France's 'Mouchon' 10c carmine, type I, of 1900
Louis-Eugène Mouchon was a prolific designer and engraver whose work can be seen on many stamp issues, not just from his native France but from countries across Europe and as far afield as Iran and Ethiopia.
Just one, a French definitive design of December 1900, is generally known by his name.
But it cannot really be said to be his moment of glory, as it was widely criticised, even during his lifetime.
Italian definitives in the first half of the 20th century were not known for their consistency of design.
The first three decades had seen various values added piecemeal to at least three different blueprints, and even the Imperiale and Democratica series of the 1930s and 1940s still comprised numerous different types.
Things had improved with the Provincial Occupations (or Italy at Work) series in 1950, which was recognisable as a cohesive collection rather than a motley range of designs, even if its large format made it awkward for everyday use.
Monaco’s Prince Rainier III is best remembered around the world as the monarch who married the beautiful film star Grace Kelly.
But
A keen collector himself, Rainier once called stamps ‘the best ambassador of a country’, and as soon he became the Sovereign Prince of Monaco he began promoting its philately.
In the year of his accession, 1950, he founded the Monaco Postal Museum and filled it with the collections of his predecessors, Prince Albert I and Prince Louis II.
There aren’t too many countries that can boast definitive sets that have run for over a century, but Denmark can.
Its ‘Wavy Lines’ series was first issued in 1905, and is still going strong today!
The design, by Julius Terchilsen, includes symbols from the Danish Coat of Arms, along with three waves intended to represent the three straits that connect the North Sea and the Baltic Sea: the Storebælt (Great Belt), Lillebælt (Little Belt) and Øresund.
There are three essential groups of these iconic stamps to collect.
The 5c rose-red was the workhorse of the Netherlands’ 1899-1923 Fur Collar definitive series, prepaying the inland postcard rate for a period of about 20 years
When a new series of definitives was needed by the Netherlands on the accession of Queen Wilhelmina in 1898, no Dutch artist managed to come up with a satisfactory portrait for the medium values.
So the French stamp designer Louis Mouchon, who had already done a lot of work for the printers, Enschedé, was invited to take up the challenge.
Partly as a result of this decision, the issue went far from smoothly.
In September 1890, when the use of Austrian postage stamps was extended to include postal orders and parcels, new values became necessary.
This no doubt encouraged a decision to replace the existing ‘Double Eagle’ stamps, in use since 1883, with a new definitive set depicting Emperor Franz Josef I.
This classic ‘Emperor’s Head’ series would remain in use for almost two decades, leaving plenty of varieties for collectors to study.
Of the many definitive sets issued during the 25-year reign of Belgium’s King Albert I, one stands out – not for its longevity (around three years) or its complexity (14 values, with few varieties), but because of its symbolism.
Since acceding to the throne in 1909, Albert had become very popular.
He worked for justice and unity within his country, which was threatening to fall apart due to its linguistic divide, and was the first Belgian monarch to take the coronation oath in both French and Flemish.
