| 
 | 
         		
         		
         
            			
            | Monday, July 10, 2023Who Was Henrietta Stiffi & Who Sent This Letter From The Hague ? 8:01 pm cdtWho was Henrietta Stiffi and who sent this letter to her from
                  The Hague on August 24th 1936 at 10 in the morning ?  
 Nazi Germany increased the duration
                  of compulsory military service from one year to two on that date.   Henrietta Stiffi was at 131 North Tucker Street in Memphis Tennesse.  131 North Tucker was, at that time, the B'nai Brith home for the elderly,
                  Today, it's known as Majestic Gardens at Memphis. The Hague, or 's‑Gravenhage, is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing
                  the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative center and its seat of government, and while the official capital
                  of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, The Hague has been described as the country's de facto capital. The Hague is also the capital
                  of the province of South Holland, and the city hosts both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal
                  Court.
 With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam
                  and Rotterdam.
   The advertising machine cancellation
                  adorned with flowers and the The Hague circular date stamp of August 24th 1936 states, "Elke Bos Off Of Heidebrand Is
                  Verlies Voor Stad En Land". Translated:"Every
                  Forest Or heath Fire Is A Loss For City And Country". The stamps, 2.5 cent green Netheralands Scott #144, issued in 1924, and 10 cent dull violet Netherlands
                  Scott 178 issued between 1926 and 1939, provide the postage rate to the United States.  There's no return address. Only Grand Hotel "Central" La Haye
                  (Hollande) without the sender, perhaps to avoid the censors.  War was raging in Europe. Maybe the letter was from Ms.Stiffi's boyfriend having a "hard"
                  time without her. If it was, he must have been very lonely in his Grand Hotel room all by himself.The letter is gone. Only
                  the postmarked envelope remains along with the Dutch stamps.  Nazi Germany didn't invade the Netherlands until May 10th 1940. It was the start of five days of fighting
                  with the Dutch Army.
 
 | 
         		
         			
         
            				
            | 
 | 
         		
         	
      
      
      
       For the next few weeks I'll be talking
         about the first day covers of ArtCraft along with everything else.
ArtCraft closed it's doors recently after 76 years of making philatelic history.
I'm  predicting a sudden, salubrious escalation in the value
         of the ArtCraft  cachet, all ArtCraft first day covers and ArtCraft portrait cards.
Including those connected to the Postal Commemorative Society
Their  departure signals the end of an extraordinarily crucial,
         very  important, highly significant and exceedingly meaningful period in  philately
A mournful signal which will be heard around the world and
         lamented throughout the multitude of collectors
Leo
         and Sam August treasured their associations with the world's greatest philatelists
Leo's  contributions to our hobby were significant enough
         to earn the coveted  Luft Award and a place in the American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame.
ArtCraft has well-earned it's place in the great chronological
         record in the history of philately.
Their
         raised ink, line-engraved intaglio printed cachets rank among the most aesthetic in the world.
ArtCraft cachets are not just beautiful. 
They are works
         of art that showcase the wonders of the world and illuminate the powers of human creativity and ingenuity.
         The Coober Pedy Cover
One of the World's Great Philatelic Rarities 

Could this become la pièce
         de résistance de toute la modern Australian philatélie ? 
Coober  Pedy is a town in northern South Australia. The town is sometimes   referred to as the "opal
         capital of the world" because of the quantity   of precious opals that are mined there. Coober Pedy is renowned for its
           below-ground residences,called "dugouts", which are built in this   fashion due to the scorching daytime heat.
         The name "Coober Pedy" comes   from the local Aboriginal term kupa-piti, which means "white man's   hole".
Opal was found in Coober Pedy on 1 February 1915; since   then the town has been supplying most of the world's gem-quality
         opal.   Coober Pedy today relies as much on tourism as the opal mining industry   to provide the community with employment
         and sustainability. Coober  Pedy  has over 70 opal fields and is the largest opal mining area in the   world.
Coober
         Pedy - no village, no buildings, no roads, just   desert, mountains dotted with boulders. A bizarre lunar landscape, but 
          for opal seekers is the most exciting place on earth, where again every   day is the true challenge, happiness and luck just
         a shovel width apart   and where life is defined by two words: winners and losers. Coober  Pedy,  grab your hat, throw it
         into the air and where it lands start  digging ! 
 

 
 
      
          “The Scott
         Numbers are the copyrighted property of Amos Press Inc., dba Scott 
Publishing Co. The marks Scott and Scott’s are Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 
and are trademarks of Amos Press, Inc. dba Scott Publishing Co. No
         use may be 
made of these marks or of
         material which is reprinted from a copyrighted 
publication
         of Amos Press, Inc., without the express written permission of Amos 
Press, Inc., dba Scott Publishing Co., Sidney, Ohio 45365.”