Collecting By Engraver

jorgesurcl....many thanks for the extra info on the Guatemala stamp.
Graphis

I have never thought much of posting images of stamps in used condition in this thread which IMO is dedicated to the appreciation of the art of stamp engraving, and still less so if just any sort of cancelled stamps are thrown in regardless of the fact that they are easily available in unused condition or worse still if posters try to present an artist for the first time by showing us roller-cancelled stamps of no particular distinction which could have once be found in 20-different-foreign-stamps-for-beginners packets offered for a dime.

Great as lithograving's merit has always been, his attempt to show engravers' secret marks on used stamps has unfortunately defeated the object of the exercise for not only do the cancels on the stamps fail to show the beauty of Seizinger's engravings but also one of the cancels effectually prevented himself and those of us taking part from detecting the engraver's secret mark.

Back home, I had a look at my example of the 1.50 Kè value (Czechoslovakia Scott #219 as well as #237 printed from the same plate) and had no difficulty in seeing the mark in the form of an S in a horizontal position (as on the 2 Kè value, unlike that in an upright position as on the 1.20 Kè value) even though it looked more like a 5 in a horizontal position situated on the bottom left-hand frame close to the treetop. I wondered whether its form made the engraver add another S I had pointed out previously, this time situated on the other side of the same treetop. Definitely no blob but an intervention of the engraver's tool. See http://www.cpslib.org/pages-large/1936-305.htm or http://www.cpslib.org/pages-large/1937-327.htm .

Anyone can make mistakes - be it me or lithograving. No offence meant.

jorgesurcle - Thank you very much for identifying the engraver of the fine Guatemalan stamp as J. Arnoldo Chavarry Arrué (1922-1971) and presenting some more works by the same person, never represented on this thread before. Of particular interest is the stamp devoted to stamp collecting and the portrait of the engraver himself.

The scene commemorating the declaration of independence reminds me of some stamps issued by Cuba in the 1950s.

Could J. Arnoldo Chavarry Arrué have happened to engrave any Cuban stamps of those years?

Your knowledgeable posts are much appreciated as always.

Republic of Malagasy 1960
Scott# 61-62-
Engravers: Charles Mazelin & Robert Cami

Sugar Cane Harvest



Tobacco Field

Tunisia Handicrafts series issued in 1955
designed by Tunisian artist Abdelaziz Gorgi
Engraver: Pierre Gandon

Scott# 266,268,270


Weavers


Pottery


Florists

Tunisia-1952
National Cemetery at Gammarth-Surtax in aid of orphans of military service.
Designer:H. Farion
Engraver:Charles-Paul Dufresne
Scott# B116




Stucco Work-Bardo Museum at Tunis.
Scott# B117
Designer: Andre-Spitz
Engraver: Jean Pheulpin

graphis - Those are just marvelous. I can't stop admiring the artists' use of perspective in the stamps of the Republic of Malagasy and the expressive beauty of the Tunisian designs.

As LIFE magazine of Nov. 30, 1959 put it: BEAUTY IN STAMPS.

Cuba-1943-set of Anti-Fifth Columnists propaganda stamps.
Engraver: ???
Scott# 375-379

"Unmask the Fifth Columnists"


"Be careful, the Fifth Column are spying on you"


"Destroy it. The Fifth Column is like a Serpent


"Fulfill your duty, by destroying the Fifth Columnists"



"Don't be Afraid of the Fifth Column. Attack it"

There have been many beautiful stamps shown here recently. I particularly like the Columbian from 1954 posted by graphis. It is exquisite, although the horrible overprint spoils it somewhat.

florian, it is high time you got yourself a scanner, so that you can show us some stamps from your collection. How about it?

Here is a recent purchase as my contribution for now:

A set of 4 issued in 1977 by Belgium. Michel 1929/32 depicting distiguished personalities. Can anyone put a name to 'PD'? Did Belgium follow the convention of designer left, engraver right? And what is the meaning of the abreviated text at the bottom, next to the year of issue? Any help would be appreciated.


I have scanned this one at a high resolution and zoomed in on the background. That text is perfectly readable. Absolutely amazing. Just as good as anything Slania did.

Hi Graphis. The Cuban stamps are great. All I can tell you is that they were designed by Enrique Garcia Cabrera and printed by P. Fernandez y Cia, Havana. The engraving was done by the Security Bank Note Co. of Philadelphia but I have not been able to find the engravers for them.

Hi Florian. Until I began collecting engraved stamps a few years ago, my preference had always been for fine used stamps. Mint stamps always seemed like eunuchs to me though I agree now that mint stamps are superior when looking at stamps as art and I now actively seek them.

Perhaps it is because I've always collected fine used for preference, I have no trouble looking through the postmark to see what the engraver was doing and I'd rather see used stamps posted here than no stamps at all.

jjarmstrong 47...many thanks for your info on the Cuban stamps and furthermore your comments about used vs mint stamps.
Does a cancel deter its value or interest in a stamp?...the inverted Jenny is mint...worth big bucks...the used British Guiana 1c magenta worth way more..Granted there is the unblemished beauty in a mint stamp...yet with a cancelled stamp there is a history...a journey taken by the envelope it is affixed with somebody's DNA ...from post box to sorting station...stuffed in mailbags to continue its journey by truck, boat, plane and way back when... via zeppelin or air balloon...a fascination of that peforated piece of printed paper which turned many of us into philatelists...MNH...Used...it's a personal preference.

@stamp_nut
Belgium Michel 1929-1932
Designer: Paul Deweerd
Engraver: Jean de Vos

stamp_nut, graphis, jorgesurcl thanks for showing
all those engraved beauties in the last few days.
It appears to have revived this engravers thread and lets hope
it remains alive.

Hello also to Cicero who has made his first forum post
giving information requested by stamp_nut.
Hope you stay around Cicero.
By the way what is your source (catalogue?) regarding
Jean de Vos?
My Michel Nord-und Nordwesteuropa 2004/2005 doesn't have
engravers or designers listed anymore for Belgium.
I suppose you have an earlier edition still.

Graphis, I agree with everything you say, though I would not particularly have that tattered old dog from British Guiana in my collection. For far less than the price that commands I could have a complete mint collection of Slania, Gandon, Mazelin, Piel and all the other engravers I find so beguiling.

And when mint and used joined in that unholy marriage to produce the illegitimate child called CTO, it allowed me to collect countries like Czechoslovakia where there are more beautiful engraved stamps than I could ever afford otherwise. We all have to collect within our means - I nearly said budget but I exceed my stated budget nearly every week.

Cicero, welcome to our sometimes healthy discussion which is only now recovering from the devastation wrought by Photobucket's new venture capital owners trying to hold the philatelic world to ransom. We will look forward to your future posts.