Greenland 1967 - Royal Wedding

Wedding bells are in the air! At least, they were on 10 June 1967 when Crown Princess Margrethe of Denmark married Frenchman, Count Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, at Holmens Kirke in Copenhagen, Denmark.

So when and how did the royal couple first meet? For that we need to wind back the clock two years to 1965. At this time Margrethe was studying at the London School of Economics and Henri was with the French embassy. One day Margrethe was invited to a dinner at the French embassy. At the dinner she was seated next to Henri. Margrethe was ambivalent about the Frenchman. Henri, however, found Margrethe interesting, but was a bit intimidated by her. So at their first meeting the fireworks seemed to be absent. 

Then perhaps a little serendipity came into play. A short time after their first meeting, they met yet again at a wedding. They got to chatting, which went better this time. After the wedding they were both bound for London. Whether prearranged or again a touch of serendipity, they sat together on the plane. Deciding to keep their relationship on the down-low, the couple dated for a little over a year before announcing their engagement. They had kept their relationship so quiet, in fact, that it came as a pleasant shock to most Danes. Later on Margrethe's father, King Frederik apparently said to her,  “He came, he saw, and you conquered.”.

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On 10 June 1967, the same day as the royal wedding, Greenland issued a stamp commemorating the event. The stamp was designed by Gunnar Bilmann Petersen and it was engraved by Czeslaw Slania. This is not the most exciting stamp in the world, but the cameo profiles of the newly-weds is definitely an interesting slant. It is worth noting that this wasn't the last time Slania engraved Margrethe for a stamp. He produced some quite beautiful definitives for Denmark, bearing her portrait. But we'll leave those for another time. For now, here's the royal wedding stamp...

Until next time...

Greenland 1963 - Polar Bears

In the words of that now famous Disney bear, Baloo, "The simple bear necessities." That's right. This week is all about bears. Ursus maritimus. more commonly known as the polar bear, to be precise. The mighty and majestic polar bear could very well be considered the king of bears. It is our largest land-based predator. A boar (adult male) can weigh in at up to 700 kg. That's a heavyweight to rival "Iron" Mike Tyson! The other brutes of the bear family, the Kodiak and the brown bear are on average slightly smaller.

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On 17 September 1963 Greenland issued a new design consisting four values to expand on the definitive set which started on 7 March 1963 with a beautiful "Northern Lights" design. The new design, conceived by V Bang, features a stunningly-engraved polar bear by the master, Czeslaw Slania. This has to be one of my favourite Slania engravings, simple, elegant, and very effective in small stamp format.

In Greenland the polar bear lives in the northernmost parts of West Greenland and in Northeast Greenland,. Since they move with the drifting ice, they can also be seen elsewhere in Greenland. Having said that, though, polar bears are not easily spotted unless you happen to find yourself on a boat cruising along the coast. If you are lucky enough to be doing such a thing, they can be fairly easily spotted due to their off-white fur, which contrasts somewhat with the pack ice.

Until next time...

Greenland 1966 - The Boy and the Fox

The flickering lamplight dances across the face of the storyteller. The small audience, huddled together to ward off the winter chill, sit and listen with fascination. The storyteller gesticulates wildly as the tale draws to a conclusion. Her arms create moving shadows over the walls, animating her narrative. The story is punctuated by gasps and murmurs of delight from the audience. She raises her arms one further time, then drops them. The story is now finished. The villagers retire to their beds, happy to have survived another day of bitter cold.

Such scenes were common in Greenland during the long winter nights. On these nights many folk tales would be told. I'm sure each audience would've had their favourites. One story that may have been quite popular was "The Boy and the Fox". After some searching on the net I found a folk tale of the same name, but one from Sweden. I'm not entirely sure it is the same tale as that told in Greenland, but the theme is possibly similar.

The story is about a boy who one day sees a fox sleeping nearby. Instead of admiring it for its wild beauty, he sees it in profit. Why, if he could sell it, he could buy a whole batch of rye seeds. He starts imagining caring for a field of rye. he knows the other villagers will be jealous. They will want to get into his precious rye. He would have to shout at them to get out! Without realising, he shouts out loud. The fox, suddenly alerted to his presence, darts away to safety.

The boy called so loud

that the fox awoke.

The fox sprang to his feet,

and away he went to the woods.

So the boy did not get even a hair

from the tail of the fox.

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Between 1957 and 1969 Greenland issued a series of five stamps celebrating Greenlandic folk tales. On 22 September 1966, the 50o value stamp depicting "The Boy and the Fox", was issued. This stamp was designed by Jens Christian Rosing, who designed some 150 stamps. And it was engraved by Czeslaw Slania. As I mentioned above, I'm not sure if the tale I found is the correct one, but the scene depicted on the stamp certainly seems to fit. In this delightful scene we see a boy, with a rather maniacal look on his face, about to pounce on a fox. The fox, it appears, has only just become aware of the boy, and is in the process of making off with all haste. What a great engraving!

Until next time...