Critics resisted postal reform in 19th-century France because they were convinced that reducing postal rates would subsidize the rich. The arguments for and against reduced rates were politically charged.

The C.I.S.S. commenced its 2016 program with its Competitions Meeting held at the Royal Philatelic Society's headquarters in London on Feb. 20.

More than 125 people have signed up to serve as volunteers at World Stamp Show-NY 2016, but many more are needed, according to Mark Butterline, the show’s volunteer chairman. WSS-NY 2016 will take place May 28-June 4 in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 W. 34th St. (at 12th Avenue).

There are stamps that carry the mail, stamps that pay taxes and fees, and stamps that do both. The multitasking postage and revenue stamps issued by many nations made good sense and saved money.

Romania’s philatelic bureau, Romfilatelia, presents what it calls “curiosities and superlatives” on four stamps issued Feb. 24. In announcing the issue, Romfilatelia described the stamps as depicting “examples from areas such as art, coins, crafts and natural heritage, which impress by extraordinary sizes, spectacular shapes and stories … ”

The United Nations Postal Administration and India Post are participating in a joint issue for International Women’s Day, March 8. The stamps promote the United Nations’ “HeForShe” gender-equality campaign that urges men to stand up for the rights of their mothers and sisters. The campaign was developed by UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.)

Syria has been much in the news of late because of the ongoing civil war with tens of thousands killed, millions of refugees, the rampages of ISIS, Russian military intervention, and other sad events. Memories of a happier time can be found in the stamps of Latakia.

Great Britain’s Royal Mail honors six British humanitarians on stamps being issued March 15. The set of six includes three se-tenant (side-by-side) nondenominated, first-class stamps, and three se-tenant £1.33 stamps.

If there is a 2-year-old toddler in your life, you might create a future stamp collector by using stamps of Great Britain to play a game of identify the animals. Great Britain has issued more stamps depicting animals than you likely realize.

Earlier this week, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation released a list of the top 10 most checked out non-fiction books at the Vancouver Public Library. We at Linn's Stamp News are honored to report that the Scott catalogs cracked the list.

Great Britain’s Royal Mail issued six self-adhesive postage labels Feb. 17 picturing mail transportation over the centuries. Great Britain’s Royal Mail calls such labels “post & go.” The denominations or service inscriptions are printed at the time of purchase.

On April 29, 1946, Poland issued a 3-zloty+5z Death Spreading Poison Gas over Majdanek Prison Camp semipostal stamp (Scott B45). This stamp remembers the more than 350,000 Jews who were exterminated at this camp during the Holocaust. The macabre and striking design features an allegory of death as a skeleton dressed in a Nazi SS uniform.

Four New Zealand stamps picturing glowworms glow in the dark. The stamps are being issued March 2. New Zealand Post said, “The stamps have been printed using glow-in-the-dark technology to replicate the effect of glowworms in the wild — simply expose them to sunlight and then step into a dark space to see the stamps light up.”

The United Kingdom's Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, is the third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Prince Andrew was born Feb. 19, 1960, and has been depicted on many stamps from the British Commonwealth.

“Six degrees of separation” is the notion that everything is only a few short steps away from everything else. This term’s widespread use in contemporary culture might be a side effect of worldwide email and social media, fueling the feeling that even in our vast and populous world, connecting with others is easier every day. The same kind of connectedness is often noteworthy in stamp subjects or themes, each one connecting to another and yet another as time goes by.

When you use Google, Bing or other search engines to look up information about stamps, you often get information not related to postage stamps as well. One way to avoid these extraneous results is to use sites that are limited to stamps.

On March 1, Canada Post will issue nondenominated (85¢) domestic letter-rate “P” permanent Hydrangeas stamps with two designs in self-adhesive booklets of 10, coil rolls of 50, two-stamp souvenir sheets, and postal cards imprinted for delivery anywhere in the world.

The letter, scribbled out on Dec. 6, 1870, was written by a Frenchman, Charles Mesnier (or Mesmier), and is addressed to his mother in Pont-Audemer, Normandy. At the time it was written, the Franco-Prussian War was in full swing, with German forces surrounding Paris for almost four months.

The Penny Red replaced the Penny Black in 1841, which was taken out of circulation due to the potential of fraudulent reuse. Prior to the Penny Red’s launch the Rainbow Colour Trials was conducted to find the ideal color for the stamp.

On May 12, 1937, Newfoundland issued a set of 11 stamps with designs showing scenes of Newfoundland with an inset portrait of King George VI (Scott 233-243).