I Interview...Ed from Ottawa

A loyal follower of my blog, named Ed, graciously volunteered some of his time for a Slania Crazy! interview. Enjoy!

Slania Crazy!: Thank you very much for participating in my "I Interview..." series.

Ed: You are welcome.

Q: When did you start collecting Slania stamps?

A: About 3 years ago.

Q: What drew you to start collecting him?

A: I have always collected paper ephemera and became interested in stamps. I had started a collection of German stamps and was looking for more information and came across the 'Collecting by Engraver' posts on the Stamp Community Forum on the internet. It introduced me to Slania as well as many other engravers. Being of Polish descent, I was thrilled to find out that Slania was also Polish, and I already had some of his stamps in my small collection of Polish stamps without knowing it.

Q:What is your favourite Slania stamp, and why is it your favouritre?

A: I would have to pick the Polish 1.40 zl Air Mail stamp issued in 1952 of an airplane flying over Warsaw. Having visited Warsaw many times, I recognised the old town of Warsaw depicted on the stamp.

Q: Where do you usually get your Slania stamps?

A: The internet, a local stamp shop and a monthly stamp bourse in Ottawa, where I live.

Q: What references do you like using? Which is your favourite?

A: The Heindorff website dedicated to Slania is fantastic.

Q: Do you remember what your first Slania stamp was?

A: Since I had some Slania engraved stamps in my Polish collection without knowing his involvement at the time, most likely one of the 1954 air mail issues (there are six in this set). I was also carrying a Slania engraving in my pocket, an engraving featured on a Canada $5.00 bill!

Q: Do you collect any other engravers?

A: Quite a few. I collect most of the French engravers, and besides Slania, a handful of the other European engravers as well. But my interest in engraved stamps begins to wane after the early 1980's.

Q: What are your other stamp specialisms?

A: I like First Day Covers (especially signed ones), souvenir sheets, cinderellas, and revenue stamps. The engraving work on some of the earlier Canada revenue stamps are quite ornate and spectacular.

Q: How do you store your Slania stamps?

A: Vario-Lighthouse stock sheets that are housed in three ring binders.

Q: Do you have any collecting tips to share?

A: A lot of great examples of engraved stamps are still reasonably priced. Work within your budget. Invest in a good magnifying glass so you can get a closer look at the engraver's art. Better yet, if you have a scanner, scan a stamp at 800-1200 dpi. You'd be amazed at the details it reveals. And at times it reveals faults unseen by the naked eye.

I'd like to thank Ed again for the interview. As always, if anyone else out there wishes to participate, please let me know in the comments.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Iceland 1984 - Nordia Exhibition

Have you ever wondered when the first ever world atlas was published? And who undertook such a mammoth task? Well, the when will come later, but as to the who...? If you shouted out the name Abraham Ortelius, then you are right on the money.

***

Abraham Ortelius was born 14 April 1527 in the city of Antwerp, which at the time was in the Habsburg Netherlands. Ortelius began his career in 1547 as a map illuminator in Antwerp. He also traded books, maps, and prints. It was during one of his yearly trips to the Frankfurt Book Fair in 1554 that he met a man who would change the course of his life. That man was Gerardus Mercator, a cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer .The two men began travelling together, and during this time, Ortelius developed an interest in scientific geography. 

In 1564 Ortelius published his first map, a large eight-leaf map of the world. Over the next few years he went on to publish several other maps. It  is perhaps important to note that up until this time the compiling of maps into a single volume was only ever done on a made to order basis. Would it not be a good thing to have a collection of maps of the known world gathered together into one book that was more readily available? 

Ortelius seemed to think so. And that is just what he did. In 1570 he published Theatrum Orbis Terrarum "Theatre of the World". This was the first ever world atlas - that we know of, that is. The atlas comprised 53 maps from some 33 different cartographers. Ortelius had the maps printed to a standard size to fit in the book. He also added some notes to each map along with a reference to who originally made it. Incidentally, the world map he had published in 1564 also appeared in the atlas, but at a smaller scale.

***

On 6 June 1984 Iceland issued a special mini-sheet, featuring one of the maps found in Ortelius' atlas, for the Stamp Exhibition Norda '84, held in Reykjavik from 3-8 July. Czeslaw Slania was asked to engrave this important mini-sheet.

This mini-sheet is a stunning piece of art in its own right. It is loaded with exquisite details. details so minute, it boggles the mind. What I particularly like are the various monsters adorning the map.

The third enlarged image also reveals that individual names on the map can be clearly discerned. Most impressive!

Incidentally, this is not the first time Slania turned to the Ortelius atlas to create stamp art. He also utilized this very same map for one of the two designs in his 1975 Faroe Islands stamp set. Click HERE for my blog post dealing with that lovely set.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

I Interview...Yazid from USA

A Facebook friend and follower of my blog, named Yazid, graciously volunteered some of his time for a Slania Crazy interview. Enjoy!

Slania Crazy: Thank you very much for participating in my "I Interview..." series.

Yazid: You are most welcome.

Q: When did you start collecting Slania stamps? 

A: I started collecting him a year ago.

Q: What drew you to start collecting him? 

A: He engraved over a 1000 stamps for many different countries and I was curious about what sort of things I could discover, It was also that excited feeling one gets when going on a hunt for new stamps. 

Q: What is your favourite Slania stamp, and why is it your favouritre? 

A: I think my favourite is the 1984 Fishiing set from Faroe Islands. The design of these stamps is very simple, but attractive,

Q: Where do you usually get your Slania stamps? 

A: On ebay, There are some really good sellers. 

Q: What references do you like using? Which is your favourite? 

A: I don't have references for Slania, I just google him and try to find anything on his work.

Q: Do you remember what your first Slania stamp was? 

A: My first Slania, I think, was the USA 1993 Grace Kelly 29c stamp.

Q: Do you collect any other engravers? 

A: Albert Decaris is the other one.

Q: What are your other stamp specialisms?

A: I  just collect anything that catches my eye, from France or anywhere else in the world.

Q: How do you store your Slania stamps? 

A: I use acid-free stock books and albums. I choose albums with black pages to enhance his work even further..

Q: Do you have any collecting tips to share? 

A: Collecting is about having fun,..learning about history and historical events through stamps...

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Yazid again for taking the time to participate in this interview. As always, if anyone else out there wishes to participate, please let me know in the comments.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Iceland 1983 - President Kristján Eldjarn

Generally I don't find spending time researching politics and politicians all that much fun. So when I had a look at my Slania collection to see which Iceland stamps were next on my blog list, I wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the subject matter - a president! Especially in the current political climate where all we seem to hear about are the controversial actions of a certain country's leader! But then I had a bit of a read about the subject of this blog and I found the man in question to be rather interesting!

Kristján Eldjarn, born 6 December 1916, was Iceland's third president. But he wasn't always into politics. That came somewhat later. His passion was actually archaeology, which he studied at the University of Copenhagen. After working in several teaching positions he became a curator at the National Museum of Iceland in 1945. And just two years later in 1947 he became the museum's Director. While in this position he furthered his studies in archaeology and earned his doctorate in 1957 for his research into pagan burials in Iceland. 

Then in 1966 he became the host of an educational television series on RUV (Icelandic National Television). In this series he introduced the audience to some of the artifacts housed in the museum and he discussed their historical importance. This show became very popular. Kristján Eldjarn became a well-loved household name. It was perhaps his newfound popularity that prompted him to run for president in 1968 as a 'politically non-affiliated candidate' (Wiki).

Kristján Eldjarn won the election and became president in 1968. It is perhaps indicative of his popularity that he ran unopposed in the next two elections in 1972 and 1976. In 1980 he chose to resign from politics and return to his passion of archaeology. Sadly, he died two years later in 1982.

***

On 6 December 1983 Iceland issued a set of two stamps commemorating the life of their much-loved president, Kristján Eldjarn. The issue consisted of one design issued in two values. The design of this very important commemorative was entrusted to Czeslaw Slania. Not surprisingly, Slania's work produced exquisite results.

***

What Slania has produced here is the portrait of an intelligent and caring man, who, despite his great leadership, was just another human-being with frailties like the rest of us. A superb engraving!

Until next time...