Collecting By Engraver

What a coincidence!
I have just come home with a 1954 recording (LPs) of Die lustige Witwe with Schwartzkopf-Kunz-Philharmonia-Ackermann and the first thing I see as I open the old forum is lithograving' Léhar's stamp.
Couldn't time it better if I tried.

Tony. You still listen to records?

Actually the Austrians loved their Operetten .
It was a different time, seems like eons ago.

You bet! One of the better collections around here, I'm told.
Last week I bought a "Paganini" with Richard Tauber and Evelyn Haye.
Could have bought 20 CDs for the price.
If you get a chance listen to Tauber singing "Wien, Wien, nur du allein" on RCA Red Seal LP and you too might get tempted.

My mother used to rave about Richard Tauber ( we had some old 78's) but sadly
I have to admit I'm not a fan of these lighthearted operettas
even though some of the tunes are quite catchy.

I kind of prefer opera over operettas, such as Wagner's Die Walküre.

Could be because I like listening to the Ride of the Valkyries in
the movie Apocalypse Now during the helicopter attack scene.

lithograving - I would agree with your comment that "Paintings in general and particularly large canvases usually aren't suitable as a subject for a tiny stamp in my opinion," although the Hercik-engraved Guernica Czechoslovakia stamp you posted is a indeed a good try.

But sometimes it does work pretty well when the stamp's design is confined to a detail from an original painting, as in this "Jacob wrestling the Angel" stamp designed and engraved by Pierre Gandon, after a detail from the original artwork (1861) by French painter Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863), and issued by France on March 2, 1963, Scott No. 1054, Y&T No. 1376.

- nethryk

Cécile Guillame (1933-2004) attended the Schools of Fine Arts in both Nancy and Paris, and then studied engraving with the great Robert Cami. She has the distinction of being the first woman to engrave stamps for France, and won many art prizes during her career. In all, Guillame engraved some 150 stamps, including 32 for France. She often worked with her husband, Michel Monvoisin, another fine French postage stamp engraver. Here are images of six stamps that were designed and/or engraved by Cécile Guillame.

- nethryk

Two bright and colorful stamps issued by Cameroun on October 19, 1970, Scott Nos. 507 & 508:

Ozila dancers


Ozila drummer and dancer


Le Clos Lucé, Amboise, issued by France on June 23, 1973, Scott No. 1374, Y&T No. 1759. This was Guillame's first stamp for France.


Biarritz, la côte basque, issued by France on September 25, 1976, Scott No. 1471, Y&T No. 1903.


Two semi-postal stamps designed by the female French artist Pierrette Lambert:

Summer, issued by France on November 30, 1974, Scott No. B479, Y&T No. 1828.


Spring, issued by France on November 29, 1975, Scott No. B481, Y&T No. 1860.

When only a detail of a large canvas is shown it can be
quite well adapted to a stamp as you demonstrate with the one
from Delacroix.
And then usually it only works because of the fine, sharp
details of the engraved printing.

Compared to this mish mash blob of colour on this
Canadian photogravure print.



Absolutely terrible.

Since you have posted these fine examples of another
lady engraver, Cécile Guillame , I would like to continue
with more from Maria Laurent as she honed her craft
over the following years.

Scott 898 1971
Combination Print : recess engraved - brown, photogravure - rose lilac




Scott 933 1972
Combination Print : recess engraved - chocolate, photogravure - olive




Scott 1025 1975
Combination Print : recess engraved - violet blue, photogravure - silver

Laurent wasn't as prolific as some of the other stamp engravers working for the
Austrian State Printer (Österreichische Staatsdruckerei) possible because she
also engraved banknotes.

Scott 1297 1984
Combination Print : recess engraving - black, photogravure - multicolour




Scott 1460 1989
Combination Print : recess engraving - black, photogravure - multicolour

From the eighties on the majority of Austrian stamps were printed
multicolour via offset/litho, photogravure or
combination (recess engraved & photo) where only one colour,
usually black, was engraved mainly for the fine details and
the rest multicolour photogravure.

And now for the last couple of years I believe Austria has stopped printing engraved stamps altogether. Pity.

Here are some of Laurent's later works from the
continuous Folklore & Customs series.


Scott 1633 - 1635 1994

The portion which is engraved is getting to be less and less
as you can see on these examples.
And finally Austrian stamps which have seen some of the finest examples of the art of engraving for over one hundred years
look the same as the ones from any other country.

Engraver : Maria Laurent

Scott 1728 - 1729 1997






Scott 1752 - 1753 1998

lithograving - Lamentably, the USPS, like the postal service of Austria and of most other countries these days, has also discontinued the issuance of intaglio engraved stamps. Fortunately for us, there are many thousands of previously issued engraved stamps to collect, and there are still a few praiseworthy postal services out there keeping the faith.

Continuing now with our mini-survey of the "ladies of the burin": Italian engraver Rita Morena has produced some beautiful stamps for Italy over the past three decades; here are images of several of them.

- nethryk

Gabriele Pasquale Giuseppe Rossetti, an Italian poet and scholar who emigrated to England, and was the father of English poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), co-founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848, issued on December 28, 1983, Scott No. 1542.


Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE, English comic actor, film director and composer, issued on September 23, 1989, Scott No. 1786.


Octagonal Room, Domus Aurea (Roman Emperor Nero's Palace), issued on August 31, 2001, Scott No. 2419.


Malato Alla Fonte, designed after the "minor fountain" sculpture (1281) in medieval Perugia by Italian artist and architect Arnolfo di Cambio (c. 1240-1310), issued on March 8, 2002, Scott No. 2479.


Leo Longanesi, Italian writer, journalist, editor, illustrator, and humorist, issued on August 26, 2005, Scott No. 2683.

When I saw the name Rita Morena, I right away started thinking
West Side Story.

Well,Rita Morena the engraver certainly has talent.
I particularly like the Chaplin one where she really brings out
the expression he is so well known for, perfectly.

So it appears Italy still issues engraved stamps,even in
monochrome. Very nice.

If engravers in general don't get much respect in the philatelic world, that has probably always been even more true for lettering engravers. Dixie March is an American artist and a letter and script engraver, and the only woman among the nine engravers at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. March labored about three weeks to engrave the ornate letters forming "The United States of America" on the new $10 U.S. federal reserve note, and it took her about nine days to chisel out the intricate pattern of dots and lines that spells out "Ten Dollars." March has also worked on the U.S. $5, $20 and $50 bills.

In a 2003 interview, March was quoted as saying "We're kind of dinosaurs. It's a dying craft. Technology is going to take over... The technology just hasn't gotten there yet." In 2007, March said that lettering engravers must have a special set of qualities, including: patience, tolerance for frustration, good eyesight, excellent small motor skills, hand-eye coordination, the ability to draw and last but not least, a good set of nerves. Here are images of three USA postage stamps for which Dixie March engraved the lettering.

- nethryk

Norman Percevel Rockwell (1894-1978), American painter and illustrator, a lithographed and engraved stamp issued on July 1, 1994, Scott No. 2839.


Cog Railway, vignette engraved by Gary J. Slaght (who is also primarily a lettering engraver), and issued on June 9, 1995, Scott No. 2463.


Madonna and Child, designed after a detail from the Adoration of the Shepherds (1712) by Italian painter Paolo de' Matteis (1662-1728), a lithographed and engraved booklet stamp issued on November 1, 1996, Scott No. 3112.

nethryk - when you mention that Dixie March the engraver chiseled out the letters on the $1o bill it reminds me of
the term etching vis a vis line engraving.
There are some Canadian examples where usually only the
country name & value was engraved or more precise etched

On Scott 601 only Canada, $2, postes, postage are engraved/etched? the rest is offset print.
Not much talent needed to produce this and that's why
I suppose Unitrade does not list any engraver.
I mean who want's to take credit for this?



Scott 784 has blue engraved but again the country name & value look
etched compared to line engraved.