Oh dear, and it all started so innocently with me just wondering why the Czech Republic would honour one of its greatest engravers with a stamp printed in lithography.
That's right. On 20 January of this year, the Czech Republic issued a stamp honouring their designer/engraver Bedrich Housa. Which is marvellous. But if you want to do justice to such a wonderful artist, you would think they would opt for a printing method which is traditionally seen as the most classy, beautiful and artistic; that's right: you would create a hand-engraved, recess-printed stamp.
But no, offset it was and offset it would be. Which left me fuming a little. Little did I know it would get worse. 'Coz when I mentioned this to my stamp buddy in the Czech Republic, he replied with news which, to say the least, is rather devastating: the Czech Republic has stopped producing engraved, recess-printed stamps from 1 January 2020!
I have hardly recovered from Scandinavia falling off the radar and now this country, which was among the very, very few still issuing a number of recess-printed stamps which were produced without the use of a computer at any stage.
So it's a black day for us lovers of these works of arts. As a minor consolation, they have decided to still issue the odd First Day Cover with engraved art work, so that's at least something. In fact, the FDC accompanying the Housa stamp does indeed have an engraved image, by Martin Srb.
But to think that we will no more have Housa creating beautiful stamps for us, honouring the masters of the past. It makes one want to weep.
And so, in the words of Lady Catherine de Bourgh: I am most seriously displeased!
Adrian
That's right. On 20 January of this year, the Czech Republic issued a stamp honouring their designer/engraver Bedrich Housa. Which is marvellous. But if you want to do justice to such a wonderful artist, you would think they would opt for a printing method which is traditionally seen as the most classy, beautiful and artistic; that's right: you would create a hand-engraved, recess-printed stamp.
But no, offset it was and offset it would be. Which left me fuming a little. Little did I know it would get worse. 'Coz when I mentioned this to my stamp buddy in the Czech Republic, he replied with news which, to say the least, is rather devastating: the Czech Republic has stopped producing engraved, recess-printed stamps from 1 January 2020!
I have hardly recovered from Scandinavia falling off the radar and now this country, which was among the very, very few still issuing a number of recess-printed stamps which were produced without the use of a computer at any stage.
So it's a black day for us lovers of these works of arts. As a minor consolation, they have decided to still issue the odd First Day Cover with engraved art work, so that's at least something. In fact, the FDC accompanying the Housa stamp does indeed have an engraved image, by Martin Srb.
But to think that we will no more have Housa creating beautiful stamps for us, honouring the masters of the past. It makes one want to weep.
And so, in the words of Lady Catherine de Bourgh: I am most seriously displeased!
Adrian