Poland 1956 - Summer Olympic Games

A big hello to my fellow Slania collectors! It has been literally ages since I last did a blog. My health has been on the fritz, and doing anything, let alone writing a blog, was too much to get my head around. But I'm back - hopefully permanently. A few months ago I prepared a blog to publish in time for the Olympics in Rio (5-21 Aug), but I never got around to completing it. So I thought what better way to get back in the saddle, as it were, than to start where I left off. So here goes...

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The Games of the XVI Olympiad were held in Melbourne, Australia in 1956, between 22 November and 8 December. This was the first Olympic Games ever to be held in the Southern Hemisphere. All events, accept equestrian, were held in Melbourne. The equestrian events were held in Stockholm five months earlier, due to Australian quarantine regulations. Incidentally this was only the second time in Games history that the events were split between two countries.

Seventy-two nations competed in 151 events. Two Australian athletes were later to become sporting icons after their success in these Games. Betty Cuthbert became Australia's "Golden Girl" by winning three gold on the track. Also, Murray Rose won three gold in the swimming. The top three countries were as follows:-

1956 Summer Olympics medal table

Rank Nation                         Gold

1         Soviet Union (URS) 37

2         United States (USA) 32

3         Australia (AUS)         13

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In 1956 Poland issued a stunning set of 6 stamps to commemorate the Games of the XVIth Olympiad. One of the designs, the 60g value stamp, was engraved by Czeslaw Slania.

This fantastic engraving is based on a photo of a Polish javelin thrower by the name of Janusz Sidlo. Sidlo competed in an amazng five Olympic Games. The XVIth Olympiad was Sido's 2nd Olympics. As a matter of interest, Sidlo won a silver medal in the 1956 Games.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Monaco 1993 - Princess Grace

Grace Kelly was born on 12 November 1929 to a wealthy family. In fact, her father was a successful Olympic athlete. From an early age Kelly showed an interest in acting. When she was 12, Kelly played the lead role in a play titled Don't Feed the Animals. When Kelly expressed a desire to pursue acting as a career, her father - expecting her to pursue something more 'meaningful' - was less than happy with her decision. In his eyes acting was 'a slim cut above streetwalker' (Wiki).

Despite family objections, Grace Kelly pursued her dream career of acting. She enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York where she excelled. Her professional acting career began on stage, the most notable role being her Broadway debut in Strindberg's The Father alongside Raymond Massey.

After her graduation, Grace Kelly came to the attention of Television producer, Delbert Mann. This meeting led to Kelly being cast in some sixty television shows. Her success on TV led to her first major motion picture role in 1951. She starred in the film Fourteen Hours. One day while Kelly was filming the movie, Gary Cooper happened to drop by. He was so impressed by her work that he chose to star alongside her in the film High Noon in 1951. Grace Kelly went on to star in several movies. She even won the Best Actress Oscar in 1954 for her role in The Country Girl.

At the age of 26 Grace Kelly retired from acting when she married Prince Rainier III. From then on she became known as Princess of Monaco. The royal couple had three children together: Caroline, Albert, and Stéphanie.

Grace Kelly, aka Princess Grace of Monaco, died on September 14 1982 as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident in the mountains of Monaco. Kelly suffered a stroke while driving and lost control of her car, driving it over a cliff. Miraculously her daughter, Stephanie, survived the accident.

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On 24 March 1993 Monaco and the USA released a joint issue stamp in remembrance of the death of Grace Kelly. The same design was used for both issues and the Engraver was Czeslaw Slania. Featured below is the stamp issued in Monaco.

This design, based on a photograph of Grace Kelly, is truly stunning. Slania has masterfully captured the softness of Kelly's face. This is further accentuated by the great choice of colour. This design is a truly fitting tribute to an amazing woman.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Poland 1952 - Training ship "Dar Pomorza"

The Dar Pomorza is a Polish full-rigged sailing ship built in 1909. Interestingly though, she wasn't initially Polish. The ship was built in Germany by  by Blohm & Voss. She was launched on 12 October 1909. In 1910 she was dedicated by Deutscher Schulschiff-Verein as the German training ship: Prinzess Eitel Friedrich. The ship was named for the Duchess Sophia Charlotte of Oldenburg, wife of Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia. In 1920 the ship was taken as war-reparations by Great Britain. The British took her to France, where she was assigned to the seamen's school at St-Nazaire under the name: Colbert.

The ship was given to Baron de Forrest to compensate him for the loss of a sailing yacht. But unable to afford its upkeep, he sold it in 1929 to the Polish community of Pomerania for £7,000. Under its new ownership the vessel became the new training ship for the Polish Naval Academy in Gdynia. She was given the name Dar Pomorza, which means "the gift of Pomerania". The ship went on to win several yacht races. She even won the prestigious Cutty Sark trophy in 1980. After a few more racing successes she was finally decommissioned on 4 August 1982. Since 1983 Dar Pomorza has been docked in Gdynia as a museum ship. 

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On 28 June 1952 Poland issued a set of two semi-postal stamps for "Ship Builders Day". The 45g + 15g Dar Pomorza stamp was designed by Czeslaw Slania. It was engraved by Stefan Lukaszewski.

This stamp is a masterpiece of both design and engraving. The fine detail is truly stunning. From the billowing sails to the taut rigging and sleek hull, this is a wonderful stamp that proves Slania is not only a master engraver but also a fine designer.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

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!

Poland 1953 - FSC Truck Factory in Lublin

The Fabryka Samochodów Ciężarowych is an automobile factory in Lublin, Poland, that specialised in large motor vehicles, such as light trucks. The factory is more commonly known by the acronym FSC. The FSC was founded in 1950, and the first vehicle to roll off the assembly line was the FSC Lublin-51 on 7 November 1951. The Lublin-51 was a Soviet truck manufactured by the company GAZ, the first prototype for which was produced before the end of WWII. It went into full production in 1946. The Lublin factory obtained the license to manufacture the vehicle in their factory in 1950.

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In 1953 Poland issued a set of 2 semi-postal stamps featuring the FSC in Lublin. Both stamps feature the same design by Czeslaw Slania. The stamps were engraved by MR Polak.

In these stamps we can see the production line in action, as two workers add parts to the Lublin-51. In the background is a vehicle at an earlier stage of production. 

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The 1953 FSC Lublin stamp design is similar to Poland's 1952 stamps featuring the automobile factory in Zeran. This particular design was engraved by Slania, and he even went so far as to add his own face to one of the workers. 

For more on the 1952 issue click HERE.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Faroe Islands 1980 - Saintly Carvings

Who would have thought that the world's oldest church still in use today stands on a volcanic island way up in the North Atlantic. And this very church has a connection with the stamp engraving guru, Czeslaw Slania. That church is Saint Olav's, and its origins date to the 12th Century. The church is located in the village of Kirkjubøur on the island of Streymoy in the Faroe Islands.

So what is the connection between Czeslaw Slania and Saint Olav's. Well, pull up a pew and I shall tell you (the bad joke will become apparent in a minute). It all started back in medieval times when it was decided it would be nice to decorate the ends of the church pews of Saint Olav's with elaborate carvings. Pews are the long benches found in churches upon which parishioners sit. The ends, generally wooden, are often decorated. Below is an example.

Take this type of decoration and multiply it by a factor of 100 and you may start getting close to the beautifully carved pew ends that were housed in Saint Olav's. Below is one of the pews, all of which are now located in the National Museum of the Faroe Islands.

These pew ends are such fine pieces of art that the Faroe Islands Postal Authority decided to celebrate their beauty by featuring them on a set of stamps. Czeslaw Slania was picked to do the engravings. There were four stamps initially printed, and these were issued on 8 October 1980. Two subsequent sets of four were issued in 1984 and 2001. In this blog I will focus on the first set of four issued in 1980.

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The first pew end carving depicts Mary and the baby Jesus. Not surprisingly, Slania has managed to capture the intricate details of the wooden carving as only a master engraver can.

Studying a close-up of Mary and baby Jesus, we can see that Slania remained faithful to the original piece of art, even down to its irregularities.

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The second stamp in the series depicts the carved image of St. John the Baptist.

A close-up of St. John the Baptist. I love the halo.

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The third stamp in the series depicts St. Peter. This pew end has the addition of the face of Jesus above St. Peter.

Close-ups of St. Peter and Jesus.

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The final stamp in this series depicts the carving of St. Paul.

A close-up of St. Paul.

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The detail Slania has achieved on each and every one of these stamps is truly exquisite. My only criticism of the set is the choice of background colours of the first two stamps. I personally don't like the colours at all. But that is just my preference.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Sweden 2000 - Slania's 1000th Engraving

Slania Crazy has just surpassed 10,000 page views. I am absolutely thrilled! A big thank you to everyone out there who takes the time to read my ramblings. In order to celebrate this milestone I'd thought it would be fun to feature Czelsaw Slania's 1,000th engraving, which also happens to be the largest engraved stamp in the world.

The stamp was issued in Sweden on 17 March 2000 in Souvenir Sheet format. It is based on a painting by David Klöcker Ehrenstråhle, titled The Great Deeds of the Swedish Kings. I'll get back to the painting in a bit, but for now let us feast our eyes on the truly sumptuous work of Czeslaw Slania. The stamp is absolutely massive and the detail amazing.

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The subject of this stamp is a portion of a ceiling fresco made by David Klöcker Ehrenstråhle in 1695 in Drottningholm Palace, the home of the Swedish Royal Family. The palace fresco is actually a copy of an earlier work by David Klöcker Ehrenstråhle located on the ceiling of the Great Hall of the House of Knights, made between 1670 and 1675. The painting depicts the allegorical figure, Eterna (Eternity) holding the Crown of Immortality. Below is a rather blurry image of the painting detailing the section Slania chose to reproduce in his engraving.

At the top left of the painting is Eterna with the Crown of Immortality depicted as a crown of stars. As you can see, this falls outside of the section engraved by Slania.

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The part of the painting Slania chose is packed with detail and certainly worthy of a couple of close-ups. At the bottom of the stamp is a lion bounding through the heavens. Lions have been associated with Swedish heraldry for centuries. I must say, though, that this lion seems a tad frightened.

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Dominating the stamp is a beautiful angelic figure, perhaps guiding those below her towards the heavens. In the painting, it seems the angelic figure is guiding those with her up to Eternity, but since Eternity doesn't feature in the stamp, I figure the heavens is the suggestion.

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Since the detail work on this stamp is so stunning, I thought I'd include some different stages of the die plate.

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Just one final titbit of information before I call it quits. The building featured at the bottom of the Souvenir Sheet is Drottningholm Palace, the home of the fresco. Interestingly, Piotr Naszarkowski, who can be considered Slania's successor, engraved a stamp for Sweden in 1991 of that very building.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Sweden 1960 - Gustaf Fröding

Gustaf Fröding is arguably one of the best poets that Sweden has ever produced. He was born on 22 August 1860 in Alster outside Karlstad in Värmland. His poetry, which was occasionally written in his own dialect, had a quality which translates well into music. In fact, many Swedish bands have done just that. Recently the Swedish band, Mando Diao, wrote a song for their album, Infruset, with lyrics adapted from Gustaf's poetry. In his poetry, Gustaf was very candid about relating his addiction to alcohol and his problems with women. It was as a result of these problems that Gustaf was put on trial for obscenity. He was to spend a large portion of his later life in mental institutions, desperately trying to fight the demons of alcoholism and womanising. He wrote much of his work while institutionalised. In the end, Gustaf found a semblance of happiness in the care of his nurse, Signe Trotzig. Apparently, when he moved out of hospital she remained with him till the day he died, 18 February 1911.

Gustaf in 1896

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On 22 August 1960 Sweden issued a set of two stamps commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Gustaf Fröding. The chosen design was engraved by Czeslaw Slania. A single design was used for the issue with two different values.

The 30o red brown. This stamp was issued in both vertical coils and booklets of 20. The example below is from a vertical coil.

The 1.40k slate green. This stamp was issued in vertical coils.

I have to say what draws my eye on this stamp design is the beard. Those of you who are regular readers of my blogs know I am connoisseur of engraved beards. And this one is a beauty. Just look at that thing - gnarly and full of life! And it seems that Gustaf's beard had significantly thickened out since the photo shown above.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Sweden 1960 - Voluntary Shooting Organisation

In 1860 the idea of creating volunteer rifle forces in Sweden was born. Local volunteer-corp quickly formed, and these were so popular that by 1864 over 40,000 volunteers were involved. The idea behind this was to create a trained reserve of voluntary troops for homeland defence. But due to organisational issues the movement gradually fizzled out. However, by 1893 the system was reorganised. Rifle clubs for local defence were created in many towns throughout the country. By the end of 1901 there were 1334 rifle clubs with 91,337 members. Eighty-five percent of these members were liable for conscription service. The rifle clubs, it seems to me, kept the public well practised in the use of firearms. This whole idea isn't something I personally agree with, being strictly anti-gun. But that's just my view. And not really the point of the blog.

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On 30 June 1960 Sweden issued a set of two stamps commemorating the centenary of the Voluntary Shooting Organisation. One of these stamps - the 90o value - was engraved by Czeslaw Slania. It depicts a parade of riflemen. This stamp was issued in horizontal coils. It is a lovely design, and contains one of Slania's favourite subjects - a horse.

The other stamp in this set was engraved by A. Wallhorn, and it depicts riflemen at target practice.

While doing research for this blog I also come across a rather lovely cover that includes both stamps.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!