Iceland 1987 - Rasmus Rask

The ability to understand more than one language is impressive enough, but to understand twenty-five is just amazing! The name of this remarkable person is Rasmus Rask (Rasmus Christian Nielsen Rasch). Rask, born 22 November 1787, was a Danish linguist and Philologist (the study of language in written sources). Rask was passionate about languages, especially Icelandic, which he worked very hard to preserve. In fact, he travelled extensively in order to study languages up close and personal. He visited Russia, Persia, Iceland, India, and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). One can only imagine the adventures this man had, and the stories he had to tell.

By the time he died at the age of 44, he had acquired the grammar and dialects of some twenty-five languages. It is uncertain to me exactly how many of these languages he was fluent in, but he did study intensely the following:  Sami, Swedish, Faroese, English, Dutch, Gothic, Old English and Portuguese. He had also started studies of German, French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, Latin, Russian, Polish and Czech, although Icelandic continued to be his main interest. Wow! Very impressive.

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On 10 June 1987 Iceland issued a stamp to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Rasmus Rask. Czeslaw Slania designed and engraved the stamp.

This is a beautifully simple portrait that captures the youthful exuberance and determination of a highly intelligent man. One can see the passion in this man's eyes and a vulnerability that belies his innate sense of adventure.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Iceland 1986 - Stamp Day

An expedition in the 1800's with the promise of many, many months at sea sounds somewhat tedious. But take said expedition and amp it up with eight top scientific and artistic minds... Things just got a lot more interesting! 

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In 1836 the Gaimard expedition set off to explore Iceland and Greenland on the ship La Recherche. Not only was this a research expedition, it was also a search and rescue mission for explorer, Jules de Blosseville, who disappeared a few years earlier in Arctic waters. Among the eight members of the expedition were a naturalist and surgeon, a physicist and cartographer, a linguist, a geologist, a meteorologist, and two artists, one specialising in fauna and the other in landscapes and naval scenes. For the purposes of this blog, two of these men are worthy of note. 

The first is Paul Gaimard, a French Naval surgeon and naturalist who wrote about the expedition. In fact he wrote a nine volume work entitled: Voyage en Islande et au Groënland. This series, which included many illustrations, was then considered the definitive study of the islands.

The other participant of note for us is Auguste Mayer, a French artist who taught drawing at the École Navale. He painted many beautiful naval scenes. One particularly amazing painting was his depiction of The Battle of Trafalgar, entitled: Scene de la bataille de Trafalgar. This painting is housed in the National Museum of Paris.

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On 9 October 1986 Iceland issued a stunning Souvenir Sheet for Stamp Day. It was designed and engraved by Czeslaw Slania.

This impressively intricate engraving was based on a drawing by the artist, Auguste Mayer. The drawing was published in Paul Gaimard's book, mentioned above. The scene depicts a group of people and horses at a crossing in the Hvita River. This river, which starts as a glacial lake and plummets down a gorge into the lowlands, is susceptible to winter flooding. Because of this it has a reputation as one of Iceland's most treacherous rivers.

The details in this composition are magnificent. From the rolling hills in the background to the horses crossing the ford. And from the people in various action poses to the luggage and other ephemera strewn across the barren ground. 

Until next time...

I Muse... On the First of Many...

The following blog is a re-publication of my very first Slania Crazy! blog post. Blogger for some reason decided to delete it when I went back to edit it. So here it is again, a little re-vamped. Note that the information on General Dabrowski was updated in a blog I wrote after this one, so to preserve the antiquity of this article I won't add the new information here. Instead I refer you to THIS post.

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The name Czeslaw Slania has become synonymous with engraving brilliance. But where did the master begin? What was the first stamp he engraved? Well, it actually wasn't a full stamp. We all have to start somewhere. In 1950 under  the watchful eye of master engraver M.R. Polak, Slania, then an apprentice engraver, was permitted to engrave the metal head of the hammer being wielded by a Polish worker in the stamp featured below. 

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A proof of the stamp is also available in a special booklet in a different colour. I personally prefer the colour chosen for the proof.

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Okay, so what about the first stamp engraved entirely by Czeslaw Slania? It wasn't long in arriving - the next year in fact! 1951. The stamp was again for Poland, and it was issued to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Paris Commune. If the skill of Slania had not been evident in the first stamp he worked on, this stamp leaves no room for question. It is simply beautiful.

There is an interesting story that goes along with this stamp. The portrait on the stamp is supposed to depict General Jaroslaw Dabrowski, but instead by some mistake somewhere along the line the portrait actually depicts the composer and pianist Henryk Dabrowski. I have been unable to locate another image of the composer Dabrowski for comparison, but I have found images of Gen. Jaroslaw Dabrowski. One such image is on a Polish banknote.

If indeed the portrait on the stamp is the composer Henryk Dabrowski, then the likeness he bears to Gen. Jaroslaw Dabrowski is rather striking. One could be forgiven for mixing the two up. Do these two gentlemen bear a striking resemblance? Are they perhaps brothers? Or is the portrait on the banknote wrong also? Or is the portrait of the correct man after all? If anyone has any information relating to this stamp, I'd love to hear from you. 

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

I Muse... On Our 2nd Birthday!

Today is a big day. It's the 2nd Birthday of Slania Crazy! 

Wow! Two years already. It seems to have gone by so fast. And yet within that time I have learned so much about Czeslaw Slania and the art of engraving in general. Not only that my Slania stamps have taken me on an amazing fact-finding journey. I have learnt some Polish history. taken a glimpse at the fascinating Faroe Islands, embarked on a quest to discover more about the rich history of Iceland. and I've travelled down the canals of Sweden (metaphorically of course!) to see some of its fabulous sights and culture. 

But perhaps the best part of doing this blog has been the wonderful people I have had the privilege of getting to know. My new Slania friends have helped me so much in my learning process, I will be forever grateful to them. And a big thank you to those who have sent me some beautiful Slania-related gifts, allowing me to showcase them on this blog. Having said that, I have yet to share all of the gifts that have been given to me yet, but I am getting there...

I have discovered so much already, yet I have barely scratched the surface of collecting the works of this amazing artist! In the coming year, I will be focusing most of my Slania-related time consolidating all the great stuff I have already collected of his works. As my readers may know I also do a few other blogs. One of those is dedicated to collecting the works of Albert Decaris, a French engraver. This year the majority of my purchases are going to revolve around fleshing out my Decaris collection a bit more. I am very passionate about my Decaris collection, so much so that I have  even started learning French. 

But back to Slania and what to expect on this blog over the coming year. First up I will be completing my series on Slania's wonderful Iceland stamps. I also have many Slania engraved banknotes that I have yet to scan and delve into. I now also have a complete set of Slania's Faroe Island stamps. So expect to see some more of those. Additionally, I have some Denmark, Sweden, Poland and others to have fun with. And maybe another interview or two. So hang with me, because I reckon the coming year will be a blast!!

Before I say au revoir I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for supporting this humble blog. We have now had over 46,000 page-views, which I think is rather amazing. Hopefully before the year is out we will hit the big 50,000!! Blimey! Okay, that's enough rambling from me!

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!