A loyal follower of my blog, named Ed, graciously volunteered some of his time for a Slania Crazy! interview. Enjoy!
Slania Crazy!: Thank you very much for participating in my "I Interview..." series.
Ed: You are welcome.
Q: When did you start collecting Slania stamps?
A: About 3 years ago.
Q: What drew you to start collecting him?
A: I have always collected paper ephemera and became interested in stamps. I had started a collection of German stamps and was looking for more information and came across the 'Collecting by Engraver' posts on the Stamp Community Forum on the internet. It introduced me to Slania as well as many other engravers. Being of Polish descent, I was thrilled to find out that Slania was also Polish, and I already had some of his stamps in my small collection of Polish stamps without knowing it.
Q:What is your favourite Slania stamp, and why is it your favouritre?
A: I would have to pick the Polish 1.40 zl Air Mail stamp issued in 1952 of an airplane flying over Warsaw. Having visited Warsaw many times, I recognised the old town of Warsaw depicted on the stamp.
Q: Where do you usually get your Slania stamps?
A: The internet, a local stamp shop and a monthly stamp bourse in Ottawa, where I live.
Q: What references do you like using? Which is your favourite?
A: The Heindorff website dedicated to Slania is fantastic.
Q: Do you remember what your first Slania stamp was?
A: Since I had some Slania engraved stamps in my Polish collection without knowing his involvement at the time, most likely one of the 1954 air mail issues (there are six in this set). I was also carrying a Slania engraving in my pocket, an engraving featured on a Canada $5.00 bill!
Q: Do you collect any other engravers?
A: Quite a few. I collect most of the French engravers, and besides Slania, a handful of the other European engravers as well. But my interest in engraved stamps begins to wane after the early 1980's.
Q: What are your other stamp specialisms?
A: I like First Day Covers (especially signed ones), souvenir sheets, cinderellas, and revenue stamps. The engraving work on some of the earlier Canada revenue stamps are quite ornate and spectacular.
Q: How do you store your Slania stamps?
A: Vario-Lighthouse stock sheets that are housed in three ring binders.
Q: Do you have any collecting tips to share?
A: A lot of great examples of engraved stamps are still reasonably priced. Work within your budget. Invest in a good magnifying glass so you can get a closer look at the engraver's art. Better yet, if you have a scanner, scan a stamp at 800-1200 dpi. You'd be amazed at the details it reveals. And at times it reveals faults unseen by the naked eye.
I'd like to thank Ed again for the interview. As always, if anyone else out there wishes to participate, please let me know in the comments.
Until next time...
Stay Slania Crazy!
Very interesting interview! Useful tips. Thank you, Ed. I also like collecting FDC's.
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