
La Poste | Timbres de collection | Phil-Ouest | WOPA+
France
26 June 2020
Engraving

Technical Specifications:
Issue Date on Friday, June 26, 2020
Illustrated obliteration 1st day Paris (75) at Le Carré d’Encre, from 10am to 1pm and from 2.30pm to 5pm at Carré d’Encre, 13 bis ruedes Mathurins, 75009 PARIS (entrance by 42 rue Godot de Mauroy, closed lelundi).
Due to the exceptional health event, the time limit for obliterations is extended for emissions from 1 March 2020, from 8 weeks to 6 months.
General sale on Friday, June 26, 2020 Info
Face value: €24.00
Additional postage
Vertical stamp – Serration : 13
Total dimensions: 143×210 mm
Colors : brick red, green and black
Printed in intaglio (engraving)
Issued to 40,000 copies
Designed by Albert Decaris
Engraved and laid out by Elsa Catelin
On June 26, 2020, La Poste issued a block of stamps “La Gravure” which highlighted the profession of soft-cut engraver in women, it was also an opportunity to celebrate the opening of the stamps-Poste printing house on June 13, 1970 in Boulazac in the Dordogne.
This block created by Elsa Catelin, engraver of the postage stamp printing of Boulazac takes a stamp made by the master engraver Albert Decaris (1901-1988) in 1984. This stamp featured the feminine soft-cut engraving.
A woman as beautiful as she was refined, symbolized the art of stamp engraving that the Post Office administration devoted that year to the work of the engravers.
In front of it are the instruments commonly used by these artists: a copper plate, a chisel mounted on a pear-shaped wooden handle, a dry tip and a magnifying glass recalling the difficulties of a profession that requires a strong artistic feeling and a great manual skill on the part of the student.
Today, the art of engraving has evolved due to the technical means available to master engravers, heliogravure, photoengraving and computer-assisted engraving. Engraving is a living art that continues to make philatelists and aesthetes dream.
Soft-cut printing is one of the emblematic techniques of printing, renowned and recognized all over the world.