Page 3 - HIWT Summer 2012 World of Welding

hiwt@welding.org HOBART INSTITUTE OF WELDING TECHNOLOGY

A POSTAL GALLERY OF WELDING ART

By Andre A. Odermatt
President
Hobart Institute of
Welding Technology

The first adhesive postage
stamp came into use in 1840
in the United Kingdom of Spain 1959 - Vulcan Greece 1969 - Hephaestus
Great Britain and Ireland,
representing the profile of
the reigning British monarch
at that time, Queen Victoria
(1819 – 1901.) Just a few years thereafter, in 1847, the United
States Postal Service issued its two first stamps, depicting
Benjamin Franklin, (1706 – 1790) appointed first Postmaster
general in 1775, and George Washington (1732 – 1799),
elected first president of the United States in 1789. The price
of the Ben Franklin stamp was just five cents and the George
Washington stamp was ten cents. Greece 1986 - Hephaestus Greece 1992 - Hephaestus

As the importance of welding and its impact on society grew,
several countries issued postage stamps honoring welding. The
first country honoring arc welding was South Africa. During
1941 – 1943 two stamps were issued, one in English and one
in Zuidafrikaans (similar to Dutch). On May 12, 1981 a stamp
was issued in Russia, commemorating the 100 anniversary
th
of the invention of arc welding by Nicholas de Benardos and
Stanislas Olszewski. France issued a postage stamp to honor
Marcelin Berthelot, one of the individuals who discovered
Queen Victoria Benjamin Franklin George Washington acetylene gas around 1860. (Continued on page 4)
1840 1847 1847

This small piece of paper, the postage stamp, has several
functions. It acts as a receipt of payment with a value attached
for specific performances by the postal services. It has a
quasi-currency status and its value can also be used for trade
in some cases. It promotes the nations’ heritage with themes
emphasizing the history of nations for trade with other nations.
Soon countries broke from this tradition and depicted birds,
ships, horses, sports, trains and other subjects, too numerous Above and below:
to list, instead of kings, queens and presidents. Postage stamps
South Africa 1941
have become a work of art, inspiring for philatelists, stamp France 1927 - Berthelot
Below: USSR 1981
collectors and those interested in art on the whole. The Spanish
and Greek postage stamps (above right column) honor the art
of smithing with pictures of Hephaestus, son of Hera, God of
forge and fire and the forge of Vulcan by Diego Velasquez.

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