Bitter Grounds

stamps, espresso & conversation

Taiwan 2024 stamp program! I found news releases so WOO HOO!

Nov 7, 2023

The Taiwan 2024 stamp program has already produced a couple of great finds and it's only November 2023. Not only have the first quarter scans arrived, but I also found a trove of fantastic news releases for every issue, past and future. This is exciting I can now...

LIECHTENSTEIN – Animals Fantastic N°6

December 1, 2023

Photo of signage for The Three Houses B&B

Time away & a selfie in Stratford

Friends decided I needed a brain break from 2020. They arranged for a weekend of food, wine, a play and a selfie in Stratford, Ontario. One waggish friend...

Catpaw's archive picks

Queen Victoria – Small Queen Cancels

Not in a pithy mood lately so I'll just share some of my Small Queen cancels with you. I have a couple hundred - collected mostly for the various cancels and...

Catpaw's archive picks

1895 Kinetoscope, tech as art

I found the coolest patent design while looking for something entirely unrelated - an 1895 Kinetoscope, also called the Viviscope. The diagrams are wonderful....

Catpaw's archive picks

Hungarian airmail – the great Turul

A couple more nifty Hungarian airmail stamps for today's offering - 1927-1930 airmails (Scott's C12-17). I'm missing C14, so I'll have to go hunting for it...

Catpaw's archive picks

Weaving tales with EUROPA 2022 – Stories & Myths

It's that time again! EUROPA 2022 is here with stories and myths from across the continent. This is one of the most anticipated series of the year for me....

Catpaw's archive picks

Royal Mail update – In Memoriam: Her Majesty The Queen

The Royal Mail will release a set of stamps on November 10, 2022 to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's reign. The four stamp set, titled In Memoriam: Her Majesty...

Catpaw's archive picks

Charity auction for “Russian warship, go to#uy!”

A charity auction for “Russian warship, go to#uy!” / «Русский военный корабль, иди на#уй!» series has been organised. Ukshposhta has announced 15 charity...

Catpaw's archive picks

Soruth 1868 – two beautiful stamps from a Princely State

Here are a couple of lovelies - Soruth 1868. I acquired them about a year ago at auction. Soruth (or Sorath, Junagadh, and Saurashtra) was a small Princely...

Catpaw's archive picks

Airmail balsa plane from Suck UK mail order

Nifty present for stamp collectors – mail them a balsa plane

Have any airmail stamp collectors on your Christmas list? I've been lurking on the Suck UK website again and found the ultimate philately related gift. Is...

Catpaw's archive picks

Bluenose is 100 – a stamp celebration

Canada's beloved Bluenose is 100 years old this March and of course, we'll celebrate with a new stamp. The Bluenose issue will likely be unveiled in Feb, with...

Catpaw's archive picks

Exploring Canadian Airmail History: Messenger to the gods

Nov 4, 2023

Canada's venture into airmail continued with Mercury Takes Flight (C2), issued December 4, 1930. Unlike the first stamp, Mercury took off with little fanfare or angry comments about the design [see previous article The History of Canadian Airmail – C1 Aircraft &...

HO, HO, HO! Christmas 2023 stamps are here!

Nov 1, 2023

HO, HO, holy cats! Christmas 2023 stamps are here! And of course, I have a backlog of new issues to post. Stamps are rolling in at a fast pace now, so there will be updates almost daily for the month of November. This is becoming a fun tradition here at Bitter Grounds...

2024 US stamp program is here!

Nov 1, 2023

Hard to believe the 2024 US stamp program is here. It feels like I just wrote about the 2023 season. The usual caveat applies - there will be changes as the year progresses. Changes will include late additions, release dates added and special first day release...