The northernmost point of the European mainland is the Nordkapp — the North Cape — in Norway. I have never had the pleasure of visiting this most interesting place, but my wife has. On a cruise along Norway’s Atlantic coastline, her ship docked at Honningsvag, and the passengers were then taken by bus to the North Cape. Due north is the Arctic Sea. My wife tells me that they visited the cape on a day with windy, wet and misty weather. This is apparently the kind of weather visitors can expect. The North Cape has attracted thousands of tourists each year for more than a century.

Texas native Alvin Ailey studied dance in Los Angeles and started his own dance company at age 27. Ailey was honored on a commemorative stamp in 2004.

The firm of Daniel F. Kelleher held its Flagship sale of U.S. and worldwide material Dec. 8-10 in Danbury, Conn.

Everett Dirksen represented the state of Illinois in the House of Representatives, and later in the U.S. Senate. He was first elected to Congress in 1932.

Cherrystone Philatelic Auctioneers offered “Rare Stamps and Postal History of the World” Dec. 1-2 in New York.

John McCloy was one of four Navy men honored in a set of stamps issued Feb. 4, 2010: the Distinguished Sailors commemoratives.

In 1999, Kazakhstan issued an Environmental Protection souvenir sheet of three (Scott 283). One of the stamps commemorates the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site on Aug. 29, 1991. The other two stamps promote saving the ozone layer and protecting nature, respectively. The large rainbow pictured in the selvage runs through two of the stamps.

Pioneering filmmaker Oscar Micheaux produced more than 40 films in his lifetime, a self-made entrepreneur who also wrote several books.

Also this week we announced that our Auction House Planner, which currently goes out on Wednesday afternoons, will be sent out on Sunday morning, and Donna Houseman reviewed Vol. 2 of 'The Philatelic Book of Secrets.'

A successful artisan and businessman, Paul Revere was also a veteran of the French and Indian War, and a courier for Boston patriots. His famous midnight ride in 1775 alerted colonists of approaching British troops.

These are the words of Sanaka Samanta, an Indian stamp designer with more than 400 postage pieces to his name.

Scott editors have updated the review of worldwide new issues and their costs and added the chart for 2014.

Famous for the Marshall Plan that assisted with European recovery after World War II, George C. Marshall was also a prominent military leader and Nobel laureate.

Regency-Superior held a two-day sale in conjunction with the Chicagopex 2015 stamp show, the annual exhibit sponsored by the Chicago Philatelic Society on Nov. 21-22.

Postal stationery is a collecting specialty with many followers in the United States. Official Mail postal stationery is a subset of the larger specialty. The first Official Mail postal stationery envelopes were issued in 1873. Since then, fewer than 100 Scott-listed major-number Official Mail postal stationery envelopes have been issued. The last three United States Official Mail postal stationery envelopes were issued at the domestic first-class rates of 39¢, 41¢ and 42¢, respectively, all of which were short-lived.

Late fall is not just peak season for bright, autumnal foliage but also for stamp auctions, and collectors found plenty of rare and beautiful items to admire in the last few months of 2015.

The United States Liberty series of definitive (regular-issue) stamps debuted in 1954. During its 26-year run, collectors discovered a bewildering array of varieties, including the so-called “wet” and “dry” printings. My focus this month is on the $1 stamp, which was first issued Oct. 7, 1955 (Scott 1052). This first printing is known as a “wet” printing, because the paper was slightly moist when the stamps were printed. This made the inked impression on the paper appear somewhat indistinct or soft.

ollowing the listings for Nicaragua’s postal tax stamps in the Scott Classic Specialized Catalogue of Stamps and Covers 1840-1940 is the modest array of postal issues of the Province of Zelaya (Bluefields) on the eastern coast of Nicaragua. Bluefields is in the area originally known as the Mosquito Coast Reservation, and its chief Caribbean port. The Mosquito name refers not to the flying insect but rather is a corruption of the name of the indigenous Miskito Indians.

If you overhear someone saying “Brazil came in second,” you might surmise that the subject of conversation is a soccer championship, or coffee production. Instead, you might learn that Brazil was the second nation in the world to have issued postage stamps, and the first on the American continent to have done so. he Empire of Brazil issued stamps Aug. 1, 1843. At first the three issued stamps were used in Rio de Janeiro. That might have been considered a trial period. After 30 days, the stamps were distributed to all major post offices in the empire.

More than 20 different upcoming U.S. stamp subjects were revealed Dec. 29, including a tribute to Star Trek and a Legends of Hollywood issue for Shirley Temple.