A few days ago, Ian Kimmerly and I went to a home in Ottawa to collect 12 cartons of stamps and covers from a family who will consign their recently departed loved one's stamp collection.
Same old story... Gramps had a collection... see what we can get for it... But!
Look at your inscription corner blocks of the 1982 Artifacts Definitives. It turns out "Gramps" was the photographer! He photographed all those artifacts, at different angles. The final proofs were used to make the stamps.
The actual duck decoy (used on the 1-cent stamp) was over 50 cm long!
Anyhoot, in the collection is a bunch of the actual photographs and slides of the artifacts used on the stamps (including the medium- and high-values); letters from postal people (including André Ouelette); blocks and sheets of the stamps signed by him and the designers; and some interesting mock-ups.
There was a design of the 5-cent stamp, with the fishing spear, used on the 2-cent stamp, instead of the bucket. These were the stamps that I was purchasing from
Canada Post, when I was a high school student, and stamp collector.
What's even more interesting was there were some mock-up of other stamps never issued, and a few photographs and trial designs of the next definitive series.
To all of you that toil away at your desk...
I LOVE MY JOB!!
David
(... living the dream)
Posted 01/13/2010 7:02 pm
