I Muse...On Another Engraver to Study

I'm fairly certain that I'm not alone in thinking that over the years the French Post has had many, many incredibly talented artists on their payroll engraving stamps. So many in fact that it can be rather overwhelming trying to collect all of their amazing work. My strategy to date has been to choose a particular engraver, and then spent some time getting to know their work and their style. And along the way start putting together the bones of a collection.

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Most recently I've become intrigued by the work of Jules Piel. I haven't looked at much of his work yet, but what I have seen really impresses me. His first engraving, which was part of a definitive set for Andorra in 1932 is a true thing of beauty. Unfortunately I don't have a copy of the design, which was printed in six values, just yet. But I did find the below image. 

Between 1932 and 1966 Jules Piel was a prolific engraver for both France and her various colonies. For a full bio, check out this blog post HERE. Indeed, many iconic French stamps were the work of this master engraver. Perhaps the most important of these was a set depicting Marshall Pétain, issued in 1941. 

Commencing in 1950, France began issuing a set of stamps on an annual basis with a surcharge to go to the Red Cross. Jules Piel engraved this first set of Red Cross stamps. In fact, he contributed to every set until his retirement from the French postal authority in 1966. And I was delighted to discover that not only did Jules Piel rack up an extensive array of stamps, but he also engraved quite a few banknotes! I must say, I'm really looking forward to delving more deeply into the work of this prolific artist.

Until next time...

French Settlements in Oceania 1948 - Tahitian Women

In 1834 a group of French Catholic missionaries landed on the island of Tahiti to convert the local population to Christianity. Not surprisingly the locals didn't take too kindly to this idea, and in 1836 the missionaries were expelled. Unfortunately this led to further problems. Deciding retaliation was the order of the day, the French dispatched a gunboat to Tahiti in 1838. By 1842 Tahiti and Tahuata were declared a French protectorate. And Catholic missionaries were from that point on allowed to do whatever work they found necessary. A year later in 1843 a new capital, called Papeetē, was founded. Then, in 1880, France annexed Tahiti, altering its status from that of a protectorate to a colony.

Between 1843-1903 more surrounding islands were annexed by France. In 1892 French postage stamps were first issued in the colony, which at that time was called: Établissements de l'Océanie (Settlements in Oceania). In 1903 the official name of the colony became Établissements Français de l'Océanie (French Settlements in Oceania) or EFO. The year 1957 saw another name change for EFO, a name we are now familiar with: French Polynesia. French Polynesia is composed of 118 islands and atolls spread across more than 2,000 kilometres in the South Pacific Ocean.

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In 1948 French Settlements in Oceania issued a set of 19 definitives incorporating six different designs. To date, I have acquired two designs from this set. The first depicts a Tahitian woman. This lovely stamp was designed by Charles Mazelin and engraved by Jacques Boullaire. This design was issued in 4 values: 2f, 2,40f, 3f & 4f.

The second design depicts two Tahitian women enjoying the warm weather and having a bit of a chat. The stamp was designed by Jacques Boullaire (the guy who engraved the above stamp) and engraved by Jules Piel. This particular design was issued in 3 values: 15f, 20f & 25f.

As I acquire more of this lovely set I will share them with you all.

Until next time...