Monaco 1993 - Princess Grace

Grace Kelly was born on 12 November 1929 to a wealthy family. In fact, her father was a successful Olympic athlete. From an early age Kelly showed an interest in acting. When she was 12, Kelly played the lead role in a play titled Don't Feed the Animals. When Kelly expressed a desire to pursue acting as a career, her father - expecting her to pursue something more 'meaningful' - was less than happy with her decision. In his eyes acting was 'a slim cut above streetwalker' (Wiki).

Despite family objections, Grace Kelly pursued her dream career of acting. She enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York where she excelled. Her professional acting career began on stage, the most notable role being her Broadway debut in Strindberg's The Father alongside Raymond Massey.

After her graduation, Grace Kelly came to the attention of Television producer, Delbert Mann. This meeting led to Kelly being cast in some sixty television shows. Her success on TV led to her first major motion picture role in 1951. She starred in the film Fourteen Hours. One day while Kelly was filming the movie, Gary Cooper happened to drop by. He was so impressed by her work that he chose to star alongside her in the film High Noon in 1951. Grace Kelly went on to star in several movies. She even won the Best Actress Oscar in 1954 for her role in The Country Girl.

At the age of 26 Grace Kelly retired from acting when she married Prince Rainier III. From then on she became known as Princess of Monaco. The royal couple had three children together: Caroline, Albert, and Stéphanie.

Grace Kelly, aka Princess Grace of Monaco, died on September 14 1982 as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident in the mountains of Monaco. Kelly suffered a stroke while driving and lost control of her car, driving it over a cliff. Miraculously her daughter, Stephanie, survived the accident.

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On 24 March 1993 Monaco and the USA released a joint issue stamp in remembrance of the death of Grace Kelly. The same design was used for both issues and the Engraver was Czeslaw Slania. Featured below is the stamp issued in Monaco.

This design, based on a photograph of Grace Kelly, is truly stunning. Slania has masterfully captured the softness of Kelly's face. This is further accentuated by the great choice of colour. This design is a truly fitting tribute to an amazing woman.

Until next time...

Stay Slania Crazy!

Dean Acheson

Czeslaw Slania worked with the postage service of the United States just a small number of times, but the limited collaboration produced some truly wonderful stamps. In this blog I'll be taking a good look at the 1993 US stamp depicting Dean Acheson.

Dean Acheson (1893-1971) was the Secretary of State for the United States of America bewteen 1949 and 1953 during the administration of Harry S. Truman. Now before you get too concerned,  I'm not going to sit here and prattle on about politics - a field I'll freely admit to having very little interest in. But it would be remiss of me not to mention a few things about the man. From a little research it appears that Acheson played a key role in helping President Truman navigate through the early days of the Cold War. He helped to design the Marshall Plan, which was an intiative to provide aid to Europe after WWII. The US gave some $13 billion to assist in the reconstruction of European economies. Acheson was also a central figure in the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - otherwise known as NATO.

One of the terrible results of global tensions from the Cold War was the eruption of the Korean War, often referred to as 'the forgotten war', which raged from 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953. The horrible nature of this war was well captured in the TV series MASH. MASH transformed this war from the 'forgotten war' to one that is now remebered. I mention the Korean War because Dean Acheson famously ( or infamously, whichever you prefer) convinced President Truman to intervene in the war in June 1950.

Now enough with the politics. Let us take a look at the stamp depicting Dean Acheson, engraved by Slania. I have always thought that portraits- and the details within - can be a great way to judge the skill of an engraver. There are many stamp engravers out there who have etched many fine portraits,  but to me none compare to Slania's incredible ability to etch such exquisite details in his portraits.

First, let's look at the full stamp, and then I'll look a bit closer at some of the details that I find captivating.

When I look at this stamp my eye seems to be drawn to the steepled fingers. A zoomed in shot reveals just how detailed the skin is. The creases and the wrinkles have been rendered so efficiently as to be almost three dimensional.

My eye is then drawn to the moustache. The lines are so crisp and life like that I fully expect his mouth to move and that moustache to bristle!

What areas of this stamp draw your eye?

Until next time...
Stay Stamp Crazy!

Aronuly Suinbai Banknote

The year 1993 was an auspicious one for the Republic of Kazakhstan. In this year currency was introduced to the country. The currency is known as Tenge.

Who better to engrave a banknote from the first series of banknotes for Republic of Kazakhstan? Why none other than The Master himself - Czeslaw Slania. 

From what I can ascertain, there were ten low value coins issued in this first series, and banknotes of the same denominations were also issued. Czeslaw Slania was responsible for engraving two of these banknotes - the 3 and 10 Tenge notes. In this blog I will take a close look at the 3 Tenge note.

The front (obverse) of the 3 Tenge note includes the portrait of Aronuly Suinbai (1815-1898). 

I have been unable to find a great deal of information on this man. What I have found comes from the website of Anne Mette Heindorff. Click HERE to view the page. Aronuly Suinbai was a gifted poet who had an innate talent for performance and improvisation. In his work we see reflected the traditions, life and culture of the Kazakhs. I wish I had been able to find some of his work on the net.

Let's now take a closer look at the amazing portrait on this banknote.

The beard of Aronuly Suinbai is a work of art in and of itself. Slania has managed to give the beard a sense of life and energy that seems to burst from the paper.. But it is to the eyes of the poet that I am immediately drawn. Slania has here given us a glimpse into the soul of the poet. We see warmth, vitality, burning curiosity, deep intelligence, and above all else a sense of true inner-piece. Staring into this man's eyes I feel like I have known him all my life, yet I yearn to learn more from him, to sit, spellbound, while he entertains with his enormous talent.

It is hard to turn from the hypnotic eyes of Aronuly Suinbai, but we must if we are to study the reverse of this lovely banknote.

On this side of the banknote Slania has engraved a stunning landscape scene in Alatau, Kazakhstan. Alatau is a province in south-east Kazakhstan. According to Wikipedia ... "it is notable for its Institute of Nuclear Physics."

As always...

Stay Slania Crazy!