Odd stamps : 01b Perfumed stamps

On of the first articles ever, and the first topic on 'odd stamps' was about perfumed stamps.

I didn't continue with that topic, but that doesn't mean there isn't anything more to say about it.
Today, another smelly stamp (block) for you.

full sheet of chocolate stamps

The sheet promotes the export of Liberian products.
I suppose they export cacao beans and not the finished chocolates as shown on the sheet.

One problem with scentened sheets / stamps is that the fragrance is lost after a while and only a duff chocolate odour is left.

one of the stamps in detail

the first article was listed under : Odd stamps : 01a Perfumed stamps

Odd stamps : 08 Stamps with special cuts - 08 b

A more recent issue of octagonal stamps, comes from the Asian country Bangladesh.
The stamps, six in total, show us bird nest of Bangladesh.

The stamps were issued as six single stamps (issued perforated) and as a non-perforated block.

6 individual stamps, showing bird's nests

one stamp in detail - 20 taka

The printing hasn't always been very accurate, but still a nice emission.

The same stamps get repeted on the sheet.
Face value of each stamp is 20 taka, but the sheet was sold for 150 taka.

block bird nests of Bangladesh

And to show you that I don't only get those items mint; a postally used example :

cover from Bangladesh with set of octagonal stamps

Odd stamps : 08 Stamps with special cuts - 08 a

We have arrived at the 8th odd shape (see square, pentagonal, hexagonal, heptagonal stamps before).
This time, I'll bring the octagonal stamps to you.

Octagonal stamps, have 8 sides.
So far, all odd stamps are relatively new (from the 70's of the 20th century till now).
The following stamps however are dated 1898 !

10 paras

20 paras

The stamps were issued in 1898.
Turkey was occupying Thessaly (now Greece) from 1897 till June 1898.
At that time, the following octagonal stamps were in use.

1 piastre

2 piastres

5 piastres

A lot of those stamps were cancelled to order (CTO), as well as forgeries.

As you see, odd stamps aren't 'new', as these stamps show.

And there are many more ...

Theme : 1st issues : 04 Brazil

I have left you all waiting for a long time, but here it is, the 1st post of 2013.
No better way to celebrate a 1st post then with a 1st issue.

3 years after the first stamp ever was issued, Brazil was the second country to emit stamps.
In 1843, the first Brazilian stamp set (30, 60 and 90 réis) was issued.
Because of the shape of the design, it didn't take long before people started to call the set : the bull's eyes.
And that's the name the first stamp(s) of Brazil still bare.

Brazil N° 1 -  bull's eye

Similar to the first stamp in Great Brittain, this stamp does not bare the name of the country.
As there were only 2 countries at that time that issued stamps, it wasn't very hard to know whether the stamp was from Brazil or Great Brittain.
Besides, there wasn't many postal traffic either.
It lasted till 1866, then Brazil (and all other countries, except Great Brittain) put the name of the country on its stamps.

The name 'bull's eye' refers to the big oval shaped design, that looks like a bull's eye.
In Portuguese, the language of Brazil, they are called olho(s)-de-boi.
In German (also often spoken in South America) they are 'Ochsenauge(n)'.

This first issue of Brazil was printed on 1,148,994 copies.

more under 'Brazil'