Scrabble tiles from Andorra
By Denise McCarty
Spanish Andorra’s new stamp for the Fulbright program pictures three Scrabble words.
Page 22 Recent stamps feature icons of pop culture from rock posters to games, both board and video.
Australia Post features art of rock music posters
on a pane of 10 50¢ stamps issued Sept. 12. The stamps are se-tenant, side by side.
The stamp shown in Figure 1 pictures a poster picturing the tongue-and-lips logo of the Rolling Stones, as drawn by Ian McCausland for the band’s 1973 Australian tour.
This logo also is in the border of a 2003 Austrian souvenir sheet featuring members of the band (Scott 1924).
The oldest poster pictured on the Australian stamps dates from a 1969 show by the Australian band Masters Apprentices. No one knows who designed this poster, which came from the private collection of Jim Keays, the band’s lead singer.
In chronological order, the other 20 th-century posters shown on the stamps are the 1972 Sunbury Rock Festival poster by John Retska; a 1979 poster by Phil Pinder for a three-act concert by the Angels, Sports and Paul Kelly; a Midnight Oil poster by Phil Ellett, also circa 1979; a 1983 poster by Goaanart and Judy Kenneally for the band called Goanna Spirit of Place; a 1990 poster for Mental as Anything designed by Reg Mombassa, a pseudonym for band member Chris O’Doherty; and a 1999 poster by Jeff Raglus for the Apollo Bay Music Festival.
The other two posters are from the 21 st century. The design team Devil’s Candy created the poster for a 2002 Magic Dirt show, and James Bellesini designed the poster for the 2003 Big Day Out music festival.
Noel Leahy, the philatelic manager for Australia Post, says the posters in this stamp set were chosen for a number of reasons, including prominence of the designer, the collectbility of the poster and the magnitude of the band or event.
They also were chosen to represent different eras.
The addresses of Australia’s bureau and its new-issue agency in the United States are: Australian Philatelic Bureau, Box 4000, Ferntree Gully, Victoria 3156, Australia; Australian Stamp Agency in North America, 1 Unicover Center, Cheyenne, WY 82008-0010.
Spanish Andorra
Tiles from a Scrabble game are featured on the stamp from Spanish Andorra shown in Figure 2.
This 0.57-euro stamp commemorates the United States Fulbright program. The stamp was issued Sept. 8.
The design includes three words spelled out
using Scrabble tiles. "Fulbright" is written across the center of the stamp, and "Cultura" is spelled out in the upper right.
The third word, "Pau," reads downward starting in the upper left of the design. Pau is Catalan for "Paul" and the name of a city in the French Pyrenees.
The points indicated on the tiles match the Spanish-language version of the game.
The Fulbright program, proposed in 1945, is an international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research and teaching worldwide. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
According to an agreement made in 2000 between the governments of Andorra and the United States, two Andorrans per year can receive Fulbright scholarships to study at universities in the United States.
The address of the postal administration for Spanish Andorra is Organismo Autonomo de Correos y Telegrafos, Servicio Filatelico Internacional, Palacio de Comunicaciones, 28070 Madrid, Spain.
Japan
Japan issued 10 stamps Sept. 20 to honor the 10 th anniversary of the video game Resident Evil, known in Japan as Biohazard, according to information posted on the Internet in early September by British stamp dealer and catalog publisher Stanley Gibbons.
Capcom, a Japanese company, developed Resident Evil in 1996.
The Capcom fi rm says of this video game series: "The Resident Evil series, which began in 1996, has helped to propel the survival horror genre into the mainstream. The series has shipped over 30 million units (as of March 31 st, 2006) and continues to entertain fans worldwide.
"The intense story and cutting-edge graphics have combined to create a deep gaming world that has even been expanded into nongaming media such as the Hollywood movie series of Resident Evil and Resident Evil: Apocalypse, each earning over 100 million dollars at the box-offi ce."
The 10 stamps are setenant and are denomominated 80-yen each.
The addresses of the Japanese bureau and its new-issue agency in the United States are: Tokyo Central Post Office, Philatelic Section, CPO Box 888, Tokyo, 100-8799, Japan; Interpost, Box 420, Hewlett, NY 11557-0420.
Figure 1. A Rolling Stones poster is included in the Australian Rock Poster stamp pane.
Figure 2. Tiles from a Scrabble game are shown on this stamp from Spanish Andorra honoring the Fulbright program.