Boguslaw Brandt was born on 10 March 1909 in Zwierzyniec,
Poland. From 1933 to 1938 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow,
where he studied all sorts of engraving, such as on copper steel and linoleum. At
that time he also started focusing on applied graphic art, for e.g. banknotes,
security papers and stamps. But his first activities were in the field of Ex
Libris bookplates.
When Brandt finished his education, he immediately got a
position at the PWPW, the Polish Security printing Works. The stamp engraver
Wlodzimierz Vacek took him under his wings and gave him further training.
Brandt’s first engraved stamp was issued in 1949; the 10z
value from the set marking the fifth anniversary of the National Liberation
Committee, depicting the banks of the river Vistula.
During his training under Vacek, Brandt had engraved a ‘stamp’
portraying Friedrich Engels. In 1951, this stamp would be used to test the new
WIFAG printing press the PWPW had acquired. The country name and value were
removed from the design, and the stamp would be printed either with or without
the addition of the word SPECIMEN. Remains of the engraving of the value, 35gr,
can still be seen in the top right corner of the design.
Brandt would stay with the PWPW until his retirement in
1974, by then having engraved a great number of both stamps and banknotes.
Boguslaw Brandt passed away in 1983.
You will find Boguslaw Brandt's database HERE.