The yellow stamp

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Last Thursday, when I was preparing this post, I remembered some Stamp Annual Books I have from China, Portugal and Germany... none of those stamps are classified yet,so doing posts about them, with an entire year of stamps, is quite normal... not so normal , when I use to talk about the stamps, their difficulties in the classification and the usual abnormalities that sometimes occur, because in today's post everything is more than normal,good printings,no errors of any kind, MNH stamps, etc... Yes,today I have all the stamps from Germany Bundespost 1985.. The Yearbook has also the stamps from Berlin, but I thought that a repetition of the series (with different stamps, although..) could be somehow annoying...From Germany I have 3 more Yearbooks,1987,1988 and 1989... they will be presented when the time comes... let us now start with the stamps from 1985...

I was thinking in a group of nice photos of the Book and some pages, but unfortunately my "Jurassic" Phone wont allowed it... I have photos , but they are low quality pictures...

 As you can see ,there are also postmarks for each issue, detailed Technical data and a detailed review about the stamp itself...

I will follow the catalog order of the stamps, but I will not exceed myself in unnecessary comments ...all the stamps are [Litho] or [Photo] Printed... it was for me something close to a disillusion the fact of none of the stamp are engraved, but this particular year there wasn't  any.. in the other side and to balance the equation, we have very mature stamps in what concerns the Graphic Design.. 

One of the things I noticed with this Yearbook review is that almost all the designers are "Professors"... Yes, they do not only have a degree in Graphic Design but  are also professors of the discipline..this is relatively common with German stamps , and tell us much about the expertise of all those who are connected to the creation of these stamps... 
[Left] "2000th Anniv of Augsburg" (1) [Des (H.J. Volbracht)][Litho] Sc(1432)
[Right] "350th Birth Anniv of Philipp Jakob Spener (church reformer)" (1) [Des (Prof. Gunther Jacki)][Litho] Sc(1433)

[Left]  "Birth Bicentenaries of Grimm Brothers (folklorists) and 7th International Union for German Linguistics and Literature Congress, Gottingen" (1) [ Des (Elizabeth Von Janota-Bzowski)][Litho] Sc(1434)
[Right] this is a very simple stamp,that in the end surprises all of us with it's beautiful and uncommon color...it is for me one of the best stamps presented today , because it tell us that  the best stamp it isn't  always the most complicated...a simple portrait and a group of well chosen labels could be enough to conquer our attention.. A very good work..!
" BirthCentenary of Romano Guardini (theologian)" (1) [Des (Prof. Gerd Aretz)][Litho] Sc(1435)

[Left]  "Millenary of Market and Coinage Rights in Verden." (1) [Des (Prof. Peter Steiner)][Litho] Sc(1436)
[Right] "30th Anniv of Bonn-Copenhagen Declarations" (1) [Des (Prof. Ernst Junger)][Litho] Sc(1437)

[Left] " 225th Birth Anniv of Johann Peter Hebel (poet)" (1) [Des ( Elizabeth Von Janota-Bzowski)][Litho] Sc(1438)
[Right] we all know that Graphic Design is a tool used also in advertising or whenever we have an idea to "sell" to others...in this case we have a simple photo, a portrait stamp,presented to us in a different way,and we could say that the stamp is very well accomplished -- it is a stamp that is kept in our mind -- it is also a very simple stamp ,just portrait and labels,no frames of any kind,so once again simplicity and Originality (in one of it's many forms..)  were keys to a 'success stamp'...
"Birth Centenary of Egon Erwin Kisch (journalist)."(1) [Des (Prof. Albrecht Ade)][Litho] Sc(1439)

Here we have the Europa Series, one of the most famous topics for Collectors...in this case the subject is music and two of the Greatest German Musicians are represented in stamps with identical general configuration... very beautiful stamps,with an appealing look that gave to this series a prominent place among modern German stamps...
[Left/Right] "Europa" (2) [Des (Prof. Karl Hans Walter][Photo] Sc(1440,1441)

 [Left] "300th Birth Anniv of Dominikus Zimmermann (architect)" (1) [Des (Prof. Erik Nitsche)][Litho] Sc(1442)

[Right] " 750th Anniv of Limburg Cathedral" (1) [Des (Prof. Heinz Schillinger)][Litho] Sc(1443)

[Left]I like very much this stamp ,because of the final look,but because of all the effort necessary to make it.. We must not forget that we were in 1985 and to make experiments with photo's we needed some hours working in something like a 'Photo studio' , we didn't  had a 'Photoshop' in Our computers to make it..so,to produce this stamp,some time and money was spent .. In those days , German Stamp Designers were investing a lot in innovation....
"Birth Centenary of Father Josef Kentenich (founder of International Schonstatt (Catholic laymen's) Movement)" (1) [Des (Prof. Fritz Ludtke][Litho] Sc(1444)

[Right] "Save the Forests" (1) [Des (Klemens Ganzenmuller][Litho] Sc(1445)

[Left]  "30th World Scouts Conference, Munich" (1) [Des (Fritz Ludkte)][Litho] Sc(1446)

[Right] "400th Anniv of Frankfurt Stock Exchange" (1) [Des (Friederich Kefer & Peter Munch][Litho] Sc(1447)




[Left] "Death Cent of Carl Spitzweg (artist)" (1) [Des (Fritz Ludtke][Litho] Sc(1448)

[Right] this is another Top class stamp...
" 175th Death Anniv of Fritz Reuter (writer)" (1) [Des (Peter Steiner)][Litho] Sc(1449)

[Left]  "150th Anniv of German Railways and Birth Bicent. of Johannes Scharrer (joint founder)" (1) [Des (Prof. Heinz Schillinger)][Litho] Sc(1450)

[Right] "40th Anniv of Integration of Refugees" (1) [Konrad Przewieslik)][Litho] Sc(1451)



[Left] "30th Anniv of Federal Armed Forces" (1) [Des (Prof. Bruno K. Wiese)][Litho] Sc(1452)

[Right] "Christmas" (1) [Des (Prof. Fritz Ludtke)][Litho]

Now I will show the stamps related to Funds or another Humanitarian Efforts....

"Sports Promotion Fund" (2) [Des (Prof. Fritz Dieter Rothacker)][Photo] Sc(B628,B629)

A nice series about Cycling and the Bicycle throughout the time...

" Youth Welfare International Youth Year. Cycles." (4) [Des (Prof. Heinz Schillinger][Litho] Sc(B630,...,B633)

""Mophila 1985" Stamp Exhibition, Hamburg" (2) [Des (Prof. Heinz Schillinger][Litho] Sc(B634,B635)

A very beautiful series...
"Humanitarian Relief Funds" (4) [Des (Holger Bornsen][Litho] Sc(B636,...,B639)


I would like to end this post with a small "Talk" section about something that is bothering me... some of you could say that  some of the ideas I expressed today are totally against my fierce opposition to the utilization of Photographs in the stamps...well, I'm against  the fact that a stamp could be just a photo,and some labels... A Stamp about a monument cannot be just a photograph of that monument..! some of the stamps I showed above are good examples of what can be done with a photo in order to keep the stamp attractive and appealing to the collector... Yes, the final reason of the existence of stamps, (We can accept it or not...) is the Collector but  what are We collecting??? just photos?? No, it doesn't make sense..! so , what started in the 60's,70's and 80's like valuable Graphic Design experiments , turned into a way of diminishing the Payment Budgets of the Postal Company's, because, without Artists, the stamp is much more cheap... it isn't fare for the collector to continue collecting something that he don't like or appreciate... this is the danger we all are facing NOW...Are we interested in collecting  Photos ?? just photos..!!?

well,this was a different post , where I had to adapt and take a new perspective,just  to have something to say... and I liked it..! this new Graphic approach, without any knowledge or "know how"  (I must say...) is very new(??) .. yes , new to me! 


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1100 Years...so much time!!

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Sometimes I have the conscience that the stamps I am showing and all "my talking" isn't enough to create an interesting post... however,there are days when I know for sure that that will be one of the top posts I ever done...and ,fortunately,this post will be one of those with a beautiful selection of stamps,enough to capture Your attention... 

My interest in Morocco stamps came from the first days of my collection.. I remember buying my first two lots of Morocco and Brazil in a Portuguese Stamp Auction... that lot of 300 stamps was enough to open my mind to these wonderful stamps, full of beautiful designs and history... Now I can say that I have all the Morocco stamps from the Classic French Period ,until 1960 (most part of them are not classified yet, so lots of Fun are waiting for us in future posts...).. talking of this large period of time is also talking of many French Master engravers and so, we should not be admired that some of these stamps are work of Great Artists of the French Cultural Panorama...

Let us start by the beginning,chronologically speaking...

These are the stamps that  complete this series from 1955 ,still as a French Protectorate...the stamps presenting Bab El Mrissa (50c,1f,2f,3f) and Casablanca (18f,20f) were already presented in previous posts...this series , like many others in Morocco's Philately, present us various designs of famous places of Morocco...

1955 "Various Designs" (17) [Des (A. Delpy)][Engr (Jules Piel 5f,6f,8f)(Charles Mazelin 10f,12f,15f)(Pierre Gandon 25f)(Roger Fenneteaux 30f)(Raoul Serres 40f)(Jean Pheulpin 50f)(A. Fréres 75f)][Recess (Paris)] Sc(315,...,320)(323,...,327)

The stamps presented above are from a Educational Fund from 1956...they are showed individually because I don't want the viewers to loose anything from all the Engraving details...some of the series I present today are really, really good , but I don't have the details of the engravers and designers (I doubt they exist , because they don't appear in any of the catalogs I have.)..this is one of those series, without any signature in the stamp (I have lost some time trying to find clues to the engraver ,but I didn't find anything..)

I want to highlight that in 1956 we were under the Rule of Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Yusuf... the sultan changed his title to King of Morocco and adopted the name Mohammed V in 1957...

the series show us the simple frame (double lined this time..) usual in these days in Morocco stamps, a small portrait of the Sultan at the top left corner and five different scenes of the educational process taking place...we will find also several Arab writings in these stamps, and this is for sure enriching to the final Good aspect of these stamps...(we must remember that Arab Calligraphy was and continued to be learned also as a form of Art, and we can find good examples of this fact in Algerian, Tunisian and Turkish stamps...).

1956 "Education Campaign" (5) [Recess (Paris) Sc(8,...,12)

Beautiful stamps, Great engraving,the same simple frame and some more complexity of the design and of the Arabic  labels...

1959 "50th Birtday of King Mohammed V" (3) [Des/Engr (Charles Mazelin)][Recess (Paris)] Sc(29,...,31)

A simpler stamp, much more oriented in it's conception to the Graphical aspect , with some logotypes and simple designs...it is in the end a well accomplished stamp,with good engraving and nice graphical Design Art...

1960 "Meeting of UN African Economic Commission, Tangier" (1) [Recess (Paris)] Sc(35)

This is a series with original design from 1956 (in fact ,stamps with this portrait of the Sultan,were the first series of postage stamps of the New State of Morocco,recognized by the International Community in March 1956...)...the surcharge was applied to the "Adulterating Cooking Oil Victims Fund " ... this was another of those very ugly aspects of Humankind ,and I don't want to talk about it ... Originaly the stamps were designed by Flandrin and engraved by Charles Mazelin...

1960 "Adulterating Cooking Oil Victims Fund" (3) [Recess (Paris)] Sc(B1,...,B5)

Well, this is a huge "Success" Series...for me it is one of the best engravings I ever saw...once again the simplicity of the frame clashes with the enormous complexity of the design and engravings... The Arabic labels are beautiful and turn the stamp even more appealing...all the work is Excellent but the Artists are unknown.. it is a shame that  we cannot  credit someone with the excellency of this work...I will try to get this information , contacting some of my Algerian friends... perhaps they know something...

it is somehow disturbing that  these stamps "talk" about a University with 1100 years of history...My own Country, Portugal, one of the oldest in Europe (when we talk of it's fixed borders...) has only 800 or 900 years of History,but no !! ,we are talking of 200 years before that.!!.it is normal that this University was from the days when the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by North African Warriors...and one thing I can be sure of..they left many ,many signs of their presence in Portugal and Spain's Culture... many names of Towns and villages from the South of the Peninsula continue to show Arabic names...many of the words commonly used in our actual languages came from this presence of Centuries in the Peninsula...I use to say that Portugal is the result of one of the most complex processes of Culture Mixing..with time,invaders from the North and East found here the Sunny weather they pursued,invaders from the South found here the water brought by Abundant rains in the winter  , and all of them were imprisoned here by the Ocean, there was no more land..!!! and they stayed, and they mixed.. all of them!! Celts , Muslims, Central European People, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, etc...and the actual result is this...We cannot even rule Ourselves!!!

1960 "1100th Anniversary of the University of al-Qarawiyyin" (5) [Recess (Paris)] Sc(39,...,43)

To end this post,here it is another one of those series that are like an Engravers Contest...All the stamps are designed by Albert Decaris, but  there are several engravers...I'm sure that this is not a very known series,but it is a great acquisition for a Sport or Olympic Topic Collector...my favorite stamp, is the 45f.. really beautiful!!!

1960 "Olympic Games,Rome" (8) [Des (Albert Decaris)][Engr (Albert Decaris  5f,40f,70f)(Jean Miermont 10f)( Claude Durrens 15f)(Charles Mazelin 20f,30f)(Pierre Gandon 45f)][Recess (Paris)] Sc(45,...,52)

... I think good engravings are pleasant  to almost every stamp collector, so I sincerely hope that You've  liked this post...

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