The farmer wanted to take a day off of Postal History Sunday and the
farmer did NOT want to take a day off of Postal History Sunday. He
discussed this with himself and came up with a compromise. There will
be a PHS for today, but it will be a slightly easier post to write
because it will be a traditional "count-down" blog post. A little
easier for me and hopefully fun for you as you compare/contrast your own
feelings about particular Postal History Sunday writings.
For this year's count down, I thought I would share the top 10 blog posts from MY perspective. The criteria is that these are the entries that I learned the most from, those I really enjoyed putting together, and/or posts that I feel are some of the best finished products from the whole batch. This might actually be a bit tougher than it sounds, because I've got 50+ selections to choose from! If I miss one of your favorites, feel fee to speak out.
And, to make this more of a challenge for you - I've included a question for each blog. Can you answer it? I have a suspicion I know where you could find the answers too!
People's Choice. Borderline Benefits
Which well-known philosopher called Ferney, France, his home?
Here is the post that recorded the most visits on the GFF Postal History blog (this does not include traffic on the Genuinely Faux farm blog). I feel like this might be one of the clearest and most direct teaching blogs I have on Postal History Sunday right now. There are others with a similar goal, of course, but I like how this one presents itself. The topic is a quick exploration of some of the special letter rates for border communities in Europe in the 1850s, 60s, and 70s.
If you saw a postmark that read "Verbano," what would it likely be referring to?
First things first - lists on my blogs go to eleven. It's a thing with me - really.
This Postal History Sunday may have been one of those where I had to climb the biggest learning curve just to get something that was accurate AND interesting out in the world. It makes the list because I think I did a pretty good job finding the information I needed and putting it all together. And, on top of it all, you get to explore steamship travel on some of the deep lakes in the Alps between Italy and Switzerland.
To make this one even better, it takes a lesson from the People's Choice blog and extends it to mail that traveled on these lakes. Yes, that's a teaser.
10. Poo d'Etat
The illustration on the envelope reads "Napoleon, Friedland, 1807" - what is it referring to?
How could this one NOT make the list? A title like that?!?
This one was extremely enjoyable for me to research and write. The connection to farming is hard for me to resist, given my real life occupation as owner/operator of a small-scale, diversified farm (the Genuine Faux Farm, if you must know). This is one of the joys of writing your own blog - you make the rules as to what makes it in and what doesn't. Poo for the win!
Why did Eric W Pierce choose the route via Panama?
There will be 24 cent US 1861 issue postal history in this blog. That's all there is to it - because that's what I do. But, I sure will do my best to make it entertaining for everyone!
Too Late Again? features one of my favorite items that lets us explore multiple story lines and leaves us wondering - why in the world did Eric W Pierce send this item on a steamboat when the overland mail would have been faster? Why?
8. Unforgotten
If you prefer a bit more modern postal history, then this one is for you. A letter to Geoffrey Charles French goes on a merry chase that travels the globe, only to be returned to the sender once it is determined French went down with his plane in 1944.
In some very real ways, this post had a "leg up" on the others because I actually tried my hand at writing this one up in a blog several years ago - before there was a Postal History Sunday. What?!? There was life before PHS? Nope! Not possible!
For many of us who study postal history in the 1850s through 1870s, the German States can be a bit of a puzzle, especially if you do not speak or read Deutsch at all well. This is one of those entries where I probably stood as much to gain by getting it all organized in my head as anyone else. For the effort alone, it might come towards the top. It's even better that I think it presents itself quite well.
So, if you want a blog sized look at how the Thurn and Taxis mails worked in the 1850s and 1860s, this is the one you might enjoy reading.... or maybe if you want to learn about post horns.
6. Run Aground!
The steamship carrying the featured cover ran aground on Anticosti Island in the St Lawrence Seaway making the journey this letter took to get to its destination that much more interesting. You can learn a little bit about the Allan Line, compasses, and even how a couple who are stranded on an island can make due with flotsam from the various shipwrecks over time.
At this point, it may seem that I favor the posts that feature a single postal history item, and this is another that falls into that category. But, when the story is compelling, it is hard not to enjoy the process of uncovering it and sharing it with others. This particular cover was sent to England, but it had to follow the recipient back home to the United States before it caught up with him.
For those who might care - this is one of my favorite postal history items - which is saying something.
I like this blog post because it felt so different from many of the other topics I was considering at that time. It was fresh for me, so it probably felt fresh for those who read it. On top of it all, I renewed my interest in postal history items after 1875 and the formation of the General Postal Union. That's not a bad thing in and of itself.
If you would like a quick exploration into the mailing of packages in 1893/1894 and you think it might be fun to learn a bit about some of the medical industry at that time - here's a reading for you.
3. Business, Madness, and Social Betterment
One of the comments on this blog post is that it was more of a "social history" post than a postal history post. Of course, they were correct. But, what a social history post it was! It just goes to show you that you can take a fairly common, if clean, cover and take it all sorts of places with the story lines encourages me to discover. Alas for Mad Jacques and hurray for Amicie Lebaudy!
There have been times that I have been so pleased to actually acquire a certain item that it did not take me all that long to produce a Postal History Sunday featuring that item. Sometimes, the rush to produce something and "do it justice" resulted in a good enough, but not superb, post. But, with this one, I think I got the balance right. I learned a host of new things, I provided some interesting information to those who were reading, AND I think it reads pretty well. We'll take it!
It all began with a single item that caught my imagination, and once I researched that, I had an idea of what to look for. A couple of items later and we have a nice blog post for Postal History Sunday. Once again, we have a connection to agriculture and food production, which is bound to get at least a little of my attention. This one reaches number one because I learned many new things and came to understand several other things I had learned at some point earlier in my life.
There you have it! The farmer's picks for the top Postal History Sundays in 2021 up to this point. Feel free to enjoy (or re-enjoy) none, some or all of these at your leisure. They'll be here when you are ready for them. And maybe... just maybe... you too, will learn something new.
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