Category: Uncategorized

 
In 1995, Great Britain issued five visually amazing stamps (above) themed ‘Springtime’ and designed by Andy Goldsworthy. He is a British Sculpture who lives in Scotland. His work consists of natural materials, hence it changes and decays during its lifespan, and he has traveled widely to make sculptures in particular environments.

The 1995 stamps were created as follows:
19p — Dandelions collected on the way to work. Laid around a carefully made hole.
25p -– Sweet Chestnut leaves. Held with thorns.
30p — Garlic leaves creased, folded, bent. Held to the ground with thorns
35p -– Hazel leaves. Two greens.
41p -– Spring grass, fresh green blades, white stems. Laid around a hole

About his work, Goldsworthy says, “The work that I do with my hands, with thorns and leaves and snow that doesn’t last very long, is the heart of what I do. That’s the source from which I draw all the other aspects of my art.”

And he explains further, “When I’m working with materials it’s not just the leaf or the stone, it’s the processes that are behind them that are important. That’s what I’m trying to understand. Not a single isolated subject but nature as a whole—how the leaf has grown, how it has changed, how it has decayed, how the weather’s affected it. By working with a leaf in its place I begin to understand the processes.”

Niger’s complete independence from France was achieved on August 3, 1960, but France continued to influence and aid the new Republic du Niger. The first stamps issued by the independent Republic were a set of 12 stamps picturing six animals (two stamps for each animal). Three of those pairs were featured in the previous post.  The 25fr Giraffe stamp was issued in late 1959, and the balance of the set in 1960. Stamps up to the 1970s tended to be large engraved issues designed and printed in France, with many strongly resembling the design of French stamps.

The designers and engravers of the first set of stamps issued by the Republic du Niger are identified on each stamp, but their names are very small and can be easily overlooked. Designer names appear in the bottom right corner of the stamps, and engravers in the bottom left corner. The names mostly parallel the bottom edge of the stamps, but some parallel the sides. Below are greatly enlarged portions of the three pairs of stamps featured in my last post and the Giraffes stamp above.

     
Crested Cranes                                             Saddle-billed Storks
Left: R. Subert — Designer                        Left: R. Subert — Designer
Right: Bétemps — Engraver                       Right: Bétemps — Engraver

   
Giraffes                                                            Ostriches
Left: R. Subert — Designer                        Left: R. Cami — Designer
Right: Decaris — Engraver                        Right: R. Subert — Engraver

Some information about the artists noted above:

R. Subert
Unable to find any information about this designer/engraver.

Georges Bétemps (1921-1992)
Georges Bétemps (French cartoonist, engraver and painter) was born in Paris on February 19, 1921. He studied at the Ecole Esteinne (Parisian School of Art) and then at the Bordeaux School of Fine Arts, but interrupted his studies to join the French Resistance. After liberation in 1946 he engraved his first stamps, a definitive set for Cameroun. The engraved ‘Native Head’ design (below right) was one of his designs for that set of stamps .

In 1961 Bétemps engraved his first French stamp (below), which portrayed Honoré Daumier. It was
in 1983 one of the stamps in  
the  Red the Red Cross Fund semi-postal series. In 1983 he was awarded the Grand Prix de l’Art Philatelique for his engraved rendering of Gustave Doré’s ‘Bluebeard giving keys to his wife’. This stamp (below left) was a masterpiece of an engraved rendering of a work of art for a stamp. Bétemps’ stamp engraving displayed the same intricacy of the much larger Doré original (below right).

He was again awarded the Grand Prix de l’Art Philatelique in 1990 for his engraving of a French Polynesia issue featuring the Maori World (left).

Georges Bétemps designed or engraved more than 1,500 stamps for France and other countries and was still active when he died on April 18, 1992.

 

Referenes:
https://stampengravers.blogspot.com/2017/02/biography-georges-betemps.html
https://stampsoftheworld.co.uk/wiki/Category:Betemps,_George

Albert Decaris (1901-1988)
Albert Decaris (left) is generally regarded as France’s Master Engraver of the 20^th century. In addition to engraving, Decaris was also a painter in oils and watercolor. He was born on May 6, 1901 in Sotteville-lés-Rouen. At 14 he entered the Ecole Estienne, which specialized in industrial graphics, where one  of his instructors was stamp engraver Antoine Dezarrois.  Three years later as a student at the Paris Ecole des Beaux-Arts he won the Prix de Rome and the chance to study in Italy at the Villa Medici.

Decaris engraved his first stamp for France in 1935 (left) and went on to engrave over 600 stamps for France and other countries in addition to approximately 6,000 non-stamp engravings. Classical clarity was the foundation of his work.

One of his stamp achievements for France was a series of historical scenes (three are illustrated above) which were produced from 1966 through 1973. Each year he designed and engraved three stamps. The entire series presented a complete history of France.

Decaris was asked to produce a version of the Marianne. a definitive issue that appeared in various iterations from 1944 to the present. Marianne is a symbol of Republican France and conveys liberty, equality and fraternity. Only one value of the Marianne de Decaris (left) was produced however, and that was in 1960. Its short life was caused by the introduction of a new printing press, the TD-6. He also engraved the Marianne de Cocteau definitive designed by Jean Cocteau which was in use in various denominations from 1961-1967. Decarus’ non-Marianne definitive with his Gallic Cock design (below right) was introduced in 1962 and has become an iconic image. In 1985 his final stamp was issued to mark National Memorial Day.

During his lifetime Albert Decarus received many honors including being elected a fellow of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and the Légion d’Honneur medal. Perhaps his most unusual honor was receiving an Olympic Gold Medal for Etching and Engraving in 1948, the last Olympics that included engraving.

Decaris died on January 1, 1988. To mark his birth centennial a stamp was issued on 2001 (below left)  which was designed and engraved by Claude Jumelet. The design expresses Decarus humorous side showing the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower dancing together. The designer was certainly influenced by Decaris’ engraving celebrating the centennial of the Eiffel Tower (below rightt).

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Decaris
https://stampengravers.blogspot.com/2018/01/biography-albert-decaris.html

Robert Cami (1900-1975)
Robert Cami was born on January 1, 1900 in Bordeaux, France. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Bordeaux until 1918 and then at the School of Fine Arts in Paris specializing in graphics arts.

In 1926 he won the prize for engraving from the Fondation Franco-Américaine Florence Blumenthal and in 1928 the First Grand Prix of Rome for engraving. From 1932 to 1942, he taught at the School of Fine Arts in Bordeaux where he established the school’s engraving studio. From 1945, he was Professor of Engraving at the National School of Fine Arts in Paris. His work was frequently exhibited in France and abroad.

      
Cami’s work on stamps began in the early 1950s. His first engraved stamp was the 1953 18f Hernani de Victor Hugo (above left). One of the first series he was involved with was the ‘Heroes of the Resistance’ (above center) beginning in 1957. His best known series was the ‘Tourist Publicity’ series which made good use of his expertise in landscapes and cityscapes. The initial stamp in that series depicted Château de Valençay and perhaps the most popular was issued in 1960 and featured Laon Cathedral (above right).

Cami was active until his death on January 12, 1975. His final work was the 1975 70c ‘Snowy Egrets’ stamp from the Nature Conservation set.

References:
https://stampengravers.blogspot.com/2017/09/biography-robert–cami.html
https://gallery-eng.ambafrance-ca.org/genese/artistes/cami.htm

How can it be two years since my last post? I can’t exactly explain. I’ve frequently felt overwhelmed and at other times fatigued. Can you identify?

But philatelically I have experienced some highs:
1. The purchase of a collection of British Presentation Packs which are produced for every special stamp issue. I admire British stamp design (for the most part), and these Packs give detailed information about the issues and their designers. They’re beautiful.

2. I received the “Outstanding Volunteer” award for 2023 from the American Topical Association—truly an honor.

3. I continued as Editor of Philateli-Graphics, the quarterly journal of the Graphics Philately Association.

4. And I continued to operate my HipStamp store (stampsite) which requires considerable time–scanning stamps, providing descriptive information, etc. How long I can keep this going I do not know.

My hope is to get back to somewhat regular posts. I’m eyeing a set of stamps from Niger as my next post.

During a recent visit to Portland OR, I had the opportunity to visit Uptown Stamp Show. The “Show” is actually a stamp shop. I remembered the Linn’s article of August 2016 hailing the March opening of Uptown Stamp Show—bucking the trend of stamp store closings. I wanted to experience this place.

The “Show” is just as the article described—a friendly, informal, small shop that welcomes everyone. Two stamp-show-size tables are covered with green table cloths and surrounded with comfortable chairs. Stock is on shelves on both sides of the office and includes collections, sets, covers, individual stamps and more. The worldwide inventory is extensive.

David Markowitz, the store’s founder, sat at one of the tables and discussed stamps and collecting nonstop with customers. His knowledge is deep, and he shares it generously. He even agreed to be photographed with me (top photo) outside the ‘Show.’ I was a buyer of 14 covers for $14 (see two below) to spice up the look of my worldwide albums. Obviously my purchases were not the financial high point of his day, but my visit to the ‘Show’ was a high point for me. When in Portland, I highly recommend Uptown Stamp Show to you.

 

Stamp collecting can be whatever you want it to be. There’s discovery and beauty, humanity and history—pretty much everything. Share the journey with me and stay in touch.