Famous people

A pair of stamps issued by the Republic of Chad in 1969 commemorated the travels of two German explorers of the continent of Africa. The right-hand stamp has a portrait of 19th century German explorer Heinrich Barth (1821-1865) next to…

Quite often when browsing stamps I come across items regarding certain people or subjects of which I previously had no knowledge. But that’s part of the fascination of stamp collecting as a hobby – it can be both intriguing and…

For Pope John Paul II’s visit to Austria in 1983, a postcard with a printed 3 schillings stamp, the ‘Bischofsmütze’, was produced as part of the ‘Get to know Austria’ postcard series. The card depicts the wooden image of the…

Harry Potter is possibly the world’s most popular wizard, and author J.K. Rowling’s fictional character’s exploits have been the subject of many stamp issues. The first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was published in 1997 and almost immediately…

If you think this is just a normal picture of a red fox you are mistaken. There is more to the image than that seen at first glance. Over the years the United States Postal Service has issued more than…

….. the song with the above title has been recorded on more than 200 singles and albums and by many famous singers, including Bing Crosby, Connie Francis, John McCormack and Roger Whittaker. Ireland is a country renowned not only for…

The ancestors of New Zealand’s Māori people arrived in canoes from Pacific islands before 1300 AD. The Māori had no written language and thus their history and legends were passed on orally from generation to generation, and through carving and…

The theatrical group Stage Commandos was born during World War II within the dockyards in Malta’s Cottonera locality. This theatrical group was formed purely to entertain the dock workers, keeping their morale high and positive. The workers themselves built a…

This article features four Norwegian rock music performers well known in Scandinavia but possibly not so well known in other parts of the world. In 2009 Norway issued a set of four stamps honouring their musical achievements. On the stamp…

PostBeeld has recently acquired a large amount of Europa stamps and we feature here a selection with the theme History, all from the year 1982. The first is from Portugal, showing King Emanuel I (1469-1521) on his way to meet…

The American Apollo 11 lunar mission took place in July 1969. It is remembered as one of the world’s most significant historical events, the impact of which has affected the lives of the world’s population, and continues as a source…

Small selection of stamps recently added to PostBeeld’s stock: Austria 2018, woven textile stamp with Tyrolean hat.

I’ve long been fascinated by the incredible feats of the brave and extremely tough men who set off from Europe and Scandinavia in search of fabled lands. It’s possible that those featured in this article were preceded by unknown explorers…

The Spanish Civil War had a dramatic effect on the artist Pablo Picasso’s outlook on life. Not having previously been a man interested in politics, the 1936 Franco uprising in Spain was an event that dragged him out of this…

In this second part of the story we provide an analysis of the song Bohemian Rhapsody. Freddie Mercury never really gave a clear explanation about the meaning of the song’s lyrics. The text contains many philosophical and religious elements. According…

An extremely popular event is held each year in the period between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day in The Netherlands. A radio station, NPO Radio 2, hosts a week-long programme playing what listeners vote to be the best 2,000…