One of my favourite themes in postcards is medicinal plants. I am graduated pharmacist. I work as assistant professor in Faculty of Pharmacy. It means I'm two in one: researcher and teacher. Our department is concerned with plant chemistry and phytotherapy. Our mean courses are: Pharmaceutical botany, Pharmacognosy, and Phytotherapy. The research topics are: isolation and identification of effective compounds of plants, analytic evaluation of medicinal plants and herbal medicines. I like especially postcards with botanical or pharmaceutical pictures. On Tuesday I was very happy because I found this card in my post box.
It is my first card from Lithuania. It is a typical old botanical drawing about
Ginkgo biloba. This plant is a well known medicinal plant. The indications of
Ginkgo leaf are: treatment of disturbed performance in organic brain syndrome with the following symptoms: memory deficits, disturbances in concentration, dizziness, and ringing in the ear. It has a botanical interest too. The relationship of ginkgo to other plant groups remains uncertain. Since its seeds are not protected by an ovary wall, it can morphologically be considered a gymnosperm. The Ginkgo is classified in its own division, the Ginkgophyta, comprising the single class Ginkgoopsida, order Ginkgoales, family Ginkgoaceae, genus Ginkgo and is the only extant species within this group. It is one of the best-known examples of a living fossil, because Ginkgoales other than
Ginkgo biloba are not known from the fossil record after the Pliocene. The Ginkgo leaves are unique among plants, being fan-shaped with veins radiating out into the leaf blade, sometimes bifurcating (splitting). The Ginkgo tree that was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's (1749-1832) inspiration to write a poem in 1815. On the picture below you see the poem in Goethe's original handwriting and translated in Hungarian and English.
Also the stamps of the Lithuanian card are beautiful. The first stamp is part of the definitive series Wooden Sacral Architecture of Lithuania. "
Church of the Divine Intent" in Antazave village is an architectural construction with complicated exterior. It was built in 1794. On the second one is a couple dressed in Lithuanian costumes typical for
Klaipėda County in the 19th century. Klaipėda is in the west of Lithuania and is the only county to have a coastline. On the 3rd stamp is the windmill in
Pumpėnai. This small village in the north-east of the country. The last one is a nice Christmas stamp. Thank you, Ausra!
On Tuesday I received a card from Kyiv, Ukraine. The card is the television test pattern of the USSR.
Nice stamps are on this card too. On the small stamp is common walnut (
Juglans regia, Горіх волоський). It is a traditional medicinal plant. Dried
walnut leafs content tannins and are used external as an adstringent agent in mild inflammation of skin.
Walnut hull is used for catarrhs of the gastrointestinal tract, skin diseases, inflammation of the eyes. Fresh walnut hull contains the naphtoqionone derivative juglone. It acts as a mutagen. The topical, daily use of juglone-containing preparations is tied to an increased occurrence of cancer. Ukraine Post issued a set of four postage stamps to commemorate Olympic Games London 2012. The stamps features various sports events. On my stamp is shot put.
Today I sent two cards. Both are from Szeged. On the first one is the
Reök Palace, the most beautiful building of the city (virtual walking in the building
here). This remarkable house in Secession (Art Deco, Jugendstiel) style is an architectural curiosity both in Hungary and Europe. Its designer,
Ede Magyar (the “Hungarian Gaudi”) (1877-1912) shot himself at the age of 35 because of love-sickness. He died at young age, spent his barely eight-year of working period in Szeged. He traveled across the essential artistic centers of Europe and returned home, entrusted by Ivan Reök water engineer and in 1907 he designed the Reök Palace using his experiences. Stunning façade with rolling roofline, lilac and sea green water lilies and spiraling balconies. Inside there is a winding stairwell, where the flowers all appear to be in bloom. The intricate wrought iron work was made by Pál Fekete after Ede Magyar’s drawings. This typically Antoni Gaudi type building is among the most attractive ones of this style in Europe (more photo
here). Today the building is the
Combined Regional Centre of Arts.
This card was sent to Louisville, Kentucky, USA. I picked up a special stamp. It is issued by Hungarian and Slovenian posts jointly. There are four handicraft items and a "smoky-house" in
Felsőszölnök on the stamp. Felsőszölnök is a small village is in Vas County. It is the westernmost point of Hungary, and lies on the borders with Slovenia and Austria. "Smoky-house" is an old type of cottages typical for West Hungary. This small houses haven't got chimneys, therefore the kitchen and the rooms were full with smoke.
 |
| Stamps sent today |
 |
| The whole miniature sheet issued by Hungarian and Slovenian posts |
I have sent always more cards about Reök Palace; two with balconies and two with the staircase. This building is one of the "must to see" sights of Szeged.
The other postcard sent today is a view card. You can see one of my favourite monuments on it: the statue of Mayflies (or Shadflies).
Mayfly (
Polingenia longicauda) is an endangered aquatic insect species whose immature stage usually lasts three years in clear freshwater. The adults (5-7 cm) are short-lived. They live a few hours: copulate, lay eggs and die. This phenomenon of nature, – ca. 3 hours before sunrise while the Millions of Mayflies are flying over the river, – is “Tisza-blooming”. It happens on only one day in a year. The floating insect bodies of died Mayflies are "Tisza-flowers".
This card was sent to Poland with these four stamps:
The big one is a stamp of a miniature sheet issued in 2007 on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of National Gallery.
