I have a mermaid stamp that I thought I would be able to find context for, but I come up empty. The stamp honors Czech illustrator Karel Svolinsky and appears to feature mermaids and the devil. I assume there is a story in the Eastern European culture that features a devil and mermaids, but I can't find it. Does anyone know?
The stamps is Czechoslovakia 2252 (Scott)
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The stamp comes with a label on the bottom. The set was issued to commemorate several things, including the International Year of the Child and children's book illustrations. Here is a link to Stampworld where you can see the entire set with labels:
Found it here, where it appears for sale. http://www.priceminister.com/offer/buy/222621320/
Not that any of this helps! There are a lot of images on Pinterest but I do not have an account so cannot view them. I'm reluctant to "join".
I imagine that it is an illustration for a folk tale book but have been unable to ascertain which.
It may have something to do with the Czech story of Rusalka, which Dvorak set into an opera. Rusalka was a water sprite who falls in love with a human prince. The story doesn't end well (as Bugs Bunny would say, "Well, what did you expect in an opera - a happy ending?"), and rusalki were looked upon as harbingers of death and evil in Czech folklore - some link with the devil there?
"It may have something to do with the Czech story of Rusalka, which Dvorak set into an opera. Rusalka was a water sprite who falls in love with a human prince. The story doesn't end well (as Bugs Bunny would say, "Well, what did you expect in an opera - a happy ending?"), and rusalki were looked upon as harbingers of death and evil in Czech folklore - some link with the devil there?"
Maybe, but the cast of Rusalka is rather limited and no mention of a devil figure. Rusalka follows the line of The Little Mermaid. (The Hans Christian Andersen version, not the sugar-coated Disney version).
The best match I've found so far is the East Slavic epic Sadko. There is an illustration by Ilya Repin:
Like the Czech stamp, there is one "devil", one merman, and several mermaids, but that's still a bit thin. I can go with that, but would prefer a more definitive answer. The label on the stamp also seems to contradict Sadko. I have reviewed dozens of Czech and Slavic legends and fairy tales with no better answer. I must say, however, if you've never read Katcha and the Devil, it's worth a read:
Collecting the world 1840 to date - one stamp at a time! 22 Feb 2018 01:22:10am
re: Another mermaid stamp without context
According to Michel catalog the illustration is of Kamil Bednar's fairytale "O Faustovi, Marketce a dablu" (Faust, Margaret and Devil) released in 1943.
I believe you have found the answer. That also answers the question as to whether I needed to get a stamp with the tab attached. Since the tab appears to be Margaret and she wasn't a mermaid, no tab needed!
Thanks!
Lars
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