'B' is for Belgium - Old and New

Pierre de Braekeleir was the second person to send me stamps for exchange. His letter arrived in our letterbox (quite a dangerous place for stationery, as in the neighborhood there lurk cellulose-eating snails) the day after Edna's letter had come.

The two us had agreed to an exchange of 100. Pierre would send me a 50:50 mix of older and newer stamps from Belgium, and I would decide which I preferred for future swapping. The envelope was strengthened by a couple of postcards from Gent the self-named 'gezelligste stad' (the most congenial city), and the stamps were segregated into two groups, each in its own glassine pouch.

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I shall leave it up to the viewer to decide for him or herself whether they prefer the new (above) or the old (below). My mind's made up.