Switzerland - Canton of Basel

The Basel Dove is a notable stamp issued by the Swiss canton of Basel. It was issued on 1 July 1845 with a value of 2½-rappen and was the only stamp issued by Basel. At the time each canton  was responsible for its own postal service and there were no uniform postal rates for Switzerland until after the establishment of a countrywide postal service on 1 January 1849. The only other cantons to issue their own stamps were Zürich and Geneva.

The stamp, designed by the architect Melchior Berri, featured a white embossed dove carrying a letter in its beak, and was inscribed "STADT POST BASEL". The stamp is printed in black, crimson and blue, making it the world's first tri-coloured stamp. It was valid for use until 30 September 1854, by which time 41,480 stamps had been printed

Source:Wiki

Switzerland 1978 Lemanex 78 Stamp Exhibition sheetlet

The sheetlet above is Switzerland 1978 Lemanex 78 Stamp Exhibition sheetlet containing 8 stamps (Lake Steamers plus 4 labels) unmounted mint, SG MS 952.

The stamp featured are :

1. LA SUISSE:  "La Suisse" is the flagship of the General Navigation Company (CGN) of Lake Geneva. The steamer has generous proportions: it is 78 metres long, 15 metres wide and has a capacity of 1,200 passengers.
2. IL VERBANO: Commissioned in 1826 it was the first steamer on lake Maggiore Postal service between Magadino and Sesto Calende
3. MS GOTTHARD: Early steam navigation on both Lake Maggiore and Lake Lucern benefited mainly from the heavily used St Gotthard Pass route.
4. DS LOETSCHBERG :Steam navigation on the lakes of Thun and Brienz was taken over by Bern – Lotchberg – Simplon Railways in 1913. Loetschberg was commissioned to provide a service between Brienz and Interlaken.
5. VILLE DE NEUCHATEL: This steamer is a low and flat bottomed saloon-type motor craft typical of the lakes and canals at the foot of the Jura mountains. She has been in service since 1972.
   
6. MS ROMANSHORN: The stamp shows the car and passenger ferry "Romanshorn". She is a double-ended ferry, with 457 tdw, driven by two Voith Schneider propellers and was built in 1958. She can carry 560 persons and 35 cars on Lake Constance.
7. LE WINKELRIED: The ship is 60 metres long she can  embark 1100 passengers. She is equipped of four boilers, and her Compound engine with oscillating cylinders of 850 hp give a speed of 28.5 kilometres per hour. She is the fastest steamer at that moment
8. DS WAEDENSWIL: The steamer Waedenswil was commissioned in 1895, converted to diesel operation in 1931, and finally laid up and scrapped in 1965.      

 

 Source: http://www.swissinfo.org/