Well as some of you know, I'm a major newbie to stamp collecting. I'm 50 years young and just discovered this hobby about a month ago. But I have dived in head first and have really been enjoying it.
Yesterday I delved into the arena of "world" stamps. I chose this very cool French stamp and researched it a bit.
I really liked it because the lady seemed to be hurling some kind of flame (more on that later).
Well, from what I can gather, this is Marianne, a symbol of the French Republic, mainly associated with liberty and freedom. From what I read, Marianne is portrayed on many French stamps. (you probably all know this, sorry...). This is from a painting of the "sower", where Marianne is sowing "freedom" to the people.
The stamp is from 1906 according to the coloring and a match on the StampWorld website.
It's cost was originally 25 "c", or "centimes" according to the internet.
The first picture is my stamp that I took a photo of and it shows the "flame".
The second picture is my stamp from a stock internet photo. Notice the flame is missing.
Well, turns out there is no flame! It was just a blemish on the stamp. But exciting nonetheless!
Thankfully research paid off and painted a correct picture of the stamp, even if it would have been cooler if she was holding "fire"!
But I believe Sower stamps (the images you depict) are different from Marianne stamps, which came out after WWII.
Both the Sower and Marianne wear the Phrygian cap of liberty. So its easy to get confused. The Marianne stamps I am familiar with are just "head" shots, not a depiction of a figure sowing.
Sower stamps made a comeback in 1960.
The December and the February Linn's Stamp News have good stories about these stamps. I am tempted to start collecting sowers, they are indeed lovely stamps.
Even the French get confused with the "Mariannes".
The sower you show is in French philately parlance "Semeuse" which is a literal translation.However it is often thought of as a "Marianne" portrait. There is also a series which is known as "Liberte", which is also sometimes called a "Marianne". Most of the Mariannes are ID d by their designer e. g. Marianne de Gandon.
Marianne is the allegorical figure of the French Republic, rather like Britannia. I am sure that they all represent Marianne,in the abstract- however "Semeuse" and Liberte are descriptive of the pose rather than the person.
There are also "Sabine" and "France" allegories, which appear to be interchangeable with Marianne.
Retired Ap. Book Mod, Pres Golden Gate Stamp Club, Hi Tech Consultant 17 Mar 2018 04:11:17pm
re: 1906 French Marianne stamp - observations
I should have mentioned the French CERES catalog which has good graphics and is a great source of information on Classic French stamps. The contributions of French experts such as Calves, Roumet etc...for stamps prior to 1900 makes it an invaluable reference.
Here are two pages relative to "Semeuse" stamps.
Now I do hope this is not too overwhelming, but you seem to be digging in a lot further than most newer collectors, so this ought to prepare you for the variations you will encounter!
Semeuses stamps are readily available, not expensive, so it is a good area to hone in some required skills.
rrr...
CERES:
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"E. Rutherford: All science is either physics or stamp collecting."
Wow! Again, Wow! I never knew there was so much to study with that one design.
I really like delving into each design that catches my eye.
Man, stamp collecting can be so incredibly deep! It blows my mind!
If I delved into each stamp I already have even this little bit, I wouldn't have enough lifespan left to see them all! LOL!
I'm sure a specialty area of interest will emerge.
Right now, I'm researching each stamp that I'm interested in right about to this level and then going to the next one, but I'm putting them in my own little custom book with a little write up about them, so that one day when Grandkids arrive (maybe?) I'll be able to show them some cool stamp examples with back stories. Also it will help me to show some varied "points of interest" to my immediate family in the hope that they may take an interest as well.
Thanks for the great sharing of knowledge. Very impressive and very cool!