World's First Triangle Stamp

The Cape of Good Hope designed a triangle-shaped stamp to help their citizens distinguish their stamps from those of other countries. Thus was born the first historic triangle stamp in the world. The year then was 1853. The stamp had a design of a lady sitting on top of a stone with an anchor nearby.

Surveyor General Charles Bell designed the stamp, which was printed by Messrs. Perkins, Bacon & Co. The denomination was 1d and brick red in colour. Another triangle stamp of 4d in blur was also released the same year.

World's First "Talking Stamp"

Bhutan released the world's first "talking stamp" in April 1973. It's a tiny vinyl record, that when played at 78 rpm, the Bhutanese national anthem and a brief history of this country.

WORLD'S FIRST POLYMER NOTE

Information on tyvek notes is still being researched & collated. Trial notes were done for Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras and Venezuela. American Bank Note Co. (ABNC) had the contract to produce paper notes for these countries. In the early 1980's it joined forces with Dupont to produce a more durable banknote. A commercial plastic material produced by Dupont - Tyvek- was used to produce these trial notes. ABNC had the printing plates and simply fed tyvek sheets through the printing presses instead of paper sheets.

It is not known whether it sought the permission of the respective central banks to do so (or indeed if it was required to do so) but it undoubtedly approached the particular banks with the so produced trials and set out to interest them in tyvek notes.

Costa Rica and Haiti agreed to a tyvek note issue. Haiti's notes are undated  produced under the law of 1979  but they are believed to have issued sometime in 1982. See below for more detail. Costa Rica's only issued tyvek note is dated 28.06.1983 which is most likely the date that the printing order was placed. The Haiti issue is understood to have lasted about 15 to 18 months. Apparently the inks did not bind to the tyvek successfully and in the humid tropical climate it came unstuck, smudging badly. It is presumed that Costa Rica's notes met a similar fate.

Some of the trials are also dated and this helps to pin point the time that ABNC embarked on this process in the early 1980's. For example, the El Salvador 5 Colones trial is dated 19 de Junio de 1980 which coincides with the date on P132A according to SCWPM. The trial also bears the date on the back of 10 de Diciembre de 1980

At the time, the British printer Bradbury Wilkinson was a subsidiary of ABNC and it secured a contract to print a One Pound note for the Isle of Man on tyvek. There was some form of technology transfer agreement and under this the tyvek was actually called Bradvek. The first notes appeared in 1983. These were not popular and a subsequent sale of Bradbury's by ABNC to Thomas De La Rue saw the end of the technology agreement and the cessation of the issue by the Isle of Man in 1988.

Wikipedia says : " In 1982 and 1983, the American Bank Note Company printed banknotes for Costa Rica (20 colones dated 1983 and trial notes of 100 colones) and Haiti (1, 2, 50, 100, 250 and 500 Gourdes, on DuPont's Tyvek polymers. These had fairly limited release, but did circulate in each country. Additional trial and specimen banknotes were developed for Honduras, Ecuador and El Salvador. Unfortunately, in tropical climates, ink did not bind well to the polymer and the notes began smearing quite badly. "

source: polymernotes.com/

  

WORLD'S FIRST POSTAGE STAMP ON THANKA

Silk rayon was used as the medium for a set of stamps issued September 30, 1969 depicting prayer banners.

The “thankas “ or “banners” are paintings of sacred and ceremonial subject, which are hung in temples,  private chapels or carefully rolled up to be carried over the shoulder when travelling, for the divinity lodged in the painting saves the bearer from the perils of his journey.

Buddhism cannot be imagined without the representation of its religious ideals.  To the Bhutanese art is more than aesthetics.  For them art does not merely generate aesthetic pleasure.  It personifies the scriptures and it makes the goal of meditation a visual attainment.

Perforated Souvenir Sheet containing three stamps of:

Chana Dorje (Vajrapani) 75ch

He is a divine Bodhisattva emanating for the Dhyani Buddha Aksobhya.  He holds in his right a vajra hand and his left hand is in karana mudra,

Three great teachers 5nu

            In Mahayana scriptures the noblest Bodhisattvas, out of compassion, refuse Nirvana, so that they might benefit afficted humanity.

Chenresik ( left side ) ,  Jampeyang ( right side ),  and Tashithagye ( center ) 6nu

            

 Chenresik is the supreme embodiment of compassion.  He assumes innumerable forms.  It is believed to be perpetually incarnated in each successive Dalai Lama of Tibet.

Jampeyang painted in red is the symbol of saving Knowledge.

Tashi-thagye in the presence of the Eight Auspicious Signs spell sanctity and happiness.

SOURCE: foxleylanestudio.com