After the Catalan costume stamps from France and Andorra in the last weeks, we look this week at the Catalan costumes on stamps from Spain. Catalonia is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of the Kingdom of Spain. It comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, and borders France and Andorra to the north, Aragon to the west, the Valencian Community to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east.
The stamps above are from a very large costume series issued from 1967 to 1971. They show the Catalan costumes from Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, respectively.
The next stamp is from 1977 (series of Spanish celebrities) and shows the Catalan poet Jacinto Verdaguer (1845-1902) in the barretina (traditional Catalan hat).
You can find Catalonia on this map of Spain (the pink areas in the north east of Spain):
From Monaco last week we go this week to the French postage stamps of Andorra.
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. The Principality was formed in 1278. The role of monarch is exercised jointly by the two co-princes, the President of the French Republic and the Bishop of Urgell, Catalan Countries. Therefore, Andorra has French and Spanish stamps, issued by France and Spain, respectively.
The Andorran costume is very similar to the Catalan costumes worn in France and Spain. For women the costume features a full, mostly flowered skirt over a white petticoat; a blouse (sometimes covered by a flowered shawl); long, black, fingerless net gloves; and black espadrilles (cloth sandals) with white stockings. The traditional costume for men is a white shirt, dark knee-length pants, white stockings, black shoes, broad red sashes tied at the waist and the barretina (the traditional Catalan cap).
The stamp above is from a series of 1963 celebrating Andorran history. It shows people dancing la Sardane (Catalan dance).
The next stamp is from 1976 and celebrates International Women's Year. It shows "La Pubilla", the patroness of tradition at Catalan city and village celebrations.
This last stamp is from 1981 and part of the yearly Europa Stamp series, which was about "Folklore and Feasts" in 1981. It shows people dancing El Contrapas, the festival dance of Andorra's capital Andorra la Vella.
You can find Andorra on this map of France:
