Engraved Stamp Beauties

[Eli]

As I have written earlier, from 1966 until 1992, Czechoslovakia issued each year in each November a set of 3-5 art stamps shows artworks from different Czechoslovakian galleries. The following set, issued on November 2, 1992, is the last one issued in this long series of 126 art stamps and complete the sequence of posts I started on October 4, 2020 (page 81 of this thread) showing all of them.

The Old Raftsman, by Koloman Sokol (1902 – 2003), Slovak National Gallery, Bratislava, engraved by Josef Herčík:

Still Life with Grapes, by Georges Braque (1882 – 1963), National Gallery, Prague, engraved by Bedřich Housa:

Abandonned, by Toyen (born Marie Čermínová 1902 – 1980), National Gallery, Prague, engraved by Bedřich Housa:

In January 1993, Czechoslovakia split into the two states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Both states continue with the tradition of issuing engraved stamps show artworks from different galleries in each November of each year. The stamps are same size and same format like the stamps issued by Czechoslovakia.

[Eli]

After Czechoslovakia, our next tour will be to Italy which issued great engraved stamps including art stamps. In this post and the next posts I will post several of them. Let's start with two art stamps from the 1970's:

St John the Baptist (Youth with Ram), by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571 - 1610), engraved by Vittorio Nicastro and issued on September 28, 1973:

Portrait of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610), engraved by Mario Colombati and issued on November 25, 1960 to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the death of the artist:

Artist and model, by Armando Spadini (1883 - 1925), engraved by Tullio Mele and issued on June 18, 1975:

[Eli]

We all know the Italy set of definitive stamps show Biblical figures from the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo (1475 - 1564). It contains 19 stamps in which only the four high values are engraved. The set was issued on March 6, 1961. Here are the engraved stamps of them:

The Ignudi, engraved by Eros Donnini:

Adam, engraved by Mario Colombati:

Eve, engraved by Vittorio Nicastro:

One of the stamps shows portrait of Michelangelo by the Italian painter Daniele da Volterra (1509 – 1566), engraved by Alceo Quieti:

The rest of the stamps in the set are not engraved:

[RogerE]

An attractive set, thanks Eli. Of the four engraved high values,
I really like the top three — beautiful! For me, the fourth, Michaelangelo,
does not portray him nearly as attractively as the painting you show.

/RogerE

[Eli]

An attractive set, thanks Eli. Of the four engraved high values,
I really like the top three — beautiful! For me, the fourth, Michaelangelo,
does not portray him nearly as attractively as the painting you show.

/RogerE

Thanks, Roger! Glad you like the stamps. I am with you about the Michelangelo stamp. Its very difficult to copy exactly painting to tiny stamp. If you look carefully on the Caravaggio stamp I posted above (Boy with Ram) you will notice that in the original painting the boy looks happy while on the stamp he looks little sad (or less happy )

[honza]

Ahoj everyone!

Perhaps Caravaggio's boy looks less happy om the stamp because he has been demasculated.

Meanwhile here is a beautiful recent issue from the Czech Republic.

Czech Republic Postage Stamp, E denomination, Prague Castle, issued 25th November 2020.

Cheers,

Honza

[RogerE]

Thanks honza, a beauty!

/RogerE

[Eli]

Haha, Honza!!! I didn't notice that! Maybe I becoming too old!!!
Thanks for the Czech great engraved stamp of Prague Castle. I was fortunate to receive it on cover with tab which is also engraved:

I so glad the Czech Republic still keep the old tradition of engraved stamps!! They are all great!

[RogerE]

Eli, it looks like thr postal handlers did follow the request "Please DON'T BEND",
but didn't mind writing 1104/261 in textacolour on the stamp in the top corner...

On your behalf, I feel some annoyance and some disappointment at that...

/RogerE

[Eli]

Eli, it looks like thr postal handlers did follow the request "Please DON'T BEND",
but didn't mind writing 1104/261 in textacolour on the stamp in the top corner...

On your behalf, I feel some annoyance and some disappointment at that...

/RogerE

Thanks, Roger! It is not the first time they are acting like this. They ruined many stamps and I don't understand why, because there is an empty area on the covers they can apply their notices. Maybe they don't see a lot of stamped covers and don't think its important to us.

Two more Art stamps from Italy, both engraved by Tullio Mele and issued on July 12, 1978:

The Cook, by Bernardo Strozzi (1581 - 1644):

L'edera (The Ivy), by Tranquillo Cremona (1837 - 1878):

[Eli]

We are still in Italy with a set of two art stamps, both engraved by Valerio Puliti and issued on November 3, 1982:

The Fortune Teller, by Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (1682 or 1683 – 1754):

Portrait of Antoniet Negroni Prati Morosini as child, by Francesco Hayez (1791 – 1882):
Antoniet was the eldest daughter of Giuseppina Negroni Prati Morosini, a friend of Hayez

[Eli]

More Italian beauty - a set of two art stamps, both engraved by Tullio Mele and issued on February 15, 1979:

Italian Rural Landscape, by Ardengo Soffici (1879 – 1964):

Virgin Annunciate, by Antonello da Messina (c. 1430 – 1479):

The Virgin Annunciate is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Antonello da Messina, housed in the Palazzo Abatellis, Palermo, region of Sicily, Italy. Probably painted in Sicily in 1476, it shows Mary interrupted at her reading by the Angel of the Annunciation:

[Eli]

Two allegorical figures on art stamps issued by Italy on September 5, 1977:

Justice, by Andrea de Litio (XV Century, active 1442 - 1473), engraved by Tullio Mele:

Winter, by Giuseppe Arcimboldi (1526 or 1527 – 1593), engraved by Alceo Quieti:

The above allegorical painting by Arcimboldi is one of a set of four paintings show the four seasons: (from left) Winter, Autumn, Summer and Spring:

[Eli]

Still in Italy... a set of two art stamps, both engraved by Tullio Mele and issued on September 7, 1981:

Harbor in early morning, by Carlo Carra (1881-1966):

Evening (Sera di Festa), by Giuseppe Ugonia (1881-1944):

[RogerE]

Thanks Eli. I particularly like Sera di Festa — Evening, by Giuseppe Ugonia (1881-1944).
Its management of light and contrasting darkness is brilliant.

/RogerE

[Eli]

Thanks Eli. I particularly like Sera di Festa — Evening, by Giuseppe Ugonia (1881-1944).
Its management of light and contrasting darkness is brilliant.

/RogerE

Thanks, Roger!! Indeed, great painting and I like the way the engraver managed to emphasize this contrast in the stamp.

Let's continue with our tour in Italy with another great set of two art stamps, engraved by Valeiro Puliti and issued on January 25, 1984:

Portrait of Paul Guillaume, by Amedeo Modigliani (1884 - 1920):
Paul Guillaume (1891 in Paris – 1934 in Paris) was a French art dealer.[1][2][3] Dealer of Chaim Soutine and Amedeo Modigliani, he was one of the first to organize African art exhibitions. He also bought and sold many works from cutting edge artists of the time, such as Henri Matisse, Constantin Brâncuși, Pablo Picasso, and Giorgio de Chirico. (Wikipedia)

Horse Racing in Bois de Boulogne (Detail), by Giuseppe de Nittis (1846-1884):

[RogerE]

Very nice, thanks Eli. I admire engraver Puliti's light touch and the impressionistic elements in the
Giuseppe de Nittis Horse Racing subject.

.

.

/RogerE

[RevRed+]

Beautiful stamps, as ever. Thanks again Eli!

[Eli]

Very nice, thanks Eli. I admire engraver Puliti's light touch and the impressionistic elements in the
Giuseppe de Nittis Horse Racing subject.
/RogerE

Many thanks, Roger, for posting high resolution details of de Nittis' painting show the delicate engraving by Puliti.

Beautiful stamps, as ever. Thanks again Eli!

You are welcome, RevRed, and thanks for your warm words. They encourage me to continue and show more from Italy like this set of two stamps, both engraved by Tullio Mele and issued on November 20, 1980:

Apollo and Daphne, statue by Bernini (1598 - 1680). I saw this great statue when visiting Galleria Borghese in Rome:

Polyptych of St Barbara (Central Panel), by Palma Il Vecchio (1480 - 1528):

A polyptych is a painting (usually panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Here is the complete Polyptych of St Barbara from Santa Maria Formosa, Venice:

[RevRed+]

Lovely. Unfortunately, I missed the Galleria Borghese when I visited Rome. Not sure why?

[Eli]

Lovely. Unfortunately, I missed the Galleria Borghese when I visited Rome. Not sure why?

Maybe next time after pandemic will over! Meanwhile, enjoy the stamps

A set of three art stamps issued by Italy on July 26, 1976:

Woman at Table, by Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916), engraved by Tullio Mele:

The Gunner's Letter, by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944), engraved by Tullio Mele:

Fortitude, statue by Giacomo Serpotta (1656-1732), engraved by R. di Giuseppe:

The statue by Giacomo Serpotta is one of several statues of allegories of the Virtues, exhibited in Oratory of Rosario di San Domenico, Palermo:

[RogerE]

Thanks for your latest post in this thread Eli.

The stamp engraved by R. di Giuseppe is my favourite there:

Italy, 1976: Fortitude, by Giacomo Serpotta

.

Oratory of Santa Rosario in San Domenico, Palermo

The three virtues shown in Eli's post are Patience, Fortitude and Obedience.
Oratory = a small chapel, especially for private worship.

/RogerE

[Eli]

Thanks for your latest post in this thread Eli.

The three virtues shown in Eli's post are Patience, Fortitude and Obedience.
Oratory = a small chapel, especially for private worship.

/RogerE

Thank you very much, Roger, for the information you added to my post!!

Although we are still in Italy, I want to show now a set of stamps issued by Spain but has strong connection to Italy since it shows the cultural relations between ancient Rome and Spain. The set is called Roma-Hispania and issued on June 25, 1969:

Roman Aqueduct, Segovia:

Alcántara Bridge:

Marcus Valerius Martialis:
Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial (Between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan.

Arc of Bará. Tarragona:

Mérida Theatre:

Hosius of Corduba:
Hosius of Corduba (c. 256–359), also known as Osius or Ossius, was a bishop of Corduba (now Córdoba, Spain) and an important and prominent advocate for Homoousion Christianity in the Arian controversy that divided the early Christianity.

Curia Gate:

Emperor Trajan:
Trajan (Latin: Caesar Nerva Trajanus; 53 – 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. He was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in present-day Spain, an Italic settlement in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica. Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presided over the second-greatest military expansion in Roman history, after Augustus, leading the empire to attain its maximum territorial extent by the time of his death. He is also known for his philanthropic rule, overseeing extensive public building programs and implementing social welfare policies, which earned him his enduring reputation as the second of the Five Good Emperors who presided over an era of peace within the Empire and prosperity in the Mediterranean world.

Soon we will continue our tour in Italy....

[Eli]

Back to Italy with more Italian art stamps.

The Distribution of Alms and the Death of Ananias (Detail of the Widow), by Masaccio (1401 – 1428), Cappella Brancacci, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, engraved by Alceo Quieti and issued on October 18, 1978:

Ave Maria on the Lake, by Giovanni Segantini (1858-1899), engraved by Egidio Vangelli and issued on August 7, 1958:

Detail from wall painting in the cave in Greccio where Saint Francis of Assisi staged the first-ever nativity scene on Christmas Eve in 1223, engraved by Tullio Mele and issued on November 26, 1974 for Christmas:

[Eli]

We are close to end our tour in Italy. Before moving to our next destination, let's see Italy beautiful fountains. During years 1973-1979, Italy issued a series of 21 stamps shows fountains from all over Italy. The stamps were designed and engraved by Eros Donnini and were issued in seven sets of three stamps each. Here are the first two sets issued on November 10, 1973 and November 10, 1974:

Trevi Fountain - Rome:

Fountain of the Giant, Naples:

Praetorian Fountain, Palermo:

Neptune Fountain, Bologna:

Oceanus Fountain, Firenze:

Fontana Maggiore, Perugia:

Neptune in the center of Trevi fountain Rome, photo I took two years ago during my visit to Italy:

[RogerE]

Lovely Italian stamps, thanks Eli!

The Fountain of Trevi in Rome is perhaps the best known:

.

.
https://discoveritaly.alitalia.com/en/de/destinations/rome/5-fountains-unmissable-italy
.

/RogerE

[Eli]

Thank you very much, Roger, for posting the impressive photo of Trevi fountain.

We are close to end our tour in Italy. Before moving to our next destination, let's see Italy beautiful fountains. During years 1973-1979, Italy issued a series of 21 stamps shows fountains from all over Italy. The stamps were designed and engraved by Eros Donnini and were issued in seven sets of three stamps each.

Here are more two sets issued on October 30, 1975 and December 21, 1976:

Fountain in the Fountain Square, Milan:

Rosello Fountain, Sassari:

Fountain of the 99 Water Spouts, L'Aquila:

Antique Greek Fountain, Gallipoli:

Madonna Verona Fountain, Verona:

Fountain of Doria Palace, Genova:

[Eli]

We are close to end our tour in Italy. Before moving to our next destination, let's see Italy beautiful fountains. During years 1973-1979, Italy issued a series of 21 stamps shows fountains from all over Italy. The stamps were designed and engraved by Eros Donnini and were issued in seven sets of three stamps each.

Here are the last three sets of the Italian fountains series issued on October 18, 1977, October 25, 1978 and September 22, 1979:

Fountain of Neptune (Pacassi Fountain), Gorizia:

Fraternal Fountain, Isernia:

Fountain of Palm, Palmi:

Fountain of Fortuna, Fano:

Neptune Fountain, Trento:

Fountain of Horses, Genzano di Lucania:

Boiling Fountain, Acqui Terme:

Pomegranate Fountain, Issogne:

The Great Fountain, Viterbo:

Here are all together, this series ends our tour in Italy:

[RogerE]

Wow! Seeing the full set of 21 in that "summary" is really striking. Thanks Eli. D

[Eli]

Wow! Seeing the full set of 21 in that "summary" is really striking. Thanks Eli. D

Thanks, Roger! Indeed, they all together are very impressive. My way to say Goodbye to Italy before moving to other destination.

[Eli]

HOLA ESPAÑA!!! From Italy we now move to Spain which issued great sets of engraved stamps in different subjects like personalities, tourism, abbeys and monasteries, castles and others. In the following posts I will show several examples from these sets, mainly from years 1965-1975. Let's start our tour with three sets of personalities.

Spanish and Galician Famous Women, engraved by Daniel Carande Boto, but other three engravers also involved in engraving this set: José Luis Sánchez Toda, Pablo Sampedro Molero and Antonio Manso Fernandez (information by Nethryk) and issued on April 8, 1968:

Beatriz Galindo, (c.1465 – 1534), a Spanish Latinist, educator, writer and humanist and a teacher of Queen Isabella of Castile and her children:

Agustina of Aragón (1786 – 1857), a Spanish heroine who defended Spain during the Peninsular War, first as a civilian and later as a professional officer in the Spanish Army:

María Pacheco, (c. 1496 – 1531), a leader in the Revolt of the Comuneros in Spain, an uprising of the citizens against the monarchy:

María Rosalía Rita de Castro (1837 – 1885), a Galician poet:

Spanish and Catalan Architects, issued by Spain on January 29, 1973 and February 25, 1975. I have no information about the engravers but Sanchez Gutierrez Antonino engraved several of them:

Juan de Herrera (1530-1597) and monastery of El Escorial, near Madrid:

Juan de Villanueva (1739-1811) and Prado Museum, Madrid:

Ventura Rodríguez Tizón (1717-1785) and Fountain of god Apollo, Madrid:

Antonio Gaudí i Cornet (1852-1926) and the stone quarry (Casa Milá, La Pedrera):

Antonio Palacios Ramilo (1874-1945) and Cibeles Palace (Palacio de Cibeles), Madrid:

Secundino Zuazo Ugalde (1887–1971) and the House of Flowers (Casa de las Flores), Madrid:

[RogerE]

Beautiful Spanish engraved stamps! A great start to Spain, your latest source-country Eli

/RogerE

[lesbootman]

GB Stamp : The NORWICH Mail in a Thunder Storm 1827 : Issue date: 31 July 1984

[Eli]

lesbootman, great engraved stamp with very clear details! Here more about the mail system:

125th Anniversary of First Spanish Stamp, issued by Spain on January 2, 1975:

First stamp of Spain shows Queen Isabella II issued on January 1, 1850:

Mail stagecoach, 1850:

Maritime mail to Indies:

St. Mark's Chapel - Capilla San Marcus - Barcelona:
Don't know the connection of this chapel to the post system

[Eli]

The Camino de Santiago (Latin: Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"), known in English as the Way of St. James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the saints are buried there. Many follow its routes as a form of spiritual path or retreat for their spiritual growth

Pilgrim arriving to Santiago de Compostela. The cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is on the background:

During year 1971 Spain issued a set of 21 stamps in three parts shows different sites from the Camino de Santiago from all parts of Europe, especially Spain. Here is the first set issued on January 4, 1971:

Map of the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James). The description on the stamp reads "Rutas Jacobeas", the Hebrew name of St. James: Jacob Ben Zebedee:

Statue of Bridget of Sweden in Vadstena Abbey. Work by sculptor Johannes Junge in 1425:
Bridget of Sweden (c. 1303 – 1373) or Saint Birgitta, a mystic and saint, and founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after the death of her husband of twenty years.

Statue of St. James, Cathedral of Pistoia, Italy:

St Davids Cathedral, St Davids, county of Pembrokeshire, near the most westerly point of Wales, GB:

Casket of Karl the Great, Aachen Cathedral, Germany:

St. Jacques (the French name of St. James), France:

[Eli]

Fairy Tales and Children Stories, by Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), designed by Pierrette Lambert, engraved by Eugène Lacaque, and issued by Monaco on November 6, 1980 to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the birth of Andersen:

The Princess and the Pea:

The Little Mermaid:

The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep:

The Steadfast Tin Soldier:

The Little Match Girl:

The Nightingale:

[Eli]

Moses ben Maimon, (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam, was a medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. In his time, he was also a preeminent astronomer and physician, serving as the personal physician of Saladin. Born in Córdoba, Almoravid Empire (present-day Spain), in 1138 he worked as a rabbi, physician and philosopher in Morocco and Egypt. He died in Egypt on 12 December 1204, whence his body was taken to the lower Galilee and buried in Tiberias (present-day Israel).

Rambam statue, Cordoba, issued by Spain on April 6, 1967:

[Eli]

During the 1960's-1970's Spain issued a very long series about "Sightseeing" show landscapes and sites in Spain. The series contains more than eighty stamps. Here I picked ten of them:

Monument of Columbus, Huelva:

La Mancha's traditional windmills:

Gothic sculpture of Martín Vázquez de Arce, the Doncel de Sigüenza, XVth century, Cathedral of Sigüenza:
Doncel was a court appointment in the Crowns of Castile and Aragon during the Late Middle Ages. It was bestowed upon youth from noble families, prior to knighthood. Donceles worked alongside other pajes reales (royal pages) as royal servants and received training by the Alcaide de los Donceles. One of the most famous donceles was Martín Vázquez de Arce, known as the Doncel de Sigüenza, who was page to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 1st Duke of the Infantado and died during the Granada War.

Bridge in Plaza Fefiñáns, Cambados, Province Pontevedra, Galicia:

Zamora bridge:

The Adoration of the Magi, Church of San Vicente, Avila:

View of Salamanca with its ancient Roman bridge:

Catalan tradition: Castells:
A castell is a human tower built traditionally at festivals in Catalonia. At these festivals, several colles castelleres (teams that build towers) attempt to build and dismantle a tower's structure. In2010, castells were declared by UNESCO to be amongst the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. This is the only stamp in the series shows traditional event

San Martin's Bridge, Toledo:

Monument of Columbus, Barcelona:

[RogerE]

Nice stamps, thanks Eli.
I particularly appreciate the commentary about doncels and Martín Vázquez de Arce.

The Catalan castell stamp and commentary are another high point (accidental pun retained!)

Here are two photos I found on the internet. The team colours add to the visual unity of the tower
and its base of supporters. Building such a human tower is a breath-taking performance.

.

.

/RogerE

[Eli]

Many thanks, Roger, for the photos you posted!!

Czeslaw Slania's 1000th stamp engraving:

On March 17, 2000, Swede issued Slania's 1000th stamp. It shows a fragment of the painting "The Great Deeds of Swedish Kings" by David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl, (1628-1698), master of the Swedish Baroque Era, Drottningholm Palace, Stockholm, Sweden:

Issued in SS shows the Drottningholm Palace in the margin:

[Eli]

Just a little reminder that my main collection and the one that I put most of my efforts is Laos stamps and philatelic items. This set is only one example why I love these country stamps.

Lao Mythology - sculptures of Lao mythic characters, exhibited in Theudea Park near Vientiane, designed by Ky Phungchaleun and issued by the Kingdom of Laos on March 23, 1974. The second stamp was engraved by Jacky Larrivière. I don't know who engraved the rest:

Phra Sratsvady (Sarasweti) – The goddess of great wisdom, regarded as Phra Phrom's wife. She has four arms symbolizing mind, intellect, alertness and ego. With her four hands she is holding musical instrument, palms leaves manuscript, Rose flower symbolizing spiritualism and a pot of sacred water.

Phra Indra – god of storm and wars. One of the powerful gods of the Mythical gods pantheon. He carries weapons, which he uses to slay his enemies and revive those who were killed in battle. He usually rides Erawan, the three-headed elephant which became the emblem of the Kingdom of Laos.

Phra Phrom (Brahma) – One of world creators and god of mercy. He has four faces to help people from any direction. He holds symbolic instruments: disc as weapon against evil, scepter as protection of laws, water pot for creation of life, spoon as sacrificial tool, book as getting wisdom and arc as weapon against demons. He rides Phoenix.