Max Mirowsky (1858-1939) was born in Berlin, Germany. He
received his initial education in the art of engraving from Julius Lepper in
Berlin. Lepper had links to the Swedish stamp printer of his time, Jacob Bagge,
because of his work on banknotes and he had engraved the Swedish numeral definitives
of 1872, which were printed in letterpress.
Mirowsky stayed with Lepper for some five years and then worked
for some time for Trowitsch & Söhne and for the Berlin state printers. In
November 1891, Mirowsky moved to Sweden where he was employed by aforementioned
Jacob Bagge.
Mirowsky’s first attempt at engraving stamps was not the
most successful. His Oscar II stamp of 1885 suffered from the letterpress
process. Thankfully, Bagge was already planning to upgrade to recess-printing,
so when the new presses finally arrived, Mirowsky could show what he was really
worth. His 1891 Oscar II stamp, though very much based on his previous attempt,
was a much more nuanced engraving, and it was received very well.
Mirowsky also engraved all the different values for this stamp, except for the 8 öre value, for which Mirowsky's successor Paul Wilcke engraved the denomination.
Mirowsky not only engraved stamps, he also engraved
banknotes for various Swedish banks. Most famously he engraved the figure Svea,
which was introduced on a 5kr banknote in 1890 and remained in use on various
banknotes until 1959.
You will find Max Mirowsky's database HERE.