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Famous stamp designers |
Andrew Robinson’s
Golden Jubilee designs |
 On February 6, 2002 the Crown Agents Stamp Bureau released probably the single most ambitious issue to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The omnibus set consisted of 25 countries with five stamps each on a sheet (125 stamps), plus a further 89 single stamps – a mind-boggling total of 214 stamps. The man behind the design was Andrew Robinson.
Robinson explained: ‘I trained at Blackpool Art College as a scientific illustrator and my first commission was from Readers Digest, illustrating the Nature Lovers Guide Series. My first design commission for Crown Agents was the 1993 St. Helena Birds definitive, which consisted of 12 stamps’. Despite being involved in stamps for almost a decade now Robinson commented: ‘I have never collected stamps but over the years my portfolio looks like a stamp album’. |
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The life and times of Arnold Machin |
 Arnold Machin was born in September 1911 and he came under an artistic influence very early on with his father being a freelance modeller working on small models similar to the crested chinaware sold as holiday souvenirs. A pencil quickly came to hand and his earliest known drawing dates back to when he was about five years of age. Machin left school at the age of 14 and used his design portfolio to persuade Minton to take him on as an apprentice. Whilst there he developed his creative skills with pottery design.
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French stamp designer Charles Bridoux |
 Charles Bridoux was born in Paris on January 21, 1942 amidst the worst years of World War II. Despite the carnage and hardship of the time Bridoux recalls being attracted to stamps from very early age. He particularly liked the African countries with exotic animals, which made him dream and travel in his mind. |
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Franklin D. Roosevelt's stamps design |
 One of the most wonderful pieces of USA philately resides amongst the superb philatelic collections of the British Library in London. It's the Air Special Delivery stamp, which was designed and annotated by Franklin D. Roosevelt (US President from 1933 to 1945). |
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Stamps designer David Gentleman |
 David Gentleman’s stamp designs have been inspirational for over 40 years and 100 different GB designs. His father was Tom Gentleman, who was a very good artist and was noted for his work in watercolours and oils, particularly for posters and children’s books. His mother, Winifred, was also an accomplished painter.
After attending grammar school, it was a year at St. Albans Art School, before National Service in the army. After the army he passed the entrance exam for the Royal College of Art. Gentleman explained: ‘During those years I was privileged to have been in such close proximity with good teachers, such as Edward Bawden and John Nash, who had a strong influence on me’. After three years as a student he stayed at the Royal College for a further two years as a Junior Tutor. |
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The controversial and unique Austrian artist Hundertwasser |
 The modern artist and stamp collector/designer Friedensreich Hundertwasser was born in Vienna on December 15, 1928 as Friedrich Stowasser. Hundertwasser's fame was cemented by a mid-1970s world tour of his work through museums in the five continents.
In 1969 Hundertwasser bought an old wooden sailing boat that he took to Venice, rebuilt, and renamed Regentag (Rainy Day). For the next three years he sailed her around the Adriatic coast and painted as he went.
The filmmaker Peter Schamoni shot the film Hundertwasser Regentag on the boat and it was showcased at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. It was at this time that Hundertwasser developed more of an interest in the environment and in 1979 he 'went to war' against pollution. This was represented in most of his paintings. |
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Paul McCartney – surprise stamp designer |
 In July 2002 the tiny island in the Irish Sea – the Isle of Man – sprang a philatelic surprise with a set of stamps designed by the musician Sir Paul McCartney. Philatelic bureau officials on the island had discovered that the former Beatle had spent some time on the island as a boy, and promptly wrote to him to suggest the possibility of a stamp design. To their delight McCartney agreed.
McCartney spent some time studying stamp designs from around the world and, in the end, plumped for a simple design as he felt that other issues he’d seen had more impact when they were kept simple. The result was six floral style designs which are entitled ‘Happy Memories of the Isle of Man’.
Isle of Man Stamp Bureau Manager Dot Tilbury explained: ‘When we received Paul’s designs they so cheered up the whole department that we christened them “Happy Stamps” – a theme Paul loves as it reflected his inspiration from fond memories he had of the island from a childhood visit’.
Proceeds from the sale of the issue have been donated to the Adopt A Minefield UK anti-landmine charity which is fronted by McCartney and his second wife Heather Mills-McCartney. McCartney commented: ‘I’m very pleased that the Adopt A Minefield campaign has benefited from this issue which I was honoured to create from happy memories of an old stamping ground’. |
Czeslaw Slania’s GB stamps designs |
 Master stamp engraver Czeslaw Slania received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Royal Mail on March 19, 2002. Slania’s connection with Royal Mail goes back over 20 years. In 1982 he engraved the portraits of Henry VIII and four of the outstanding personalities in the history of the Royal Navy for the Maritime Heritage series. Portraiture has always been regarded as Slania’s greatest forte, but in this set he also engraved the ships in the background. – if you examine them under a high-powered magnifier you will appreciate the skill and precision involved. These portraits of Blake, Nelson, Fisher and Cunningham were the most expressive likenesses to appear on any British stamps up to that time. |
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The life of Dorothy Wilding |
 Dorothy Wilding was born on January 10, 1893 as the last of a large family of 10 children who lived near Gloucester. She was passed on to a childless aunt and uncle in Cheltenham, aged just four. Her initial ambition was to be an actress, but her uncle refused to let her go on stage so Wilding resolved: ‘It was then that I decided that if I ever were going to free myself, I must have sufficient money to keep me until I could get some sort of job’. One day she saw a camera in a shop window in Cheltenham, and according to her memoirs thought: ‘If they won’t allow me to be an actress, or paint portraits, I’ll do it through the camera instead’. At the age of 16 Wilding taught herself the art of photography, from lighting to retouching. She finally persuaded her family to let her move to London. She was apprenticed as a retoucher in a Knightsbridge portrait studio, but by 1915 had saved enough money (£60) to lease a studio in George Street, Portman Square. |
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Tales by Mail - Book 1, by Karen Cartier
 Tales by Mail is for children of all ages, perhaps up through 60 or so. It brings together stories literally from around the world ... from Botswana to Denmark, from New Zealand to the Faroes, from Saar to Israel.
The stories are short, each with a message, and each illustrated by a stamp issued by the country of the story's origin. Each who reads this book no doubt will develop a different favorite story, which is to be expected. Formatted simply, each story is preceded by a full-color illustration of the commemorative stamp that no only is impressive in its own right but also serves through its design to set the stage for the story that follows.
For those who wonder of the relationship between a stamp design and what is "behind" the design, this book serves as an excellent example.
Teddy Bears Celebrate 100th Anniversary
 Teddy bears, enormously popular symbols of human caring and loving, are being honored by the U.S. Postal Service with the issuance of the Teddy Bears commemorative stamps. The 2002 issuance of the stamps coincides with the 100th anniversary of teddy bears.
The Teddy Bears pane of 20 self-adhesive stamps depicts four lovable, cuddly teddy bears. Photos of the bears appear in the header; details of the photos appear on the stamps. The four stamp designs are repeated five times each on the pane. All four teddy bears were manufactured in the United States and are now owned by private collectors. The Ideal bear dates to circa 1905, the Bruin bear from circa 1907 and the Gund bear from circa 1948. The unlabeled "stick" bear dates from the 1920s. Mass- produced stick bears were characterized by their short arms, thin legs and upright posture. The Ideal bear, the Bruin bear and the stick bear belong to Paul and Rosemary Volpp of Carson City, Nev. The Gund bear belongs to Helen Sieverling of Pasadena, Calif.
The idea of the teddy bear was born in 1902 when President Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a captive bear during a hunting trip. Washington Post cartoonist Clifford Berryman depicted the incident on the front page of the newspaper, and soon toymakers began to manufacture the "teddy" bears associated with the president's name. People in all walks of life love teddy bears, and enthusiasts—known in the teddy bear world as arctophiles—pay top dollar for the collectibles.
Today there are teddy bear magazines, clubs, collector shows and programs, both educational and medical, that feature these little stuffed companions. Teddy bears have had endless books, songs and poem written about them. Widely viewed as symbols of security and comfort, teddy bears are often used by police officers and hospital staff to calm the young and old alike in traumatic situations
Second Set Of Penguin Stamps
 British Antarctic Territory has issued its second set of penguin stamps on a miniature sheet and in a booklet from the Port Lockroy Post Office.
The 12 airmail postcard values feature photographs of Chinstrap, Emperor, Adelie, Gentoo and Macaroni penguins, including juveniles.
All the photographs were taken by members of the British Antarctic Survey.
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