The story today is of a man fascinated by the stars while those around him stared at his nose. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, conduct a bladder check, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
The stamp today is Danish. Aesthetically it is a disappointment. The man on the stamp wore a prosthetic nose made of brass. Given the purpose of the stamp is to remember Mr. Brahe, it might have been nice to include his most memorable feature. No such luck. Perhaps something to do with his career in astronomy. No. This stamp is a poor effort on the part of the Danish Postal Authorities.
Todays issue is A56, a 20 ore stamp issued by Denmark on December 14 1946. The stamp remembers the 400 anniversary of the birth of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. It was a single stamp issue and is worth 30 cents in its mint condition.
Tycho Brahe was born to a noble family in Scandia in what was then Denmark. Scandia lies at the southern tip of Sweden. The people at the time were ethnically and linguistically Danish. Brahe was well educated at schools throughout Europe and developed an interest in astronomy. His family wanted him to take on more noble duties but he found a benefactor in the Danish King Fredrick II, who named him royal astrologer.
Tycho got in a dispute that ended in a duel. In a swordfight in the dark he lost most of his nose and had a bad scar on his forehead. He was fitted with a prosthetic nose that was glued to his face. He told people it was made of gold but it later proved to be made of brass.
Five years later he met a girl named Kristen and fell in love. She was a commoner so legally they were not allowed to marry. Denmark did have a rule though that if such a couple lived together as man and wife for three years that the marriage was legal. However the man stays noble, the wife and any children remain common and cannot inherit titles. The royal court ignored Kristen and the eight children.
Mr. Brahe’s contribution to astronomy were realizing the other planets orbited the sun rather than the Earth. He also realized that a supernova was the creation of a new star and therefore the celestial bodies are not fixed forever as was then believed. What he was wrong about was that the sun did not revolve around an unmoving earth. He was the last of the astronomers to make many of his observations with his bare eyes.
When King Fredrick died, the regency of his son chose not to continue supporting Mr. Brahe. He had many detractors in the court including many in the Lutheran Church. Tycho eventually found another benefactor in the Holy Roman Emperor and moved to Prague. There Kristen was accepted as noble.
During a noble ball in 1601 tragedy struck. The festivities went on for quite a period and Tycho felt it would violate rules of etiquette to excuse himself to urinate. By the time he arrived home he was in terrible pain and could no longer relieve himself as his bladder had burst. He was 55. It was rumored he was poisoned by the Danish Royals but his remains were exhumed in Prague in 2010 and they discovered that his bladder indeed burst and that his nose was made of brass.
Well my drink is empty and if you will excuse me I will take a rest break before pouring another. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.