Sweden 1960 - Hjalmar Branting

Karl Hjalmar Branting was a Swedish politician born on 23 November 1860. In fact, to say he was a successful politician would be somewhat of an understatement. He held the position of Prime Minister of Sweden not once or even twice, but three times (1920, 1921–1923, and 1924–1925)! Not only that, he was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1907 to 1925.

Interestingly, Branting's career didn't begin in politics. Branting attended Uppsala University in Stockholm, where he studied mathematical astronomy. He even worked as an assistant at the Stockholm Observatory. But in 1884 he gave up this burgeoning career to work as a journalist. It was in this capacity that he published an article written by the radical socialist, Axel Danielsson. This landed both himself and Danielsson in prison. Branting eventually served three months in prison in 1888.

 In 1889, a year after his incarceration, Branting's career focus shifted yet again when he became one of the main organizers of the Swedish Social Democratic Party. And he was the first member of this party in Parliament from 1896. From this point he never looked back and went on to have a stellar political career. In 1921 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the League of Nations, sharing the prize with the Norwegian Christian Lous Lange. Karl Hjalmar Branting died on 24 February 1925.

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On 23 November 1960 Sweden issued a set of two stamps to commemorate the birth centenary of Karl Hjalmar Branting. The designer of the issue was H. Sallberg. Czeslaw Slania was the engraver. The issue consisted two stamps of the same design in two values - 15o and 1,70k. The issue was printed in vertical coil format (pictured below) and booklet format.

I have seen the portrait that this design is based on, and I must say Slania has done a superlative job capturing the details in this engraving. From the intensity of the eyes to the superb moustache this is indeed another great engraved portrait by the master. 

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Poland 1953 - Kościuszko Uprising

Tadeusz Kościuszko, full name Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko, was a famous Polish military leader born on either 4 or 12 February 1746 in the  Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in a village now located in Belarus. Kościuszko fought in the American Revolutionary War and he was the Commander-in-Chief of Polish forces in an uprising against imperial Russia. This uprising has been quite logically called 'The Kościuszko Uprising'. The uprising began on 24 March 1794, when Kościuszko announced his intention to lead a rebellion against the Russians in the Krakow town square. He rounded up the population into an army, hoping to counteract the superior number of Russian forces. He vowed as leader of the uprising:

"not to use these powers to oppress any person, but to defend the integrity of the borders of Poland, regain the independence of the nation, and to strengthen universal liberties."

After an early success at Racławice on 4 April 1794, the Russians re-gathered and managed to push Kościuszko and his forces into Warsaw. After defending Warsaw for several months the Russians broke through and captured Kościuszko on 10 October. He was subsequently imprisoned and the Russians took control of the city, massacring over 20,000 Warsaw citizens in the process. This began what was known as the Third Partition of Poland. And the country of Poland ceased to exist for the next 123 years.

Several geographic features bear his name, including Mount Kościuszko, the tallest mountain in Australia. There is also a Kościuszko Island in Alaska. See HERE for more information on Kościuszko.

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On 30 November 1954 Poland issued a set of three stamps commemorating the 160th Anniversary of the Kościuszko Uprising. One of the values, the 60 GR, was engraved by Czeslaw Slania. This stamp is, in my eyes, a supreme work of art.

The design of this stamp is based on a painting by Jan Matejko. It depicts Commander-in-Chief Kościuszko riding among his insurgent army as they cheer him on. 

As if the general detail in this stamp were not enough, Slania has gone a step further and add a few of his 'hidden' words for which he is now famous. Below is a copy of the stamp with the areas in which the hidden words or 'microprints' can be found highlighted in boxes marked 1 to 3.

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If we zoom in on box 1 the date I.X.54 can be discerned.

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Box 2 reveals the name 'Majewska', which is the name of Slania's sister.

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Box 3 contains the name of his sister 'Lodzia', the diminutive for 'Leokadia.

The zoomed images have been taken from the Heindorffhus website.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Poland 1954 - Planes over Poland

The Ilyushin Il-12 was a Soviet twin-engine aircraft designed for private airline and military usage. Development of the Il-12 began in the autumn of 1943. On 1 May 1947, the Il-12 was revealed to the public. It was part of a group of aircraft that participated in the annual May Day flyby over Red Square in Moscow. In June 1947 the Il-12 was used for its first passenger service with Aeroflot. Its first international run was the Moscow-Sofia route in 1948. Poland was the first export customer for the Il-12. LOT Polish Airlines placed an order for five Il-12B's. The planes were first seen at the Poznan Fair in Poland in the spring of 1948.

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On 9 July 1954 Poland issued a set of six Airmail stamps. Five of the stamps were designed by Czeslaw Slania. He also engraved two stamps in the set. Interestingly, Slania submitted designs for all six of the stamps. Each stamp depicts an Il-12B flying over a landmark of Poland.

The 60gr stamp depicts an Il-12B flying over Paczkow Castle. This stamp was designed by Slania and engraved by J. Miller.

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The 80gr stamp depicts an Il-12B flying over Kazimierz Dolny. This stamp was designed and engraved by Czeslaw Slania. 

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The 1,15zl stamp depicts an Il-12B flying over Wawel Castle, Krakow. This stamp was designed by Czeslaw Slania and engraved by Stefan Lukaszewski.

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The 1,50zl stamp depicts an Il-12B flying over City Hall, Wroclaw. This stamp was designed by B. Brandt and engraved by Czeslaw Slania.

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The 1,55zl stamp depicts an Il-12B flying over Lazienki Park, Warsaw. This stamp was designed by Czeslaw Slania and engraved by B. Brandt. Interestingly, this is the opposite engraver/designer order to the previous stamp.

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The 1,95zt stamp depicts an Il-12B flying over Krakow Gate, Lublin. This stamp was designed by Czeslaw Slania and engraved by M.R. Polak (Slania's mentor).

Each of these amazing stamps deserves a blog of its own, which I plan to do in the near future. So keep an eye out.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Poland 1954 - Ordensburg Castle in Olsztyn

The War of the Cities, also known as the Thirteen Years War was was fought between 1454-1466. The Prussian Confederation and her allies the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland fought against the State of the Teutonic Order. The origins of the war can be traced back to 1440 when the city of Allenstein (known in Polish as Olsztyn) rebelled against Teutonic Knight leadership. This all came to a head in 1454 when all of Prussia sought to gain independence from the Teutonic Knights. Unable to accomplish this alone, Prussia formally requested the aid of Poland. They were so in need they were willing to have their land absorbed into the Kingdom of Poland. Poland's king, Casimir IV, agreed to help, An so began the war. The conflict ended with a victory for Prussia and her Polish allies. This, of course, is a very brief summary. For the full story, click HERE.

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On 16 October 1954, Poland issued a set of five stamps commemorating the 500th anniversary of the return of the region of Pomerania to Poland after the Thirteen Years War. Pomerania is located in northern Europe on the southern shores of the Baltic Sea. Interestingly, Pomerania was not returned until 1466 at the end of the war, but the stamp was issued in 1954 which, as we know from above, was the year the war began. I'm sure there is a valid reason for this, which my cursory study didn't uncover.

The highest value stamp in this set, the 1.55zt stamp, was engraved by Czeslaw Slania. The subject of the stamp is the city of Olsztyn (Allenstein in German), which was the city that rebelled in 1440 as mentioned above.

I believe the focus of this stamp is Ordensburg Castle, the construction of which began to 1347.  It was built by the Teutonic Knights as a stronghold against the Old Prussians. Below is an image of the castle, which we can use to identify the building on the stamp. The circular tower is easily recognisable from the stamp. If you look to the top left of the building you can just make out stepped decorations that are the same as on the frontage on the top of the central building on the stamp.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!