Switzerland 1979 - focus

Switzerland

30th April 1979 - "Postal history"
design: Klaus Oberli
engraving: Max Müller
printer: Wertzeichendruckerei PTT - Bern
FDC (picture on Zasa-stamp blog)

The first Swiss stamp was issued in 1850, but before that stamps were issued in Switzerland by Cantons. Zurich was the first canton to issue post stamps in 1843 followed by Geneva. But the most famous Swiss stamp ever is the cantonal stamp issued by Basel in 1845: the "Basel Dove". This stamp was really modern for that time, was multi-colored and the dove was white embossed on a red field. Until today it is considered as "one of the most beautiful stamps ever produced" !


In the city of Basel where this stamp come from, the local post asked the architect Melchior Berri to design a mailboxes inspired by the Basel Dove stamp. One of the two 1979 Europa stamps issued by Switzerland is reproducing one of those famouse mailboxes. Today in Basel they are still six of those mailboxes remaining of 1845 and still in use ! Go to Basel and try to find them !

source of the images : http://www.ibolli.it/indexes/cept/index.php & http://www.basel-virtuell.ch

Finland - Norden 2012

Finland - Norden

Date of Issue: 21st March 2012

2 stamps (2x 1 Klass value) issued in one souvenir sheet

Best Europa stamp 2011 - Public prize

Turkey

Turkey is the winner of this year's Best Europa stamp contest organised by PostEurop. The winner of the last three editions, Hungary finished second and Portugal third.

[UPDATE] number of votes:

1. TURKEY 1288
2. HUNGARY 791
3. PORTUGAL 385

this 0.90 TRY stamp is part of a two stamps set designed by Bülent Ates.

Turkey receiving the Public prize during PostEurop's plenary assembly in Istanbul



The Best Europa stamp design competition is a yearly event that takes place during the Plenary Assembly of PostEurop. The first competition took place in 2002. All official Europa stamp issues can enter the competition.

The result of this competition was announced during this year's Plenary Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey on the 12th October.

The stamp has been selected via the internet ! All people could vote through PostEurop's website ! This year's Best Europa Stamp competition reached a new record high of 5,576 number of public votes registered from all over the world, a sharp increase of 300% from last year's total number of votes due to the growing public interest and popularity.

A jury of 7 members (stamp designers, philatelic design directors) awarded earlier this year, the first Best Europa stamp - Jury prize to Cyprus ! This award don't replace the Best Europa stamp prize selected by the internet voting but is a second prize starting from this year.

Postcrossing.com wrote about the contest on their blog, asking their members which stamp the voted for.

Here you can find the full list of winning stamps since the first contest in 2002 when Malta won.

Best Europa stamp 2011 - Jury prize

Cyprus


This Saturday was awarded the 1st Best Europa stamp - Jury prize ! This prize won't replace the Best Europa stamp awarded after an online voting but will be a more neutral and artistic prize.

A jury of seven members of the postal, philatelic, stamp design world elected the best 2011 Europa stamp (here some pictures of the jury in action !)


The first stamp to win this new award is the 0.68 € stamp issued by Cyprus and designed by Stelios Karamallakis


From a graphic point of view, this stamp can be read on different levels. The first impression is it's "greenness", the brightness of it's colours and the fact that it directly refers to this year's them and give a great positive impact on a letter. The second level is the forest depicted on the stamp, the deepness the graphic effect gives. Trees are coming out of the edge of the design giving a growing effect. You can also consider the name of the country in three languages being roots. The third level are the details you get by having a closer look to the stamp. You can see many different animals living in this forest and especially the Cyprus mouflon which is a typical animal from that country. The animals and the trees are designed as a shadow play and remains on pop-up effects of children books which give an extra 3D design to this stamp.

Official statement on Cyprus post website (in greek)

Cyprus receiving the Jury prize during PostEurop's plenary assembly in Istanbul

France 1973 - focus

France

16th April 1973 - common design "Post, telegraph & telephone"
Hôtel de ville de Bruxelles
design & engraving: Pierre Forget
printer: Imprimerie des timbres-poste et des valeurs fiduciaires (ITVF)

1973 was the last year Europa stamps were issued using a common design. The main reason of this change was the monotony of common designs issues among philatelists. Before the introduction of a common theme in 1974, the CEPT introduced a new rule in 1971, the right to issue a second stamp with a free subject as design. One country who used that new rule from the start was France. Between 1971 and 1973, France issued a second stamp depicting a famous building of a European city (Venice in 1971, Aachen in 1972, Brussels in 1973).

I decided to focus on the 1973 stamp representing the town hall of Brussels. This stamp is part of a 2 stamps set, the other stamp depicting the common design made by the Norwegian artist Leif Frimann Anisdahl. This French stamp has been designed and engraved by the French artist Pierre Forget. He designed many stamps during his live for France, Monaco and Andorra. Besides this issue he is also the author of the 1975 french Europa issue. In 1979 he received the prize for the World's best stamp (!) for for the International year of the child french stamp. You can have a look at all Pierre Forget's stamps on this French stamp database: Phil-Ouest


The town hall of Brussels is a beautiful Gothic building from the Middle Ages. It is located on the Grand Place (market square) in the heart of Brussels' old town. This Saturday this building will be the showcase of the ceremony of the first "Best Europa stamp - Jury prize" ! PostEurop decided to give two Best Europa stamps prizes each year from now on: The Best Europa stamp will be selected as usual through the internet voting (held earlier this year on PostEurop's website) and the winner will be announced in October this year.

Besides this elder prize, a jury of 8 members composed by stamp designers, former philatelic managers and myself will select the stamp which will receive the first "Best Europa stamp - Jury prize" ! Next week you'll know who is the winner !

source of the images : http://www.ibolli.it/indexes/cept/index.php

Great-Britain 1991 - focus

Great Britain

23rd April 1991 - "European aerospace"
design: Jean-Michel Folon
printer: Harrison & Sons Ltd

Many stamp collectors collects stamps related to space. They call it astrophilately or space philately. 1991 must have been an interesting Europa stamps year for all those collectors (as later 2009 with the Astronomy theme) but for my part space on stamps is not really my cup of tea. Rockets, satellites is a bit boring to me.

But two countries that year issued stamps with a more poetic touch, the Netherlands and Great-Britain. I will focus in this post on the British issue as I love the designer of those stamps : Jean-Michel Folon.



Folon was a Belgian painter and sculptor who produced many posters but also many stamps during his life. The set he produced for Great-Britain in 1991 is composed of 2 pairs of stamps. The first pair is called "Man looking at Space" and the second one "Space looking at Man". It is a very poetic point of view showing space through the eyes of man, how small we are in front of this immensity lost on our little blue planet. In the first pair of stamps the cosmos is our head as a dream and in the second one in our eyes more like a kind of reality.

If you are visiting Belgium one day, the Folon foundation in La Hulpe (near Brussels) is really worth a visit !

Austria 1987 - focus

Austria

6th April 1987 - "Modern architecture"
design: Auguste Böcskör
engraving: Wolfgang Seidel
printer: Osterreichische Staatsdruckerei GmbH [OeSD]

I love architecture, that's why I love the 1987 Europa stamps year ! It is hard to take one stamp out of this year but I decided to focus on the Austrian stamp.


The stamp represent the Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna built between 1983 and 1986 by the City of Vienna. I was lucky enough to visit it when I visited the Austrian capital. This house is amazing, totally different of the usual standards we know in architecture. Lot's of colours, twisted walls, mosaics, mirors, trees on the roof, etc. It makes me think of a house coming out of a children drawing.

This house came out of the mind of Friedensreich Hundertwasser an Austrian architect who decided to build houses made of windows instead of walls. All his buildings are from the same type but the one depicted on the stamp is his most famous one, that's why it's simply called Hundertwasser-house !

Friedensreich Hundertwasser is not only an architect, he is also an artist who produced many stamps (mainly for Austria but also for Liechtenstein, the UN or more surprisingly for Cape Verde !), a website is even dedicated to them: http://www.hundertwasser-stamps.com

On the top left of the stamp you can see a little E logo. This is the logo of Europalia, an arts festival held every two years in Brussels celebrating one specific country and in 1987 it was Austria's turn. It's the first time that a Europa stamp is bearing this logo. This year's Europalia's invitee is Brazil.

source of the images : http://www.ibolli.it/indexes/cept/index.php