So Many Witches ... Do You Know Which Witch Is Which?

Hermione Granger, as portrayed by Emma Watson in the Harry Potter films:

Lisbeth Zwerger is a gifted artist/illustrator for children's books. Her drawing for Hänsel and Gretel was shown on a 1983 stamp. The witch looks almost ghost-like, pretty scary, and the children don't seem to have noticed her yet.

(Hi Alexey, Thanks for the history of the "Night Witches" - it's always great to know more about a topic. K.)

The Luxembourg Witch Meluzina

The witch is coaxing Hänsel and Gretel to come and stay with her. Her black cat is somewhere else, but her black bird, perhaps a raven, is watching. Part of the 1985 set for Pro Juventute charity stamps showing fairy tale scenes. Drawn by Georg Rimensberger.

another Snow Queen

The witch, holding her black cat, has just welcomed Jao and Maria (the Brazilian version of Hänsel and Gretel) to her cabin. 100 years of children's books, stamp of 1994.

(Hi Alexey, Your Snow Queens are remarkable! K.)

Yeah, it seems like each one of Alexey's Snow Queens is better than the last!

Hi, Pikey! You are right, the Ukrainian Snow Queen is just gorgeous!
I have a couple more queens!

Hänsel is clever in the picture on the Guinea-Bissau stamp - he holds a small bone toward the witch so that she thinks he is still too skinny. mini-pane of 'Little Red Riding Hood' and 'Hänsel and Gretel', 2003

Great Britain
8th March 2011
Magical Realms




Tilda Swinton as the White Witch (C.S. Lewis's Narnia)

The Queen, jealous of Snow White's beauty, becomes ugly when she gives Snow White the poisoned apple. In a set of 6 stamps telling the whole tale, the Queen is quite pretty in the first stamp at the right. A fascinating detail: the beautiful plant blooming between Snow White and the witch looks very much like fox glove, an extremely poisonous plant and well known for its toxic effects, even long ago. Is the witch even pointing to it? Note the logo at the upper right corner: UN Year of the Child, 1979.

the look and outfit of the Evil Queen from the Walt Disney cartoon was taken from the statue of the Countess Uta von Ballenstedt, which stands in the cathedral city of Naumburg in Saxony. It is believed that this is one of the most beautiful female portraits of the time.

That stamp does not do that statue justice.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Hi Alexey, The US stamp for this queen, who poisoned Snow White, is part of the "Villains" set of 2017. The folks at Disney even got an Oskar in 1938 for their movie featuring this fairy tale! The two who donated major funds for the construction of the cathedral at Naumburg, Eckehard and Uta, still stand in the nave. Just this October the cathedral was added to the UNESCO list of world heritage sites.

another charming Baba Yaga from Pushkin's fairy tales on the Kirghiz bloc