1953 Philippine Medical Association 50th Anniversary

The Philippine Islands Medical Association (now Philippine Medical Association) was established on September 15, 1903 with a membership of over 100 Filipino and American physicians.

 Slogan Cancellation

A slogan cancellation was produced for the Philippine Medical Association's 1953 annual meeting.

GOLDEN JUBILEE46TH ANNUAL MEETING
PHILIPPINE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
APRIL 19 - 26, 1953

Stamps

A set of two stamps was issued on December 16, 1953, to celebrate the golden anniversary of the Association.

First Day of Issue Cachet

First Day Covers

Unpainted and Painted

1953 Quirino-Sukarno State Visits

The Philippines and Indonesia are neighbouring archipelagoes. In 1949, Philippines was one of the first countries to recognize the independent nation of Indonesia.

State Visits : 1951 and 1952

In Janaury 1951, President Sukarno of Indonesia paid a seven-day official visit to the Philippines in order to develop cordial relations with President Quirino and promote the bilateral relationship.

Indonesian President Sukarno

This lead to the signing of a treaty of friendship in Jakarta on June 21, 1951  which covered several matters such as the maintenance of peace and friendship, dispute settlement, travel,  and activities to promote  trade and cultural cooperation.

Phillipines President Quirino visited Indonesia from July 16 to 27, 1952.

 

The Bureau of Posts issued a set of two stamps to commemorate the 1951 and 1952 State Visits on October 5, 1953. The late release of the stamps may have been due to delays encountered by the American Bank Note Co. in its production of the multicoloured engraved stamps.

The Stamps

The State Visit stamps were the first multicoloured stamps issued by the Republic.

First Day of Issue Cachet

First Day Covers

Hand Painting

The hand coloring of cachets became a common practice used to embellish first day covers.

Cachet as printed

Hand colored embellishment

1953 Philippines International Fair

The Philippines International Fair was held in Manila from February 1 to April 20, 1953. Within its fair grounds were booths for the exhibition of the industrial and agricultural products of the different provinces of the Philippines as well as of foreign countries. Aside from side shows and various other attractions, the fair and exposition had an amusement zone divided into four compounds, the biggest attractions therein being the "Aquacade Show" and the "Xavier Cugat Show". In addition, there was a large auditorium where balls and dances were held.

The Bureau of Posts issued a cacheted  stamped envelope on February 1 and  a set of commemorative stamps on April 30 to commemorate the Fair.


Opening Day : February 1, 1953

Manila, February 1, 1953

Closing Day : April 30, 1953

A set of two commemorative stamps was issued:

First Day of Issue Cachet

First Day Covers

1953 National Language Week

With over 100 different languages spoken in the Philippines, Spanish and English were used between filipinos not sharing a common mother tongue. President Manuel Quezon wanted one of the native languages to be selected as the Philippines bridging language.In 1937, Quezon declared Tagalog, spoken as a first language by over 25% of the population, as the basis for a "National Language". In 1939, the national language was named "Wikang Pambansâ" . Twenty years later, in 1959, it was renamed as Pilipino and in 1973 the name of the language was changed to Filipino.

National Language Week

On March 26, 1946,  President Sergio Osmeña issued Proclamation No. 35, designating March 27 to April 2 of each year as National Language Week. The observance ended on the birthday of Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar (1788-1862), known as the “Prince of Tagalog Literature” and author of the Tagalog epic, Florante at Laura.


 1952 : Slogan Cancellation

 A Tagalog slogan cancellation was used at the Manila post office to publicize National Language Week:

WRITE AND SPEAK THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE
NATIONAL LANGUAGE WEEK
MARCH 27 - APRIL 2

 1953 : Postage Stamp

The Bureau of Posts issued a commemorative stamp on March 27, 1953 to mark National Language Week. The stamp features a bust of Francisco Baltazar.

First Day of Issue Cachet

Although no reference is made on the stamp that  National Language Week is being commemorated, the Post Office cachet provides that information.

Baltazar's poem Floranta at Laura, the central element of the cachet, has been described as "romantic and lyrical in inspiration, social in intent, and allegorical in conception."


First Day Covers