{"id":36,"date":"2023-02-08T15:17:11","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T15:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/?page_id=36"},"modified":"2023-02-09T10:34:29","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T10:34:29","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group nf-instructions is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"369\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Parcel_cover-1.jpeg?resize=1024%2C369&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Eighteen vintage stamps (out of a total of 27) used on a parcel from a stamp dealer. \" class=\"wp-image-38\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Parcel_cover-1.jpeg?resize=1024%2C369&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Parcel_cover-1.jpeg?resize=300%2C108&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Parcel_cover-1.jpeg?resize=768%2C277&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Parcel_cover-1.jpeg?resize=1536%2C553&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Parcel_cover-1.jpeg?w=1997&amp;ssl=1 1997w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">It&#8217;s always a good day when a parcel arrives from a stamp dealer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cover Stories<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The World through a Letterbox<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"307\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/A-Type-Letter-Box-1879-scaled-2.jpg?resize=307%2C640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A red pillar box.\" class=\"wp-image-39\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/A-Type-Letter-Box-1879-scaled-2.jpg?w=307&amp;ssl=1 307w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/A-Type-Letter-Box-1879-scaled-2.jpg?resize=144%2C300&amp;ssl=1 144w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 307px) 100vw, 307px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A-type post box 1879<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1840 Sir Rowland Hill revolutionised the Royal Mail postal service, which included making the sender, rather than the recipient, pay the Penny Post to all destinations. Soon afterwards came the idea to sell little stickers to cover the cost of sending a letter. It seemed to catch on fairly well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And even now in the post-email post-text 24\/7 social media-ocratic world of SnapFace, InstaTwit and WhatsAgram, some people are still sending letters and postcards to each other and taking pleasure in sticking on those little works of art. More people than you might think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And new generations are re-discovering the joy of Snail Mail. Is it the pace, the physicality, the texture of the thing. Perhaps it echoes the trend back towards vinyl records, a letter in the post could be the equivalent of the rumble and hiss of the needle in the groove. Of course there are quicker and more efficient ways to communicate, but you can&#8217;t tie a ribbon round a bunch of e-mails!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So here is my blog to celebrate not just those &#8220;grubby little bits of paper&#8221; but the journeys they have been on, the stories they tell and the lives that they connect. Welcome to Cover Stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-fill\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/contacts\/\" rel=\"\/default-content\/?p=4\">Contact Me<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Blog Posts<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__list wp-block-latest-posts\"><li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/a-free-front\/\">A Free Front<\/a><div class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-excerpt\">I was intrigued to find this &#8220;Free Front&#8221; in an album I recently acquired. It is a fragment from a\u2026 <a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/a-free-front\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">: A Free Front<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/more-than-meets-the-eye\/\">More than meets the eye&#8230;<\/a><div class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-excerpt\">Here is a very plain-looking postage stamp. It has not been used, so has no postal cancellations, but it has\u2026 <a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/more-than-meets-the-eye\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">: More than meets the eye&#8230;<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/two-shilling-time-machine\/\">Two Shilling Time Machine<\/a><div class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-excerpt\">A part-used stamp booklet from 1935 Front Cover Amongst a treasure-trove of mint stamps from the 1940s, unearthed by my\u2026 <a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/two-shilling-time-machine\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">: Two Shilling Time Machine<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/ethiopian-stamps-pre-upu\/\">Ethiopian stamps (Part 1)<\/a><div class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-excerpt\">An exhibit of early stamps from Ethiopia from the beginning of the Posts in 1894 to joining the Universal Postal\u2026 <a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/ethiopian-stamps-pre-upu\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">: Ethiopian stamps (Part 1)<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li>\n<li><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/postday-20th-january-2023\/\">PostDay &#8211; 20th January 2023<\/a><div class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-excerpt\">On this page: Awesome \u00c5land &#8220;In&nbsp;philately&nbsp;a&nbsp;maximum card&nbsp;(also known as a maxi-card, or maxicard) is a&nbsp;postcard&nbsp;with a&nbsp;postage stamp&nbsp;placed on the picture\u2026 <a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/postday-20th-january-2023\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">: PostDay &#8211; 20th January 2023<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cover Stories The World through a Letterbox In 1840 Sir Rowland Hill revolutionised the Royal Mail postal service, which included making the sender, rather than the recipient, pay the Penny Post to all destinations. Soon afterwards came the idea to sell little stickers to cover the cost of sending a letter. It seemed to catch [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"home","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-36","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Home - Cover Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cover stories is a site with occasional blog posts to celebrate the joy of snail mail, stamps, covers and postal history.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/grandpops-bookshelf.co.uk\/Cover-Stories\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Home - 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