Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
Discussion - Member to Member Sales - Research Center
I believe that a stamp is (or ought to be) a work of art. At all events, it has evolved to become something more than a pre-charge for sending a package from here to there.
A finished stamp involves the work of a designer, an artist, and sometimes an engraver - this latter now a dying breed. Anyone familiar with the work of the late Mr. Slania will appreciate the genius of some of these people.
So, my question is: Is anyone else interested in this aspect of our hobby?
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I have been collecting the stamps of Cz. Slania for about 2 years. In case you haven't found it already, the following is a fabulous site dealing with Slania stamps.
http://www.slaniastamps-heindorffhus.com/index.html
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and Anne Mette, who developed that site, was a long-time and very devoted member of this group before her death. She collected many things, including Slania and seals.
David
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Anne Mette, whom I knew as Mette although I never met her face-to-face, was one of the first stamp collectors I met on-line, through the Usenet's rec.collecting.stamps.discuss newsgroup, several years before computers could even display images.
Mette and I exchanged scores, perhaps hundreds, of emails over the years. I helped her with English syntax, although her English was far better than that of most English speakers, and she translated several words, phrases, and documents for me — Mette spoke several European languages. We traded stamps, although I received far better material from her than I was able to provide to her. Especially worthwhile items I received from Mette are two encased Danish postage stamps, used as small coins during the Second World War.
One of the most valuable covers in my collection was a birthday gift from Mette, a Danish cover posted from Thorshaven in the Faeroe Islands to a Danish ship, in Texas at the time, which was just before German forces entered Denmark. It could not be delivered, because the ship had left port, so the cover was returned to the Faeroes, but not before it was censored first by the British and then by the Germans, who by that time had occupied Copenhagen. Here is the cover:
A few months before she died, Mette emailed me to tell me that she had received an offer of U.S. $500 for the cover from a Danish collector (she had a write-up about it on her web site), and wanted me to know that it was fine with her if I wanted to sell it. There was no chance of that! There are some collectibles you just don't sell!
One of the hardest telephone conversations I have ever had was with Mette. I knew that she was very ill with brain cancer; she, knowing that she had but few days to live, called me from Copenhagen to say good-bye.
I will always remember Mette as a generous woman of high standards and great intelligence and humanity, and one not to suffer fools gladly. She became a lawyer quite late in her life, and brought the skills of a barrister to the newsgroup and later to Stamporama.
Bob
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Dear Bob & David,
Thoughts of Mette (and Jerry Abern) bring back an earlier suggestion, not put into practice, about having a memorial page for all those who have passed, yet were members for years of SOR. Would you guys support the thought enough to suggest it again to the VC, or have we settled the issue in the negative?
Dan C.
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Dan, in a way, an opportunity to talk about the people who made the stamp world a better, more enjoyable place might be a good idea. Not sure about the logistics of implementation, but i'm fine with the idea
David
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Dear David,
I'll formally propose it for VC consideration.
Dan C.
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I have to cast a dissenting vote. It would be awkward to say the least to decide who gets a place on a memorial page and who does not. The only democratic way to do it would be to include every member who dies, and that would be impossible for many reasons.
Bob
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01:13:22pm
Bob, your thoughts about Anne Mette bring fond memories of that charming and interesting lady.
I'd add something but you covered it very well.
I'd certainly keep that cover in a special place for as long a I lived also.
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Will participants forgive me if I gently nudge this discussion back to my original question about collecting by engraving?
I am aware of the marvellous contribution to philately of Ms. Heindorff, and have long been in awe of the genius of Mr. Slania.
But there is a vast body of work by other artists and engravers out there, and that was intended to be the focus of my question.
The possibility that engraved stamps (perhaps even stamps as we currently know them) may soon be a remnant of the past, is a desolate proposition, and I personally derive much consolation from the legacy of those designers, artists and engravers who have left their mark on this small corner of human endeavour.
So, are there any other collectors by engraving out there?
(Message edited by Michel on July 25, 2011)
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09:07:02am
We had a member of our stamp club named Jim Smilley. Unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago. When I was first introduced to him, I thought his name sounded familiar. It took a couple of years but I then found out that his father and grandfather were the famous Smilley engravers who engraved many of our early stamps and banknotes. It will cost you a pretty penny to collect all the stamps they engraved.
Here is a link of interest:
http://www.philatelicdatabase.com/united-states/the-men-who-engraved-early-u-s-stamps-1955/
Bob
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08:39:03pm
I am interested in collecting by engraver/engraving.
I believe that a stamp is (or ought to be) a work of art. At all events, it has evolved to become something more than a pre-charge for sending a package from here to there.
A finished stamp involves the work of a designer, an artist, and sometimes an engraver - this latter now a dying breed. Anyone familiar with the work of the late Mr. Slania will appreciate the genius of some of these people.
So, my question is: Is anyone else interested in this aspect of our hobby?
Login to Like
this post
06:27:19am
re: Cz. Slania and Anne Mette Heindorf
I have been collecting the stamps of Cz. Slania for about 2 years. In case you haven't found it already, the following is a fabulous site dealing with Slania stamps.
http://www.slaniastamps-heindorffhus.com/index.html
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this post
re: Cz. Slania and Anne Mette Heindorf
and Anne Mette, who developed that site, was a long-time and very devoted member of this group before her death. She collected many things, including Slania and seals.
David
Login to Like
this post
re: Cz. Slania and Anne Mette Heindorf
Anne Mette, whom I knew as Mette although I never met her face-to-face, was one of the first stamp collectors I met on-line, through the Usenet's rec.collecting.stamps.discuss newsgroup, several years before computers could even display images.
Mette and I exchanged scores, perhaps hundreds, of emails over the years. I helped her with English syntax, although her English was far better than that of most English speakers, and she translated several words, phrases, and documents for me — Mette spoke several European languages. We traded stamps, although I received far better material from her than I was able to provide to her. Especially worthwhile items I received from Mette are two encased Danish postage stamps, used as small coins during the Second World War.
One of the most valuable covers in my collection was a birthday gift from Mette, a Danish cover posted from Thorshaven in the Faeroe Islands to a Danish ship, in Texas at the time, which was just before German forces entered Denmark. It could not be delivered, because the ship had left port, so the cover was returned to the Faeroes, but not before it was censored first by the British and then by the Germans, who by that time had occupied Copenhagen. Here is the cover:
A few months before she died, Mette emailed me to tell me that she had received an offer of U.S. $500 for the cover from a Danish collector (she had a write-up about it on her web site), and wanted me to know that it was fine with her if I wanted to sell it. There was no chance of that! There are some collectibles you just don't sell!
One of the hardest telephone conversations I have ever had was with Mette. I knew that she was very ill with brain cancer; she, knowing that she had but few days to live, called me from Copenhagen to say good-bye.
I will always remember Mette as a generous woman of high standards and great intelligence and humanity, and one not to suffer fools gladly. She became a lawyer quite late in her life, and brought the skills of a barrister to the newsgroup and later to Stamporama.
Bob
Login to Like
this post
re: Cz. Slania and Anne Mette Heindorf
Dear Bob & David,
Thoughts of Mette (and Jerry Abern) bring back an earlier suggestion, not put into practice, about having a memorial page for all those who have passed, yet were members for years of SOR. Would you guys support the thought enough to suggest it again to the VC, or have we settled the issue in the negative?
Dan C.
Login to Like
this post
re: Cz. Slania and Anne Mette Heindorf
Dan, in a way, an opportunity to talk about the people who made the stamp world a better, more enjoyable place might be a good idea. Not sure about the logistics of implementation, but i'm fine with the idea
David
Login to Like
this post
re: Cz. Slania and Anne Mette Heindorf
Dear David,
I'll formally propose it for VC consideration.
Dan C.
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this post
re: Cz. Slania and Anne Mette Heindorf
I have to cast a dissenting vote. It would be awkward to say the least to decide who gets a place on a memorial page and who does not. The only democratic way to do it would be to include every member who dies, and that would be impossible for many reasons.
Bob
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Silence in the face of adversity is the father of complicity and collusion, the first cousins of conspiracy..
23 Jul 2011
01:13:22pm
re: Cz. Slania and Anne Mette Heindorf
Bob, your thoughts about Anne Mette bring fond memories of that charming and interesting lady.
I'd add something but you covered it very well.
I'd certainly keep that cover in a special place for as long a I lived also.
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08:08:33pm
re: Cz. Slania and Anne Mette Heindorf
Will participants forgive me if I gently nudge this discussion back to my original question about collecting by engraving?
I am aware of the marvellous contribution to philately of Ms. Heindorff, and have long been in awe of the genius of Mr. Slania.
But there is a vast body of work by other artists and engravers out there, and that was intended to be the focus of my question.
The possibility that engraved stamps (perhaps even stamps as we currently know them) may soon be a remnant of the past, is a desolate proposition, and I personally derive much consolation from the legacy of those designers, artists and engravers who have left their mark on this small corner of human endeavour.
So, are there any other collectors by engraving out there?
(Message edited by Michel on July 25, 2011)
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Immediate Past President - West Essex Philatelic Society www.wepsonline.org
25 Jul 2011
09:07:02am
re: Cz. Slania and Anne Mette Heindorf
We had a member of our stamp club named Jim Smilley. Unfortunately, he passed away a few years ago. When I was first introduced to him, I thought his name sounded familiar. It took a couple of years but I then found out that his father and grandfather were the famous Smilley engravers who engraved many of our early stamps and banknotes. It will cost you a pretty penny to collect all the stamps they engraved.
Here is a link of interest:
http://www.philatelicdatabase.com/united-states/the-men-who-engraved-early-u-s-stamps-1955/
Bob
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