Collecting By Engraver

I_Love_Stamps - Thanks. Several of the stamps in the Denmark millennial set, including Our Lady Church in Kalundborg, were designed by noted Danish artist Viggo Bang based on his own drawings. - nethyrk

Matthew D. Fenton, who engraved the graceful U.S. - Japan Treaty stamp which I previously posted on this thread, joined the BEP in the 1930s, and began regularly producing vignettes for USA stamps by the late 1940s. Here are images of seven other examples, all from the 1960s, of what I consider to be Fenton's finest work.

- nethryk

Statue of Liberty, definitive stamp issued on June 15, 1961, Scott No. 1044A. (Lettering: Howard F. Sharpless)


Montgomery Blair (1813-83), politician and 20th USA Postmaster General, airmail stamp issued on May 3, 1963, Scott No. C66. (Lettering: G.A. Payne)


Two stamps designed by U.S. Forest Service's Rudolph "Rudy" Wendelin (1910-2000), known for his artwork in the "Smokey Bear" fire prevention campaign:

Range Conservation, issued on February 2, 1961, Scott No. 1176. (Lettering: G.L. Huber)


John Muir (1838-1914),Scottish-born American naturalist and conservationist, issued on April 29, 1964, Scott No. 1245. (Lettering: Kenneth C. Wiram)


Doctors William James Mayo (1861–1939) & Charles Horace Mayo (1865–1939), founders of the Mayo Clinic, issued on September 11, 1964, Scott No. 1251. (Lettering: G.A. Payne)


Robert Hutchings Goddard (1882-1945), American physicist and "rocket man," airmail stamp issued on October 5, 1964, Scott No. C69. (Lettering: Kenneth C. Wiram)


"Columbia Jays," designed after a painting by John James Audubon, airmail stamp issued on April 26, 1967, Scott No. C71. (Lettering: William R. Burnell)

Paul Verheyden engraved a number of fine stamps for Belgium from 1963 to 1977. Here are images of five examples of his work.

- nethryk

Henri Pirenne, historian, issued on January 15, 1963, Scott No. 587.


Henry Clemens Van de Velde, Flemish painter, architect and interior designer, issued on November 16, 1963, Scott No. 601.


Jacob Jordaens (1593-1678), Flemish Baroque painter, issued on March 15, 1965, Scott No. 627.


Henri Victor Marie Ghislain, Count Carton de Wiart, lawyer and Prime Minister of Belgium (1920-21), issued on November 8, 1969, Scott No. 731.


Our Lady of Flanders' Cathedral of Tournai, issued on December 13, 1971, Scott No. 799.

What a magnificent job you guys are doing. You have posted examples of the work of over 56 very talented engravers and it has been enthralling to open each page. THANK YOU!

One of my favourite stamps (and probably of many other collectors) is the 1929 Canadian Bluenose, but I have been unable to find the name of the engraver, who was ahead of his/her time and presented us with a time-lapse depiction of Bluenose sailing around a mark (leeward?)

Anyone know who this talented artist might have been? Thanks

alex

Perf14 - Thanks. I would agree that we've made a good start, but we could sure use some more contributors!

Bluenose, issued on January 8, 1929, Scott No. 158, was engraved by someone at the American Bank Note Company in New York, and printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company (a subsidiary of ABNCo) in Ottawa. But the identity of the individual engraver of this stamp still seems to be a mystery. Some collectors have speculated that he was the Canadian engraver Silas Robert Allen (1888-1958). However, Allen has only formally been credited with engraving two other stamps from this 1928-29, eleven-stamp "Scroll" set: "Mt. Hurd," issued on November 5, 1928, Scott No. 155; and "Quebec City," issued on January 8, 1929, Scott No. 156.

- nethryk

As I believe I have mentioned previously, my engraved stamp collection is weak in the British Commonwealth countries. Nevertheless, I do have some examples of Canada stamps engraved by Silas Robert Allen during the 1940s and 50s, and here are images of them. Perhaps our Canadian collector friends can offer scans of more and/or better examples?

- nethryk

Great Bear Lake, Mackenzie, issued on September 16, 1946, Scott No. 269.


Harvester, issued on September 16, 1946, Scott No. 271.


Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, issued on October 1, 1948, Scott No. 277.


Queen Elizabeth II, definitive stamp issued on April 1, 1954, Scott No. 341.


Sir Mackenzie Bowell, PC, KCMG (1823-1917), politician and fifth Prime Minister of Canada, issued on November 1, 1954, Scott No. 350.


House on Fire, issued on October 9, 1956, Scott No. 364.

Oops! I almost forgot to post this image of another Silas Robert Allen "beauty" for you.

- nethryk

Princess Elizabeth, issued on February 16, 1948, Scott No. 276.

Thanks Nethryk, that was more information than I had found before. Googling Silas Robert Allen came up with the following info.




and




It seems likely that Allen did Bluenose as well. Thanks

edited double posting

alex

The Princess Elizabeth stamp is a real beauty! Thanks!:)

This is the first time I have heard mention of the Bluenoses depicted on the stamp being a time lapse photo.

This is from Wikipedia:



Searching the Nova Scotia archives, to me it looks like this photograph called 'Grand Bank fishing schooner Bluenose' , Reference: W.R. MacAskill NSARM accession no. 1987-453 no. 97 (although the web page link has '98' in the url), which is only one of 156 photos of the Bluenose.
http://www.gov.ns.ca/nsarm/virtual/...es.asp?ID=98
I can't copy the image as it is owned by another museum or archive.

The term time-lapse in this instance was of my own making.

The stamp depicts the schooner in two different positions with respect to what looks like a marker to me; so I could visualize the schooner rounding the mark and then passing by the observer/photographer.

Mainly I was referring to the fact that both vessels on the stamp are Bluenose even though they have different sailnumbers, which do appear to have been added as a second thought (the 2 is a bit off-angle with respect to the sail IMO).



Anyway, I am very happy to say that today I finally got one, used, but true-blue none the less!

:)

John Eissler (1873-1962) engraved the vignettes for many USA stamps, mainly during the 1920s and 30s. Here are images of what I consider some of his finest works.

- nethryk

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (1858-1919), 26th President of the United States, definitive stamp issued on October 27, 1922, Scott No. 557. (Variable lettering: Edward E. Myers and Edward M. Hall)


Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), 28th President of the United States, issued on December 28, 1925, Scott No. 623. (Frame and lettering: E.M. Hall, Scrolls: Joachim C. Benzing)


Liberty Bell (note the famous crack!), issued on May 10, 1926, Scott No. 627. (Frame and lettering: E.M. Hall)


Sullivan Expedition - Major General John Sullivan (1740-1795) - issued on June 17, 1929, Scott No. 657. (Lettering and numerals: E.M. Hall and E.H. Helmuth)


General Casimir Pulaski (1745-1779), Polish soldier, nobleman, politician and American Revolutionary War hero who died from wounds suffered in battle, called "the father of American cavalry," and one of only seven people to be awarded honorary United States citizenship, issued on January 16, 1931, Scott No. 690. (Lettering and numerals: E.M. Hall)


Yorktown, marking the 150th anniversay of the climactic battle of the American Revolutionary War, issued on October 19, 1931, Scott No. 703. (Frame and lettering: E.M. Hall; Ribbons: J.C. Benzing)


Detail: portrait of George Washington, Scott No. 703.

Wow, I am getting SO absent-minded. Here is an image of one more nice stamp engraved by John Eissler that I intended to post above.

- nethryk

Great Seal of the USA, airmail special delivery stamp issued on August 30, 1934, Scott No. CE1. (Lettering: E.H. Helmuth)

Participation (and SCF member interest?) in this thread seems to be waning fast, but before I desist posting here I'd like to offer some images of examples of the works of one more outstanding French stamp designer and engraver, Claude Durrens (1921-2003), also a distinguished winner of the Grand Prix de Rome.

- nethryk

Perf14 - Your Canada Bluenose stamp reminded me how sailing ships often make superb subjects for engraved stamp designs. Here are images of three stamps designed by French maritime painter Roger Chapelet (1903-1995), engraved by Claude Durrens, and issued by France.

Cod fishing barquentine Côte d´Émeraude, issued on May 6, 1972, Scott No. 1343, Y&T No. 1717.


Frigate La Melpomène, issued on December 4, 1975, Scott No. 1459, Y&T No. 1862.


France II, issued on June 9, 1973, Scott No. 1377, Y&T No. 1762


Of course, Claude Durrens's talent was not confined to depictions of sailing ships! Here are several more examples of his skill. All of these stamps were both designed and engraved by Durrens, and issued by France, except as noted:

View of Cognac, issued on October 9, 1961, Scott No. 1010, Y&T No. 1314.


Paul-Louis-Charles Claudel, French poet, dramatist and diplomat, semi-postal stamp designed by Clément Serveau, and issued on July 6, 1968, Scott No. B420, Y&T No. 1553.


Chancelade Abbey, issued on June 20, 1970, Scott No. 1279, Y&T No. 1645.


Maiden flight of the Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde, a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport (SST), airmail stamp issued on March 2, 1969, Scott No. C42, Y&T NO. PA43.


And last but not least, one of my all-time favorites: Great Bustard, airmail stamp issued for use in the French Somali Coast on October 24, 1960, Scott No. C23.