Arthur Guinness has the fairly unique situation of a brewery he started over 250 years ago being still around and being the leader in stout beers, that Arthur late in his career focused on. 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. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
Todays stamp is not very well printed as is typical of Ireland’s early stamp offerings. As the 50s became the 60s the stamps of Ireland became less religious and more Euro centered. That does not mean that Ireland does not still honour it’s past. Indeed, Arthur Guinness received another stamp issue on the 250th anniversary of his most famous brewery in 2009.
Todays stamp is issue A38, a 3 penny stamp issued by the Irish Republic on July 20th, 1959. It was a two stamp issue in different denominations with this one being the low value. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.
Arthur Guinness was born in 1725 in Ireland to an Anglican family. His godfather, an Anglican Archbishop bequeathed him 100 pounds in 1742. He used the money to start the first of his breweries. He was involved in several before taking on the one celebrated on this stamp. He had a lot of confidence in the success of the Dublin Brewery as he signed a 9000 year lease. A long lease worked as rent control for the brewery as now 45 pounds a year sounds very economical. Arthur married and by his one wife had 22 children, 10 of which lived into adulthood. Several of his children followed him into the brewery but others were Anglican clergy, politicians and soldiers in the British Indian Army.
Late in his career Guinness focused his brewing to a dark beer known as porter. It was stronger and aged for longer period. Over time the methods were economized with less aging and the type of beer began to be known as stout. This type of beer was better known to come from London but the world wars changed that. With war time shortages, London brewers were forced to water down there now limited offerings. These shortages and rules just did not apply in Ireland and so Guinness Breweries were able to really expand their market. The fact that the brewery has continued and prospered means the company takes an active part in marketing the memory of Arthur Guinness. His signature, taken from the 9000 year lease, is on every bottle and there is now a scholarship foundation funded by the company in his name.
Well my drink is empty and since it was stout I think it best to just open the conversation in the below comment section. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.