Hands On Stamps

Protect Children: Denmark issued this semi-postal stamp in 2003 in honor of "Doctors without Borders" (see logo).

@Kris Rascher

Yes I did notice the Saar version and have to say
that the French engraver Charles Mazelin did
a slightly better job than the French - Canadian
Yves Baril.

On the other hand Yves Baril engraved just about every
Canadian stamp for at least a decade (lettering excepted)
and therefore couldn't spent as much time per stamp as
he wanted.

Whereas the French State Printer had a least a dozen
excellent engravers under contract at any given time.

Protect Children: Germany issued this stamp in 1998 calling for a stop to violence against children.
(Thanks Lithograving for the additional info!)

Today is Three King's Day, the 6th of January, which is celebrated by many Christians as the day the three wise Kings arrived in Bethlehem to honor Jesus. Each brought a priceless gift, Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. (Painting by Paulo di Giovanni Fei, 1400)

Premysl Pitter (1895-1976) was a deeply religious Czech Christian and pacifist who ran a series of children's homes to care for disadvantaged and refugee children, including Jewish children fleeing Nazi persecution, before, during and immediately after World War II. Here is an image of a stamp honoring Pitter, designed by Czech artist Oldrich Kulhánek (1940-2013), combined engraved by Miloš Ondrácek and photogravure, and issued by Czech Republic on February 1, 1995 to commemorate the humanitarian's birth centenary, Scott No. 2944, plus an image of an autographed photo of Premysl Pitter.

- nethryk

In 1971 Norway issued a set of two stamps to draw attention to the needs of refugees (flyktningar). International Committee for helping Refugees. The design seems to say "don't close your eyes, your heart or your hand" to their needs.
(Hi, Nethryk, Pitter's hand seems to be waving the refugees to him, a great stamp!)

Austria issued this stamp in 2001 to honor the UNHCR (United Nations High Commision for Refugees) which began its work on the 1st of January 1951. The main office is located in Geneva, Switzerland. The stamp shows an injured adult man, but he doesn't really represent the vast majority of refugees. More than half of today's over 50 million refugees are children; I don't know how many are women.

Another UNHCR stamp calling attention to the misery of refugees, this one issued by the UN itself in 1984. It was done by the famous Swiss artist Hans Erni for the Geneva office.

Kris Rascher - Thanks!

President Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (1882-1954), his hand, and an oil derrick, printed by photogravure, and issued by Brazil on October 6, 1958 to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the law creating Petrobrás (Brazilian Petroleum), Scott No. 883.

- nethryk

Another UNHCR stamp calling for help for refugees to get from a bloody place to a safe one. Design by Francoise Peyroux, 1994.



(Hi Nethryk, You pushed your button a few minutes earlier than I did; I also have the Vargas hand, but could not find out who did the design. Hope your new year has started well.)

Hands of Athletes: Primoz introduced the subject in December. It should be fun to see how many we can put together. The swimmers on the Czechoslovakian stamp are competing in the Moscow Olympics in 1980.

Hands of Athletes: This semipostal stamp is one of four issued by Germany in 2007, for the occasion of the world championship games. The swimmer is competing in the pentathlon, held in Berlin.

Hands of Athletes: The swimmer is participating in the 11th "Athletic Games of the Mediterranean Countries", 1991. The symbolic three rings are just a little bit in the water. First in a set of five.

Hands of Athletes: The swimmer is one in a set of 20 athletes on stamps issued for the games in Atlanta, 1996. I don't know who did the artwork.

Hands of Athletes: This swimmer is competing in the 1972 Olympic Games at Munich. Butterfly style; the earlier ones were free style.