Hands On Stamps

Here is an image of stamp featuring an allegorical design of the emaciated hand of a prisoner reaching for freedom, and broken chains, designed and engraved by Claude Haley after original artwork by S. Sourdille, and issued by France on June 27, 1970 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German concentration camps at the end of World War II, Scott No. 1282, Y&T No. 1648. Never forget!

- nethryk

Hi Nethryck, My scans can't reach the quality of yours, but I wanted to add these two (part of four) Belgian stamps because they match the topic. They were issued on the 10th of May 1965, 20 years after the end of the war. Design by Bonnevalle and engraving by L. Janssens. They are semipostal for welfare.

Kris Rascher - Thanks! Even after producing 12,000+ stamp images, my nearly four year old Epson Perfection V300 Photo scanner is still performing well.

Here are images of two similar semi-postal (charity) stamps depicting a hand blessing a woman, printed by photogravure, and issued for use in Fernando Po(o) on June 21, 1961, Scott Nos. B7 & B9.

- nethryk

Hi Nethryk, Those are great blessing stamps, I hope I can find them some day. But they reminded me of Pope John Paul's hands, which are shown in the Polish stamp (commemorating his visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau). There his hands are remarkably delicate with long fingers. In photos, such as the one accompanying the self-adhesive stamp from Slovakia or in the Italian stamp by G. Ieluzzo his hands appear much shorter and very strong. I wonder if there is a John Paul II thread?

Kris Rascher - Thanks! I am a fan of the artwork on many Spanish colonies stamps, even though they were printed almost exclusively by photogravure.

Here is an image of a stamp depicting an allegorical pair of manacled hands breaking the connecting chain, and the Amnesty International emblem, designed by Swedish artist Jodi Arkö (1951- ), engraved by Martin Mörck, and issued by Sweden on October 18, 1986 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Amnesty International, Scott No. 1613, Facit No. 1425. Bonus: Barbed wire.

- nethryk

Hi Nethryk, That Amnesty International stamp carries a powerful message; I'm adding the FDC with the partner stamp and the cancellation although they do not have any hands on them, design by EWK, do you know the designer? Fred och frihet = peace and freedom as in the cancellation, Pax et Libertas. The broken rocket is well done don't you think? 1986 was also the International Year of Peace, the UN emblem in the corner of the partner stamp showing a heap of discarded rockets and the twig of olive leaves is just recognizable.

Kris Rascher - Nice cover! Here is a magnified image of the striking Peace: Disarmament stamp issued se-tenant with the Amnesty International stamp. This stamp was designed by Swedish artist and political cartoonist Ewert Karlsson (1918-2004), whose signature was "EWK," engraved by Martin Mörck, and issued by Sweden on October 18, 1986 to commemorate the International Year of Peace, Scott No. 1612, Facit No. 1424.

- nethryk

The hands of the Famous Padre Pio of Italy in the gesture of blessing. He had stigmata most of his life and suffered from an endless number of illnesses, yet reached the age of 81 and did many good deeds. Pope John Paul II canonized him in 2002; the right stamp shows the pilgrimage center and the left stamp shows the church of San Giovanni Rotunda where he spent most of his life. Each of the three stamps bears the emblem of the Vatican.


Hi Nethryk, Thanks for the enlargement of the Swedish stamp, that way it does have hands on it!

The climate summit 2014 or Ban-Ki-Moon Summit is taking place these days in New York. Many stamps issued over the past decades have called attention to the need for climate and environmental protection. These from Belarus (1997) were designed for the "International Conference on Sustainable Development of Countries with Economies in Transition" held in Minsk. Has the SOS gotten bigger since then?

Kuwait issued this stamp way back in 1980 for the World Environment Day; that was years before the first Gulf War lead to the burning oil wells.

The smoking fingers, the clock at 5 of 12, the map in the background - the stamp issued by Macedonia (2007) says it all. The main topic of the Climate Summit in New York was the need to prevent global warming by reducing emissions!

Both the Serbian (design: J.J. Vlahovic) and the Philipine (design: E. Deocadiz) stamps draw attention to the vital importance of the Ozone layer in the upper atmosphere. Without it we get too much of the sun's damaging rays.



The FDC provides the formula for ozone = O3 !

Kris Rascher - De nada!

Hands and globe, designed by Jacques Combet, printed by photogravure, and issued by France on May 14, 1983 to commemorate the centenary of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Scott No. 1876, Y&T No. 2272.

- nethryk

Hi Nethryk, "Protection of industrial property" encourages me to add some more Protection of Nature. The Italian se-tenant four (1987) show paintings of Italian water landscapes, possibly by the painter Mezzana. Do you know more about him as a stamp designer? There are also small profiles of the animals one might see in these environments.

United Nations





and some others.