From December 4th to 6th, 2009 the Club de Monte-Carlo and the OETP (the Monegasque Office for Stamp Issues) organized the MonacoPhil 2009 International Philatelic exhibition. The visitors could see 100 worldwide rarities from 100 world famous collections belonging to His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco and to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 10 national postal museums, members of the Club de Monte-Carlo. The Exposition also included a collective exhibition devoted to Belgian philately as well as A selection of internationally renowned collections presented by philatelic federations and academies from a variety of countries.
In the frames of this exceptional philatelic event, Igor Rodin, Chairman of the FIP Section for Astrophilately presented a Space Mail cover to the Philatelic Collection of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco.
The cover was handed over to the President of the Commission for the Philatelic and Numismatic Collection of the Prince of Monaco during the Closing Dinner of MonacoPhil 2009.
Igor Rodin was given a possibility to say a speech to the public to tell a story of the Space Mail cover.
Here is Igor Rodin’s speech:
Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to inform you about the following. During the previous MonacoPhil Exhibition in 2006 I have a talk with Mr. Jean Fissore. I told him about such an exciting hobby as Space Mail collecting and offered him to send a cover from MonacoPhil 2006 to the International Space Station by using my good personal relationships with Russian cosmonauts.
Our plan was, when the cover traveled to the space station, to hand over it to the Philatelic Collection of His Serene Highness the Prince of Monaco.
Here is the cover prepared by Mr. Jean Fissore. In January 2007 it was delivered to the International Space Station by a Russian unmanned supply spacecraft. Aboard the station Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Turin cancelled the cover with the board seals and returned it to Earth in April 2007.
Now I have a pleasure to hand over the cover to the Philatelic Collection of His Serene Highness the Prince of Monaco.
Igor Rodin’s son, Sergey Rodin translated the speech into French:
Monsieur, Dammes,
Je voudrais vous présenter l’information suivante. Pendant la dernière Exposition de MonacoPhil en 2006 j’ai parlé à Monsieur Jean Fissore. Je lui ai dit de tel hobby comme la collection des Mails de l’Espace. Je lui ai propolsé d’envoyer une enveloppe de cette Exposition MonacoPhil 2006 sur la Station Spatiale Internationale grace à mes bonnes relations personelles avec les cosmonauets Russes.
Notre plan était que quand l’enveloppe serait sur la station spatiale, l’offrir à la Collection Philatelique, à Son Altesse sérenissime le Prince de Monaco.
Ici est l’enveloppe, préparée par Mousieur Jean Fissore. Au mois de Janvier 2007 elle a été offerte à la station Spatiale Internationale par un vaisseau-cargo. Au bord de la station russe le cosmonaute Mikhail Turin a oblitéré l’enveloppe avec un sceau du bord et l’a rendu sur la Terre en avrile 2007.
Maintenant j’ai le plaisir d’offrir cet enveloppe à la collection Philateliqe de Son Altesse sérenissime le Prince de Monaco.
Note: Mr. Jean Fissore was the President of the Club de Monte-Carlo. He passed away in January 2009.
More photos from MonacoPhil 2009 can be seen in the Photo gallery:
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