France 1953 - Tour de France

What famous race began as a result of a rivalry between two newspapers? If your answer is the Tour de France, then you are absolutely right! It all started on 20 November 1902 at a crisis meeting at the offices of the  French newspaper L'Auto. The newspaper had been struggling with stagnating sales, and all the while their rival newspaper Le Vélo was dominating the news stands. Naturally the backers of L'Auto were rather unhappy with the situation. Something had to be done...

Enter one  Géo Lefèvre, the 26 year old chief cycling journalist for the paper. He had a radical idea based on the knowledge that cycling races sell lots of papers. That being the case, why not host a cycle race, a race larger than anyone had ever seen? If this audacious idea should work, then perhaps L'Auto may just match its rival in newspaper sales, or even better, put its rival totally out of business! After more excited meetings L'Auto announced the race on 19 January 1903. After much debate, a format for the race was finally agreed upon. The race was to be run over 19 days, commencing on 1 July. 

On 1 July some 80 competitors lined up outside the Café Reveil-Matin in the village of Montgeron for the very first Tour de France. The race commenced at 3:16 pm on 1 July 1903. It goes without saying that L'Auto featured the race on its front page that day. After a gruelling race where only 24 of the 80 entrants finished, the title of winner went to Maurice Garin (pictured below). 

And it should be noted that sales for the newspaper L'Auto doubled due to the race. So it was a cracking success. Not only that, its continued popularity has ensured its longevity. The race still runs annually with competitors from all over he world vying for a place on the winner's podium.

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On 25 July 1953 France issued a stamp celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Tour de France. The stamp was designed and engraved by Albert Decaris.

The design of this stamp is fantastic. In the centre of the stamp we see a map of France with the course for the Tour de France plotted out. The space within the roughly circuitous route has been used for the title of the stamp. Flanking the map of France are two cyclists. The cyclist on the left is wearing clothes consistent with the early years of the race. Perhaps this is the winner of the first race, Maurice Garin. The cyclist on the right is a 'modern' rider from the 50's. 

Until next time...

Stay Decaris Crazy!

I Found... Another 1935 Decaris Stamp

Just when I thought I had found and catalogued all of Albert Decaris' early stamps, up pops an issue in which I had no idea he was involved. The issue in question was for French Guiana to commemorate the Tercentenary of the Founding of French Possessions in the West Indies (try saying that one three times fast!). This issue comprises six stamps and it was released on 21 October 1935. There are two designs in this set, one of which was engraved by Albert Decaris.

As you may already be aware, 1935 was an auspicious year for Albert Decaris. It was the year the first and second of his engraved stamps were issued, both for France. Click HERE Well, now we have a third! The issue dates of the three stamps are:

• Normandie: issued 23 April
• St. Trophime: issued 7 May
• Tercentenary: issued 21 October

As you can well imagine, once I found out about this set I went online to try to source a copy for myself. Despite the fact that my Scott catalogue lists all three stamps for $14.75 US, I wasn't able to find the three at anywhere near that price. So I am going to have to purchase them individually. I have found all three, but so far I have only purchased one.

So what does this design look like, I hear you ask? Below is an image of the one value I have purchased, the 50c value.

There are two other values in this design: 40c and 1.50f.

Monaco 1967 - European Migration

In 1951 a committee, initially known as the Provisional Intergovernmental Committee for the Movement of Migrants from Europe (PICMME), was formed to attempt to deal with the chaos of the displacement of millions of people as a result of World War II. Its purpose was to assist European governments identify countries for the potential re-settlement of some 11 million people uprooted from war-torn countries. During the 1950's it managed to re-settle over a million people - an incredible achievement in my view. The committee has undergone several name changes over the years. In 1952 it became the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM). In 1980 to the Intergovernmental Committee for Migration (ICM). Then in 1989 it changed to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The IOM also deals with the resettlement of people displaced by natural disasters. Click HERE for more on this great organisation.

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On  28 April 1967 Monaco issued a stamp to publicise the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration (ICEM), which on the stamp uses the acronym CIME. This stamp was engraved by Albert Decaris.

As far as design goes, this stamp is excellent. The graphics are simple, elegant, and speak volumes. The spirals suggest controlled, successful migration - to me at least.

Until next time...

Stay Decaris Crazy! 

France 1950 - Francois Rabelais

A physician. A scholarly monk. A fantasy writer. A bawdy song and joke composer. These couldn't possibly be the talents of just one man...right? Well, if your answer is yes, then you haven't heard of the colourful French Renaissance humanist, Francois Rabelais. And if the above list wasn't impressive enough, Rabelais was considered such a powerful writer that the word "Rabelaisian" has been coined to describe writing "marked by gross robust humour, extravagance of caricature, or bold naturalism" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

It somehow seems fitting that such an interesting character have enigmatic origins. There is some dispute over exactly when Francois Rabelais was born. Some say he was born as early as 1483, but the most likely time of his birth was in November 1494. The place of his birth is also uncertain, but he was probably born near Chinon in the Touraine where his father, a lawyer, worked.

Rabelais' education began when he entered the Franciscan Order of monks. There he studied Greek and Latin as well as science, philology, and law. He eventually left monastic life to study medicine at the University of Poitiers and at the University of Montpellier. In 1532 he moved to Lyon to practice medicine. Here, he also edited Latin texts. In his spare time he wrote and published humorous pamphlets. Using the pseudonym Alcofribas Nasier - an anagram of his name - he wrote Pantagruel. This book was to become the first of his Gargantua series, for which he became famous.

I'll end this brief description of the life of Francois Rabelais with the now famous words that he penned in his will: "I have nothing, I owe a great deal, and the rest I leave to the poor". He died in April 1553. 

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On 26 June 1950, France issued a stamp in honour of the remarkable Francois Rabelais. The stamp was designed and engraved by Albert Decaris.

Decaris has done a fantastic job capturing the humorous nature of Rabelais. Just look at that cheeky grin and the penetrating gaze. We just know he is formulating some witty yarn to dazzle his readers.

Until next time...

Stay Decaris Crazy!