Egon Falz (1932-2010) was born in Insterburg,
Germany, on 10 May 1932. From an early age he showed to have a great talent as a
drawer. It was therefore no wonder that after having finished his secondary
education, he proclaimed to want to become a graphic artist. His neighbour, who
worked at the German state printers, got to hear of his intentions as well. She
told him that he’d be better off becoming an engraver and if he’d like, she
could try and get him an apprentice place at the printing works, knowing that
they were always in search of good engravers for their security printings. And
so, at the tender age of 16, Falz managed to be accepted by the printers,
starting a career there which would last from 1948 to his eventual retirement
in 1995.
You will find Egon Falz' database HERE.
At first, Falz would be trained as a letterpress engraver.
This took some two years. While doing all sorts of small jobs in the printing
firm, he was then allowed to learn to be a proper banknote and stamp engraver.
Together with another pupil, who would later also become a prolific stamp
engraver, Hans Joachim Fuchs, he was placed under the care of yet another
well-known German engraver, Leon Schnell, who was passing on his craftsmanship.
In 1955, Egon Falz finally got to engrave his very first
stamp. It was a single stamp for what was then West Germany, issued on 2 August
1955, to mark the tenth anniversary of the expulsions of Germans from beyond
the Oder-Neisse Line. That same year he also engraved his first of many stamps
for West Berlin, the 10pf + 5pf value from the set marking the 25th anniversary
of the Berlin Bishopric. The stamp depicts St. Hedwig. In the following four
decades, some 200 more stamps would follow. Falz would also engrave a number of
banknotes, not just for Germany, but also for Venezuela.
His talent as a graphic artist would come in handy when he
was called upon to design stamps as well as engrave them, though this would
only be on a few occasions. In 1978, Falz designed and engraved a three-stamp
set for West Berlin, when the original designer suddenly fell ill. The set,
depicting Berlin Views, was the sequel to the 1976 set and the layout for the
designs had already been prepared, but Falz was asked to step in and finish the
designs. Also, the 1975-82 ‘Industry and Technology’ definitive set issued in
both West Germany and West Berlin, has a single value designed by Falz. This
time, the designer of the original series had died unexpectedly, just at the
time the German Post needed new values added to the set. Falz therefore got the
opportunity to design and engrave the 300pf depicting an electromagnetic
monorail.
Although Egon Falz, like the other German engravers, never had a
choice of which stamps to engrave, he did have a specific preference for
portrait stamps. One of his most iconic portrait stamps is without a doubt the
1964 single stamp, issued in both West Germany and West Berlin, commemorating
President Kennedy.
As mentioned, being part of a team of engravers at the
printers’ meant that they were just handed out their work, without having any
say. It was actually the head of the department who made the decisions which
engraver would engrave which stamp. Quite a few engravers would relish the
chance and move on to that position, but when Falz was asked whether he would
be interested, he declined. He loved his job as an engraver and wouldn’t swap
it for the world for a mere ‘desk job’.
His passion for his work remained as ardent as ever, even
after his retirement. In fact, when interviewed by the Deutsche Briefmarken-Zeitung
in 2007, he could still get worked up about the fact that Germany no longer
issued any recess-printed stamps. “I think it’s an utter disgrace that a state
security printer no longer has the capacity and machinery for recess-printing”.
A perfect quote to sum up the man and echo the views of many a stamp collector.
You will find Egon Falz' database HERE.