0305 PORTUGAL - Soldier conducting field artillery, 1891

This maxicard is part of a set of four, issued in 1985 and dedicated to the Portuguese military uniforms. Series would have to be much larger, consisting of several series, and was intended to cover the metropolitan and overseas (Brazil, Macau, Africa, India) units from the 18th century to circa 1900, but I don't know if the intention was completed. I don't think so.

The first three postcards of the set are reproductions of watercolors by Colonel Ribeiro Artur (held by the Portuguese Military Historical Archive in Lisbon), and the last one is a photography. The stamps show, of course, the same subject, but aren't identical with the postcards:

• Grenadier of Infantry, 1903 - the stamp: Infantry (20.00)
• Soldier of 11th Cavalry Regiment, 1903 - the stamp: Officer, 5th Cavalry, 1810, and cavalry charge (46.00)
• Soldier conducting field artillery, 1891 - the stamp: Artillery corporal, 1891, and Krupp 9 mm gun and crew (60.00) – it’s my postcard
• Soldier of Engineering with NBQ protection - the stamp: Engineer in chemical protection suit, 1985, and bridge-laying armoured car (100.00)

Artur Ribeiro (1851-1910), on his real name Bartolomeu Sesinando Artur Ribeiro, was a military in the Portuguese Army (where he attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel of infantry), intellectual and writer. It was a regular contributor of the periodical press of the last half of the 19th century and is the author of multiple books on military theme. It was also a painter of merit, participating in several group and solo exhibitions.

About the stamp
The stamp on the backside of the postcard is one of the four released by Portugal on September 7, 2011, to mark World Veterinary Year, in 2011 celebrating the 250th world anniversary of the veterinary profession. The series was designed by João Machado, and contains the following stamps:

• health and animal welfare - two clean and cheerful pigs in a trailer (€0.32)
• production and animal improvement - a horse with graphical representation of DNA (€0.68) - it's on the postcard
• pharmaceuticals and products of veterinary use - a cat, a box of medicines and some medical instruments (€0.80)
• veterinary public hygiene - a cow automatically milked, and a conveyor belt with bottles of milk (€1.00)

It should be noted also the postmarks, respectively the fact that besides the postmarks of departure (Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal) and arrival (Ploiesti, Romania - the city where I live), there is another one, belonging to Moldova Post. That means that the postcard made a detour, because geographically Romania is located between Portugal and Republic of Moldova. Intricate are the postal ways.

This is a post for Postcard Friendship Friday #128, hosted on Beth's blog The Best Hearts are Crunchy. Click on the button below to visit all the other participants.

sender: Maria do Ceu Martins (direct swap)
sent from Vila Nova de Gaia (Portugal), on 25.06.2012