I Muse... On Display Issues

Perusing my collection I have found, to my delight, that I already own a large number of the stamps Slania engraved for Great Britain. One of my favourites is the 1984 Bicentenary of the First Mail Coach Run, Bath & Bristol to London.

I have this set in a se-tenant strip of 5, which I think is beautiful. But herein lay my dilemma! How do I display the strip in a way that is pleasing to the eye? I personally use hagners for my stamp displays, mainly because they are far easier than fiddling with printing pages and finding ways to mount the stamps, a process which is far more costly for me than buying hagners. The problem with hagners however for strips such as this one is simply that they are too wide for the hagner.

So what do I do?

I guess I could do the sacrilegious thing and tear the strip asunder. Here perhaps...

This would allow me the present them on the page in this fashion...

Despite the fact that I have two copies of the se-tenant strip I struggle to bring myself to tearing it apart. For me this is a bit like seeing writing in books. It makes me cringe.

What other options do I have?

I guess I could mount it on the page vertically like this...

But this practice really annoys me as I have to turn the whole album on its side just to view the stamps properly. Unless I can learn some kind of contortionist trick whereby one dislocates one's head from one's neck and turns it ninety degrees.

What about a midway solution? I could display the strip n an angle like this...

To be totally honest, I'm not really partial to this look either. Pause while I exhale a deep sigh of confused irresolution. Well, looking at all the options I must confess I am no more enlightened than I was at the beginning of this blog post! For now the conundrum remains, and my crazy rant is officially over - for now!

Stay Slania Crazy!

Australia-Sweden Joint Issue

In 2001 Australia issued a joint set of stamps with Sweden. The stamps were issued to commemorate the Swedish Botanist, Daniel Solander. Solander was the first university educated scientist to set fot on Australian soil. For more on Daniel Solander click HERE

It seems that initially Czeslaw Slania was slated to engrave both sets, but life, as it often does, stepped in and altered circumstances. An article in Melbourne Sun 17 August 2001 explains:

"When Slania suddenly fell ill (in 2000), Sweden Post's in-house engraver, Lars Sjooblom took on the job of engraving Sweden's stamps. Then Slania recovered and engraved Australia's stamps."

One of the reasons I like this joint issue is that it provides an excellent opportunity to study the differences between two engravers working on the same designs.

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The first design features Daniel Solander seated at a desk jotting down some notes - a new botanical discovery perhaps? The portrait is from a painting of Solander. Click HERE to view the painting.

The Australian version with a denomination of 45c (the standard letter rate in 2001). This was engraved by Slania...

The Sweden version with a denomination of 8kr. This one was engraved by Lars Sjooblom...

There are many subtle differences between the two stamps. My eye is immediately drawn to the different renditions of Solander's face. 

Let's take a closer look at the faces...

Slania

Sjooblom

When I saw the two heads up close and side by side, I found that I was surprised. In this instance I have to say I prefer the portrait of Solander created by Sjooblom. Yes, the colour choices are very different, which does change the impact, but I feel especially around the eyes that Sjooblom brings more life to the face. Which do you prefer?

I think we need another close-up from this stamp before we move on to the next stamp. Below are the two versions of the Barringtonia Calyptrata.

Slania

Sjooblom

Let me preface my next comment by saying: "I still really like Slania!" I truly do! But I have to say that again I have to side with Sjooblom's version of the flower. He seems to have captured the delicacy of this lovely flower with more clarity. Hmm, I'm surprised. While still absolutely superb, Slania's engraving - to me - doesn't compare with that of Sjooblom.

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Now stunned almost to speechlessness - nit an easy feat! - we had better move on to the next stamp...

The second stamp in the joint issue set features the flowers of the Cochlospermum Gillivreai in the foreground with the ship Endeaour in the background.

The Australian stamp with the denomination $1.50 also features the "International POST" bar down the left side...

The Sweden stamp with the denomination 8kr immediately looks different due to the absence of the blue bar down the left side.

So which stamp in this instance better captures the mood? Let's look at a couple of details of the Cochlospermum Gillivreai flower to help us decide...

Slania's Version

Sjooblom's Version

Which rendition of the flower leaps out at you? This time I have to go with Slania. I feel like his version is a bit softer and more natural looking. Which do you like best?

Should we look at one more close up? Hey, why not! This time we'll zoom in on the ship Endeavour for a detailed look...

Slania

Sjooblom

Deciding which engraving I prefer is a little trickery here as the colour choices for the background play a big part in the overall effect. At first glance I like Slani's, but then when I look closer I have to say that Sjooblom creates a crisper and better detailed version of the ship. Of course, this is purely my opinion!

To wrap things up, I found it fascinating to study the work of two engravers and how they managed their own spin on the same designs. Overall, I'd have to say my preference leans toward the engraver of the Swedish stamps, Lars Sjooblom. This came as a real surprise as when I gave the stamps a cursory glance before scanning I thought Slania's stamps far superior. Perhaps therein lay the key. Close up Slania's engravings came up short, for me at least. But viewed as one normally does - without the aid of a zoom function! - Slania's engravings appear softer. Hmm, something to ponder...

Which stamps do you like best? Leave a comment below. I'd love to hear what others think.

Stay Stamp Crazy!  

My First Slania Bargain...I Think?

People's Republic Set

I just made a nice little purchase. My first Slania bargain perhaps? The 1951 People's Republic set of three stamps. The Stanley Gibbons CV for this set is around £22, which works out at $42 AUS (I convert everything to Australian dollars as this is where I live). After searching eBay and Delcampe it seems the market value for the set at present is about £13-15, which converts to $25-$30 AUS. 

I purchased the set for €10, which is $14 AUS and £7.30. This is quite a bit lower than CV and market value. So I'd have to say: yes, definitely a bargain!

I'll post up better images when the stamps arrive.

Stay Slania Crazy!

Musing on What to Collect...

I have only just started collecting Slania's material so my research is still in its infancy. I have already discovered that the body of work the master engraver left us is staggering, to say the least! I was a little overwhelmed after first starting to look into Slania to discover that he is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most engraved stamps. After reading this that little voice in my head started shouting at me: "Just what the heck have you gotten yourself into this time?!"

There are - if my research is correct - just over 1,000 unique stamp designs to collect. Okay, this seems manageable. But then my head starts to spin when I discover that a Slania collection can encompass far more than this. We have essays, black prints, die proofs, not to mention the vast number of definitive re-issues and colour differences. And this is just talking about stamps!! One could easily get lost amid a tangled jungle mired with "relevant" additions to a collection. Just off the top of my head these are some of the fields (and I'm sure there are plenty more):

1. Stamps
1. Revenues
2. Cancels
2. Banknotes
3. Private Works
4. Signature Items

So whether it is wise, or even practical for that matter, I have decided that I should probably decide upon a few things before I get too muddled. Firstly, I need to work out how I am going to tackle the immense challenge of collecting the material. My budget these days is tight to non-existent so that is a big factor. But where do I start?

1. Take an ad hoc approach and just grab what I see?
2. Take a systematic approach, ie choose a country & collect it?
3. A blend of both?

I am the kind of guy who likes to work systematically so the ad hoc approach would probably frustrate me. But having said that, a rigid systematic approach could lend itself to boredom, as it would prevent doing the occasional random search. It stands to reason then, that the best approach for me personally is a blend but leaning more towards systematic. That part seems sorted!

Now to the juicy - and thorny - question of what parameters, if any, should I set for my collection? This is the part where budget plays a big part. Since I am a stamp collector, I'd like to collect the full set of Slania's unique designs. And I would very much like the collection to be all mint. Beyond that I am still pondering... I will also add to my collection as many Slania designed banknotes as my budget will allow.

Finally, to the budget. How in blazes do I buy all this stuff?  Slowly is the first word that pops into my head! I've been thinking about this problem for a few days now and I think the only way to go about such a large task is constantly chipping away at it. This gives one a sense of at least getting somewhere. I have decided that I will buy something - anything - Slania every fortnight. It doesn't need to be expensive, just a $2 stamp if that's all I can manage is fine. As long as the ball continues to roll.

I think that's more than enough rambling for now. As my collection progresses I'll keep you updated on my thoughts and the trials of the collecting process - if you are interested :)

Stay Slania Crazy!

Australian Aviators

In 1994 Czeslaw Slania's engraving talents came Down Under. He engraved a superb set of four stamps commemorating some of Australia's great Aviators. This set was issued on 29 August in three denominations: 2 x 45c, $1.35, $1.80.

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The first stamp depicts Capt. Ross Smith and his brother Lt. Keith Smith. In 1919 the Ross brothers completed the first flight from England to Australia in a Vickers Vimy.

A photo of the Ross brothers...

Image By State Library of South Australia (Flickr: Ross and Keith Smith 1921) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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The next stamp depicts Lawrence Hargrave. Hargrave was a talented engineer, inventor, and aeronautical pioneer among other things. Alongside Hargrave on the stamp is a box kite. Hargrave designed a box kite large enough to allow him to sit in. On 12 November 1894 Hargrave climbed into the box kite, and he was lifted a whole 16 feet off the ground!

Hargrave also featured on the 20 Dollar Australian banknote from 1966 to 1994.

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The third stamp - $1.35 - depicts Ivor McIntyre and Stanley Globe who in 1924 were the first men to circumnavigate Australia by air in a Fairey IIID seaplane.

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The fourth stamp - $1.80 - depicts Freda Thompson. Thompson was the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia in 1934. She accomplished this feat in a De Havilland Moth Major that she named Christopher Robin.

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An imperforate blackprint sheet was also released for this issue...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Slania in Aland

Aland or Aland Islands is an autonomous region of Finland. It ... "consists of an archipelago lying at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea." (Wikipedia extract) For more info on Aland, click HERE

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In 1994 Czeslaw Slania engraved a set of three stamps for Aland, exploring Aland in the Stone Age. It is the simplicity of their design which I find the most striking. Let's take a look and you can judge for yourself.

The first stamp in the set depicts Stone Age pottery from the region.

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The second stamp in the set depicts an example of the type of housing found in the region during this period.

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The final stamp in the set gives an an insight into some of the stone tools utilised by the inhabitants of the region at the time.