The Buffalo Official publication of The Winnipeg Philatelic Society

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1 The Buffalo Official publication of The Winnipeg Philatelic Society April 2005 Vol. XXXIX, No. 8 Czeslaw Slania Press release from Sweden Post The Royal Court Engraver of Sweden Czeslaw Slania died the night of Thursday, March 17 after a long period of illness. Czeslaw Slania was 83 years old. Czeslaw Slania was born in Poland on October 22, 1921 and came to Sweden in He had worked for Sweden Post as an engraver since His stamp engravings include the Ballet stamp (1975), Hins Anders from a painting by Anders Zorn (1983) and his 1000th engraved stamp, the painting Great Deeds by Swedish Kings by David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl (2000), which is included in the Guinness Book of World Records. A great artist has passed away. His over one thousand stamps are admired and treasured around the world. We at Sweden Post are grateful to have been part of his work, says Britt Inger Hahne, Managing Director Posten AB, Sweden Post Stamps. Czeslaw Slania was active until his very last days. His last completed stamp in February 2005 commemorates the 60th Session of the UN General Assembly. Slania did not engrave any Canadian postage stamps. However, he did engrave the Prime Minister portraits found on the current $5 and $100 bills. Illustrated below is a stamp that Slania engraved for the United Nations Postal Administration in It is believed that this is a selfportrait! Don Fraser Recognized Member Don Fraser has been recognized by the Canadian Philatelic Society of Great Britain with the Smythies Silver Award. This is given for 25 years of continuous service to the society. Congratulations Don. WPS StampShow 05 Our annual stamp show and exhibition is just a couple of weeks away. I m sure we will see you there! April 29 May 1 Union Centre on Broadway Fri: 1 8 PM Sat: 10 6 PM Sun: 10 4 PM Inside this Issue Czeslaw Slania... 1 Don Fraser... 1 WPS StampShow Coming Events... 2 Member s Adlets... 2 Club News... 3 Winnipeg Art Gallery Sale... 3 Flower Definitives... 4 Spot the Variety #21 Answers... 5 StampShow 05 Ross House... 8 Feature Article The Many Faces of Marianne... 6

2 THE WINNIPEG PHILATELIC SOCIETY Box 1425, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 2Z1 RPSC Chapter 86 APS Chapter 813 BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Bob Stanley 1st Vice-President Des Connor 2nd Vice-President Russ Thompson Past President Clark Grierson Directors-at-Large (06) Len Kruczynski Forbes Sharpe Robert Zacharias (05) Ken Kristjanson Treasurer Mike Zacharias Recording Secretary Judy Lipsey Membership Secretary Don Fraser DUTY OFFICERS Auctioneers Ken Kristjanson Sid Kroker Buffalo Editor Robin Harris Buffalo Publisher Rick Penko Buffalo Mailing List Rick Penko Buffalo Mailing Ron DeWit Librarian Robert Zacharias Programme Chairman Russ Thompson Exhibition Chairman Des Connor Property Manager Terry Shestko Sales Circuit Managers Len Kruczynski Gerry Babij Name Badges Rick Penko Apr 7 Apr 21 COMING EVENTS Doors open at 6:00PM. Business meeting at 7:45PM 1st and 3rd Thursdays (except July and August) Visitors always welcome Main floor, Deaf Centre Manitoba 285 Pembina Highway (at corner of Nassau St.) Business meeting; Auction Business meeting; Presentation: RPSC Slide Show 2005 May 5 Business meeting; Auction May 19 Business meeting; Stamp Quiz The first meeting of each month is reserved for auctions. The second meeting of each month has formal program. Apr 13 16/05: Winnipeg Art Gallery Sale Apr 29 May 1/05: WPS StampShow 05 at Union Centre April May Shaded: WPS meeting Lined: Wpg Jr Stamp Club Dotted: CP stamp issue Raffle Tickets Coffee Maker OTHER Ralph Huuk Mike Goodman Annual dues Payable July 1st each year: Regular $25.00 Senior $20.00 Spouse $20.00 Junior $20.00 A spouse of a member may become a member with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities of membership, but doe not receive The Buffalo. Application filed July to April Admit Dues Total Regular $2.00 $25.00 $27.00 Others $2.00 $20.00 $22.00 Application filed April, May, June Regular $2.00 $30.00 $32.00* Others $ $25.50* * includes dues for following year LIFE MEMBERSHIPS..... $ RENEWALS Lapsed memberships or late renewals (paid after September 30th of each year) are charged a $1.00 reinstatement fee. All new applicants must undergo a 60-day orientation before receiving full membership privileges. The Buffalo is published monthly except in July and August. Deadline for article submissions and advertising copy is the 15th of each month preceding the month of issue. Website: Editor: buffalo@adminware.ca Buffalo Advertising Rates 1/10 page (approximately 2 1/4" x 2 3/4") at $30 per year (10 issues) Member s Adlet (up to 30 words) 1 issue ($1); 5 issues ($2); 10 issues ($3) Members entitled to 2 free ads per year! Terms of Payment Payable to Winnipeg Philatelic Society in one sum at time of agreement. 2 The Buffalo April 2005 Vol XXXIX, No 8

3 Club News Meeting of March 3/05 Bob Stanley called the meeting to order at 7:50PM. Bob Stanley announced that The Buffalo is here for pickup. Tonight we have a clothesline display, there are a number of nice items hanging on the line. There are ballots for voting for the best display. First prize are boxers with the Simpsons on them, and second prize are Spongebob Squarepants boxers. Michael Zacharias announced that there are Michel sales catalogues for the taking. Robert Zacharias announced that the auction listing is attached to The Buffalo. The deadline for submitting exhibits to the show is April 23rd. Ken Kristjanson announced that the posters for the show are here and if you have a specific place to display one, please take and do so. The show is a good source of new members, when they see the posters and come to the show. Sid Kroker made an announcement about the Red River Bourse, Sunday, Mar. 13, 2005, 9 5 at the Charter House Hotel. Gloria Pappin announced that she will be looking for volunteers to man the show. At least 2 hours are needed by every member. She will be looking for set up and take down, security and desk duty. Meeting adjourned 8:08PM. Draw winners: Ken Swan, Ed Tellier, Jeannette Roytenberg, Trudy Forenhurst. Meeting of March 17/05 Bob Stanley called the meeting to order at 7:50PM. Bob Stanley announced that there are 2 visitors tonight: Peter Badman and Bert Gregory, and we have a new member: Lawrence Thiesen. Michael Zacharias announced that the last auction realized $ in sales. Also Clark Grierson, who hadn t been feeling great the last while is doing better now. John Salmi will distribute posters for the stamp show next meeting. If you have someplace that you think you can hang one, please let him know. Robert Zacharias announced the Stamp Magazine is available. It is similar to Gibbons in that it has articles on the Commonwealth. If enough people are interested in it, the club will get a subscription. The large auction is two days away. Viewing is at 9:30AM and the auction starts at 10:30AM. Robert also knows someone who is interested in early Inuit mail travel. If you have any knowledge to share, contact him. Ken Kristjanson talked about the success of our monthly auctions and how so many people are submitting lots. Because of this we will now have to limit the number of lots per member to 10. This will be fairer to the vendors since it will give more time for the auctioneers to describe the items. Gloria Pappin tonight has the sheets for volunteers that she promised at the last meeting. Please be generous and pledge your time. She is looking for people to help set up and take down exhibit frames, security and handling the reception desk. Rick Penko says that a new stamp release for tomorrow is the TD Bank. Then he talked about the Write me...ring Me issue. This was a marketing plan to promote the use of calling cards. There are 4 different cards and each card comes with two first class postage stamps. Only about 25,000 cards were manufactured so they will be hard to come by. Bev Barr requested our support of the Winnipeg Art Gallery stamp sale which will take place April Meeting adjourned 8:08PM. Draw: Mike Zacharias, Ted Mayo, Gord Turnbull, Tom Preston. Tonight s presentation is Dr. Lin, China. Winnipeg Art Gallery Sale April during Gallery hours A year ago the Art Gallery received a very large donation of stamps, most of which were Canadian. Among the accumulation were a couple of panes of the 1 /5 /39 Flag booklets. Two different panes exist, each having a different perforation. The rare perforation pane is priced at $75 compared to just 75 for the common one. The Art Gallery sale charges 60% of catalogue price for Canadian stamps. Vol XXXIX, No 8 The Buffalo April

4 Flower Definitives by: Robin Harris Spring time and the Flowers are blooming! The three face different Flower definitives (all self adhesive), released on December 20, 2004 for the rate change that went into effect January 17, 2005 have produced, at a minimum, ELEVEN different varieties. If you want to go hog wild, you are talking dozens more! Firstly, there are three basic designs/values: < 50 Red Calla Lily. This is the work horse, with the most usage by businesses. It meets the domestic first class 0 30g rate... by far the most common rate in use today. < 85 Yellow Calla Lily. This has two purposes: domestic first class second step (30 50g) letters and the 0 30g rate for letters to the United States. < $1.45 Blue Iris. This meets the International 0 30g rate. All three values were issued in rolls: the 50 in rolls of 100 stamps; the other two values in rolls of 50 stamps. The 85 and $1.45 were also issued in booklets of 6 stamps. [We will leave the booklets for another installment. The coils alone will provide you with enough of a challenge!] Coils Coils The three coils were initially serpentine die cut somewhere between 8 and 9 horizontally. That is an odd way to describe the die cutting... somewhere between? When the coils were issued I measured the die cutting at 8.6 horizontally (or about 8½). I checked one stamp and that was it... my mistake. The rolls come with a gutter every 10 stamps (gutters are usually collected in strips of 4). This was the first time that Canadian coil stamps included the printer and colour dot information on the roll itself. The die cutting is applied to 10 stamps + 1 gutter at a time. The paper is then moved this distance and another 10 stamps and 1 gutter is die cut... and so on, and so on. We believe there are 10 rolls printed side by side at one time. We also know that the same die cutting machine was used on all three values (see below). It turns out that if you measure the die cutting for every 10 stamps between the gutters, you may get a different Coil gutters strips of 4 measurement for every stamp! There is absolutely no consistency between the die cutting. In fact, if we go a step further and measure other rolls, your result will be different from roll to roll! Based on this there are theoretically 100 different die cutting varieties (per denomination). This number comes from 10 stamps between gutters times 10 rolls across the web. If you measure the die cutting perforation of enough rolls, you will get a range of 7.8, 7.9, all the way up to 8.7, 8.8, and 8.9. Thus, you can have a single stamp that has a die cut of 8.2 on the top and 8.7 on the bottom. The next stamp in the roll will have 8.7 on the top and some other die cut on the bottom! 4 The Buffalo April 2005 Vol XXXIX, No 8

5 How will the catalogues treat this wide range of die cutting? In the United States, Scott will assign a new minor catalogue number if the perforation is a quarter perf different. Time will tell, I guess. The majority of measurements that were read were 8.5 at both the top and bottom. If we try to simplify just a bit, here is a chart that goes to quarter measurements: Top Bottom 8 8¼ 8½ 8¾ 9 Notice that a die cut of 9 has only been found at the bottom of a stamp, not at the top. How can that be? 8 x x x 8¼ x x x x 8½ x x x x Well, the actual reading of 8.9 (or rounded to 9) was found on the stamp immediately above the gutter. Thus, there is not a stamp immediately below this. 8¾ x x 9 x Based on this chart, using ¼ measurements, there are 14 different combinations of die cutting available... per each denomination. Hold onto your hats! A new printing of the 50 coil appeared in late February 2005 with a serpentine die cut closer to 6½ to 7, with a range in between! The examples I have seen appear to be mostly 6.9 (or rounded to 7). This is much different from the initial release of this stamp. I expect that the 80 and $1.45 values also exist and will show up any day now. If you want to simplify it even further, at a bare minimum, each coil exists with a horizontal die cut of either 8½ or 7. Thus, this gives us just six examples to find (two of each value). Earlier we noted that the die cutting is applied 10 stamps at a time and that all three values were die cut using the same equipment. How do we know that? By a die cutting constant variety! The variety consists of a ski slope type slant to the die cutting, as illustrated. This is found on 1 roll per box of 10 on all three values. On the roll itself, it repeats every 10 stamps... it falls between the third and fourth stamp above the gutter. If you are collecting this in mint condition, a gutter strip of 6 is recommended. For the used collector, you will want two examples, one with the slope at the bottom of the stamp and one with the slope at the top of the stamp. Happy hunting. Remember, it occurs on all three denominations. Constant ski slope die cut variety Spot the Variety (Answers) 21 Answers to the Spot the Variety presented in the last issue of The Buffalo Vol XXXIX, No 8 The Buffalo April

6 The Many Faces of Marianne by: Alf Brooks France issued its first postage stamps in 1849, picturing Cérès, the Roman goddess of agriculture. In 1852, with Napoleon III becoming emperor, France followed the practice of many countries to picture the head of state. With Napoleon s fall in 1870 Cérès returned, to be followed by other figures representing the Republic on definitive stamps: 1876: La paix et le commerce 1900: Les droits de l homme 1903: La semeuse (the sower) 1932: La paix 1937: Iris (Greek goddess of the rainbow and the messenger of the gods) 1962: Le coq (the belligerent rooster often represents France in cartoons) 1977: Sabine (from a painting by David) 1982: La Liberté (from a painting by Delacroix) But dominating all of these, to the present day, is Marianne. Who is Marianne? Visit any hôtel de ville (town hall) in any town or city in France, visit many schools, and you will find, prominently displayed, a marble bust of Marianne. She is usually pictured wearing the Phrygien bonnet. The name Marianne was not regarded as dignified in pre Revolution France, its use was seen by the aristocracy as pejorative. The bonnet was worn by galley slaves during the Roman Empire and later. Combine a woman named Marianne and a bonnet worn by slaves and you have a potent republican symbol; she is la liberté, lʹégalité et la fraternité; she is the Mother who nourishes and protects the children of the Republic; think of the first lines of the national anthem, La Marseillaise: Allons enfants de la patrie, Le jour de gloire est arrivé. A number of young women have served as models for this symbol; you will no doubt have heard of Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve. France Post has issued a number of definitive stamps picturing Marianne. They are usually identified using the name of the artist who designed them, with some having alternate names. The following gives a brief description of each of Marianne issues. Marianne de Fernez (1944) This first Marianne was first used in April, 1944, in Corsica, the only department of France free at the time. It was not until November 15 of the same year that the series of eleven stamps, valued sixty centimes to five francs, was on sale in recently liberated France. The stamps were produced by lithography. Often named Marianne de Alger, a similar design was first used in Algiers in Marianne de Dulac ( ) Designed by Edmond Dulac (originally French but a naturalized British citizen), this series of 20 stamps, ten centimes to 50 francs, was printed in London by De La Rue while General de Gaulle headed the government inexile. The preliminary design showed the initials R and F (Republique Française) in the top corners, with France across the top between the R and F ( France is absent in some examples). The released design shows RF in the top left corner and the cross of Lorraine (de Gaulle s native province) in the topright corner. The stamps were designated série provisoire d usage courant (provisional definitive series) and were line engraved. Many collectors who study the Marianne issues see this as their favourite series. Marianne de Gandon ( ) The series was designed by Pierre Gandon; General de Gaulle chose his design over two others also submitted. Various values, some surcharged, were issued until The stamps were first printed by typography, with the larger format and later values printed by lithography. 6 The Buffalo April 2005 Vol XXXIX, No 8

7 Marianne de Muller ( ) In 1954 The Minister in charge of the Post Office, André Bardon, looked for a new design to express The soul of France. The design of Louis Charles Muller was accepted, Marianne without the Phrygien bonnet but wearing a wreath of oak leaves, symbol of strength. This short series has three values only, six, twelve and fifteen francs, printed by typography. Marianne à la Nef ( ) Designed after a painting by André Regagnon, Marianne is pictured standing in the prow of a ship (la nef) that represents the nation. The short series has two stamps: the 25 franc value of 1959 was replaced in 1960 by a 25 centime value; at the beginning of 1960 the inflated franc was devalued by a factor of 100 (for many years after devaluation the older generation continued to think in terms of the old franc; one had to be sure of which franc you were agreeing to use when pricing items in transactions). The stamps were printed in two colours, the first with Marianne and the ship in red on a blue background, the second with these colours reversed. Marianne de Decaris (1960) Designed by Albert Decaris and printed by typography, this series consists of one value; definitives of other designs were also used at the time. Marianne de Cocteau (1961) A single stamp, value of 20 centimes, the line engraved stamp was designed by Jean Cocteau. In 1982, to celebrate Philexfrance 82, the design was used to issue two large format stamps. Marianne de Cheffer ( ) This series was designed by Henry Cheffer. He had competed unsuccessfully against Muller in 1954; after his death, in 1967, his design was chosen for the new series. The design was awarded the grand prize for philatelic design at an exhibition that looked at the history of French definitives. The stamps were line engraved. Marianne de Béquet ( ) The series of five different values, 45, 50, 60, 80 and 100 centimes was designed by Pierre Béquet, who used his wife as the model for the simple portrait. Georges Pompidou, president of the Republic at the time, chose the design. Some values were produced by both typography and line engraving. The definitive series that replaced it in 1980 is known as type Sabine, picturing a woman from a painting by Jacques Louis David of 1799, The Rape of the Sabine Women. Marianne du Briat ou du Bicentenaire ( ) This series has the alternate name Marianne du Bicentenaire, as it was first issued in 1989, the year that marked the 200 th anniversary of the beginning of the French Revolution. It was designed by Louis Briat, with values produced by line engraving in both traditional and self adhesive formats. François Mitterrand, president of the Republic, chose the design. Marianne de 14 juillet ( ) This series was designed by Ève Luquet, the first woman to design a definitive series. It was released for use on July 14, 1997, Bastille Day, the national holiday of France. Other than some stamps produced for the French government inexile in the United States during WWII, it is the only French stamp to carry the words liberté, égalité, fraternité. The design was confirmed by president Jacques Chirac and line engraved. In 2002 euro values replaced francs and centimes. Marianne de Lamouche (2005 ) Thierry Lamouche designed the new Marianne, first issued on January 10. For more information on these stamps contact Le Cercle des Amis de Marianne, a specialized group that studies all aspects of the definitive stamps of France issued since Their website URL is: Vol XXXIX, No 8 The Buffalo April

8 StampShow 05 Ross House This year s annual Winnipeg Philatelic Society StampShow 05 commemorates the 150th anniversary of Ross House, the first post office in Western Canada. The following information was gathered from The Manitoba Historical Society website where one of the pages is devoted to Ross House. Ross House had its beginnings in 1852 when construction commenced on William Rossʹ log home. Ross was appointed Post Master in 1855 by the Council of Assiniboia and he operated the post office from his home. The house was originally located near the banks of the Red River at the foot of Market Avenue. In 1949, the Manitoba Historical Society, along with the City of Winnipeg, took possession of Ross House and moved it to Higgins Avenue across from the CPR Station. In 1984 it was moved to its present location on Meade Street North in Point Douglas Heritage Park, in the Joe Zuken Heritage Park. Ross House is important because it was the first Post Office in Western Canada. It provides a glimpse into the operation of an early postal service, as well as into the lives of the Ross family in particular and 1850s homestead life in general. The Ross House Museum is owned by the City of Winnipeg, but it is operated by the Manitoba Historical Society. The Society is responsible for the collection and display of the artifacts in Ross House, and provides personnel to operate the Museum. William and Jemima Ross originally built Ross House on the shores of the Red River at the foot of Market Avenue. Williamʹs father Alexander had provided the land. At one time the Ross home became the first post office west of Thunder Bay other than those run by the Hudsonʹs Bay Company. William was the second son of Alexander and Sarah Ross. He was born in the Columbia River area of the Rockies in He journeyed eastward with his family when Alexander decided to retire to a more settled life in the Red River Settlement. William was appointed Sheriff of Assiniboia in 1851 and in 1855 became the first Postmaster for the Red River Settlement. After living in the house for a mere two years William died in May Stamps and canceling devices were unavailable at Ross House. Early mail bore only the postmasterʹs penned notation, ʺRed River, B.N.A.ʺ The monthly mail was carried by various means of transportation to Pembina, North Dakota, on the U.S./Canada border. Here it was stamped, ʺPaid 10ʺ and continued to its destination. The postal rate for a letter sent between Red River and Pembina was one penny. The U.S. postal rate from Pembina to eastern Canada was 10 U.S. cents. Mail took approximately 3 to 4 weeks travel time to reach its destination. Place mailing label in same direction as this text! BLANK ALBUM PAGES 8½"x11" ACID FREE WHITE 100 LB. STOCK IDEAL FOR FREE HAND OR COMPUTER PRINTERS 100 PAGES FOR ONLY $10.50 TO ORDER CALL: (204) The Buffalo April 2005 Vol XXXIX, No 8