All put back together.

This 1995 brochure from Myanmar (formerly Burma) describes the relationship:

"The Tatmadaw [Royal Armed Forces] befriended the Japanese not because it liked fascism but because it desired to drive the imperialists out."

So not exactly welcoming...

It's probably overstating things to say "many" welcomed the Japanese. Support mainly came from a small group of nationalists at the top levels of government and the military.

I wish I had taken some photos. Mostly all I have left now are 10c blocks and lower values which don't fit on an envelope. Do you notice that vintage stamped envelopes take longer to deliver? My mileage varies greatly. I wonder if they are hand-sorted by the Post Office?

I used up all my 13¢ stamps after realizing that a block of six came to 78¢—exactly the current postage—and fit neatly on a #10 envelope. I couldn’t resist; the mail pieces looked so nice.

Those Contrasello issues are quite a rabbit hole! I didn’t realize the 1867 stamps were later overprinted for telegraph use. Imagine sending a telegram in the 1870s? I’ll have to comb through my El Salvador stamps to see if I’ve missed any.

commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:El...

Interesting side note, El Salvador was only the second state to formally recognize Manchukuo. There is a certain irony in one puppet state extending legitimacy to another—a small but telling moment in the theater of international politics.

My condolences buddy, thinking of you.

Thanks for sharing the results. My go-to soaking solution is water, hydrogen peroxide (except stamps w/ fugitive inks such as GB SC #122), and a tiny drop of Dawn dish soap (helps break down the adhesive--or so I have been told).

This is a great post.

I use a wine press, teeheehee.

I am happy to know that others have encountered this form of quantum entanglement. It's like the stamps multiply in water.

I think these were issued without gum so that's correct. How about those margins though? Do they seem a little wide?

In this case the heavily oxidized hinge is a good sign I think. As you suggested, it's been around for some time.

I only got to see Tony Conrad once—back in 2006 at Eyedrum in Atlanta. He screened a few films (most memorable was "The Flicker"), then played violin behind a screen, illuminated so you could only see his shadow. It was really special.

I managed to get this working again. Another 4-track brought back from the brink. I've almost fixed as many as I've broken now--not quite though.

Yaaay Taku!