I Found...A Possible Flaw!

Over the past few weeks I've been working on completing Slania's 1952 Poland stamps. I have found gathering this set on my tight budget quite the challenge! There are 21 stamps to collect for this particular year. Doesn't seem overly daunting, but when you take into account that some of the stamps are a part of rather expensive sets it becomes more challenging (and I always try to get full sets even if Slania only engraved one of the stamps). Well, I'm happy to report that - due a restless night and some web surfing - I just purchased the final stamp I required for the 1952 year set. The stamp in question was the "Training Ship Dar Pormorza", which is part of a 3 stamp set entitled: Day of Shipyard Workers.

After I had purchased this set I took a closer look at the Slania engraved stamp in the set. I happened to notice a small fault on the stamp around the 'S' of Polska. Now I know next to nothing about the stamps of Poland, so I guess I'm wondering is this a constant flaw or simply an ink error on this stamp? The following is an image from the seller's page so the quality isn't the best, but it's clear enough to see what I'm talking about. When I get the stamp I'll do a hi-res scan of it.

If anyone has any information relating to this stamp I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time...

Stay Stamp Crazy!

Victor Hugo

1952 was the 150th anniversary of the birth of the famous French author and poet, Victor Hugo. To commemorate this anniversary Poland issued a lovely stamp engraved by Czeslaw Slania. This wasn't the only stamp commemorating Victor Hugo released that year, but more on that later.

Born in 1802 in Besancon, France, Victor Hugo (1802-1885) spent his youth amid the political turmoil of Napoleon's reign as emperor. Hugo's father was a ranking officer in Napoleon's army and in this capacity his family travelled extensively with him. Despite the fact that he was only five years old at the time, Hugo vividly remembered a six month trip to Naples, during which he saw Rome, the Mediterranean, and the snowy alpine passes. Such experiences he would later draw upon in his poetry.

Hugo's parents had vastly different political views. This coupled with the fact that she resented the children being dragged all over the place led to the couple getting a divorce. From this point, Hugo's mother took control of his education. Her influence is evident in the early works of Hugo, which convey her devotion to monarchy and the Catholic faith.

Eventually, Hugh broke the shackles of his mother's beliefs, and after the 1848 Revolution he championed republicanism and free-thinking. It was in this same year that Hugo entered parliament and became quite the radical. He wrote speeches which called for universal suffrage and free education for children. He was also an advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. Hugo went into exile after Napoleon had established an anti-parliamentary constitution in 1851. He spent his exile years up to 1870 on the islands of Jersey and Guernsey.

Victor Hugo published his first novel in 1823, entitled Han d'Islande. But he is most famous for his novels The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1831 and Les Miserables in 1862. Hugo was also somewhat of an artist, producing over 4000 drawings. Initially drawing was simply a hobby, but later in life after going into political exile he stopped writing and used drawing as his creative outlet.

Slania's engraving includes a stunning portrait of Victor Hugo. A quill, inkwell, and book sit in the foreground ready for the great writer to take up and start scratching out something new...

Just as a matter of interest I have have discovered that Poland wasn't the only country to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Victor Hugo in the form of a stamp. The Soviet Union also issued its own commemorative stamp.

"Stamp of USSR 1683" by Post of USSR - http://kolekzioner.net/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=217. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stamp_of_USSR_1683.jpg#/media/File:Stamp_of_USSR_1683.jpg

Personally I prefer the Slania stamp - not because this is a Slania blog and should therefore have a Slania bias! I just think the Soviet version a bit austere for my taste. And I really like the way Slania incorporated the use of writing materials into the design.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Pedro Alvares Cabral Banknote

Between 1995 and 1997 Czeslaw Slania engraved five banknotes for Portugal. Each banknote depicted a famous explorer on the obverse (front) and an example of the type of ship used by the explorer on the reverse (back). In this blog I will focus on the 1996 1000 Escudos banknote depicting Pedro Alvares Cabral.

Little is known of the early years of Pedro Cabral. He was born in either 1467 or 1468. He was born into a minor noble family and he received a good education. In 1500 he was appointed commander-in-chief of a fleet sailing for India. As was the practice in those times a nobleman was chosen to command the fleet. These noblemen didn't necessarily have any naval experience.  It is thought by some that he was chosen for this role due to his standing in the court of the then king, King Manuel I. It was during this voyage that he is believed to have discovered Brazil. The fleet consisted of two divisions. The first division, which included Cabral's vessel, set sail from Lisbon on 9 March. On 22 April he landed at a spot of the northeastern coast of what we now call Brazil. He named this place: Monte Pascoal (Easter Mount, since it was Easter at the time). Below is a map of his full journey...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_%C3%81lvares_Cabral

There is modern debate over whether he can truly be called the discoverer of this country. I make no assumptions or offer any opinions on this issue. For more on this journey and his later career click HERE

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The obverse of the 1000 Escudos banknote contains the protrait of Pedro Alvares Cabral. Interestingly no contemporary paintings survive - if any ever existed at all - of Cabral.

The reverse of the banknote contains a stunning engraving of the type of ship used by Cabral on this journey.

The ship is called a carrack. A carrack was a three- or four-masted ship developed in the 15th century by Genoese for commercial use. The Portuguese and Spanish used them for world travel and exploration. They were large enough to be stable in heavy seas, and they had plenty of internal room for storage. Just as an interesting final note, Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria, the ship that sailed to America in 1492, was a carrack.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

I Muse...How I Got a Slania Catalogue

Not too long ago I wrote a blog reviewing the Czeslaw Slania catalogue titled Czeslaw Slania: Catalogue of Works. It looked like an impressive catalogue indeed. Since I wrote that blog I've been trying to work out how to purchase a copy. If you read the review blog you'll remember that the catalogue was far from cheap! So how to get it? Well, an answer seems to have presented itself in the form of my amazing wife!

Over the last ten years or so I have been battling with a chronic illness,  which, insidiously, has caused multiple issues with my body. The latest issue began about six weeks ago in the form of terrible noises in my head. I've had these noises off and on for several years now - it's called tinnitus - and it has been manageable.  But six weeks ago something seemed to flare up in my head, bringing with it the most god awful noise! It has really worn me down. Thankfully I have begun a course of medication which is dealing with the problem, albeit slowly.

Anyway, back to the catalogue. A few days ago my wife informed me that she had purchased the catalogue! I am over the moon. And the anticipation of the arrival of the catalogue is certainly helping me during the trying times as this problem goes away. The only problem is it is coming from Canada so the anticipation may last up to four weeks! Butnnow I have it, and I will do another blog - perhaps a more in depth review - when it arrives.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Commemorating Swedish Painters

Every now and then I pay a visit to my local Art Gallery in Armidale. I love spending time surrounded by such amazing creativity.  The paintings are a definite favourite.  I find myself easily immersed in the worlds created by the artists.  So it stands to reason I also admire paintings reproduced on stamps,  especially those that have been painstakingly recreated through engraving.  Among his numerous engraving talents,  it is my humble opinion that Czeslaw Slania is a true master- perhaps the best - at bringing paintings to life on stamps through the art of engraving.  Slania replicated many fine pieces of art during his distinguished career. In this blog I shall focus on two paintings he reproduced on stamps for Sweden in 1978. The painters were both Swedish. Karl Isakson and Ivar Arosenius.

Karl Oscar Isakson (16th January, 1878 - 19th February, 1922) was a painter born in Stockholm, Sweden. He spent a large number of his painting years in Denmark. He is held in Denmark as one of the fathers of Modernism. For more on Modernism click HERE. He had a close association with the Bornholm school of Painters. A favourite subject of his was Ertholmene, a small archipelago northeast of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. This place is generally referred to as Christiansø. He also painted still-lifes and models in a Copenhagen studio.

The painting chosen to commemorate Isakson was a nude study painted between 1918-1920 not long before his death. The female subject of the painting stands with her back to us. Colourful wall-hangings and pillows in the background serve to highlight the feminine form of the subject. Slania has faithfully captured the tonal qualities of the painting through the skillful use of burin (the engraver's tool) on steel.

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Ivar Axel Henrik Arosenius (8th October, 1878 - 2nd January, 1901) was a Swedish painter. He was also the author of picture books, most notably the book Kattresan (The Cat Journey), published after he died. Some of Ivar Arosenius's paintings can be seen at the Museum of Art in Gotheburg.

The painting chosen for commemoration on a stamp was a Self-Portrait with Floral Wreath, painted in 1906. Again Slania has reproduced this rather haunting portrait - it is to me at least - in stunning detail and clarity.

These two stamps are masterpieces in and of themselves. I look forward to studying more of Slania's paintings on stamps!

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

I Muse on...To Soak or Not To Soak

A few days ago I received some Slania stamps in the mail that I had purchased from an eBay seller in Sweden.  I was delighted to see that some extra Slania stamps had been placed on the cover.  At first I thought "Great! A Slania cover. " But then I looked at the cover and noticed that - like many covers nowadays - the stamps were untouched by the postmark. This is the cover...

Then I got to thinking.  Do I keep the cover as is? Or do I soak the stamps off the cover? Since they are unblemished they'd look perfectly respectable on a hagner as Mint with no Gum. But in doing this am I compromising the quality of my collection?  Or am I simply - as is often the case - over-thinking things?

So the question stands: to soak or not to soak?

Does anyone else out there grapple with these questions?  If so, what do you do?

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Sir Rowland Hill

The current buzz in the stamp collecting world over the 175th anniversary of the Penny Black got me to thinking: "Is there any way I can link this amazing milestone with my Slania collecting blog?"

The answer is yes!

To link The Master with this event we must turn our attention to Great Britain's 1995 Pioneers of Communications issue.  This issue comprised four stamps all of which were engraved by Czeslaw Slania. but it is to the first two stamps of this set that I will focus in this blog. These two stamps commemorate Sir Rowland Hill,  the man behind Penny Postage,  as it were.

Sir Rowland Hill (1795-1879) was a rather amazing man. He was an accomplished teacher, an administrator, and an inventor. One of his inventions was a rotary printing-press in the 1830's.  It was his writing of "Postal Reform: Its Importance and Practibility." in 1837 that had far-reaching effects.

At the time Sir Hill wrote this pamphlet postage fees were based on weight and the distance the letter had to travel.  Because of this,  postage was calculated on a letter by letter basis, and it wasn't the person sending the letter who paid, but the addressee.  Naturally receivers often refused to pay. I can understand this. For instance, why would one wish to pay for news one may not wish to hear?

Sir Hill's proposal became revolutionary.  He suggested the use of pre-printed envelopes,  and affixed to these postage stamps with a fixed rate of 1d per half-ounce to be paid by the sender.

The following stamp - engraved by Slania - commemorates this groundbreaking reform.

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The second Rowland Hill stamp in this set commemorates his influence in the creation of the first adhesive postage stamp - the Penny Black. So much has been written on this famous stamp that I need not go into too much detail here.  Just a brief overview should suffice.

We will start with a man by the name of William Wyon.  Mr Wyon was responsible for the design of a medal used to commemorate the visit of Queen Victoria to the City of London in1837.  This medal Iincorporated the cameo-like portrait of the queen.

Another fellow by the name of Henry corbould used this medal to produce drawings of Queen Victoria's portrait. These drawings were produced to aid the engraver Charles Heath. Charles Heath and his son Frederick were given the task of engraving the die for what became the famous Penny Black. Although from what I have read it is thought that Heath's son Frederick did most of the engraving.

Printing of the Penny Black commenced on 11th April 1840 at Perkins, Bacon and Co. The Penny Black went on sale on 1st May 1840,  but they weren't valid for postage until the 6th. Although a cover exists with a postal date of 1st May, and there were some posted on the 2nd May.

Czeslaw Slania's commemorative stamp incorporates a portrait of Sir Rowland Hill in the foreground with the famous Penny Black in the background.

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Since Slania engraved his own rendition of a Machin stamp - and a fine stamp it is if I may say so - I wonder what an engraving of the Penny Black by Slania would look like? Alas we will never know, but the idea is intriguing - it is to me, at least! In any case we do have the original Penny Black to marvel at. The following example I chose as it has my initials on it...

"Penny black" by General Post Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!