A Christmas letter

Dear Australia Post,

Re: Boring-slash-ugly Christmas 2012 Stamps

So, the thing is, I like stamps. 'Like' is a little bit of an understatement. I get pretty excited about beautiful stamps. I am sure I don't have to tell you why I find stamps so wonderful, but basically stamps encompass three delightful elements in miniature:

• Design: check; 
• History: Check; 
• Functionality: Check.

You will notice that the first reason I like stamps is to do with the design. Stamps are aesthetically pleasing little items. And therein is the reason for this letter, and the crux of my beef with you:
                 What is with the ugly Christmas stamps?
                 Seriously.

To be fair, two of the five stamps are gorgeous. The other three are dreadful. These are the stamps I like:

Hot

They are beautiful. Images from a wool and silk tapestry at the Art Gallery of South Australia depicting the adoration of the Magi. Traditional, yes, but also elegant, rich and beautiful.

I understand that we live in a secular society and that there probably needs to be some "non-religious" offerings on the philatelic front.  I don't have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is the fact that they are ugly stamps.

Not*

The naive style is supposed to reflect a child's excitement and wonder at Christmas time. So how come the stamps look like some cheap banner decorating a tacky shopping centre? Puke.

Naive style at Christmas can be done well. Unsuprisingly, those clever Scandinavian's have accomplished a sophisticated design, aesthetically appealing and containing a similar subject matter to our current stamps:

Aren't the Swedish parcels cute and interesting compared to the awful pressies depicted on our stamp? And check out the depiction of a parcel on this stamp from the Netherlands - simple but sweet:

Now I think these are Christmas stamps worth getting excited about. To be fair, my favourite of all are the tapestry stamps from our issue. But in terms of naive style, the Europeans have it. Perhaps something to aim for next year, Australia Post?

With sincere hopes that you enjoy constructive criticism,

Helen.

PS. I am totally available should you wish to hire me. I am a historian, so could research your stamp issues. And as a bonus I could give you design advice: Helen's 'hot or not?' for stamps. You know, if you want.

*Images stolen from the Australia Post shop.  Should you wish to purchase the ugly stamps (although I would highly recommend the beautiful ones), check out this link.

Swedish treats: Forstadagsbrev Part 2

Earlier this week on my blog I was sharing some Swedish First Day Covers that my parents recently brought back as souvenirs for me.  As I was going through the process of putting them up, I realised that a couple of them were perfect for this week's Sunday Stamps, which is all about folk costumes and traditions. So for that reason I held off sharing them all at once, and now bring you Forstadagsbrev Part II.

This first cover features Swedish national costumes and quite a wonderful postmark. The little brochure inside the envelope explains that "all over the country costumes with local characteristics were worn by the farmers and peasants until the middle of the 19th century".  Apparently the apparel would always signal a woman's marital status, through the type of hair style or head dress worn.

Brooches were another important element of the costume, and therefore feature separately on two of the stamps. The 90 kroner stamp features a brooch from the province of Jamtland and the 1.30 kroner stamp comes from Smaland.

The second cover I want to share features Swedish folk art, and I think you will agree it is pretty beautiful. Again the postmark is worth noting, featuring an Adam and Eve motif.

But, that is not to overshadow the stamps themselves, of course:

The art is described as "Peasant Painting" and according to the brochure in the FDC, the style emerged in the mid-18th century and its heyday lasted for about a century.

That's it from me this Sunday, folks. I hope you have enjoyed this addition of Sunday Stamps... it is the first time in a little while I have managed to escape the confines of my own Australia-biased collection. I hope that spices things up a bit!

To check out what other bloggers have found inspiring in the way of folk traditions, click on the button below:

(And if you are extra keen to find out more about national costumes, you might be interested in this post from the very early days of my blog, when I looked at Mongolian traditional dress.)

Swedish treats: Forstadagsbrev Part 1

Last week I bought a desk. A beautiful wooden desk with seven drawers to hide all my stuff in. As a result, I spent the weekend finally unpacking the last box from my move to North Fitzroy... which happened four months ago!

Anyhow, as I was unpacking said box, I found these wonderful first day covers that my parents brought back from their trip to Sweden earlier this year. As they gave them to me just as I was moving, I put them in this box and promptly forgot all about their very existence. So, boy was I delighted when I found them the other day. This first one is my favourite, for three very good reasons:



             1) Map Postmark
             2) Viking ship stamps
             3) Map and flag illustration on envelope.

There is not much more you can ask for, in a first day cover, really. And this particular cover taught me the Swedish for first day cover:

              FORSTADAGSBREV

I like the ring of it.

Now, I have always been partial to Vikings, but I am especially more so since watching the entire series 1 - 5 of True Blood over the course of the past two months... Those of you who have seen it will hear what I am saying, but basically, Eric Northman makes me want to move to Sweden. Anyhow, all desire for undead Viking Vampires aside, you have to admit the woodcut design viking ships featured on the stamp are pretty special.

And speaking of ships, this next cover features the Vasa, sunk in 1628 and now housed in a museum in Stockholm.

The FDC

The ship in the museum

The Vasa is a war ship from the time in the 17th century when the Swedes were a force to be reckoned with, and had acquired power over much of the Baltic area. In 1961 the shipwreck was salvaged, and the stamps feature some of the different sculptures that would have adorned the ship.

I visited the museum in Stockholm that houses the Vasa in 2006, and I have to say that it was one of the highlights of my stay in the city. Not only is the Vasa fascinating because it represents a time in history when Sweden was an imperial power and because the ship is almost a microcosm of society, but the thought of the archaeology of an underwater salvage is enough to float my boat (sorry! I couldn't help it!).  The pamphlet that comes with the FDC (issued in 1969) states "the restoration of the ship continues - a puzzle with more than 10,000 pieces." And that right there, my friends, is why I love archaeology!

Since I have actually been to see the ship featured on the stamp, I am doubly pleased that Mum and Dad picked this one out as a souvenir to bring back for me. It is pretty great, you have to agree.

There is one last FDC that I am going to share with you now from my little Swedish collection, just because I think it is beautiful:

The stamps on this last cover illustrate scenes from the Arctic Circle, in northern Sweden, where on the summer solstice the sun is above the horizon for 24 hours.

The one showing the Northern Lights is my favourite of the group... and it has taught me yet more Swedish: 

NORRSKENS FORSKNING

The Northern Lights - totally up there on my list of things/places that I simply must see before I die.

Thanks for tuning into I heart post for another week... and watch this space for still more Swedish delights in Part II of this post, which I will be uploading on Sunday. Until then, keep it real, nerds and hipsters. Over and Out. H.