FOCUS ON PHILATELY
by Ingert Kuzych
Pysanky on stamps - fragile gems
PART I
In addition to collecting miniature works of art known as stamps, I also very much enjoy collecting the unique three-dimensional works of art known as pysanky. Things really get to be fun when both interests are combined - collecting stamps showing pysanky!
Perhaps the most famous such example is a pane (sheet) of "stamps" created in 1959 by a small group of pysanka lovers in Toronto. In beauty and intricacy these "stamps" look like the real thing, but in actuality they are seals created for the youth scouting group Plast to raise funds and to spark an interest in the philatelic hobby (Figure 1).
The 45 Ukrainian Easter eggs depicted on the stamps were created by pysanka expert Yaroslav Elyjiw to represent 23 ethnographic regions in Ukraine. The designs were then incorporated into stamps by Toronto artist Myron Lev and printed by Lito-Druk Zenon Elyjiw in five colors: deep red, green, yellow, olive, and black. This extraordinarily attractive series of stamps has been very widely used in egg-decorating classes as a quick reference for many basic designs.
A great deal of information is conveyed on every "stamp" of the pane. In addition to the Plast symbol and the "Plastova Poshta" heading, the left side of every "stamp" proclaims "Ukrainski Pysanky" and the bottom inscription states "Ukrainian Easter Eggs." All of these design elements appear in olive ink.
All of the egg designs are multicolored; a designation in black appears under every egg to identify the region that the egg design represents. On the right, in red, the stamps are numbered and the name of the main design element is given, e.g., stars, crosses, butterflies, oak leaves, rose, wolves' teeth, ladders, sunflower, etc.
In the border selvage, a stylized, olive-colored deer - drawn in the Hutsul style - is repeated numerous times.
Over the years, the original $2.25 value of this pane has appreciated tremendously. Today, it routinely sells for $30-$35 - when one can find it.
Since independence, Ukraine has depicted Easter eggs on stamps on only four occasions. The first occurred in 1993, not long after independence, and was Ukraine's first Easter stamp (Figure 2). Shown on the 15-karbovanets stamp is an Easter table setting with a lighted candelabra, "babky" (glazed Easter breads), pussy willow branches and "krashanky" - Easter eggs that are simply decorated in a single solid color. Designed by V.I. Dvornyk, these stamps were printed in panes of 50 by the Austrian State Printing Office, because at the time Ukraine still did not have its own stamp production facilities. A total of 200,000 copies was produced.
The second Easter egg issue was a spectacular souvenir sheet showing six pysanky surrounded by some traditional folk motifs in red and gold (Figure 3). Designed by Kateryna Shtanko, the sheet depicts pysanky from various Ukrainian regions: Podillia (upper left, sun motif); Chernihiv (upper right, flower motif); Kyiv (left center, oak-leaf motif); Odesa (right center, sun pinwheel); Hutsul area (lower left, elk and spruce tree motif); and Volyn (lower right, geometric design). The first four stamps of the sheet were all valued at 30 kopiyky and the last two at 70 kopiyky. Only 50,000 souvenir sheets were printed and their value, too, has appreciated over time.
This pysanky souvenir sheet did very well in the Narbut Prize competition for the best philatelic design of 2000, finishing third in the balloting. It may be viewed in color online by going to the website of the Ukrainian Philatelic and Numismatic Society (UPNS) at www.upns.org. Click on the Heorhiy Narbut Prize page and then on the 2001 prize winners.
The most recent Ukrainian stamp to prominently feature pysanky was one from the series of stamps commemorating "Regions and Administrative Centers of Ukraine." In 2002, the stamp honoring the Chernivtsi Oblast not only showed scenes of this area in southwestem Ukraine, but also prominently displayed three pysanky in the regional style (Figure 4). One million copies of this 40-kopiyka stamp, designed by artist Oleksander Kalmykov, were produced.
Finally, there is one more stamp that needs to be mentioned in regard to pysanky. It is part of the last philatelic release of 2002 titled "Ukrainian Folk Costumes" (Figure 5). The stamp in the lower right of the souvenir sheet shows a group of villagers from the Ternopil region gathered for Easter. The little girl in the scene holds an egg and there are several shown in the basket at her feet. Whether these are true pysanky, or just colored krashanky, is impossible to determine. The folk costume stamps, each valued at 45 kopiyky, were printed in pairs of two on individual panes (300,000 each) or with all six scenes together on a souvenir sheet (50,000 copies). The stamps' designer was Mykola Kochubei.
Incidentally, the "Folk Costumes" stamps were the Narbut Prize winners as the finest philatelic issue for 2002. They, too, may be viewed on the UPNS website mentioned above.
A special offer
Both of the large items illustrated in this article - Figures 1 and 3 - are being offered to readers of The Ukrainian Weekly. I have donated a copy of each to the newspaper in a fund-raising effort. Suitable for framing and display, both the pane and the souvenir sheet will be available (together) for a minimum donation of $50 to The Weekly's Press Fund. The first person to correctly identify the total number of animals depicted on both items will receive them after making an appropriate contribution. If no one identifies the correct number of animals, then the nearest count will be judged to be the winner. Mail your entries to: The Ukrainian Weekly Editor, 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054. Deadline date is: March 29. The winner and the correct total will be announced in next month's "Focus on Philately," which will further report about pysanky on stamps.
Ingert Kuzych may be contacted at P.O. Box 3, Springfield, VA 22150 or at his e-mail address: [email protected].
PART I
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 7, 2004, No. 10, Vol. LXXII
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