1919-1922 FRANCE (Saint Martin) - Market Day in Marigot

1919 Saint Martin - Market Day in Marigot (1)

Marigot, the capital of Saint Martin, with its gingerbread houses and sidewalk bistros, is charming in any day of the week, but if you really want to catch the spirit of the place, you must visit it on Wednesday or on Saturday, when are market days. Marigot market is best described as a melting pot of colours, smells and lively hustle and bustle.

1920 Saint Martin - Market Day in Marigot (2)

Opposite the traditional restaurants, a stone statue, erected by Martin Lynn and donated by an American, commemorates black female market sellers. In 2006, as part of a series of events for black history week, a fresco, again commemorating female market sellers, was painted by an artist from Saint Martin on a wall opposite the market.

1921 Saint Martin - Fruits at Marigot Market

One portion of the market is dominated by permanent vendor stalls, housed under a mass of open Creole huts along the water front. Here can be found fruit and vegetables, spices, local meats and fresh fish caught that day. Here, visitors can sample the full range of flavoured rums, subtle blends of rum, fruits and spices, Shrub (orange peel crushed into rum), or Mauby (a tree bark-based beverage grown).

1922 Saint Martin - Spices at Marigot Market

Temporary tent-style stalls forms another section of the market. These are the type that spring forth like mushrooms on major market days (Wednesday and Saturday) to join their permanent cousins, to grow the market to more than double its original size. Here people browsed through clothing, jewelry, and various crafts.

About the stamps
On the postcards 1919, 1920, and 1922
The stamps are part of the definitive series depicting Marianne, issued on  July 16, 2014, about which I wrote here.

On the postcard 1921
The first stamp is part of the series Birds, issued on January 14, 2015:
• Collared Forest Falcon / Micrastur semitorquatus (0,10 ANG) - It's on the postcard 1921
• Brown Jacamar / Brachygalba lugubris (0,30 ANG)
• Rufous Nightjar / Antrostomus rufus (0,60 ANG)   
• Blackish Nightjar / Nyctipolus nigrescens (0,90 ANG)
• Hook-billed Kite / Chondrohierax uncinatus (1,10 ANG)
• Campo Flicker / Colaptes campestris (1,50 ANG)
• Lesser Nighthawk / Chordeiles acutipennis (2,00 ANG)
• Ladder-tailed Nightjar / Hydropsalis climacocerca (2,30 ANG)
• Black-capped Screech Owl / Megascops atricapilla (3,00 ANG)
• Paradise Jacamar / Galbula dea (3,25 ANG)
• Zigzag Heron / Zebrilus undulatus (4,75 ANG)
• Sunbittern / Eurypyga helias (5,00 ANG)

References
Wednesday Market - Place du Marché - howderfamily.com
Marigot Market - stmartinisland.org

Sender 1919-1922: Denise
1919: Sent from Marigot (Saint Martin / France), on 28.08.2015
Photo: Andre Exbrayat 

1920: Sent from Marigot (Saint Martin / France), on 30.08.2015 
1921: Sent from Philipsburg (Sint Maartin / Netherlands), on 29.08.2015
Photo: Andre Exbrayat
1922: Sent from Marigot (Saint Martin / France), on 28.08.2015
Photo: Kim van Loo