The Anthem Philatelist

Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death. He was the first British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which was renamed the House of Windsor by his son, George V. He was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and ascended the throne on January 22, 1901 upon Victoria's death. Born in 1841 he had to wait a long time to succeed to the throne. He married Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863 who bore him three sons and three daughters.    The coronation was originally scheduled for June 26, 1902, but Edward had to undergo an emergency appendectomy operation, so the coronation was postponed until August 9, 1902. The postcard above contains the lyrics of King Edward's coronation in 1902.

The Polish national anthem was written in July 1797 in Reggio near Bolonia by Józef Wybicki, one of the organisers of General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski's Polish Army in Italy. The theme of the original poem was a novel idea in the era of the nation state (that is, most European nations were made up of eponymous nationalities), that the nation does not need a territory to be a nation, it only needs a group of people. This idea was a timely one, as Poland had only been partitioned out of existence only two years earlier. Several more times in subsequent Polish history would an independent Polish nation appear then disappear from the map, which could explain why the song resonates with Poles even today. The original poem also mentions several Polish war heroes of the time, as well as heroes of past Polish wars; also Napoleon is mentioned, as the commanding officer of Dąbrowski and as an example to be held up. The source of the melody is unclear; it is usually ascribed to Michal Kleofas Og...

Fernando Montiel was never a bum fighter. In his long and distinguished boxing career, he's never been knocked out. In his native Mexico, he is mentioned at the same breath as Marquez, Morales, Barrera and Chavez, having won three world titles in three different weight classes. His two loses were a split and a majority decision against formidable opponents. After Montiels 2nd round KO courtesy of Nonito's brain concussing left hook to the temple, several of "The Filipino Flash" doubters were silenced , this time turned believers. Some questioned that he shouldn't be in the Ring's pound for pound list (presently at number 5, Montiel is at number 7) because aside from Vic Darchinyan, whom he floored in the 5th round of their 2007 Bridgeport encounter, he never fought any other elite opponents. His recent knockout victory against the the Armenian Olympian Sodirenko was not enought to impress his critics. But this time around, they were awestruck with hi...

Anton Pann is generally believed to have authored the music to Deşteaptă-te, române!, Romania's national anthem . His associate Gheorghe Ucenescu is known to have arranged the melody to the lyrics of Andrei Mureşanu , but Pann's direct implication in the creative process was allegedly not confirmed by sources. According to one account, Ucenescu had used a romanza composed by Pann in 1839, in turn complimenting the lyrics of Grigore Alexandrescu. It has also been argued that the music was that of a popular lied (German song), and first published in one of Pann's manele collections. The ethnographic research carried out by Dimitrie Gusti confirmed that the same melody was being sung as a folk song by Southern Dobrujan ethnic Turks in the 1930s.    Mihai Eminescu, one of Romania's most influential poets, made a reference to Pann in his poem Epigonii (1870), which, in its opening verses, traces the development of early literat ure and the impact of Romanticism. Cited alon...

Several countries issued a postage stamp based on the theme of National Symbols, the topic for last years (2010) UPAEP series. Most of the stamps issued depicts, flags, national emblems, plants, animals, etc. Some of the countries which issued their national anthem on stamps and these include Suriname , Brazi l , Cuba , Uruguay , Paraguay and Ecuador . The Postal U nion o f the Americas, Spain and Portugal (UPAEP) , based in Montevideo, Uruguay, is an association of postal authorities of following countries: Netherlands Antilles, Argentina, Aruba, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, USA, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Dominican Republic, Surinam, Uruguay, Venezuela. It was founded in 1 911 as a restricted union of the Universal Postal Union. Since 1989, the UPAEP member countries are issuing sets of stamps based on a common theme, which always included the logo of the organization....

"Paraguayos, República o muerte!" (Paraguayans, The Republic or Death!) is the National anthem of Paraguay. The words were written by Francisco Esteban Acuña de Figueroa and music composed by Francisco José Debali . The anthem was adopted in 1846 and officially declared in 1934. Paraguay's anthem is a classic example of a "Latin American epic anthem". The seven verses of the anthem also resemble other nations' anthems of this type, for example, the first three verses of Paraguay's anthem, recalling its history and specific events, is very similar to the theme of Honduras' anthem, whereas the fourth verse which praises the national symbols, and the last three verses, which are a call to patriotism, are common themes in these type of anthems. Paraguay's second anthem (the first, written solely in the native Guarnaní language, was adopted in 1831), it was adopted in 1846 and was officially declared as the national anthem in 1934 after the final r...

"¡Salve, Oh Patria!" ("We Salute You, Our Homeland") is the national anthem of Ecuador. The lyrics were written in 1865 by the poet Juan León Mera , under request of the Ecuadorian Senate; the music was composed by Antonio Neumane. However, the anthem was not officially adopted by the Congress until September 29, 1948. In 1865, the Argentine musician Juan José Allende, in collaboration with the Ecuadorian Army, preseented to the National Congress a musical project for the lyrics by José Joaquín de Olmedo, but it was not well received. In November of this year, at the express request of the president of the Senate, Nicolás Espinosa, the Ambateño poet Juan León Mera Martínez, who was then the secretary of the Senate, wrote and submitted the lyrics of the National Anthem. These lyrics were then sent, with Congressional approval, to Guayaquil, so that Antonio Neumane would set them to music. This is the hymn that would later be officialized as the definitive national a...

El Himno de Bayamo (The Bayamo Anthem) is the national anthem of Cuba. It was first performed during the Battle of Bayamo in 1868. Perucho Figueredo , who took part in the battle, wrote and composed the song. The melody, also called La Bayamesa, was composed by Figueredo in 1867. On October 20, 1868 the Cuban forces obtained the capitulation of the Spaniard authorities in Bayamo, the jubilant people surrounded Figueredo and asked him to write an anthem with the melody they were humming. Right on the saddle of his horse, Figueredo wrote the lyrics of the anthem, which was longer than the current official version. Figueredo was captured and executed by the Spaniards two years later. Just before the firing squad received the Fire command, Figueredo shouted the line from his anthem: Morir por la Patria es vivir. Officially adopted in 1902, the anthem was retained after the revolution of 1959. The arrangement commonly used, without credit in Cuba, is believed to be that of José Norman, auth...

"Ode to Joy" (German original title: "Ode an die Freude") is the anthem of the European Union and the Council of Europe; both of which refer to it as the European Anthem due to the Council's intention that it represent Europe as a whole, rather than any organization. It is based on the final movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony composed in 1823, and is played on official occasions by both organizations. The anthem is adapted from the final movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's "Ode to Joy", from his Ninth Symphony, The official arrangement was done by Herbert von Karajan . While Beethoven's work has German words by Friedrich Schiller, as the European anthem no lyrics are used officially, rather the anthem is in the "international language of music." Ode to Joy is the anthem of the Council of Europe and the European Union, promoted as a symbol for the whole of Europe as are the other European symbols. It is used on occasions such as ...

The Brazilian national anthem (Hino Nacional Brasileiro) was composed by Francisco Manuel da Silva in 1822 and had been given at least two sets of unofficial lyrics before a 1922 decree by President Epitácio Pessoa gave the anthem its definitive, official lyrics, by Osório Duque-Estrada, after several changes were made to his proposal, written in 1909. The melody of the Brazilian national anthem was composed by Francisco Manuel da Silva in 1822. In style, the music resembles early Romantic Italian music such as that of Gioachino Rossini. On September 7 of that year, the country declared its independence from the Portuguese Empire. In 1831, it became a popular song after the addition of verses celebrating the abdication of the Brazilian throne by Pedro I. Later, at the time of the coronation of Pedro II, its lyrics were changed and the song, due to its huge popularity, started being considered the national anthem, although it was not enacted as such. There was no statute at the time e...

A 6 years old child prodigy designed this stamp. His name is Hamzah Marbella , the youngest member of the Art Association of the Philippines (entered at 5 years old). He has also been widely recognized by his peer adult artists and local art dealers as a most prolific child prodigy in visual arts. With the theme "Mailbox of the Future", he designed a postage stamp which expressed how the mailbox, which represent the postal business, together with stamps and letters, will look like in the future. In 2008, he won first prize in the a postage stamp design competition in South Korea and got himself P50,000 as prize, aside from the honor and prestige. Hamzah has also produced some 300 outstanding artworks and have been awarded with more than 100 top prizes, honors and citations and accolades since he started painting at age two. He is now nine years old. Some of his notable awards include- Outstanding Artist Award (Ani ng Sining) from the National Commission for Culture and Ar...