International maritime festivals in the Mediterranean

Since its first edition in 2010, the biennial Escale à Sète festival has welcomed the maritime world during Easter week, and celebrated traditions in the heart of the port of Sète.

Sète is a Mediterranean city founded under Louis XIV; a seaport and river port at the crossroads of the Canal du Midi, the Canal du Rhône à Sète and the Gulf of Lion; a city criss-crossed by canals populated by traditional boats and enlivened by the sporting fervor of Languedoc jousting; an exceptional setting, populated by seafarers who, through migration, have shaped the identity of this “singular island”; who have taken it to heart to maintain its heritage in its fishermen’s quarters, between sea and pond; with its oral traditions, its “baraquette” songs, its cuisine, its art of living.

A port turned towards the Mediterranean and open to the world.

The Fête du Timbre, organized by the Association Philatélique et Numismatique Carcassonnaise in partnership with La Poste, took place over the weekend. Nearly 130 people flocked to the Maison des Jeunes premises to buy the stamp and souvenir sheet on the theme of travel, issued on March 12, or to frank a letter that could be posted in the temporary office set up by the Post Office for the occasion.

Stamp Festival 2022 in Carcassonne
APNC organizers and the temporary post office

Six exhibitions of stamps, models and postcards (the History of the Fêtes du Timbre, cats, Pétain-type issues, postal wagons, the Beast of Gévaudan, the Resistance) were set up and presented by members of the association or its “youth” philatelic workshop. A free tombola offered six lucky winners gift vouchers worth 30 euros.

Visitors could also find the banknote, coin, stamp or old postcard to complete their collection at the “bourse d’échanges” stalls. Finally, the youngest visitors were able to take away mini-albums, stamps and the materials they needed to start a collection.

Fête du timbre 2022 à Carcassonne
A drawing for a stamp sleeve

The A.P.N.C., which takes a positive view of this initiative, based on the sharing of convivial moments between collectors, would also like to thank the elected representatives (Mmes Conquet (vice-president for culture in the département), Hérin (deputy) and Bardou (town hall) who, by their presence or their message, underlined the support given by institutions to the cultural activity proposed by the association in an intergenerational context, as we would also like to emphasize the quality of the partnership set up by the Post Office for this purpose.

In 2004, we presented a 250-page collection of
Red Cross civilian message forms from the 2nd World War. It was dedicated to
demonstrating, on the one hand, knowledge of as many forms as possible around the world, and
on the other, the family and relational interest that these messages could present.

Since then, thanks to the acquisition of new documents, we have published 18
supplements in the Club’s newsletter, plus an update of the French forms. Today, we
think it would be a good idea to think about a volume 2 of sorts, which would
take over from the 2004 edition. It will be less concerned with relations between
users, and more focused on a kind of inventory of the forms that we
have been able to discover for so many years. Of course, I don’t have all the
forms issued between 1939 and 1945 by the Red Cross Societies of the world’s various countries.
You will understand, for example, that it is difficult, if not impossible, to have recovered a
copy of the only 3 forms issued and used by “British Gambia”!

But it’s interesting to be able to present all the forms we’ve acquired up to now.
It’s been a considerable but fascinating task. This new edition, in
21 x 29.7 cm format, comprises 284 pages plus cover, printed in four-color process on
2-sided gloss coated 90 gr. paper, bringing together more than 550 documents on both sides, all
quite remarkable. The cover is printed in four-color process on
240 gr. invercoate paper, laminated on one glossy side and finished in spine, square and glued. The book is signed by
Marcel Nadal, former president of the Club Thématique Croix-Rouge, and prefaced by Guy Dutau,
of the Académie de Philatélie, the Académie Européenne de Philatélie and corresponding member
of the Académie Royale de Philatélie de Belgique. This book is aimed at
Club Thématique Croix-Rouge members, and all WW2 enthusiasts and collectors
.

The book will be published in a limited edition by Val d’Oise Editions & Rank Industrie at
€35.00 plus €8.00 postage. Find the subscription form below.

Extrait livre Les formulaires de messages civils Croix-Rouge

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Souscription livre Nadal

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