Collecting By Engraver

The Lion of Belfort, in Belfort, France, is an 1880 monumental sculpture made entirely of red sandstone by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (1834-1904), the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty.

The lion symbolizes the heroic French resistance during the Siege of Belfort, a 103-day Prussian assault during 1870 - 1871. The city was successfully defended against 40,000 Prussians by merely 17,000 men (of whom only 3,500 were from the military) led by Colonel Denfert-Rochereau, with the fortress holding out until the Armistice of Versailles obligated French forces to abandon it.

The Lion of Belfort, stamp on Epreuve de Luxe, designed and engraved by Eugène Lacaque and issued by Dahomey (Benin) on August 20, 1974 to commemorate Bartholdi 140th birth anniversary:

"Le Fonds d'investissement pour le développement économique et social" (The Investment Fund for Economic and Social Development) known as FIDES was an French organization established in 1946 to finance and coordinate the provision of facilities for the French overseas territories.

Here is a set designed and engraved by Pierre Gandon and Raoul Serres, issued for use in French West Africa (AOF) in 1956 publicizing FIDES activities in that area of Africa.

Stamps designed and engraved by Pierre Gandon:
- Cultivation of date palms - Mauritania
- Construction of a bridge over the Milo river - Guinea
- Initiation of rice growing scheme in Richard-Toll - Senegal
- Construction of infrastructures and a dam over the Niger river in Sansanding - French Sudan (Mali)




Stamps designed and engraved by Raoul Serres:
- Construction of railway to Mossi - Upper Volta (Burkina Faso)
- Development of animal breeding and reproduction farms - Niger
- Production of palm oil - Dahomey (Benin)
- Construction of a road between Abidjan and Abengourou - Ivory Coast

Women in Art (Donna nell'Arte) Definitive Set by Italy

During years 1998-2004, Italy issued a set of 33 stamps contains 17 different designs shows women from famous paintings and sculptures. Here are six of them show woman figures from Greek and Roman mythologies:

Flora from "La Primavera" by Sandro Botticelli (1455 – 1510), designed and engraved by Rita Morena and issued on January 2, 2002:

Venus from "Venus of Urbino" by Tiziano Vecelli (Titian) (1488/90 – 1576), designed and engraved by Rita Morena and issued on January 24, 2004:

Danae from "Danae and Zeus" by Antonio Allegri da Correggio (1489 – 1534), designed by Luca Vangelli and issued on March 1, 2002:

Venus from "Venus and Mars" by Paolo Veronese (1528 – 1588), designed and engraved by Antonio Ciaburro and issued on June 26, 2004:

Antea, an epithet of the goddesses Demeter, Rhea, and Cybele, from "Antea" (also known as Portrait of a Young Woman) by Parmigianino (1503 – 1540), designed and engraved by Rita Morena and issued in 2003:

Hebe, the goddess of youth, daughter of Zeus and Hera, detail from sculpture by Antonio Canova (1757 – 1822), designed by Antonio Ciaburro and issued on March 1, 2002:

Views of Mali, designed and engraved by Pierre Gandon and issued by Mali on April 15, 1961:

Sankoré Mosque, Timbuktu:

Mysterious Timbuktu (Tombouctou la mysterieuse):

Bamako:

In Greek and Roman mythologies, the three Graces (Greek: Charitas) were the goddesses of charm, beauty, creativity and fertility and the constant companions of Venus (Aphrodite), goddess of beauty and love.

There are many paintings of the three grace but, IMO, the best depiction of them is in Sandro Botticelli's painting "La Primavera". To commemorate the 550th anniversary of the birth of Botticelli, Monaco issued on October 24, 1995 stamp engraved by Pierre Albuisson shows the Graces detail from the painting:

This stamp was chosen as the World's most beautiful stamp for that year. It reissued in 1997 in SS to publicize the winning. The SS margin shows etching of Botticelli, also engraved by Pierre Albuisson:

I scanned the central area of the stamp to show the great and delicate engraving:

Here is the complete "La Primavera" painting on SS issued by France in 2010:

Views of Paris, issued by France on May 7, 1947 to publicize the 12th UPU congress held in Paris:

Colonnade of the Louvre, designed and engraved by Achille Ouvré:

The Conciergerie (Lodge), a former courthouse and prison in Paris, now a national monument and museum, designed and engraved by Jules Piel:

La Cité (City Island), an island in the river Seine in the center of Paris, designed and engraved by Henri-Lucien Cheffer:

General view of Paris and Herring Gull, designed and engraved by Pierre Gandon:

missing the 10F. Place de la Concorde, designed and engraved by Cottet.

Portraits of Lenin based on famous photos, designed by Vasily Tirdatov and issued by the USSR on April 16, 1968:

- Lenin, photo by Moissej Nappelbaum, 1918, engraved by Tatiana Nikitina

- Lenin in Red Square, photo, 1918 (photographer unknown, probably Viktor Bulla), engraved by Lidiya Mayarova

- Lenin Reviewing a Military Parade, engraved by Ivan M. Mokrousov

Reconstruction of the tomb of Avicenna – Iran (III)




I posted the first two sets in pages 240-241 of this thread. Here is the third set issued on December 22, 1949:

- Gunbad-i-Ali, Abarkuh
- Mosque of Djomeh, Isfahan
- Alay-Han, Hamad#257;n
- Mosque of Djomeh, Ardestan
- Coin of the Seljuqs (approx. 11th century)

Reconstruction of the tomb of Avicenna – Iran (IV)

Here is the fourth set issued on December 22, 1949:

- Tomb of Baba Afzal, Kashan
- Bulbous ceramic bottle with enamel decoration from Gorgan
- Tombtower of the Ghaznavids, Bastam
- Central Court of the Imam Reza Shrine, Mashhad
- Mihrab Zade, Rezayi

Reconstruction of the tomb of Avicenna – Iran (V)

Here is the fifth and last set issued on April 21, 1954:

- Hamadan
- Portrait of Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
- Gonbad-e Qabus, Gorgon
- Old tomb of Avicenna, Hamadan
- New tomb of Avicenna, Hamadan

The Four Seasons by Bouchardon

Edmé Bouchardon (1698 - 1762) was a French sculptor who was a precursor of Neoclassicism. His statues are characterized by a skillful combination of classical Roman techniques and contemporary motifs. One of its famous artworks is The "Fountain of the Seasons" (1739–45) in the rue de Grenelle in Paris, an elaborate, two-storied architectural piece decorated with reliefs and statues of the seasons and a personification of Paris.

Bas-reliefs of the "Fountain of the Seasons", engraved by Jules Piel and issued by France on December 19, 1949. Stamps show Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter:

Centenary of the siege of Belfort (1870-1871) and Colonel Denfert-Rochereau, designed and engraved by Robert Cami and issued by France on November 16, 1970:

See stamp of Dahomey shows the lion of Belfort in the first post of this page.

I like very much most of the engraved stamps the Belgian issued for their territories in Africa. Here is one of my favorites, issued for the territory of Ruanda-Urundi under Belgian Mandate (became later to independent states of Rwanda and Burundi).

The set, contains 15 stamps, shows local motifs and issued on August 25, 1931. I have no information about the designers and engravers involved in the production of this great set. From Nethryk posts I learned the set was engraved by the Institut de Gravure and printed at Malines, Flanders.

Here is the first part of the set:

Second part of the Ruanda-Urundi set:

From Ruanda-Urundi to Belgian Congo. Here is a long set of 16 stamps issued during 1931-1932. I have no information about the designer/s and about the engraver of most of the stamps. I know Pierre Munier and Pierre Gandon were engraved part of them as indicated. I will show the set in three parts:

Here is the first part:

- Sankuru river
- Kivu village - engraved by Pierre Gandon
- Sankuru River Rapids
- Uele Hut
- Flute Players