Cameroun 1946 - Definitives (Part 3)

It is known as "Africa in miniature" due to its geological and cultural diversity. You name it, Cameroun seems to have it. Beautiful mountains, beaches, deserts, even rainforests. So fat in this series we have visited farming in Cameroun (Part 1) and delved into the importance of archery in the culture of the Cameroun people (Part 2). This time around we will study the horsemen of Cameroun.

***

In August 1946 Cameroun issued a set of 19 definitives comprising 6 different designs, three of which were designed and engraved by Albert Decaris. The third and final design created by Decaris, bearing the highest values of the three Decaris designs, features lamido horsemen. Despite my best efforts, I've been unable to find much information on the subject of this design. So far, all I've found is that lamido means "leader". If anyone out there has anymore information I'd love to hear from you. For now I will simply let  this stunning design do the talking. It was printed in three different values, each in a unique colour.

Until next time...

Cameroun 1946 - Definitives (Part 2)

The people of Cameroun have many proud traditions. Perhaps one of the most enduring of these is archery. It is depicted within government symbols of power. It is used for cultural icons. There are also many local sayings and proverbs involving archery. It is therefore fair to say that archery permeates the culture of Cameroun people.

***

In August 1946 Cameroun issued a set of 19 definitives comprising 6 different designs, three of which were designed and engraved by Albert Decaris. In Part 1 we studied the first design, featuring banana porters. The second of these designs features a Cameroun archer. This design was printed in four values, each with its own unique colour. I love this design. The determination and concentration on the face of the archer. The rather intricate design work of the quiver. The lovely dappling of flora around the composition. And the traditional hut in the background to the bottom left. Great stuff, Monsieur Decaris!

Until next time...

Cameroun 1946 - Definitives (Part 1)

It is known as "Africa in miniature" due to its geological and cultural diversity. You name it, Cameroun seems to have it. Beautiful mountains, beaches, deserts, even rainforests. Cameroun is also home to an abundance of natural resources, making it a prime candidate for agriculture. Indeed, an estimated 70% of the population farms something. So what would one expect to find growing on these farms? Well turns out, agriculture in Cameroun is as diverse as its geology and culture. 

"Soils and climate on the coast encourage extensive commercial cultivation of bananas, cocoa, oil palms, rubber, and tea. Inland on the South Cameroon Plateau, cash crops include coffee, sugar, and tobacco. Coffee is a major cash crop in the western highlands, and in the north, natural conditions favour crops such as cotton, groundnuts, and rice." (Wikipedia)

***

In August 1946 Cameroun issued a set of 19 definitives comprising 6 different designs, three of which were designed and engraved by Albert Decaris. The first design, bearing the lowest values of the three Decaris designs, features banana porters. As mentioned above, there are copious banana plantations along the Cameroun coastline. Here Decaris has captured the true nature of the hard graft required to work in the farming industry. Clad only in loincloths to beat the heat, these porters labour along with massive loads balanced expertly upon their heads. 

Until next time...

I Muse...On Different Styles

Due to personal issues I haven't looked very much at my stamp collection for several months now. But I have still been purchasing bits and pieces, which has led to a growing stockpile of unsorted material. A few days ago I decided to tackle the task of reorganising my Albert Decaris collection to incorporate all the new acquisitions. While poring over some of my lovely new Decaris stamps I came across a stunning airmail stamp he designed and engraved for Cameroun in 1964, depicting a black rhinoceros. This got me to thinking about the black rhinoceros Pierre Gandon engraved for the 1946 definitive series of French Equatorial Africa. Two of my favourite engravers working on the same subject. What a fantastic opportunity to make a stylistic comparison.

***

There are two species of rhinoceros that roam the plains of Africa, the black rhinoceros and the white rhinoceros. The black rhino is the smaller of the two species, but can still weigh in at an impressive 3,000 pounds. So how does one tell between a black rhino and a white rhino? If you ever dare get close enough to a black rhino, or like me, you are studying one from the comfort of your lounge room, you will notice that the black rhino has a distinguishable hooked upper lip. Sadly, according to worldwildlife.org: 

"Populations of black rhino declined dramatically in the 20th century at the hands of European hunters and settlers. Between 1960 and 1995, black rhino numbers dropped by a sobering 98%, to less than 2,500. Since then, the species has made a tremendous comeback from the brink of extinction. Thanks to persistent conservation efforts across Africa, black rhino numbers have doubled from their historic low 20 years ago to between 5,042 and 5,455 today. However, the black rhino is still considered critically endangered..."

***

 Okay, before we get down to studying the two aforementioned rhino stamps, let me pose a few questions. Are you an admirer of the use of multiple colours on engraved stamps? Or do you rock it old school and adhere to a strictly monochrome palette? Or do you, like me, admire the virtues of both methods? I ask these questions because your answer may very well influence your preference regarding the two stamps you are about to see.

***

First up, let's take a look at Pierre Gandon's black rhino, issued by French Equatorial Africa in 1946 as part of a definitive series. It must be noted that this engraving was issued in three values, each with its own colour. For the purposes of this blog I have chosen to illustrate the 30c violet black stamp. I think this particular colour really enhances Gandon's artwork.

In this design, Gandon has chosen to frame his majestic black rhino in the flora and fauna of its native habitat. A particularly nice touch is the python slithering its way up the right side of the frame.  

***

Now we come to Albert Decaris' black rhino, issued by Cameroun 15 December 1964. This stamp was printed in three colours (really only two colours considering the third colour was used solely for the ttitles), which some engraving enthusiasts may frown upon. But I believe in this instance the extra colour serves to enhance rather than hinder this lovely work of art.

In this design Decaris has beautifully illustrated the lumbering majesty of the black rhino, printed in dark brown. The background, printed in green, depict trees and grassy plains, providing us a glimpse into the world in which this giant chooses to live.

***

So now that you've studied both stamps, which is your favourite? Do you prefer the classic monochrome artwork of Gandon? Or does the multi-coloured creation of Albert Decaris appeal to you more? I've personally given this a lot of thought and sat staring at each stamp alone, then together, for a long while. And to be totally honest, I can't decide. I happen to like both interpretations equally. Both artists were immensely talented, and both artists brought something unique for us to admire into their pieces of art. I have to say I really enjoyed spending time with each artist and his work.

Until next time...

I Study...Some Printing Techniques

I have previously written two blogs studying the printing issues surrounding the France 1948 reissues of the 1946 Luxembourg Palace issue, designed and engraved by Albert Decaris. I think I have finally grasped the processes involved in creating the reissues, thanks to the help of a reader of the blog. Thanks Florian.

Okay, let's try to finally put the printing issues faced with the 1948 reissues to bed. I previously discussed the basic principles of intaglio printing, so I won't go into it all again. Click HERE for the blog. What I will do is elaborate on that process, which, I hope will finally explain why the 1948 Luxembourg reissues look different to the original issue in 1946. It has to do with the process required to create an altered reissue.

Here is a brief summary of what happens...to the best of my knowledge. A transfer roller or 'relief' roller is created from the master die. This 'relief' roller then has the alterations made to it. The raised or 'relief' portions that need to be changed are removed from the roller. Then this 'relief' roller is hardened, and used to create a secondary master die. It is on this secondary master die that the new values are created (by an in-house engraver). Then a transfer roller with the new value is created. It is these processes on top of further use by the transfer roller to the printing plate which can, over time, round the edges of the sharp lines of the engraving, having the effect of blurring the image somewhat. 

Also, as I stated in a previous blog (you can find the link above), the ink choice for the 15f stamp contributed to the blurring effect. The consistency of the red ink was quite thick and therefore more difficult to wipe away any excess, which ended up on the paper, effectively blotting the image.

I am the first to admit that I am the farthest thing removed from a printing expert as there ever can be, but I am slowly learning all the lingo etc... I do hope my rambling narrative of this process has not been too tiresome for you. As I said in the 'About Me' page, the purpose of the blog is to chronicle my learning journey, so I'm bound to get things wrong at times. But that's the fun of a hobby in my eyes.

Until next time...

Stay Decaris Crazy!

I Study...Printing Issues

In my last blog on 12 May I discussed some of the differences between the France 1946 10f Luxembourg stamp, issued on 29 July, and the 1948 12f and 15f reissues issued on 10 May and 10 December respectively. In that blog I suggested the possibility that the reissued values may have been different engravings. Now, I have to say, I did struggle with this idea. Why go to the trouble of re-engraving an entire stamp? And also, a fact that was pointed out in a very good blog by a former French printer (click HERE for the blog), no engraver, no matter how skilled, could replicate the exact same lines in a stamp. Such an endeavour would take even longer than the normally time-consuming and laborious job of engraving a unique design. Why go to all the fuss?

Why indeed! Well, it turns out France's postal authority didn't go to all that fuss. Either the original master die engraved by Albert Decaris or the transfer roller (not sure which) was altered in order to update the values.

So why then did I even entertain the notion of a re-engraved stamp? Well, firstly, as I pointed out in my last blog, it wasn't only the values that were changed. RF was changed to France. The position of Postes is different. And the shading lines along the top have been, naturally, altered to accommodate the changes.

Another bit of information regarding the above changes that I have found out since my last blog is the probability that Albert Decaris did not engrave the changes. These were, in all likelihood, executed in-house.

***

The changes to the upper area of the reissues was not the only reason I considered the possibility that they were re-engraved. When I studied the 10f stamp against the 12f and 15f stamps I discovered many small differences that caused me to consider the possibility of an all new engraving. But the answer as to why there were so many small differences is quite probably twofold. And the first cause actually contributes to the second cause.

In order to explain the first cause for the subtle changes we need to understand the basic process of transferring an engraving to the printing plate. Basically what happens is the engraver creates an image in reverse on a metal die, which is the same size as the stamp. That die is then hardened. Then a transfer roller is applied to the die and rocked back and forth, impressing the image, now the right way around, onto its surface. The transfer roller is also hardened. 

Now that the image is fixed into the transfer roller it can be transferred to the printing plate. This is done in a similar way to the master die/transfer roller exchange. The transfer roller is applied to the printing plate over and over, depending on how many stamps are required per sheet. In the case of the Luxembourg Issue there were fifty stamps per sheet. So the transfer roller was applied to the plate fifty times.

***

Okay, now that we've discussed the process of plate production we can examine where the changes to the actual stamps start to occur. As I said earlier, in order for the printing plate to be created the transfer roller needed to be literally pushed into the metal of the plate some fifty times, and that is just for the first plate of the first issue (I have no idea how many plates were made for this issue). So we can naturally assume that the transfer roller developed a certain amount of wear and tear over time. This wear and tear would appear on stamps as blurry, less crisp lines within the image. This is exactly what we see in the re-issues.

The second cause of the changes was the colour choice for the re-issues. Two shades of red were used for the re-issues. According to Y&T the 12f was red-carmine and the 15f was plain old red. Red is notorious for having the effect of blurring images. Then when we add the fact that the lines on the plating plate were themselves starting to blur...well, we have our answer!

To conclude my rambling, the Luxembourg Issues were not re-engraved. The subtle changes in the stamps are due to wear and tear on the printing plates and the colour choice of the stamps.

Until next time...

Stay Decaris Crazy!

I Study...The Luxembourg Palace Issues

Yesterday I received a comment on one of my blog posts regarding the Luxembourg Palace issues designed and engraved by Albert Decaris. The reader asked me to add an image of the 10f value to my 1948 reissues blog so he could compare the different values against each other (click HERE). I was happy to help him out, and I have to admit that even though I did a blog for the 10f and a separate blog for the reissues, I never thought to compare the different printings. I just assumed they were from the same die with simply a value change. 

So I took out my 10f 1946 stamp and my 12 and 15f 1948 stamps and laid them out side by side. I was immediately surprised at three glaring differences that are so obvious I can't believe I had missed them! I guess sometimes you don't see what's right in front of you. And the more I looked the more differences I found. This got me to thinking: are the reissues totally different engravings?

***

Below is the top portion of the 10f and 15f together for comparison. I have circled the three main differences. Note that the 12f is the same as the 15f so there was no need to add it here.

The biggest difference is the name, which in turn, contributes to the other two changes. The original 10f value has only the initials "RF", whereas the 15f value has the full name "France". This change completely alters the shading at the top middle and the top right corner to the point where in the corner it is non-existent in the reissue.

***

I found some more differences between the original and the reissues. But are these differences due to engraving variances or are they merely a result of colour choice? Both the 1948 reissue stamps were printed in red, which make the image look rather heavy, blotting out some fine details. I have again circled some of the differences in fine detail that I found between the issues. 

Firstly, if we compare the detail I have highlighted within the rectangle of the 10f stamp with the two other values, there is a distinct difference in the clarity of detail. The red seems to have obscured the background somewhat. So I ask again: is this an engraving difference or merely a  colour difference? Not sure? Take a look at the pot on the 10f value. The outline is far better than the reissues. The same goes for the signature; the 10f is by far the clearest of the three. And if you look closely you will notice that the "I' is not dotted in the original 10f, but it is dotted in the reissues. 

These are but a select few of the numerous differences I have found all over the stamps. In fact, as I write this blog with the comparison image staring me in the face I just noticed that the shading on the top left border area is also different. I could go on and on, but I think I've rambled enough for this blog. Perhaps another blog at a later date looking at a few more differences...

To conclude, I initially believed that the reissues of this stamp were from the same die with the value changed, but all the differences suggests to me they were different engravings. I could be totally wrong here, so if anyone has any additional information on the printing of these issues I'd love to hear from you.

Until next time...

Stay Decaris Crazy!

1946

Year Set

France

Luxembourg Palace

Issued 29 July

***

Paris Peace Conference

Issued 29 July

***

Francois Villon

Issued 28 October

***

Joan of Arc

Issued 28 October

***

UNESCO

19 November

I Muse...On a Cursive Revelation!

While compiling stamp images to do my France 1946 Year Set blog, I had somewhat of a durr revelation! In my Luxembourg Palace blog - click HERE - I commented on the unique way in which Decaris signed his name to the stamp.

It has been signed in cursive script. What I did not realise was that Decaris signed every stamp he engraved in 1946 in the same way! Just in case you don't believe me, I have arranged below a close-up image of the signature on each stamp Decaris engraved in 1946.

Joan of Arc

***

Francois Villon

***

Peace Conference

***

UNESCO

Until next time...

Stay Decaris Crazy!

France 1946 - Francois Villon

Francois Villon was born in Paris in 1431. The first thing that came up when I googled this guy was that he was a poet. I thought 'okay, this will be a pretty simple, perhaps not so exciting blog'. But then I kept reading and I grew more and more interested.

It seems that good old Francois was more than just a poet. He was somewhat of a rabble-rouser. I think Wiki used the term 'Ne'er do well'. It all started on 5 June 1455. Francois along with two others - including a priest! - were in the Rue Saint-Jacques, when trouble erupted. In a scuffle a knife was pulled on Francois, who in turn drew his own knife. His assailant struck first, then Francois responded by stabbing his attacker. But he didn't stop there. To ensure his attacker would never again do him harm, Francois struck him with a stone, killing him. Now a murderer, Francois Villon fled. In his absence he was sentenced to banishment. He was later pardoned for this crime. 

Not to be deterred from his new life of crime, Villon is said to have robbed the chapel of the College de Navarre. A year after the crime took place, one of Villon's gang turned king's evidence and named Villon as the ringleader of the robbery. He was again sentenced to banishment and did not return to Paris. Is it believed that after this he was part of a wandering band of thieves. The demise of Francois Villon is unknown. After 1463 he simply disappeared. A commentator by the name of Anthony Bonner wrote this of Villon's possible end:

"He might have died on a mat of straw in some cheap tavern, or in a cold, dank cell; or in a fight on some dark street..." (Bonner, The Complete Works of Francois Villon, Bantam, 1960, p xxiii)

***

In 1946 France issued a set of six stamps commemorating 15th Century celebrities. Albert Decaris designed and engraved two of these stamps. Joan of Arc (see my blog on this stamp HERE). The second stamp is the subject of this blog - Francois Villon.

This is an interesting stamp depicting a rather colourful character. What is that expression on his face? Fear? Guilt? Contrition? Whatever Villon may be thinking here, I'm glad I got to meet this intriguing poet. The joy of stamp collecting!

Until next time...

Stay Decaris Crazy!

France 1946 - Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc, which in French is Jeanne d'Arc, was born into a peasant family at Domremy in north-east France on 6 January c. 1412. Joan of Arc is famous for her military role in the Hundred Years War. She said that she received visions from the archangel Michael and other angels. They instructed her to approach Charles VII and offer her services to the country. Her amazing victories at the siege of Orleans and several other battles at the age of 18 gained her legendary status. But not enough it seems to save her from the stake. On 23 May 1430 she was captured by the French Burgundian faction who were allied with the English. She had many charges thrown against her and she was found guilty and burned at the stake on 30 May 1430.

But the story doesn't end there. Twenty five years after her execution, her trial was reconsidered and she was found not guilty - not that it helped her much! She was thus declared a martyr. In 1909 she was beatified, and in 1920 canonised. She is now remembered not only in the church, but through modern popular culture, in literature, movies, television and video games to name a few. For more on this amazing young woman click HERE.

***

On 28 October 1946, France issued a set of six stamps commemorating 15th Century celebrities. Two stamps in this set were designed and engraved by Albert Decaris. Francois Villon and Joan of Arc. Since this blog is a quick study of Joan of Arc, it is this stamp we shall examine.

This stamp is stunning. The divine adoration on the face of Joan coupled with the heavenly rays of light illuminating her path to sainthood make this stamp a real Decaris treasure.

Until next time...

Stay Decaris Crazy!

France 1946 - Luxembourg Palace

The original Luxembourg Palace was designed by French architect Salomon de Brosse. Construction took place between 1615-1645. Its original, purpose was to be the residence of the regent Marie de' Medicis, the mother of Louis XIII. It went through two further refurbishments to get the stage we see today. Its usage also changed over time. It has been a legislative building since 1805, and since 1958 it has been the seat of the French Senate of the Fifth Republic.

By DXR - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32953737

***

On 29 July 1946, France issued a 'Sights and Monuments' series. The Luxembourg Palace engraved by Albert Decaris appears on the 10f value. This engraving was subsequently used for different values in later years.

This is one of my favourite early Decaris stamps. He has masterfully etched the structural details of the building to great effect. And the gardens are truly beautiful. One expects a slight breeze to ruffle the leaves of the many plants surrounding the building.  

There is a rather charming little detail to this stamp, a final flourish as it were. Instead of the engraver name simply appearing in standard text, Decaris has signed his name in cursive as though this were a painting. I love this aspect of the stamp!

Until next time...

Stay Decaris Crazy!

France 1946 - Paris Peace Conference

The Paris Peace Conference of 1946 was held between the months of July to October in Paris, France. Representatives from United States, Soviet Union. Great Britain, France and other allied powers discussed and agreed upon the provisions for the Paris Peace Treaties, which included monetary reparations, adjustments to territories, and political changes aimed at promoted democracy and peace. These treaties were signed in February 1947.

-----------------------------------------------------------

On 29 July 1946, France issued a set of two stamps in honour of this momentous event. The high value stamp of this set, the 10f, was designed and engraved by Albert Decaris.

The imagery of this stamp is simple yet very effective. We have the dove representing peace at the point of being released, ready to fly the world over, promoting its credo.

Until next time...

Stay Decaris Crazy!