Sunday, January 3, 2016

Sunday Stamps - Bridges

The last time Bridges was the topic for Sunday Stamps I took a trip down the River Tyne in stamps.

This time I have just one stamp, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. This was issued in 2014 at a rate of $5.60, the cost at the time for priority mail. I occasionally send small packages, and some of them get close to that in price, so I bought 4 of them.




This double-decked suspension bridge connects Brooklyn and Staten Island in New York, and was completed in 1964, at which point it was the longest suspension bridge in the world having surpassed the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco by 60 feet. It lost this title to the Humber Bridge in the UK in 1981 (which in turn lost the title in 1998), and is currently the 11th longest bridge of its type in the world. (The Humber Bridge is now 7th.)

The bridge is named after the explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, who was the first European to as into the Hudson River and what is now New York Harbor.  For some unknown reason his name is misspelled on the bridge itself.

I think the Priority Mail series of stamps is beautifully done, they all have a certain similarity in design and presentation, and they are larger than the average US stamp size. And despite my occasional package sending, I still haven't used one! I think this stamp in particular has stunning colors of the sky, and the angle from which the bridge is painted is unusual.

10 comments:

  1. Ah, we did the same bridge - but a different era stamp! Nice to see.

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  2. Gorgeous stamp. Bridges are such fascinating structures.

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  3. Wonderful stamp, which also suits well in a 'sunrise / sunset theme :-)

    And yes, bridges are amazing structures, and suspension bridges even more fascinating!

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  4. Beautiful colours and harmonious design, I like the retro feel to the stamps. Of course a ship floating into view is always a winner with me.

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    1. Recently the stamps in this series all have that retro feel - I think they are really well done, hopefully I can show another one or two later this year for Sunday Stamps.

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