France 1945 - Marianne de Gandon

Dubious past associations can sometimes come back to haunt a person and affect the rest of their life whether they be innocent or guilty. But sometimes unforeseen circumstances can extinguish one's past, giving them a chance to start over.

In late 1944, after Paris had been liberated from the Nazis, the leader of Free France, Charles de Gaulle, returned to France from his exile in England. He quickly set up a provisional Government. One of the things he wanted to do as soon as possible was to have a new France definitive stamp issued, a stamp that would reflect the country's fierce patriotism and pride. He wanted a new Marianne design. Consequently, a contest for the design of the new definitive was launched.

Meanwhile, the stamp engraver, Pierre Gandon, had been considered by Charles de Gaulle's new Government as a Nazi collaborator by continuing to work for the Vichy Regime. They offered as proof his role in the creation of Vichy "propaganda" stamps, namely the Tricolour Legion stamps, issued 12 October 1942. Click HERE to view my blog on this stamp set. Whatever the case, as a result of this alleged collaboration, Gandon was blacklisted and his name was removed from the French Post Office's engraver list.

However, and this is where the story gets interesting, Gandon had actually already submitted a potential design for the new France definitive. And when Charles de Gaulle reviewed all the potential designs, one design in particular stood out. Without knowing who the designer was, Charles de Gaulle chose Pierre Gandon's design! One can only imagine the conundrum de Gaulle faced when he discovered who the winning designer was. It seems that his love for the design outweighed all else, and Gandon was allowed to work on the engraving. This proved to be a superb choice! What resulted was one of the finest definitives ever produced. The Marianne de Gandon.

***

It was decided early on in the production of the Pierre Gandon's Marianne design that the stamps would be issued in three versions. A version printed in typography, which was a relatively cheap method of stamp production, was for internal use. This design was engraved by Henri Cortot. And two versions, for overseas mail, printed in intaglio: a small format and a large format. Both iintaglio versions were engraved by Gandon.

On 15 February 1945 France issued two Marianne de Gandon stamps. The first of these was the 4f blue, printed in intaglio. It was designed and engraved by Gandon. It is a truly stunning stamp.

The other stamp issued on 15 February was the 1.50f pink, printed in typography. This printing method produced far less attractive results.

***

Four further values were printed in the small format intaglio type. The 20f green on 4 March.

***

On 15 March two values were issued. 10f blue and 25f orange.

***

On 15 May the last of the small format intaglio stamps was issued. 15f  lilac-pink.

***

On 12 March 1945 the first large format Marianne de Gandon was issued. The 50f brown-red. In my opinion this format is also the best! 

***

Three further values were issued in this large format. The 100f carmine on 12 March.

***

The 20f green on 14 March.

***

The 25f violet on 16 May.

***

This gorgeous design portrays Marianne wearing a Phrygian cap and staring off to the right (perhaps to the future) with her head slightly raised. This elegant design encapsulates freedom, pride, and strength. To create this beautiful design, Gandon used his own wife, Raymonde, as the model. What a charming way to immortalise your life partner.

***

So which format is your favourite? And for that matter, do you have a colour preference?

Until next time...

France 1945 - Liberation

It began on 19 August 1944. The Liberation of Paris. Also called the Battle for Paris. This was a time of sweeping change in World War II. The D-Day landing had been a success. The allies were pushing further and further into France, gradually removing Nazi German occupation from strategic locations. Charles de Gaulle, the leader of Free France and living in exile in England, had decided that now was the time to liberate Paris from Nazi German rule. The city had been under the rule of the Nazis since 22 June 1940 when the Second Compiègne Armistice was signed. It is interesting to note that Paris was not deemed a location of significant strategic importance by the allies. So its liberation was actually not a high priority. Charles de Gaulle disagreed, He stressed that France needed now more than ever a stable government, a government that controlled Paris.  

  

The French Forces of the Interior (FFI) had already begun to pave the way for the Liberation of Paris. Months earlier, Radiodiffusion nationale (French National Radio) had been put back into French hands, and broadcasts of the allied push through France had alerted the public in Paris of what was happening. Further, the FFI had begun placing posters throughout the city urging the population to fight. All citizens aged 18-50 were called on to arm themselves, to join "the struggle against the invader (the Germans)". Other posters promised that "victory is near!"

On 19 August the FFI (better known as the French Resistance) took action and staged an uprising in the city with the help of everyday Parisians. Their goal was to harass and inflict as much damage as they could on the German garrison until the arrival of the French and US Armies. On the 20 August the FFI had started erecting barricades using everything to hand, such as trucks, trees, and even street paving. The FFI managed, through a form of guerilla warfare, to capture German fuel trucks. And they commandeered civilian vehicles, painted them in camouflage, and marked them with the FFI emblem. They used these vehicles for transporting things such as ammunition from one barricade to another. They were also used as mobile gun platforms. This was quite an impressible ad hoc army!

By 22 August the fighting had hit a peak. And on the 23 August the Germans started massive retaliatory strikes, firing at street barricades with tanks, and they attacked the Grand palais, an FFI stronghold. Apparently, Hitler had given the garrison orders to inflict as much damage in the city as possible. Some 1,000 FFI fighters were killed during the battle for Paris, and another 1,500 wounded.   

On 24 August the big guns started rolling in to help the FFI. The first to arrive were elements of General Philippe Leclerc's 2nd French Armored Division (the Régiment de marche du Tchad). They arrived in Paris at the Hôtel de Ville shortly before midnight. Then the next morning, 25 August, the rest of the 2nd Armored Division along with the US 4th Infantry Division entered the city. These forces by far surpassed those of the German garrison. The Germans signed a surrender that very day at the Hôtel Meurice. Charles de Gualle then entered the city and immediately assumed control as head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic. Paris had been liberated! And by the end of September most of France had been liberated.

***

On 16 January 1945 France issued a stamp to celebrate the Liberation of France. This stamp was designed and engraved by Pierre Gandon. This was the first of many stamps issued with this theme.

If Gandon had previously been blamed for being a "so-called" supporter of the Vichy Regime with his Vichy propaganda stamps, this gorgeous stamp symbolising French hope, pride, and fierce patriotism surely earned him a clean slate or as they say a tabula rasa!

In this stamp we see France in the personification of a woman riding a winged horse over French Resistance fighters, spurring them to glorious victory. The horse, with its wings spread wide, is particularly spectacular in this composition. But one other thing I did find interesting was the depiction of the woman. Her face and the position of her head bear a strong resemblance to Gandon's Marianne, which would be issued a month later on 15 February. Perhaps the artist was offering the public a tantalising glimpse of their new definitive. Or perhaps this is just another product of my over-imaginative mind.

Until next time...

France 1945 - Sarah Bernhardt

Regarded as perhaps the most famous actor of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Sarah Bernhardt appeared in numerous stage plays and some early motion pictures. Born 22 October 1844 in Paris, Sarah never had aspirations to be an actor as a child. She actually wanted to be a nun. This was due in large part to the fact that she was raised in a convent. Sarah's mother considered her a burden to her lifestyle and had her placed in said convent at a young age. 

But Sarah's wily nature wasn't really suited to the sisterhood, a fact noticed by a friend, the Duke of Morny (Napoleon III's half-brother and one of her mother's lovers). He believed that acting would be the perfect vocation for her energetic disposition. So at the age of 16 she entered the Paris Conservatoire. For one reason or another she didn't do well at the Conservatoire, and she left in 1862. But it seems her time there, however unsuccessful academically, gave her the acting bug. Calling upon the help of the Duke of Morny again, she was accepted into Comédie-Française (France’s national theater company). Interestingly, again she did not excel. In fact, her on-stage presence was considered somewhat lack-lustre. Be it stifled or unsuited to the requirements of the Comédie-Française, Sarah rebelled, and even went so far as to slap a fellow actress. Consequently, her contract was terminated in 1863.

This might seem like the end of a potential acting career. But not for Sarah! She tried a different theatre company, the Théâtre du Gymnase-Dramatique. This was the beginning of sweeping changes in her life. She managed to remain with this theatre company for a time - impressive for Sarah! Then during this time she gave birth to her only child, Maurice. Perhaps this event helped settle her or she became happier with her place in the world, but something in her changed. 

In 1866, Sarah's acting career truly began. She signed a contract to work with the Odéon Theatre. Her reputation quickly grew and in 1869 she starred in a one-act play Le Passant (The Passerby) by François Coppée, in front of an audience including Napoleon III.

Sarah had at long last found her true niche. By 1880 she assembled her own travelling theatre company and embarked on a world tour, which included Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States. She became especially popular in the United States. This tour made her an international star.

Sarah was always excited by new technologies. And around the turn of the century a new-fangled idea was being bandied about. The idea of motion pictures. Sarah latched on to the idea and she appeared in some of the earliest movie productions. These movies included a 1900 version of Hamlet (in which she played Hamlet) and La Tosca in 1908.

In 1905 Sarah injured her right knee while on stage in South America. This injury never healed and for ten years she battled with the pain it caused, until the leg became gangrenous and had to be amputated. But this didn't stop her. She continued to act, often while seated, or if need be while wearing a prosthetic leg (which she despised!). She also took up writing. Her memoir My Double Life was published in 1907. Her first novel Petite Idol followed in 1920. She also wrote a manual for aspiring actors, The Art of Theater in 1923. Sarah Bernhardt died that same year. After her death she was immortalised with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A fitting salute to a truly amazing woman!

***

On 16 May 1945 France issued a stamp in honour of Sarah Bernhardt. This truly gorgeous stamp was designed and engraved by Pierre Gandon based on a painting by Bastien Lepage. The stamp has a face value of 4f with a 1f surcharge for the benefit of the Grand Coq in Pont-aux-Dames. a retirement home for dramatic artists. 

The attention to detail in this engraving is staggering. Sarah's hair has so much life and energy, one expects it to start moving about. Ans Sarah's clothing has been superbly rendered.

***

Notwithstanding the details, there is another very interesting aspect of this stamp. Something rather strange. Do you see it? Let's look down at the bottom right of the stamp.

The stamp clearly has the name Mazelin as the engraver. Why is this so? Did I make a mistake earlier in attributing this stamp to Gandon? No, I wasn't wrong. Gandon did indeed engrave this stamp. So why isn't his name on it? Well, to answer that we need to remember when this stamp was engraved.

At this point in 1945 World War II was drawing to a conclusion, and in France the Vichy Government had been deposed. Anything done within the Vichy Government was now considered faux pas. This included stamps that Pierre Gandon engraved for the Vichy Government, particularly the Tricolour Legion. Click HERE to see my blog on these stamps. As punishment for his work for the Vichy Regime, Gandon had been banned from working for the France Post for a period of three months by the new administration. But Gandon had to keep working to bring in an income. So to deal with this situation his friend and fellow stamp engraver, Charles Mazelin, agreed to put his name to the stamp. Interestingly, to this day, the Stanley Gibbons France catalogue  still attributes the stamp to Charles Mazelin!

***

There is one last interesting note I'd like to include. Whilst searching the net for information on Sarah Bernhardt I found a nice image of Gandon's artist proof for this stamp. Interestingly, the proof does not include the 1f surcharge. It was obviously added later, probably by an in-house engraver? Or was Gandon called upon to alter the design to include the surcharge?

Until next time...

The collection is growing!

I am officially super excited! An ebay auction for the France 1946 Airmail set by Gandon just finished and I won it for US $4.25, which I think is pretty good value.

***

But that's not all. Today I also won an auction for a France 1945 set, which includes all of the Marianne de Gandon definitives and the two other regular stamps he engraved that year.

***

And to top it all off, while browsing yesterday, I found a set of Buy It Now 1945 large format Marianne de Gandon's with a couple of the stamps bearing ink flaws for just a few dollars. At least I think they are ink flaws.

So right at this time I am one very happy camper! Suffice to say I won't be doing much in the way of spending now for a couple of weeks!!

Until next time...