Stamp: Monaco – commemorative stamp issued for the Centenary of the Apparitions of Lourdes – multicolour design featuring the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes and inscriptions related to the centenary celebration, created as an official issue by the postal administration of Monaco. (Issue: 15.05.1958, official commemorative issue.)
Postmark: Monaco – First Day cancellation dated 15‑05‑58, applied within the Monegasque postal network, showing the standard formulation used for Monaco’s first day markings. The design includes the customary “MONACO” inscription and a depiction of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, a motif frequently appearing in Monegasque philatelic cancellations.
Postcard: Sepia‑toned postcard commemorating the Centenary of the Apparitions of Lourdes.
The design reproduces the statue of Our Lady of the Grotto, accompanied by surrounding inscriptions in French and textual references to Pius IX, Pope during the time of the Apparitions, and Pius XII, Pope at the time of the centenary celebration. The composition presents a devotional photographic scene with figures positioned around the statue, along with the printed caption “CENTENAIRE DES APPARITIONS DE LOURDES”.
Concordance
– Thematic: The commemorative stamp directly represents the Apparitions of Lourdes, featuring the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, while the postcard is entirely dedicated to the same event through its photographic depiction of the Lourdes Grotto and centenary inscriptions. This creates perfect thematic alignment, as both stamp and postcard explicitly reference the same religious event and iconography.
– Geographic: The Monaco First Day cancellation corresponds appropriately to the country that issued the commemorative stamp, ensuring full geographic coherence. Although the subject matter concerns Lourdes (France), the postal elements—the stamp and FDC cancellation—are entirely consistent within the framework of the Monaco postal administration, which issued and validated the centenary stamp.
– Temporal: The First Day cancellation dated 15 May 1958 matches exactly the official issue date of the Centenary of Lourdes commemorative stamp. Thus, the temporal relation is perfectly coherent: a centenary‑themed postcard combined with the officially issued Monaco stamp, cancelled on its first day of issue.
