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18.02.2016
To supplement the series of stamps Unique Exhibits of Latvian Museum of Natural History, Latvijas Pasts has released a new stamp Aberrant Birds. The first-day cancellation of the new stamp is to be held in the premises of the Latvian Museum of Natural History, 4 Krišjāņa Barona Street, Riga, from 10 AM to 5 PM on February 19, 2016. A special presentation event in honor of this release, which is scheduled to start at 11 AM, will see the participation of representatives of Latvijas Pasts and the Latvian Museum of Natural History; besides, visitors will have an opportunity to view the specimen depicted on the stamp – the aberrant black grouse Tetrao tetrix – accompanied by a museum specialist.
The print run of the new stamp dedicated to the unique Museum’s collection Aberrant Birds is 100,000 copies. The denomination of the stamp is €1.71, making it suitable for mailing a registered Class A letter to any country within the European Union. The release of the stamp is accompanied by the issue of a special cover with a print run of 1,500 copies. The stamp and the cover have been designed by the artist Ģirts Grīva.
Speeches during the special presentation of the stamp at the Museum will be delivered by Latvijas Pasts Chairman of the Board Arnis Salnājs and Latvian Museum of Natural History Director Skaidrīte Ruskule. At the end of the presentation, anyone interested will have the opportunity to listen to a short story about aberrant birds and also have a look at the specimens in the collection of aberrant birds.
At the end of the 19th century, the German ornithologist and taxidermist Theodore Lorenz visited markets in St. Petersburg and Moscow, where hunters brought birds of the order Galliformes from Siberia and other regions in Russia, and created unique collections of wild aberrant and hybrid Galliformes. The stuffed partly albino black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) is one of the 169 items in the collection of the Latvian Natural History Museum. Since aberrant species occur extremely rarely in nature, collections of this type are on display only at the State Darwin Museum in Russia and the Museum of Natural History in Bonn, Germany. Dmitrijs Boiko, senior ornithologist of the Latvian Natural History Museum, claims that no aberrant bird of the order Galliformes has been seen in Latvia for the past 20 years.
This is the second stamp released in the series Unique Exhibits of Latvian Museum of Natural History. The first stamp was issued in 2015 and it was dedicated to the unique specimen in the paleontology collection of the Latvian Museum of Natural History – the placoderm fish.
The new stamp and cover in the series Aberrant Birds can be viewed here.
The next new philatelic release is scheduled for March 4.
Additional information:
Vineta Danielsone
Public Relations Specialist
Phone: +371 67608504
Mobile phone: +371 26722585
E-mail: vineta.danielsone@pasts.lv
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