Welcome readers to todays offering from The Philatelist. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. We have an interesting story to tell of a museum that is celebrated by a stamp, shortly before being destroyed in a civil war.
This is a great looking stamp. It is well printed and does a good job showing off the museum by putting it in the ancient social context of the area. Lebanon might have been newly independent and still greatly threatened, but there was many years of civilization in the area. At the time, Beirut was a major tourist place, mainly for beaches and nightlife. However, a trip to the museum might lead to a follow-up to the markets where the local handicrafts were available. All this leads to keeping skills and history alive.
The stamp today is issue C697, a 100 piasters stamp issued by Lebanon on December 1st, 1973. It shows the Museum of Handicrafts. It was part of an eight stamp issue in various denominations showcasing various Lebanese craft people. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.40 cancelled. A mint version would be worth $8.00.
Lebanon was successful and independent when this stamp was issued. There had been no trouble on the border with Israel between 1948-1968. This changed with a large influx of armed Palestinians mainly from Jordan who were intent on harassing Israel militarily. Egyptian President Nasser made an agreement that precluded the Lebanese armed forces from taking any action against these armed groups. This amounted to ceding southern Lebanon to the PLO. To get around the agreement, Christian armed militias formed to try to push out the PLO before Israel invaded. A spate of PLO hijackings lead Israeli commandos to attack Beirut airport and destroyed 10 Arab flagged airliners in retaliation. This understandably angered Lebanese Arabs who also formed an armed militia.
In 1975 all these armed militias and the PLO fought a civil war. For the most part the Lebanon army remained in barracks. Beirut was divided and saw much fighting over the next 17 years. Israel and Syria were also players in this fighting which did not let up when the PLO was removed in 1982-83.
When Beirut was divided into warring districts, one of the dividing lines was Museum row. The museums did there best to remove objects to basements and then seal up entrances but damage was still terrible. The basements flooded damaging much of what was attempted to be saved. The handicraft museum in Lebanon was put back together in 1993 and was privatized in 2007.
There are still groups trying to encourage the production of handicrafts in Lebanon. Ironically they specially seek out widows of the long civil war to learn the old skills and support themselves while preserving Lebanon’s long heritage.
Well my drink is empty and so it is time to open up the conversation in the below comment section. Were any of our readers able to tour the Maison de L’Artisan before it closed? How about after it reopened? Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.