Carl Theodore Arlt was born on 10 October 1883. His early
career was rather checkered, moving between various companies and sometimes
working freelance as well. For philatelic purposes, his final two employers are
of importance. From 1929 to 1934, Arlt worked at the British American Bank Note
Company. In 1930, that company was
awarded the contract to produce Canadian stamps, which led to a new definitive
series being created. Arlt engraved the portrait of King George V, which was
used for the lower values. These are the first stamp engravings attributable to
Arlt.
Those National Parks stamps Arlt engraved are also good examples of the amount of work and detail put in to make them as perfect as possible. This would include trying to erase lines which Arlt wasn't happy with. On the 5c Geyser stamp, for example, he wasn't happy with the amount of shading on the right-hand side of the geyser.
And the effect of his stamps on the philatelic brotherhood especially, was also always on his mind, aware as Arlt was how collectors liked to think they could find hidden messages or items or even faces in various stamp engravings. Having pondered over his 8c Zion stamp, he thought he could detect some lines which could be construed as faces, so he reworked his whole die to try and eradicate these.
No matter how hard he tried, collectors would still imagine they were seeing things, such as various hidden features on Arlt's Boulder Dam stamp of 1935. The Liberty Bell was supposed to be hidden in there, as well as portraits of the likes of Lincoln and Roosevelt. Arlt once commented that this particular stamp was an enormous rush job, so he would have had no time whatsoever mucking about trying to incorporate such hidden elements, even if he had wanted to!
Classing himself a portrait engraver, Arlt enjoyed creating his 1936 Susan Anthony stamp. He managed to create a three-tone colour effect, by carefully mixing various engraving and etching techniques. Arlt found a way to light up the portrait from the top. This was one of his favourite subjects to work on: lighting up a portrait, especially if it was against a dark background. That is why he enjoyed doing the three presidential portraits for the definitive series introduced in 1938. He engraved the portraits of Jefferson on the 3c, Tyler on the 10c and Lincoln on the 16c. That latter, especially, was an engraving Arlt was very pleased with.
Arlt had more difficulty with his 1948 stamp marking the progress of American women. The stamp had to include not one but three portraits and that proved so hard to do that it took him 185 hours to complete.
Of the 1940 Famous Americans series, it was his portrait of the scientist Jane Adams which Arlt enjoyed most, again for the same lighting reasons. But it was his 1947 portrait of Thomas A. Edison which Arlt thought his best ever portrait engraving, being very pleased with the colour contrasts he had managed to create.
This skill of creating tones of light and darkness not only featured when creating portraits. Arlt's 1940 Abolition of Slavery stamp and his 1944 Motion pictures stamp, are good examples of how the lighting problem needs to be solved.
A stamp Arlt enjoyed engraving was the 1936 Centenary of Arkansas issue. He especially enjoyed working on the shadows behind the building, trying to keep the transparent effect of the design.
Besides engraving many regular postage stamps, Arlt also engraved some non-postal labels, such as war savings stamps and, maybe more importantly, he engraved the very first United States federal duck stamps; that of 1934 depicting mallards and the subsequent 1935 issue.
Despite creating so many beautiful stamps, Arlt would not class himself as a collector. He only collected the odd engraved stamp to study its style and technique. But he loved his job and always urged collectors and philatelists to "learn to study engraving for what it has to offer: its meticulous craftsmanship, its great variety of colour and beautiful arrangement of lines. In these details, the oldest graphic art is still supreme."
You will find Carl Theodore Arlt's database HERE.
But the bulk of Arlt’s stamp work was done when he went to
work for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) in 1934. It was his second
stint there, having also worked for the bureau from 1917 to 1919. From 1934 to his
retirement in 1951, Arlt engraved dozens of stamps, mainly for the United
States, but Canal Zone and the Philippines are also featured. In fact, it was the 1p value of the 1935 Philippines definitive set, which was the first one Arlt was set to work on. He engraved the vignette depicting the Barasoain Church.
Among his first United States stamps was the 8c of the 1934 National Parks Year issue, depicting the Great White Throne in Zion. Apparently, that stamp engraving was the very first engraving Arlt was completely satisfied with. And that after having already engraved for some thirty years!
Among his first United States stamps was the 8c of the 1934 National Parks Year issue, depicting the Great White Throne in Zion. Apparently, that stamp engraving was the very first engraving Arlt was completely satisfied with. And that after having already engraved for some thirty years!
Those National Parks stamps Arlt engraved are also good examples of the amount of work and detail put in to make them as perfect as possible. This would include trying to erase lines which Arlt wasn't happy with. On the 5c Geyser stamp, for example, he wasn't happy with the amount of shading on the right-hand side of the geyser.
And the effect of his stamps on the philatelic brotherhood especially, was also always on his mind, aware as Arlt was how collectors liked to think they could find hidden messages or items or even faces in various stamp engravings. Having pondered over his 8c Zion stamp, he thought he could detect some lines which could be construed as faces, so he reworked his whole die to try and eradicate these.
No matter how hard he tried, collectors would still imagine they were seeing things, such as various hidden features on Arlt's Boulder Dam stamp of 1935. The Liberty Bell was supposed to be hidden in there, as well as portraits of the likes of Lincoln and Roosevelt. Arlt once commented that this particular stamp was an enormous rush job, so he would have had no time whatsoever mucking about trying to incorporate such hidden elements, even if he had wanted to!
Arlt was a perfectionist. When he was working on his 1936 Rhode Island Tercentenary stap, he noticed that the minute lettering on the book held by Roger Williams said 1634, whereas the rest of the stamp clearly referred to 1636! This was spotted quickly enough to be able to amend the design accordingly.
The 1938 Iowa Territory Centennial stamp includes some decorative corn stalks in the upper corners. Having seen the original design and not being sure the corn was depicted satisfactorily, Arlt proceeded to stare at some real-life corn stalks for a few days before proceeding with his engraving.
The 1938 Iowa Territory Centennial stamp includes some decorative corn stalks in the upper corners. Having seen the original design and not being sure the corn was depicted satisfactorily, Arlt proceeded to stare at some real-life corn stalks for a few days before proceeding with his engraving.
In other instances, Arlt took no liberties with the
submitted design where perhaps he had been intended to. The statue on his 1938 Northwest Territory
Sesquicentennial stamp wasn’t finished yet before photographs were taken to
serve as the basis for the stamp design. Arlt did not include a finished head
on the left-hand figure but left it as it was on the photographs: unfinished
with a bag over its head!
Arlt would not always have things his way of course and there are stamps among his work he has regrets about. His 1937 Virginia dare stamp, for example, suffered a lot because of the awful choice of colour. But as the colour had been stipulated by President FR Roosevelt, there was nothing he could do to change it. Another stamp Arlt did not like the end result of was his 1948 Harlan Fiske Stone engraving. While he never elaborated on his disappointment, he was clearly convinced that the engraved master die was a beauty, somehow spoiled during the stamp printing process.
Arlt would not always have things his way of course and there are stamps among his work he has regrets about. His 1937 Virginia dare stamp, for example, suffered a lot because of the awful choice of colour. But as the colour had been stipulated by President FR Roosevelt, there was nothing he could do to change it. Another stamp Arlt did not like the end result of was his 1948 Harlan Fiske Stone engraving. While he never elaborated on his disappointment, he was clearly convinced that the engraved master die was a beauty, somehow spoiled during the stamp printing process.
Classing himself a portrait engraver, Arlt enjoyed creating his 1936 Susan Anthony stamp. He managed to create a three-tone colour effect, by carefully mixing various engraving and etching techniques. Arlt found a way to light up the portrait from the top. This was one of his favourite subjects to work on: lighting up a portrait, especially if it was against a dark background. That is why he enjoyed doing the three presidential portraits for the definitive series introduced in 1938. He engraved the portraits of Jefferson on the 3c, Tyler on the 10c and Lincoln on the 16c. That latter, especially, was an engraving Arlt was very pleased with.
Arlt had more difficulty with his 1948 stamp marking the progress of American women. The stamp had to include not one but three portraits and that proved so hard to do that it took him 185 hours to complete.
Of the 1940 Famous Americans series, it was his portrait of the scientist Jane Adams which Arlt enjoyed most, again for the same lighting reasons. But it was his 1947 portrait of Thomas A. Edison which Arlt thought his best ever portrait engraving, being very pleased with the colour contrasts he had managed to create.
This skill of creating tones of light and darkness not only featured when creating portraits. Arlt's 1940 Abolition of Slavery stamp and his 1944 Motion pictures stamp, are good examples of how the lighting problem needs to be solved.
One of Arlt’s many anecdotes, noted down in the Collectors Club Philatelist, after his visit to that society, centred around the 1938
Tercentenary of Scandinavian Settlement in America stamp. Arlt had been working
late on his engraving when he suddenly heard a loud bang not a hundred feet
away from him. He jumped and scratched the die from the hat of the guy in the
front to the branches of the tree. It took Arlt nine hours to repair the
damage!
A stamp Arlt enjoyed engraving was the 1936 Centenary of Arkansas issue. He especially enjoyed working on the shadows behind the building, trying to keep the transparent effect of the design.
Carl Theodore Arlt retired in 1951 and passed away in
November 1956.