Norway’s stamps provide interesting distractions for
generalist collectors. I’ll mention three, each of which could become a
full-time obsession.
Norway holds the record for stamps with coiled post
horns -- so many of them that even specialists complain and sometimes give up
due to headaches. The definitive post horn surmounted by a crown first appeared
on Christmas Day 1871 and has been around ever since. Last Christmas marked its
150th anniversary.
Post horns, brass instruments lacking valves, were
used by coach guards to announce arrivals, departures, and other warnings. They
fell into disuse, of course, when horse drawn coaches were replaced by trucks
with internal combustion engines and horns that sound only one or two notes.
Guards could sound as many as six which, for instance, allowed them to signal “Get
your chickens out of the way, we’re not stopping.”
The post horn’s versatility caught the ears of such composers
as Mozart and Mahler who used them in serenades and symphonies (2).
Post horn stamps can be sorted according to
watermarks, perforations, die type, solid or striped backgrounds, inscription
fonts, whether there’s a “break” in the horn drawing and, if there is, the size
and exact location of the “break.”. An uncounted number of shades, some
original and some due to fading, add to the varieties. Sometimes the period is
omitted after “postfirm.” Confusion is inevitable. Sometimes the colors listed
in Scott’s catalog disagree with the color descriptions in Big Blue spaces.
Local
Norwegian stamps offer another specialization, equally complicated but with
greater design varieties. There are many of these because Norway’s Post did not
offer house to house delivery in the early years. So town authorities filled
the gap. Often the design reflects something about the local where the stamps
were used – turrets for Bergen, salmon for Aalesund, elk for Tromso, and so
forth. Local stamps, rather than the post horn definatives, offer better
insights into Norwegian life and culture. Most are inscribed “Bypost” which
means “town post.” Reprints and forgeries are common. Listings can be found
online (3).
I’ll
mention one more specialization that interests me, a hybrid of sorts that
involves a Norwegian polar explorer/diplomat, revenue stamps, and the League of
Nations.
World War I and the Russian Bolshevik revolution produced well over a million refugees, people who could neither return to their home countries nor remain where they had fled. Complicating matters, they could not get passports or other proper identification. The League of Nations called on Nansen, the explorer turned diplomat, to find a solution. As the result, from 1922 to 1938 stateless people could apply for a “Nansen Passport” issued by the League. Some 450,000 were issued, many of which bear a five franc gold stamp with Nansen’s likeness – the new face of refugee justice.
Collecting these stamps, especially when affixed to passports, has become an expensive hobby. Yet, for those of us who have refugee ancestors or who care about justice for refugees, the attraction to these revenue stamps is great. Given the current number of stateless refugees today, we need new Nansen-like solutions.
Census: 183 in BB spaces, 17 tip-ins, 55 on supplement
pages.
1) https://www.postalmuseum.org/blog/sound-of-the-post-horn/
2) Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart, Serenade No. 9, the “Post horn Serenade.” Gustav Mahler, Third
Symphony.
3) http://zenius.kalnieciai.lt/europe/norway/city/city.html
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