SELYO: Philippine History in Postage Stamps Reynaldo G. Alejandro, Rosa M. Vallejo, Arminda V. Santiago I love history, and I read history books for pleasure, so when Anvil
Publishing, Inc. gave my book club, Flips Flipping Pages, the
opportunity to sample their books for free in return for a review, I
decided to take the opportunity to indulge in one of my favorite
pastimes. One would think my default choice would have been any work by
Ambeth Ocampo, but when I saw "Selyo" on the publisher's online
inventory, I could not resist it (although I did also get Ocampo's
"Makamisa"). Not only did the book purport to be about history, it would
have pictures too.
"Selyo", as its subtitle states, is about
"Philippine History in Postage Stamps". It is a celebration of
nationalistic stamps from 1854, the first Philippine and Asian adhesive
postage stamp, to 1998, in honor of the centennial not only of
Philippine Independence, but of the Philippine Postal System as well.
The
book is divided into 4 main chapters - Famous Filipinos, Historical
Events, Dr. Jose P. Rizal, and Philippine Centennial - and shows the
reader an enlarged image of each stamp along with a smaller image of the
stamp in its actual size, with a description of the person or event
commemorated. Although of course it would be impossible to include all
the people & events in Philippine history that have ever been
commemorated on stamp, the authors do a good job in presenting what they
had. Not only would philatelists appreciate it, but history buffs like
me as well.
Do you know who Ambrosio Bautista is? He was the
author of the Declaration of Philippine Independence in 1898,
commemorated in a 1981 stamp. Did you know that Filipino women earned
the right to vote after a plebiscite in 1937, as commemorated in a stamp
50 years later? These are just a couple of historical nuggets, glossed
over in books and classes if discussed at all, that can be discovered
throughout the book.
My only gripe with the book is the lack of
organization in the first chapter. A stamp with a 16th century sultan is
placed next to a 20th century war general next to a 19th century
revolutionary. I wish the heroes were arranged in chronological order to
maintain the history aspect of the book.
For the insatiably
curious, the book also opens further avenues of reading. Who decides who
or what to commemorate on a stamp? Who does the art? Who decides the
value put on each stamp?
Sadly, with the advent of mobile phones
and text messaging and email and chat, the art of letter writing is
dying, and with it, stamps and stamp collecting. Stamps are used to
commemorate the past, but they may be well on their way to becoming
things of the past themselves.
My 2010 Goal: Read at least 1 book a month. [same as last year]
My 2010 Hope-to-Read List [in no particular order] 01. "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" by Michael Chabon 02. "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett 03. "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini 04. "Something Rotten" by Jasper Fforde 05. "First Among Sequels" by Jasper Fforde 06. "Labyrinth" by Kate Mosse 07. "Suite Francaise" by Irene Nemirovsky 08. "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson 09. "The Woman in White" by Wilkie Collins 10. "Noli Me Tangere" by Jose Rizal, translated by Soledad Lacson-Locsin 11. "El Filibusterismo" by Jose Rizal, translated by Soledad Lacson-Locsin 12. "The Fire" by Katherine Neville 13. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 14. "The Angel's Game" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
read 56 books, bought 104 books, spending a total of Php6700+ on books, mooched 60 books, and was gifted with 9 books.
[An average of 4-5 books read per month 8-9 books bought per month, spending Php560+ on books per month, and 5 books mooched per month]
I read 1 book for every 3 books I acquired. Most read genre was mystery. Most read author was Terry Pratchett.
My 2009 Reads:
January 00
February 01. "The Ghost and the Femme Fatale" by Alice Kimberly
March 02. "Watchmen" by Alan Moore 03. "Only the Ring Finger Knows" by Satoru Kannagi 04. "The Travels of Babar" by Jean de Brunhoff 05. "The Dream Factory Starring Anna & Henry" by Bjorn Sortland
April 06. "Jingo" by Terry Pratchett 07. "The Final Solution" by Michael Chabon 08. "Full Dark House" by Christopher Fowler 09. "Made in America" by Bill Bryson 10. "Kingdom Come" by Mark Waid and Alex Ross 11. "Para Kay B" by Ricky Lee
May 12. "Intramuros" edited by Nick Joaquin 13. "Manila, My Manila" by Nick Joaquin 14. "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
June 15. "The Water Room" by Christopher Fowler 16. "Moving Pictures" by Terry Pratchett 17. "Humboldt's Cosmos" by Gerard Helferich
July 18. "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster 19. "The Nine Tailors" by Dorothy L. Sayers 20. "The Cater Street Hangman" by Anne Perry 21. "Death in the Devil's Acre" by Anne Perry 22. "The Face of a Stranger" by Anne Perry 23. "A Dangerous Mourning" by Anne Perry 24. "The Golem's Eye" by Jonathan Stroud
August 25. "Ptolemy's Gate" by Jonathan Stroud 26. "The Code Book" by Simon Singh 27. "To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Connie Willis 28. "The Great Fire" by Jim Murphy 29. "Bluegate Fields" by Anne Perry 30. "The People of the Abyss" by Jack London 31. "The Ghost and the Dead Deb" by Alice Kimberly
September 32. "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel 33. "Decaffeinated Corpse" by Cleo Coyle 34. "The List of 7" by Mark Frost 35. "Monstrous Regiment" by Terry Pratchett
October 36. "The Lost Continent" by Bill Bryson 37. "The 6 Messiahs" by Mark Frost 38. "Eric" by Terry Pratchett 39. "Somewhere in Time" by Richard Matheson
November 40. "Carpe Jugulum" by Terry Pratchett 41. "Borrower of the Night" by Elizabeth Peters 42. "The Daughter of Time" by Josephine Tey 43. "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen 44. "The Lives of Christopher Chant" by Diana Wynne Jones 45. "Weighed in the Balance" by Anne Perry 46. "The Club Dumas" by Arturo Perez-Reverte 47. "Memories of My Melancholy Whores" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
December 48. "Special Assignments" by Boris Akunin 49. "Ten Second Staircase" by Christopher Fowler 50. "Terry Pratchett's Hogfather: The Illustrated Screenplay" by Vadim Jean, mucked about with by Terry Pratchett 51. "Wintersmith" by Terry Pratchett 52. "House of Many Ways" by Diana Wynne Jones 53. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss 54. "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon ~ reread 55. "Rizal Without the Overcoat" by Ambeth R. Ocampo 56. "The Big Over Easy" by Jasper Fforde
I love history, and I read history books for pleasure, so when Anvil
Publishing, Inc. gave my book club, Flips Flipping Pages, the
opportunity to sample their books for free in return for a review, I
decided to take the opportunity to indulge in one of my favorite
pastimes. One would think my default choice would have been any work by
Ambeth Ocampo, but when I saw "Selyo" on the publisher's online
inventory, I could not resist it (although I did also get Ocampo's
"Makamisa"). Not only did the book purport to be about history, it would
have pictures too.
