I Interview... Yazid from USA

A loyal follower of my blog, named Yazid, has graciously volunteered some of his time for an Albert Decaris Stamps! interview. I hope you enjoy it!

Q: When did you start collecting Decaris stamps?

A: About a year ago.

Q: What drew you to start collecting him?

A: I've seen many different engraved stamps, but Decaris had a unique style of engraved art. Very simple yet attractive to the eye.

Q: What is your favourite Decaris stamp, and why is it your favourite?

A: Well, there are plenty I like, but if I have to pick one, my favourite would definitely be Leonardo da Vinci issued on 1952. Decaris truly captures the essence of the great man, Leonardo da Vinci. You could say a giant historical figure engraved by a giant of the engraving world. It must have been an Honor for Decaris to be able to do that.

Q: Where do you usually get your Decaris stamps?

A: On ebay, but sometimes I use the French version of ebay, which tends to offer more possibilities to when searching for French stuff.

Q: What references do you like using? Which is your favourite?

A: I like wikitimbres.fr, which is a French web site. It includes technical details about the stamps and their production.

Q: Do you remember what your first Decaris stamp was?

A: I always like to start where the engraver's journey started. Albert Decaris’ first designed and engraved French stamp was the 1935 3f50 value depicting St. Trophime in  Arles.

Q: Do you collect any other engravers?

A: Yes. I also collect the work of Czeslaw Slania. I like his work a lot. I also admire other French engravers such as Gandon, Combet, Cami, Forget, to name a few. I have plenty stamps from each of these engravers, and some from other engravers, too. 

Q: What are your other stamp specialisms? 

A: I like French stamps, especially the French Colonies, but also collect stamps from Britain, Spain, and Belgium. You could say that I collect anything that catches my eye.

Q: How do you store your Decaris stamps? 

A: I use stock books and albums with black pages. The black pages, I feel, that enhance the artistry on the stamp.

Q: Do you have any collecting tips to share? 

A: There is no right or wrong way to collecting stamps! Collect what appeals to you. Also it's not how much we paid for each item that is important, it's how much fun we get out of them. That's my motto.

I'd like to thank Yazid for taking the time to participate in this little question and answer session! As always, if you are interested in being interviewed, post a comment below.

Until next time...

I Interview... Ed from Ottawa

A loyal follower of my blog, named Ed, graciously volunteered some of his time for an Albert Decaris Stamps! interview. Enjoy!

Albert Decaris Stamps!: Thank you very much for participating in my "I Interview..." series.
Ed: You are welcome.

Q: When did you start collecting Decaris stamps?

A: About 3 years ago.

Q: What drew you to start collecting him?

A: I have always collected paper ephemera and became interested in stamps. I had started a collection of German stamps and I was looking for more information and came across the 'Collecting by Engraver' posts on the Stamp Community Forum on the internet. It introduced me to Decaris as well as many other engravers.

Q: What is your favourite Decaris stamp, and why is it your favouritre?

A: If I had to pick just one it would be the S.S. Normandie passenger liner issued in 1935.

Q: Where do you usually get your Decaris stamps?

A: The internet, a local stamp shop, and a monthly stamp market in Ottawa, where I live.

Q: What references do you like using? Which is your favourite? 

A: The internet, namely the French site phil-ouest.com. Fortunately I grew up in Montreal, which is predominantly a French speaking city, so my French is pretty good.

Q: Do you remember what your first Decaris stamp was?

A: The Normandie stamp of 1935 - a used copy. Then I replaced it with a mint copy.

Q: When it comes to definitives in multiple values and omnibus issues with the same engraving, do you collect everything there is or do you collect just one example of each engraving?

A: I usually prefer to stick to one example of the stamp issue unless there is a re-release of the same design with subtle changes i.e. the Decaris Luxembourg stamp is a good example, and there are times all the other values are sold as a group, so I usually share those 'extras' with other collectors. Once you start collecting all values, it can get a bit crazy.

Q: Do you collect any other engravers?

A: Quite a few. I collect most of the French engravers, Slania, and a handful of the other European engravers as well. But my interest in engraved stamps begins to wane after the early 1980's.

Q: What are your other stamp specialisms?

A: I like First Day Covers - especially signed ones. Souvenir sheets. Cinderellas. I also like revenue stamps. The engraving of some of the earlier Canada Revenue stamps are quite ornate and spectacular.

Q: How do you store your Decaris stamps?

A: Vario-Lighthouse stock sheets that are housed in three ring binders.

Q: Do you have any collecting tips to share?

A: A lot of great examples of engraved stamps are still reasonably priced. Work within your budget. Invest in a good magnifying glass so you get a closer look at the engravers art. Better yet if you have a scanner, scan a stamp at 800-1200 dpi. You'd be amazed at the details it reveals, and at times it brings out the faults.

I'd like to thank Ed again for the interview. As always, if anyone else out there wishes to participate, please let me know in the comments.

Until next time...

I Interview... Roos Philately

Last year I decided to start doing a series called "I Interview..." in my Slania Crazy! blog. In this series I ask my fellow Slania collectors to talk about their own collections: what got them started; what draws them to keep collecting etc.. This series has proved quite popular, so I decided to do the same series in this blog.

The first Albert Decaris interview is with a fellow Aussie, who I speak to a lot over Facebook. We both share a love of engraved stamps including Decaris, and we have fun chatting about them. He goes by the name Roos Philately. So without further ado let's get into it. I hope you enjoy...

Albert Decaris Stamps!: First of all thanks for taking the time to have a chat, Roos.

Roos Philately: My pleasure.

Q: When did you start collecting Decaris stamps? 

A: I started collecting the stamps engraved by Albert Decaris in late 2015, so as you can imagine I am only new to his work.

Q: What drew you to start collecting him?

A: What started me collecting the stamps Decaris engraved was first seeing his work appearing on Facebook, in such places as the Group Albert Decaris Stamps & Art. After just seeing some of Decaris' stamps I said to myself, "I have to start collecting Decaris, his engravings are gorgeous."

Q: What is your favourite Decaris stamp, and why is it your favourite?

A: From the small number of stamps I have collected so far that were engraved by Decaris, my favourite has to be the France 1961 Pierre Fauchard (Dentist). The reason I like this stamp is for the detail and work put in to this little piece of artwork.

Q: Where do you usually get your Decaris stamps?

A: I usually purchase my Decaris engraved stamps from eBay or Delcampe.

Q: What references do you like using? Which is your favourite? 

A: The references I use are: 

• 1979 Stanley Gibbons France and Colonies Stamp Catalogue. 
• Stamp Engravers blog (run by Adrian Keppel), which has an excellent Albert Decaris section.

My favourite would have to be the blog, for one simple reason really, Adrian has listed most if not all the stamps that Decaris has engraved.

Q: Do you remember what your first Decaris stamp was?

A: My first Decaris stamp was not just a single stamp but half a hagner of stamps I found for sale on eBay.

Q: When it comes to definitives in multiple values and omnibus issues with the same engraving , do you collect everything there is or do you collect just one example of each engraving?
A: I try to collect everything there is.

Q: Do you collect any other engravers?

A: I do collect other engravers, they are Czeslaw Slania and Pierre Gandon, but no doubt there will be more lol.

Q: What are your other stamp specialisms?

A: Apart from collecting stamps engraved by certain engravers I also collect the stamps issued by Australia. I do enjoy the pre-decimal issues the most. 

Q: How do you store your Decaris stamps?

A: I store my Decaris stamps in Hagners.

Q: Do you have any collecting tips to share? 

A: The only tip I have is to enjoy philately and have fun with your collecting interests.

I'd like to thank Roos Philately again for taking part in this new series. If anyone else out there wishes to participate, please let me know in the comments.

Until next time...