France: Capitals of Europe - Valletta On March 10th 2017, the French postal service issued this stunning souvenir sheet. The issue has four individual stamps, and each of the stamps highlight a different part of what makes Valletta, the Maltese capital, great. The stamp shown on the top left side of the sheet depicts the Palace of the Grand Masters, which now houses the office of the President of Malta. The palace has a simple exterior design, which contrasts the abundance expressed in the interior design. The architect who was in charge of building the Palace, Girolamo Cassar, also headed the construction of the Saint John's Cathedral, which is built in the same style as the Palace. The cathedral was commisioned around 1575, and still stands today, although it was nearly destroyed in an aerial bombing during WWII. Valletta is a magnificant city, which has a tremendous history to it. In 2016 the city celebrated 450 years as an established city, and the city is definitely worth a visit. The stamps in the souvenir sheet are all denominated at 0.85, and the sheet can be found in the Stampworld Catalogue. India: Eminent Writers On the last day of May, th eIndian postal service issued this souvenir sheet, in order to honor five of the best and most admired writers from India. All five of the writers are depicted in each their individual stamp, and they are all denominated at 10 Rupees each. The five writers are K.V. Puttappa, who is regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century, Bhisham Sahni, famous for his novel and sceenplay Tamas, Balwant Gargi, a renowed Punjabi novelist among other things, Shrilal Shukla, a notable Hindi satire writer, and Krishna Chander, an Urdu and Hindi writer if novels and short stories. The stamps in the issue shows a portrait of each writer, and the simplicity of the issue, keeps the focus on the writers themselves. the stamps can be found in the Stampworld Catalogue. |