Literary Stamp Collecting

André Malraux DSO (1901-1976) was a French novelist, art theorist and Minister for Cultural Affairs. Malraux's novel La Condition Humaine (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Malraux and his signature, designed by French artist Marc Taraskoff (1955- ), engraved by Jacky Larrivière, and issued by France on November 23, 1996, Scott No. 2584, Y&T No. 3038, plus a photo of Malraux in 1935 which was probably the model for this stamp's design. Note the absence of the cigarette in the design; Malraux was a heavy smoker and suffered from severe health problems resulting from this habit.

- nethryk

The portraits, if they may me termed as such, on the Haiti stamp are truly grotesque from the waist down. Such legs!

Ivan Cankar (1876-1918) was a Slovene writer, playwright, essayist, poet and political activist. Many regard him as the greatest writer in the Slovene language, and he has been compared to Franz Kafka and James Joyce. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Ivan Cankar, designed by Yugoslav painter and graphic artist Matija Zlamalik (1905-1965), engraved by Tanasije Krnjajic, and issued by Yugoslavia on December 24, 1960, Scott No. 590, plus an undated photo of the author which may have been the model for this stamp's design. Nice mustache!

- nethryk

Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire (1884-1969) was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. In 1948, he served briefly as president of Venezuela before being overthrown in a military coup d'état; for a while afterwards he took refuge in Mexico. Gallegos's first published novel, Doña Bárbara (1929), is a psychological study of Venezuela's oppressed rural inhabitants. It has been described as "possibly the most widely known Latin American novel." Here is an image of a stamp featuring a caricature portrait of Rómulo Gallegos, printed by photogravure, and issued by Mexico on December 6, 1984 to commemorate the centenary of the author's birth, Scott No. 1374, plus a photographic portrait of Gallegos.

- nethryk

Here are images of the two stamps in a set depicting scenes from part one of Faust, a tragic play in two parts written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), designed by Austrian artist Martha Griebler (1948-2006), combined engraved by Wolfgang Seidel and photogravure, and issued by Liechtenstein on September 9, 1999, Scott Nos. 1151 & 1152. Note Mephistopheles's hooves!

- nethryk

All theory is grey.


The wager is made

My contribution to the topic.

Gil Vicente (c.1465- c.1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal, he is often referred to as the "Father of Portuguese drama" and as one of Western literature's greatest playwrights. Here is an image of a stamp depicting Gil Vicente performing in costume in his first known work, O Monólogo do vaqueiro ("Monologue of the Cowherd," 1502), designed by Portuguese artist Raquel Roque Gameiro Ottolini (1889-1970), engraved by Arnoldo Fragoso, printed by typography, and issued by Portugal in 1937 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death, Scott No. 573.

- nethryk

Norwegian novelist Johan Falkberget (born Johan Petter Lillebakken, 1879-1967) grew up in a mining area and worked as a miner as a young man. Perhaps his best known work is the Christianus Sextus trilogy, which is set in a mining community in the 1720s. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Johan Falkberget, designed and engraved by Sverre Morken after a painting by Norwegian artist Harald Dal (1902-1972), and issued by Norway on September 4, 1979 as one of two stamps commemorating Falkberget's birth centenary, Scott No. 748, Facit No. 830, plus a photographic portrait of the author.

- nethryk

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a historical novel set amidst the turbulent years near the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history, starting in 169 CE and ending with the reunification of the land in 280 CE. The story (part historical, part legend, and part myth) romanticizes and dramatizes the lives of feudal lords and their retainers who tried to restore the dwindling Han Dynasty, or to replace it. Here are images of the four se-tenant stamps and a souvenir sheet depicting scenes from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, designed by Macanese painter Poon Kam Ling, printed by lithography, and issued by Macao (Macau, China) on August 1, 2001 to publicize Phila Nippon'01, Scott Nos. 1068a-d (stamps), and 1069 (souvenir sheet).

- nethryk

Carl Zuckmayer (1896-1977) was a German writer and playwright. Among his many notable literary achievements, in 1929 Zuckmayer wrote the script for the classic movie Der blaue Engel ("The Blue Angel"), starring Marlene Dietrich, based on the novel Professor Unrat by Heinrich Mann. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Zuckmayer, his signature and a marked-up manuscript, printed by lithography, and issued by Germany on November 14, 1996 to commemorate the writer's birth centenary, Scott No. 1950, plus a photo portrait of Zuckmayer, taken by German-born American photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt (1898-1995), which was used as a model for this stamp's design. Bonuses: "Sign here" and "Smokers on stamps" topics.

- nethryk

Catalan poet, Salvador Espriu I Rosselló (Santa Coloma de Farners, 1913 - Barcelona, 1985) on an Andorra ( a Catalan speaking country) last Februray stamp.

Sholem Aleichem (1859-1916) was the pen name of Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, a leading Yiddish author and playwright. The hit musical Fiddler on the Roof was based on his stories about Tevye the Milkman, set in Tsarist Russia. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait and autograph of Sholem Aleichem, plus tab, designed by Israeli graphic designers (and brothers) Gabriel Shamir (1909-1992) and Maxim Shamir (1910-1990), printed by photogravure, and issued by Israel on March 20, 1959 to commemorate the author's birth centenary, Scott No. 154, plus a photographic portrait of Aleichem taken in 1907.

- nethryk

Alain-Fournier was the pseudonym of French author Henri Alban-Fournier (1886-1914), who as a lieutenant in the French army was killed in action during World War I. Alain-Fournier was the author of a single novel, Le Grand Meaulnes (1913), which has been twice made into a motion picture, and is considered a classic of French literature. Here is an image of a stamp depicting a scene from Alain-Fournier's novel, designed and engraved by Pierre Albuisson after an illustration by French painter and lithographer Berthold Mahn (real name Charles Désiré Berthold-Mahn, 1893-1975), and issued by France on October 4, 1986 to commemorate Alain-Fournier's birth centenary, Scott No. 2022, Y&T No. 2443, plus a photo of the author.

- nethryk

Horatio Alger, Jr. (1832-1899) was a prolific American author best known for his many inspirational "rags-to-riches" novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of middle-class security and comfort through hard work, determination, courage, and honesty. Here is an image of an intaglio engraved stamp depicting working boys, a design adapted from the cover of an early edition of Alger's Ragged Dick series of novels (1867-68) by American illustrator Robert Hallock, modeled by Clarence Holbert, and issued by the USA on April 30, 1982, Scott No. 2010, plus a photo of the author.

- nethryk

Giovanni Carmelo Verga (1840-1922) was an Italian realist (Verismo) writer, best known for his novels and short stories depicting life in Sicily. Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Verga and a depiction of a Sicilian cart, designed by P. Bellanca, A. De Stefani, and Tullio Mele, printed by photogravure, and issued by Italy on January 27, 1972 as one of a set of two similar stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of Verga's death, Scott No. 1056, plus a photo of the author which was probably the model for this stamp's design.

- nethryk