Sunday Stamps - 'X'

1970, Canada
designer: Edward R.C. Bethune

Expo 70, held in Osaka Japan, was Asia's first World Exposition. Canada had four pavilions - Governments of Canada, British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario. This stamp shows the white garden lily which was the floral emblem of Quebec until 1999 when it was replaced with an iris. The other stamps in this set showed the trillium for Ontario and the dogwood for British Columbia. The Canada stamp had the Expo 67 logo. The Expo 70 logo was designed by Yusaku Kamekura. It is a stylized cherry blossom with five petals representing the five continents. The circle in the centre represents Japan.

for the letter X - EXPO

Sunday Stamps - 'W'

1955, Rhodesia and Nyasaland

David Livingstone was the first European to set eyes on these waterfalls of the Zambezi River which he named after Queen Victoria. Until the railroad was built in 1905, very few other Europeans visited the area.  By 1955, it was possible to fly over the falls.  Livingstone can be seen in the foreground being carried by his servants. During the wet season, the width of the falls can grow to almost 1 mile wide. It is divided into five separate falls: Devils Cataract, Main Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Rainbow Falls, and the Eastern Cataract.

for the letter W - waterfalls

Sunday Stamps - 'V'

1996, Japan International Letter Writing Week
artist Katsushika Hokusai

Red Mt Fuji at Dawn,  around 1830 by Ukiyo-e artist Hokusai who was by then in his 70s. Ukiyo-e artists were well known for their wood block prints during the Edo period (1600-1868).  This stamp shows one of the '36 views of Mt Fuji', a series that shows Mt Fuji from different locations and in different seasons and weather.  Mt Fuji is on the island of Honshu and last erupted in 1708.

for the letter V - volcano

Sunday Stamps - 'U'

1984, Great Britain, Urban Renewal
designer: Ronald Maddox

The stamp on the left shows Bush House at the docks on the Avon River in Bristol built in the 1830s as a warehouse for an iron foundry and later for tea. In the 1970s it was converted into an art gallery and performing arts centre and is now known as the Arnolfini. On the right, is a view of Commercial Street at the River Tay in Perth where architects have taken care to create a new housing development that harmonizes with the traditional, historical building style in the neighbourhood.

for the letter U - urban renewal

Sunday Stamps - 'T'

2017, Germany, definitive 'baby animals'

Wildschwein, or wild boar, is one of the widest ranging mammals in the world and has become an invasive species in many places.  They are strong, intelligent and highly adaptable and can become quite the pests while damaging crops, eating birds eggs, and scaring of cattle. These tierkinder stamps are an ongoing series since 2014.

for the letter T - tierkinder