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Belgian Congo 1923, Showing off a non existent “Ubangi Man”

I like when a colony displays through it’s stamps the local culture. Therefore I was excited to study up on the Ubangi tribe upon spotting this stamp. Except there is no Ubangi tribe. Well maybe the name changed. A little south a tribe has gone from being called hottentots to bushmen to sen. No, the tribe doesn’t exist and never has. 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.

Belgium probably knew what tribes it was dealing with in their Congo colony. A hint into how this stamp happened may be the engravers note at the bottom. The American Bank Note Company. A farm out stamp, from the place the Ubangi myth began.

Todays stamp is issue A33, a 20 Centimes stamp issued by the Belgian Congo Colony in 1923. It was part of a 26 stamp issue in various denominations displaying the local culture, economy, and animals of the Congo. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents unused.

There is a tradition among some African women to have their lower lip pierced so then it can be stretched and an ornamental disc put in. This mainly happened among the Mursi tribe of Ethiopia. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus imported a few of the women to the USA as part of their freak show of tall, short, and fat people. The circus wanted them to sound exotic. So after consulting an African map, they were named Ubangi. There is a river by that name.

Period Circus Poster
Modern Mursi woman with ornamental disc installed
Modern Mursi women showing the lower lip pierced and stretched but without disc installed. Notice also her earlobe

W. C. Fields later used the term in movies he wrote to refer to Africans. He liked to use terms unknown that sounded vaguely dirty to get around or at least lampoon the strict sexual censorship of the time. He also invented mother of pearl.

I mentioned that Ubangi really is a river. It also now refers to a group of languages mainly spoken in the Central African Republic. Yes here too, the name came from whites.

Well my drink is empty and so I will have to wait till tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

 

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Hungary 1972, remembering those lost in the war, at least some of them

The Hungarian Army lost many comrades during the war. However for the most part they were fighting as allies of Germany in order to reclaim the land lost at the end of World War I. Hungary fell to the Red Army and was not going to get back any lost land, so those lost in that struggle were going unremembered. That does not mean Hungarian Communists could not find a list of approved victims, and give them stamps. 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.

Poet Miklos Radnoti, not his real name, was one of the victims chosen to be part of this issue of stamps issued on the thirtieth anniversary of their war deaths. Seven leaders were chosen, none had served in combat units that had taken such a beating in Stalingrad and elsewhere. This fellow even had a pen name identifying him with a place in Bohemia where he had ancestors, instead of his own Budapest birthplace. Still enough of a Hungarian hero for government work.

Todays stamp is issue A494, a 1 Forint stamp issued by Hungary on November 11th, 1972. Mr. Radnoti received a single stamp. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether used or unused. There is an imperforate version of the stamp that ups the value to $3.00.

Miklos Radnoti, then Glatter, was born into a wealthy family of Jewish merchants. His twin brother was stillborn and his mother died in the aftermath of childbirth. He was raised with the family of a strict uncle. He received university training in business and married but was pining for a different life in the arts. Luckily  for Radnoti, that’s what money is for and he quit the family firm and studied philosophy and French  at the University of Szeged. He earned a PhD there. He then set out as a poet. He was helped in this by the fact that his father in law headed an important Hungarian publisher.

His work was mainly romantic  views of simple peasant life as he had viewed previously as a merchant. Today many of the chronicles we have of this long ago East European life comes from the class of mainly Jewish merchants that interacted with them. The peasants themselves did not return the love to the merchants, as they often felt taken advantage of.

In 1940, Radnoti was drafted into an army construction battalion set aside for Jews. The government did not trust the Jews to fight for them if armed. He ended up working at a copper mine in Bor, Serbia. This was a massive operation and Radnoti was promoted to Kapo, a supervisory position. At this point Radnoti and his wife professed a conversion  to Catholicism, probably to improve his lot. In October 1944, the unit gave up on the copper mine with the enemy approaching and began marching back toward Hungary. The government had gotten much more right wing that month and the Jews of the battalion did not see a future in Hungary. 20 of the 3600 marchers refused to go on and were shot near Abda, Hungary. Radnotti was 35.

Radnotti has several statues to him around Hungary and a large school named in his honor. Many of the Communist figures have been downgraded in esteem by the modern Hungary. So far Radnoti’s heritage has saved him that fate. His widow lived till 2014 so there was also still someone to make his case.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another for those that had to go to great lengths to survive a war they did not believe in. Not all made it through. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Japan 1991, Japan’s Heisei period brings in decline, the child’s ways and the herbavore man

When an economy changes, society follows. Japan was still an advanced rich country, but I bet they never thought a few economic reverses could have the men go from the hard working, hard drinking company man to the comic book and anime loving herbivore man in one generation. 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.

The stamp today was drawn by a child showing old style folk dancers. It was a four stamp issue displaying the chosen winners of an international design contest. In addition to the folk dancers, there were butterflies, flowers and a depiction of world peace. Not really my type of thing. The next issue from was Kabuki performers. This issue shows much better what possible from stamp designing professionals and the contrast shows why it might best be left to them.

Todays stamp is issue A1601, a 62 Yen stamp issued by Japan on May 31st, 1991. It was a four stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents used.

In 1989 Emperor Hirohito died and was replaced by his son Akihito as the 125th Japanese Emperor. His period is referred to as the Heisei era. The change coincided with some pretty radical changes in the economy. The economy had grown greatly on an export driven boom that sent Japanese manufactured goods aimed at the middle class around the world but especially to the USA. The resulting foreign exchange greatly boosted the value of the Japanese Yen and with that asset values of stocks and real estate. The hollowing out of the middle class in the USA and elsewhere and the emergence of lower cost South Korea following closely Japan’s playbook had a devastating effect. First the excesses in asset valuation disappeared over night. This reduction in wealth was felt immediately at the individual level. The hollowing out soon reached Japan’s manufacturers and  they were not able to sustain practices of lifetime employment that Japan perceived was so central to their superiority. Some may ponder the entitlement involved in just assuming that other places will forever pay for the privilege of Japanese goods in place of their own products. I wonder, as an American, how it was allowed to happen in the first place.

Younger Japanese men no longer had such promising careers to look forward to despite ever higher levels of educational achievement. They took to continuing youthful pursuits such as video games, anime, and comic books. Japan has remained a leader in those fields even as those giant Japanese conglomerates from another era struggle.

So we get to the herbivore man. They are insulted as grass eaters and sexless based on them not marrying or, I guess we have to list this separately now, fathering children. It is however a global truth that women will not marry men if they are not advanced economically by the union. So the marriage and child birth rate declined directly with the collapse in economic opportunity for men. In Japan as in most places, women are ever more in the workforce but there has not been a corresponding growth in out of wedlock births as elsewhere. This may be some evidence of the herbivore slight. Oriental Asian men do have on average lower levels of testosterone. The preponderance of an Asian style diet among American young men  facing similar economic challenges has resulted in the “soy boy” slight.

Well my drink is empty and I think my wife and I will have a cheeseburger for dinner. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Dubai 1971, coming from nowhere to be a TV powerhouse

As of the time of this stamp, Dubai did not yet have a TV station. It was coming though. 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.

Dubai’s last stamps were in 1972 as the United Arab Emirates took over a universal postage service. As such Dubai can be forgiven for jumping the gun to show off it’s upcoming TV station. The station would be a rival to Abu Dhabi’s TV station that opened in 1969. So a united UAE might not have been so excited by it. The stamp shows the Intelsat satellite, that first brought the world the Beatles singing “All you need is Love”. It also shows Sheik Rashid bin Said who was then transitioning from Dubai’s leader to the united UAE leader.

Todays stamp is issue A25, a 10 Riyal stamp issued by the Emirate of Dubai in 1971. It was part of a 10 stamp issue in various denominations showing new construction in Dubai. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 85 cents used.

Oil was discovered in 1966 and got into production in 1968. Before that Dubai got by as a British Protectorate/ trading post whose biggest industry was pearl diving. That industry had been greatly challenged by Japan’s innovations in offering cultured pearls. In 1967 Great Britain announced that they were scaling back their worldwide commitments and ending Protectorate status. At the same time India devalued the Rupee which was still the local currency. The oil discovery really couldn’t have come at a better time. Old rivalries with Abu Dhabi were put aside and the United Arab Emirates were formed.

One thing that had been learned from the British was the value of opening up to the people of the world, as was so beneficial to places like Hong Kong and Singapore. Dubai did this not just in terms of contract workers but took it to the next level in opening tax and tariff free zones to incubate new industries that could then offer much employment not tied to the finite resource of the oil. In terms of television broadcasting Dubai formed a Media Free Zone that enabled broadcasters from around the world to produce and distribute content. Dubai’s home grown television station was not left out. Soon it added a second channel offering programing  aimed at the expatriates offering western shows and offerings in Hindi. The area now produces programing including news, cultural shows, religious programing, as well as soap operas, dramas and even children’s cartoons.

It is hoped that the diversification of the economy will be a enough to keep the boom going after the oil runs out. As of now, the belief is that the oil will runout in 2029. The government believes by then it will be able to keep revenues at 90 % of the 2013 level. Over time it is hoped that there will be enough qualified locals to replace most contract workers and the country will still benefit from it’s unique and long standing trade relationship with Iran, that much of the world shuns.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Sheik Rashid bin Said, who ruled from 1959-1990. Faced with challenges, he sought out opportunity. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Great Britain? year, The Philatelist nominates this to be the final postage stamp

With Iceland announcing the end of their postage stamp issuance and with small country farm outs ever less connected with the country or origin, I have been wondering about what the end of postage stamp issuance would look like. Therefore a modest proposal. 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.

If this were the last stamp, think how much of the 180 years of the hobby of stamp collecting could be included. The British Penny Black was the first stamp and in itself a major reform of the postal system. Copied all over the world. William Wyon’s 1837 Victoria profile became so recognizable that it was used for her whole Reign without ever requiring even including the country name on the stamp. Arnold Machin’s profile of a timeless Queen Elizabeth II has now lasted even longer and the two basic images together work so well. Make this the last stamp.

The Penny Black was the first postage stamp. Previously to mail one had to go to the post office and pay the post master who would then initial the top corner of the envelope. It was realized that selling stamps in sheets would greatly ease commercial mailing by enabling pre payment. The increased mail volume would allow a drop in price for a standard domestic letter to one penny regardless of distance. This was a third of the previous rate which added heavily for distance. The stamp was elaborately engraved on high quality paper to avoid counterfeiting. Gum on the back and perforations would come later. The penny black was not completely successful in one regard. The red cancelation on the black stamp could be washed off by sly re-users. In 1842 the penny black was replaced by a penny red of the same design that used a permanent black cancelation.

In the early days of Elizabeth II’s Reign, a three quarter face portrait picture by Dorothy Wilding was used on the stamps. This was controversial among some stamp designers as it took up so much of the stamp. There was also a push to remove the Sovereign from the stamp and add UK to the stamps. This was promoted by left politician and then Postmaster General Tony Benn. By the mid 1960s even the Queen herself could see the issue of continued use of the dating Wilding portrait was not optimal. A new competition was held with the Queen to pick the winner.

The winner was Arnold Machin’s profile that was originally a bas-relief in clay done from pictures by Lord Snowden. He originally included the Queen holding a bouquet of flowers but decided on simplifying it before submission. Elizabeth is wearing the George IV State Diadem crown dating from 1820 and also worn by Victoria in the Wyon profile. The image was also used on coinage starting with decimalization in 1968 and earlier on Rhodesian coins. Elizabeth’s image was updated on the coins in the 1980s but she sensibly refused the suggestion to update the stamp image. Machin got his own stamp in 2007 and his work of art is the most commonly reproduced in the history of the world, 320 billion times to date.

A note about inflation. This stamp shows a value of 20 Pence, below the current rate of 70 Pence. If you adjust the 1840 1 Penny for inflation and decimalization, it works out to 35 Pence. For a final issue and everyone’s last letter mailed, why not go back to one penny for a day or even a week. Think of the final volume and remember you are still benefiting from decimalization! There are no longer 240 Pennies in a Pound.

Well my drink is empty and I can’t claim any influence on how things will end. This stamp wouldn’t be the worst. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting

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Wallis & Futuna 1930, local Kings bend but do not break toward France

How to accept European help without forsaking the local culture? It wasn’t an easy question in the 19th century, nor in the 21st. 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.

On a small group of islands, there is a tendency to try to administer them jointly with similar far off south Pacific French Colonies. Hence the New Caledonia stamp overprinted for postal service in Wallis and Fortuna Island. This of course leaves some potential revenue on the table from the international stamp collector. Since World War II Wallis and Futuna have been well supplied  with farmed out topical stamp issues.

Todays stamp is issue A19, a 1 Centime stamp issued for use in Wallis and Futuna by French colonial authorities based in New Caledonia beginning in 1930. It was a 42 stamp issue in various denominations that came out over 14 years. According to the Scott catalog, this stamp is worth 25 cents unused. A version with a double overprint is worth $200. There are also later rival versions from wartime. A version without the RF in the top left corner means it was issued by Vichy France. These never reached the colony for use. There is a rival version with France Libre overprinted above the existing Wallis and Futuna overprint. These did make it to island service after the islands went Free French and are worth $2.50. The islands initially pledged to Vichy France but changed sides when the USA Marines landed.

The first humans on Wallis and Futuna were the Lapita ancestors of the Polynesians. Futuna was first spotted by the Dutch and Wallis by the British. The first Europeans to land in 1837 were French Catholic Missionaries. The group was lead by Priest and later Saint Peter Chanel. At first Chanel had very little luck but slowly made some conversions. When the King’s son was Baptized that was perceived as going too far as the King saw himself as both King and High Priest of the island. He sent his son in law, a noted warrior, to his son and the two fought. Injured, the son in law sought out Father Peter for help. While Father Peter tended his wounds, other warriors ransacked his house and then bludgeoned Father Peter to death. The areas Bishop than arraigned for a French naval ship to visit to recover the body. The body recovered, the area was now much more willing to convert and three tribal Kings petitioned France to become French Protectorates. Even the son in law now readily converted and even asked that he be buried next to Father Peter Chanel. That way, people trampling over him to pay respects to Father Peter would demonstrate forever his contrition. Chanel was Beatified in 1889, his remains having returned to France. Natives invented a dance called the eke that shows their regret over what happened to Peter Chanel. It includes much whacking of sticks.

Saint Peter Chanel

There have been almost constant clashes between the three native Kings on Wallis and Futuna and the French Colonial authorities. In 2005, King Tomasi Kulimoetoke II’s grandson was involved in a drunk driving incident where he killed a pedestrian on New Years Eve. He was granted asylum in the Palace causing a four month standoff with the police who wanted to try him for manslaughter. The King suggested the French give up the island but instead he gave up his grandson for prosecution.

Wallis King Tomasi Kulimoetoke II

The local Kings are really in no place to dictate to the French. French subsidies are 80 % of the economy and for every native that still lives on the islands there are two that have moved on to greener pastures in France. The islands shrinking population are dependent on these remittances.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast the Dutch and the British explorers who spotted the islands but kept sailing. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Argentina 1954, Remembering Evita the Peron way before the General’s coup that is to be remembered as the liberating revolution

Everything in Argentine history is remembered based on ones political views. So here 2 years after her death, we see Evita remembered in her glory with Peron still in power. The next year his elected government was replaced violently by a military general of British ancestry. The General’s  side remembers that as a “Liberating Revolution”. Fun place Argentina. 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.

Peron era stamps are a feast for stamp collectors. I have done a few here https://the-philatelist.com/2018/11/21/argentina-1954-peron-invokes-ceres-to-enobile-the-grain-exchange/   , and here https://the-philatelist.com/2017/11/03/paying-extra-to-celebrate-the-art-of-stamp-designing/   . They just presented things with so much drama. Toward the end of Peron’s first rule, inflation was bettering the country and this is reflected is a reduction of print quality of this stamp. Reality has a way of showing through.

Todays stamp is issue A236, a three Peso stamp issued by Argentina in 1954. It was a single stamp issue remembering Evita Peron on the second anniversary of her death. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 50 cents used.

Evita Peron was born illegitimately in humble rural circumstances. At the age of 15, she ran off with a tango musician to relatively wealthy Buenos Aires. She died her hair blond and sought employment as a singer dancer and actress. She had some success at this especially on radio soap operas. In 1944 at age 25, she met Juan Peron at a benefit for survivors of an earthquake. He was then Labor Minister and suggested that she organize a new labor union for those in the performing arts. This happened and was the first government recognized union with Evita the elected leader. She married Peron the next year and campaigned successfully with him for President the next year. She lead a special outreach to the poor working class that she referred to as Descamisodos, those without even shirts.

As First Lady she continued her outreach to the poor and championed female voting in her own Peronist female only political party. Peron’s foreign policy was isolationist so to reduce foreign influence in Argentina. So instead of a European Head of State tour Evita was sent alone on a “Rainbow Tour” of Europe. She caused a sensation in Spain, Portugal, and France but was only granted a perfunctory audience with the Pope and the British part of the tour was cancelled when officials refused to receive her.

As first lady, Evita made some changes to her official history. A new birth certificate showed her legitimate and three years younger. She then changed laws that disadvantaged those born illegitimate. The legal term was changed to natural children. In the new version of her history, her move to Buenos Aires included her mother and she then was chaperoned by old family friends.

After a failed run to be Peron’s vice president, Evita fell ill. She suffered from cervical cancer that resulted in fainting spells and severe vaginal bleeding. An American surgeon was imported for aggressive treatment that included a full historectomy, Argentina’s first chemotherapy, and a full frontal lobotomy to reduce her anxiety. Evita died in 1952 at her preferred age or thirty.

Evita near her death with her hair a wig and relying on President Peron to hold her up

In 1955 much was made in military and business circles of the over the top nature with which the Perons were presented. Peron answered that his way was more naturally Hispanic and only looks strange to those of English heritage. He was overthrown in a coup known as a “Liberating Revolution” and it was the General’s turn to edit out the English aspects of their heritage.

Well my drink is empty and I will happily pour another to toast Evita. After all of Broadway can for so many years, so can I. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

 

 

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Spain, going down a slippery slope with Aragon

Coming together was a slow process many centuries ago with Spain. In the 1970s and 1980s several regions demanded more autonomy from a more weak central government. This stamp celebrates the granting of autonomy to Aragon in 1982. Since then they have granted more and more. 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.

What stands out to me most on this stamp is showing the flag of the old Kingdom of Aragon, Not even alongside the Spanish flag. Sometimes the left’s disdain for flag waving gets in the way of the gentle reminder that Aragon was still a part of Spain.

Todays stamp was issue A652, a 16 Peseta stamp issued by the Kingdom of Spain on April 23rd, 1984. It was a single stamp issue although there was a similar stamp later in the year celebrating the autonomy granted Madrid. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether used or unused.

Aragon was part of the Roman Empire until that collapsed and the area was occupied by the Visigoths. In 714, the Muslims arrived in the area and set up the Taifa of Zargoza. Later the area was liberated by the Kingdom of Pamplona under Sancho the Great. Aragon was then a province of Pamplona. As Sancho’s royal line petered out after the death of Sancho IV, a new royal line emerged from Aragon. In 1469, Philip of Aragon married Isabella of Castile and Spain was united and Christian. There was quickly some tension with Aragon as Castilian Viceroys were appointed to govern Aragon.

After the death of Franco in 1975 the central government of Spain took a hard turn to the left. Soon there were large protests in Zargoza demanding self rule for the region. This was granted in 1982. A local parliament was set up called a Cort. It did not have much power but created many more available positions for out of work would be lefty politicians. Perhaps realizing that the people had been had and their cause subsumed, the people demanded and received further devolutions of central government power in 1992 and 2007.

One thing Spanish from the many would break away regions to consider is this. If and when the Muslims come for Aragon as they did in 714 AD. Will the amount of autonomy granted mean the then Spanish King will decide it is their job to handle. After all, nothing says freedom and independence like a reconstituted Taifa of Zargoza.

Well my drink is empty and so I will have to wait for tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Austria 2000, recognizing at least 100 years of Vienna’s Philharmonic

The Vienna Philharmonic is one of the top orchestras in the world. Austrians might claim the top, while their German friends might point toward Berlin. My own towns quite good Philharmonic does not rise that high, despite recently replacing an Irish fellow with a Japanese one, a local man to conduct apparently not an option. Who the conductor is seems to matter a lot on this stamp, as it only recognizes 100 of the Philharmonic’s then 158 years. !00 years was when there was a young outsider brought in to modernize. 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.

I do like the visuals of the stamp. I simple view of a violin, is a nice way to emphasize the importance of the music. Claiming 100 years when the Philharmonic was formed in 1842 seems strange, but may not be as political as I assume. In 1942, Austria was part of Germany and distracted by the war. The Philharmonic was performing during that time, but missed out on a stamp recognizing the milestone.

Todays stamp is issue A1066, a 7 Schilling stamp issued by Austria on September 15th, 2000. It was a single stamp issue. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.25 used.

Before the Philharmonic was organized there were orchestral performance. They tended to be one time mash ups of professional and amateur mucisians. The German composer and conductor Franz Lachner began to meet with prominent Vienna citizens how met regularly at the pub Zum Amor. The idea was that there would be a subscription service that would then hire musicans. The musicians would all be professional and standards would be assured by hiring only those that had previously served for at least three years with the Austrian state Opera, then known as the Hofoper. The Philharmonic, it was first known as the Kunstiemverein, moved to it’s current home in the Musikverien in 1870.

Around the turn of the 20th century, there was a movement to modernize the music that was played. A young Bohemian, Gustav Mahler, was proposed as the new conductor. He had previously worked in Budapest where performing German pieces was considered cultural colonialism. Mahler tried to show his traditional bonefied by diecting tradition Wagner and Mozart pieces as part of his demonstrations. Once appointed though, his first was a Czech opera that involved nationalistic yearnings that were further stroked by the hero not dying in the end as it was written. This sent shock waves through Vienna. Remember this being the time of Bohemian, Hungarians, and Germans all being under the German Hapsburgs. Appointing not Germans resulted in sudden changes as to what was produced. I will leave for another day whether diversity was a strength or a can or worms. The stamp comes down clearly on one side.

Politics have been a part of the Philharmonic since. The 1930s saw the changes began by Mahler reversed as people were forced out or just moved on. Then there was the reversal with a new cleansing in the late 1940s. This does not sound like a formula for one of the top orchestras in the world. The answer to why it still is may lie in the fact that the original idea of professional musicians of long tenure with the state opera. Professional standards. The organization now gets around the controversy  appointing conductors by only having guest ones who serve for a season.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast founder Franz Lachner and perhaps play some Wagner. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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Denmark 1960, a small, crowded, rich country misleads on how it is done agriculturally

A small crowded country might have to bring in a lot of food. Same thing with industrial and consumer goods. Sounds like a formula for staying poor.  Yet somehow Denmark is prosperous. Maybe they considered carefully how to make the best of what they had. 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.

In the title, I hinted that the stamp is misleading with regard to agriculture. I don’t think the stamp designers meant it to be. They were told to put together a set of stamps showing off modern agriculture and did so. It is hard to make out what is going on with this stamp thanks to typically poor period Scandinavian printing, but it is showing a harvester combine as was used in wheat cultivation. They have the potential to look impressive and modern on a stamp, see https://the-philatelist.com/2019/06/19/nicaragua-1976-somoza-will-bleed-the-peasants-dry-and-then-automate-their-function/  , but have nothing to do with what was getting Denmark ahead. It is a better stamp that tells the real story.

Todays stamp is issue A79, a 30 Ore stamp issued by Denmark on April 28th, 1960. It was a three stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.

Agriculture up to the nineteenth century was not particularly successful. There was wheat and cereals to go with some raising of pigs. As the farms were smaller, costs were higher. Denmark was not very fertile as land to the west tended to be quite sandy and that in the east had a great deal of clay. Much money was expended in government programs adding topsoil that would allow for more fertility.

This was not enough as there was not enough land for the large, productive wheat farms that exist in the American midsection, Canada, Australia, and perhaps in old Soviet fantasies, the Ukraine. Those are where the combine harvesters shine.

What if though you could use what land you have to do a few things agriculturally mainly for export and that revenue could then be enough to import the more land intensive basic foodstuffs. There was an excess demand for dairy in the UK that could be satisfied by dairy farms on Jutland. Zealand is low lying and gets a healthy dose of rainfall. This is condusive to fast growing cereals. The pig raising is still a big part of things. This small crowded country manages not to have an agricultural trade deficit. Not what one might expect.

Well my drink is empty and I have a sudden desire to have some crackers with ham and cheese with the next round. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.