Collecting By Engraver

lithograving - Thanks! Rolling right along:

Boguslaw Brandt (1909-1983) was a Polish stamp and banknote designer and master engraver. Here are images of six examples of his work on postage stamps issued by Poland.

- nethryk

Leonardo da Vinci, semi-postal stamp designed by Marian Romuald Polak, and issued on June 1, 1952 for da Vinci's 500th birth anniversary, Scott No. B73, SG No. 753.


Assault on the Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, designed by Brandt, and issued on November 16, 1952 to mark the 35th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, Scott No. 562, SG No. 787.


Sea captain and SS Kilinski, designed by Stefan Lukaszewski, and issued on March 16, 1956 to honor Poland's merchant navy, Scott No. 719, SG No. 962.


"Lady with an Ermine," designed by Polish graphic artist Czeslaw Kaczmarczyk (1899-1971) after the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, and issued on October 23, 1956, Scott No. 748, SG No. 986. Note: There is an fascinating article about this painting, "Decoding a da Vinci masterpiece: Behind the secret symbols of The Lady With An Ermine," by A N Wilson, in today's online edition of MailOnline (http://www.dailymail.co.uk).


Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), French chemist and microbiologist, designed by Polish graphic artist Stanislaw Czeslaw Chludzinski (1899-1975), and issued on December 10, 1959, Scott No. 883, SG No. 1129.


Silesian Planetarium, Katowice, designed by Polish artist Tadeus Michaluk (1938- ), and issued on September 15, 1966, Scott No. 1446.

Some very nice engraving. #719 doesn't quite convince me, but the others...

Czechoslovakian art stamps are some of the most beautiful
issued anywhere.
Due to their large format the paintings show rather well compared
to many printed in smaller sizes.

Here are a couple engraved by Jiri Antonin Svengsbir.

Multicolour engraving by the Czech State Printer


Scott 1436




Scott 1510




One engraved by Josef Hercik


Scott 1589






And the last engraved by the master Jindra Schmidt

Scott 1593

Milos Ondracek (born 1936) is another Czechoslovakian engraver
who worked on both stamps and banknotes.


Scott 1909




Below is a 1970 20 Koruna banknote where Ondracek engraved the reverse
only.

Jan Mracek (1909-1987) has already been introduced on Page 42
by nethryk.
Is there any engraver you haven't mentioned yet nethryk ?

Here are a couple more of Mracek's work and a banknote he engraved
showing the obverse of the one above.

Scott 1002




Scott 1136





Print process for the 2 above: 1 colour engraving combined with photogravure.

lithograving - Very nice. No worries! There are scores of stamp engravers who haven't yet been mentioned in this thread.

Also, I'm glad you highlighted the great Jirí Antonín Svengsbír, as he received numerous awards for his engraving work during his highly productive career. Svengsbír studied at the High School of Applied Arts under graphic artist Prof. Antonín Strnadel (1910-1975). From 1950 he was a Member of the Hollar Association (Association of Czech Graphic Artists, which is named after the famous Czech Baroque engraver and draftsman Václav Hollar (1607-1677). Here are images of six more examples of Jirí Svengsbír's engraving work for his native Czechoslovakia.

- nethryk

Postwoman, definitive stamp designed by Czech artist Anna Podzemna-Suchardova (1909-1991), and issued on September 25, 1954, Scott No. 647, SG No. 817.


Velka pardubicka, a famous steeplechase cross-country run in Pardubice, Bohemia (now Czech Republic) since 1874, designed by Czech artist Emil Kotrba (1912-1983), and issued on September 8, 1956, Scott No. 763, SG No. 925.


International Marathon, Kosice, designed by Anna Podzemna-Suchardova, and issued on September 8, 1956, Scott No. 764, SG No. 927.


Figure skater, designed by Czech artist and illustrator Jiri Behounek (1929–2005), and issued on January 25, 1958 to publicize the European Figure Skating Championships in Bratislava, Scott No. 839, SG No. 1015.


Lapwing, one of a set of six birds stamps designed by Czech artist Ota Janacek (1919-1996), engraved and photogravure, and issued on October 24, 1960, Scott No. 1009, SG No. 1187.


Sputnik 3 (Russian: Satellite 3) was a Soviet satellite launched on May 15, 1958 from the Baikonur cosmodrome by a modified R-7/SS-6 ICBM. It was an automatic scientific laboratory research satellite designed to explore the upper atmosphere and near space. It was conically shaped and was 3.57 m long and 1.73 m wide at its base, and it weighed 1,327 kg. Here is an image of a stamp depicting Sputnik 3 in Earth orbit, designed by Czech graphic artist Frantisek Hudecek (1909-1990), engraved and photogravure, and issued on March 6, 1961, Scott No. 1032, SG No. 1210.

Charles-Paul Dufresne (1885-1956) came from a French family of artists, painters and musicians. He studied at l'école des Arts Décoratifs, l'Académie Julian, and at age 19 entered l'Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Paris. During his professional career Dufresne won many awards and distinctions for his engraving work. Here are images of six stamps designed by French artist Paul-Pierre Lemagny (1905-1977), except as noted, and engraved by Dufresne.

- nethryk

Jean Alfred Fournier (1832-1914), French dermatologist, semi-postal stamp issued by France on February 4, 1946, Scott No. B201, Y&T No. 748.


Fisherman, designed by Polish artist Mieczyslaw Watorski (1903-1979), and issued by Poland on August 20, 1947, Scott No. 415, SG No. 598.


Hermes of Berbera, Carthage, designed by Feuillé, and issued for use in Tunisia on March 27, 1951, Scott No. 212, SG347.


Paul-Marie Verlaine (1844-1896), French Symbolist poet, issued by France on October 27, 1951, Scott No. 667, Y&T No. 909.


Mount Pelée, an active volcano on the Caribbean island of Martinique, issued by France on November 1, 1955, Scott No. 780, Y&T No. 1401.


Nazi concentration camp victim and monument, Natzweiler-Struthof, Alsace, issued by France on January 14, 1956, Scott No. 786, Y&T No. 1050. We must never forget.

Nethryk, how do you get such natural, realistic colours in your
scans?

Mine seem like they're overexposed or too bright especially
evident in the paper around the borders wheras yours show
nice rich texture.

I've tried darkening but no improvement. Tried scanning
with lid closed & lid open, no difference.

I wonder, is there a setting that will correct this.

Litho - I know my scanner does allow you to tweek the scan images via the scan itself. Color profiles are another way to tweek things, but I am still trying to learn that aspect myself. Perhaps Nethryk will share some knowledge?

lithograving & Nells250 - I'm glad you like the stamp images I've been posting here. Of course I am a huge fan of line engraving and of artistic design work, but I also enjoy the visual delights of vibrant colors on stamps, particularly on some of those issued by France and its former colonies.

I produce my stamp images using an Epson Perfection V300 Photo scanner, operating in "professional mode." The Epson software allows me to run a preview scan of the entire bed, after which I "marquee" each stamp individually before scanning it in, generally at 1200 dpi, in 48 colors. In Picasa 3, after I use the basic "straighten" and "crop" tools on the image, I then "tune" the image with the "shadows" tool, and occasionally also the "color temperature" tool, to achieve the closest color intensity and quality match that I can to the original stamp. Then I save the file to disk, and later rename it after I have completed my research on the stamp.

I hope you find this description of my scanning method helpful! Regards,

- nethryk

Thanks nethryk.

The scanning procedure I use is exactly same as yours except
mine is an Epson Perfection 4490 which is an earlier model
than your V300 I believe.

Sometimes I use the Picasa straightening tool but I don't
fool around with the tuning.

Maybe I'll give it a try.

My Epson is a 4490. The fact you scan at such high resolution is one of the keys. Also, since you use Photobucket, you get to show us larger photos than the forum's 100kb maximum. Some scans deserve such treatment! ;-)

Some kind chap at work gave me this lovely Austrian mini sheet today.

Anthony that Spanish Riding School SS is rather nice.

The designer Adelbert Pilch and the engraver Rudolf Toth
were at that time the A Team at the State Printers in Vienna.

Reijo Achrén engraved banknotes and postage stamps for his native Finland, plus a few stamps for other Nordic countries. Here are six examples of Achrén's engraving skill, all stamps issued by Finland, except as noted.

- nethryk

"In the Outermost Archipelago," designed by Swedish graphic artist Signe "Ham" Hammarsten-Jansson (1882-1970) after a painting (1896) by Swedish-speaking Finnish painter Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt (1854-1905), issued on July 21, 1954 for the centenary of Edelfelt's birth, Scott No. 324, Facit No. 433.


Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus), a Red Cross semi-postal stamp designed by Signe "Ham" Hammarsten-Jansson, and issued on September 25, 1956, Scott No. B135, Facit No. 464.


"LEX," designed by Finnish artist Olavi Vepsäläinen (1927–1993) after an allegorical work by Swedish-Finnish sculptor Walter Magnus Runeberg (1838-1920) at the base of the statue of Alexander II (1894) placed in Senate Square, Helsinki, and issued on May 23, 1957 to mark the 50th anniversary of Finland's one-chamber Parliament, Scott No. 347, Facit No. 481.


Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (1900–1986), Finnish politician, prime minister and president, designed by Olavi Vepsäläinen, and issued on September 3, 1960 in celebration of Kekkonen's 60th birthday, Scott No. 375, Facit No. 528.


Europa 1960 common design issue, designed by Finnish illustrator Pentti Rahikainen (1928- ), and issued by Denmark on September 19, 1960, Scott No. 379, Facit No. 412. Note: At least Reijo Achrén finally got his name printed on this one!


Turku Castle (built in the 14th century), definitive stamp designed by Olavi Vepsäläinen, and issued on February 15, 1963, Scott o. 411, Facit No. 569.