1937 International Exposition in Paris

Let the festivities commence! From motorboat races on the Seine to the Grape Harvest Festival, and from World Championship Boxing Matches to Shakespeare in the park. The 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (International Exposition of Art and Technology in Modern Life) had it all. The Expo was held from 25 May to 25 November 1937 in Paris, France. Countries from around the globe converged on the "city of lights" to flex their muscles of national pride. Participating countries were invited to build their own pavilions. Some pavilions were rather modest. While others such as the Soviet and Nazi pavilions opted more for the ostentatious and colossal. And can I say, downright ugly? You be the judge...

Speaking of colossal, these pavilions were tiny compared to the dreams of designer Eugène Freyssinet. He envisioned a centerpiece for the fair that went beyond epic and launched itself more into the realms of the ludicrous. A building that would dwarf the Eiffel Tower, which was custom-built for the 1889 World Expo. He designed a tower 701 metres (2,300 feet) tall! He called this monstrosity Phare du Monde (Lighthouse of the World). A lighthouse! Just what Paris, some 160 odd km from the sea, desperately needs! But that's not all. At the very top of this monumental skyscraper would be found a hotel, a restaurant, a massive sunroom, and a giant multi-story garage for approximately 400 cars. By the way, that last bit isn't a typo! So how the heck does one get 400 cars up some 700 metres? Why on a road of course! A road that winds itself around the outside of the tower. Because driving up a narrow winding street into the clouds would never lead to disaster, right? Thankfully, sanity prevailed and this scheme was deemed far too expensive to even contemplate. Below is an image that illustrates the scale of the Phare du Monde.

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This World Expo was also a big deal in the world of philately. A group of France's best artistic minds were assembled to create a six stamp set that would be issued in twenty-four French colonies. This was the second omnibus series printed in France, the first being in 1931 for the International Colonial Exposition. Engravers such as Rene Cottet, Emile Feltesse, Pierre Munier, Antonin Delzers, and of course Albert Decaris contributed to the set. In fact, Albert Decaris both designed and engraved two stamps in this set. Below is a list of all colonies in which this set was issued.

• Cameroun
• Dahomey
• French Equatorial Africa
• French Guiana
• French Guinea
• French India
• French Polynesia
• French Sudan
• Guadeloupe
• Indo-China
• Inini
• Ivory Coast
• Kwangchowan
• Madagascar
• Martinque
• Mauritania
• New Caledonia
• Niger
• Reunion
• St. Pierre & Miquelon
• Senegal
• Somali Coast
• Togo
• Wallis & Futuna Islands

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To show examples of all stamps from all colonies would take up far too much room. Over time I will add images of the stamps from all the colonies, which will be found under the 'Omnibus Issues' tab found at the top of my blog page. For the purposes of this blog let's take a look the French Guiana issue. Enjoy!

The 20c stamp was engraved by Rene Cottet.

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The 30c stamp was engraved by Emile Feltesse.

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The 40c stamp was engraved by Pierre Munier.

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The 50c stamp was designed and engraved by Albert Decaris (for more Albert Decaris work click HERE).

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The 90c stamp was engraved by Antonin Delzers.

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The 1f 50 stamp was designed and engraved by Albert Decaris.

Until next time...

Australia 1937 - 150th Anniversary of Sydney Cove Landing

In 1770 Captain James Cook steered his ship HMS Endeavour into a bay on the east coast of the great southern continent then known as Terra Australis. He originally named it Stingray Bay, but then altered it to Botany Bay in homage to the wonderful botany specimens retrieved by botanists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander.

Upon his return to England Joseph Banks raved about the beauty of Botany Bay. After Britain’s loss of the North American colonies, it was suggested that Botany Bay was an ideal spot to start a new colony. Lord Sydney was given the responsibility of devising a plan to settle convicts at Botany Bay. Lord Sydney chose Arthur Phillip as Governor for the new colony. This choice proved to be inspired. Governor Arthur Phillip was a great leader, and he ensured the survival of the early colony by nursing it through its darkest days.

On 13 May 1787, eleven ships under the command of Arthur Phillip, set sail from Great Britain to the shores of Terra Australis. In the fleet were 696 convicts – 504 male and 192 female. There were also 348 free people, the majority of which were marines, the colony’s police force.

On 18 January 1788, HMS Supply reached Botany Bay. After arriving it was quickly decided that this place so raved about by Captain Cook and Joseph Banks was not at all ideal. On 21 January Arthur Phillip and a small party including John Hunter left the bay in three small boats and headed north. They discovered an excellent site for the colony 12 kilometres to the north at Port Jackson. In a letter to England he wrote of the site, 

“the finest harbour in the world, in which a thousand sail of the line may ride in the most perfect security...”

On 26 January 1788, the fleet sailed into a cove that Arthur Phillip named Sydney Cove in honour of Lord Sydney. On this day the British flag was planted and the land was claimed by Britain. Of course, the land already had occupants, the Aborigines! The relations between the European invaders and the Aborigines is a long story - one which I will not go into here. Suffice it to say, the Aborigines suffered greatly by the invasion.

On 1 October 1937 Australia issued a set of three stamps commemorating the 150th Anniversary of Arthur Phillip's landing at Sydney Cove. This set of stamps was designed and engraved by E.N. Broad and F.D. Manley. The original die bore the 2d denomination. Two secondary dies, in which the denomination was erased, were then created. These dies were engraved with 3d and 9d denominations by T.C. Duffell.

The details in this design are fantastic. The uniforms are striking. I love the depiction of the trees and the ground. In the distance to the left the three boats in which Arthur Phillip and his officers came ashore can be seen.

Until next time...

Stay Engraver Crazy!