeastern corner of Asia Minor, was brought under French control from December 1918 until October 1921. The initial months of occupation were marked by measures taken first by the British and then by the French to bring over 170,000 Armenian refugees back to their homes with dreams of reinstituting the Armenian Cilician Kingdom of ancient times.. The majority of repatriates were Cilician Armenians, whom the Turks had forcibly deported to the Syrian desert in 1915.
However, postwar rivalries between the French and British allies on the one hand, and Turkish Kemalist incursions, on the other, gradually destroyed Armenian aspirations towards an autonomous Cilicia. On October 21, 1921, France signed the Ankara Agreement with the Kemalists and relinquished Cilicia to them. By January 1922 the region was brought under total Kemalist control, and the Armenian exodus (to Lebanon and Syria) accelerated.
reference: http://www.armenian-history.com/Nyuter/HISTORY/G_Moumdjian/Garabet_M_Cilicia_under_French_mandater_1918_1921.htm
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re: Refugees, stamps, and postal history
And that Armenian diaspora led, in a roundabout way, to this recent acquisition:
William Saroyan was an Armenian-American author and playwright, and winner of Pulitzer Price for drama before the Second World War. This cover, signed by the artist who designed the joint U.S.-Russia Saroyan commemorative issue, was sent to me by an American woman who had found my web page about Saroyan, William Saroyan posts a letter; the web page is mainly about a paquetbot cover in my collection posted by Saroyan himself, from U.S.S. America, in 1962. (Apologies to those who are familiar with the story of my Saroyan paquetbot cover — I've bragged about it before.)
Bob
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
28 Sep 2015
09:56:33pm
re: Refugees, stamps, and postal history
Bragged and well deserved praise as usual, Bob.
Once again shedding light on one of History's dark forgotten corners.
Forgotten, here in the US assuming it was ever well known in the first place, an assumption that may well justify the comment about the word itself.
My son had a couple of friends over a week or so ago and one of them asked about stamps so I brought out a small pile of 102 cards that contained an un-remarkable accumulation of issues being readied for mounting when I get back home to my beloved albums. ( My wife and dog as well.).
As he looked at the "mishmash" I commented on what was being illustrated and some history of its creation for each card. Afterward he said he had never realized how much was involved in the hobby. He, as many do, thought it was simply a matter of aligning a bunch of colored pieces of paper on a page, saying, "I never thought about those things that happened were reflected in the stamps."
Other than someone who is just starting I have never met another dedicated stamper who was not more aware of our diverse cultures, convoluted histories and aspirations than the average citizen. Sometimes that knowledge is quite deep in some totally obscure area, but still usually interesting. Other times the knowledge contains a different slant on events that played out right in front of us as we lived out our lives.
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