1511) Music Boxes, Romania: Stamp Series titled "Romanian Collections": A set of seven stamps issued by Romfilatelia (Romanian Post) dedicated to music boxes from the Collection of the Museum of Romanian Records in Bucharest: Date of Stamp set issue: 09.10.2020:
Romfilatelia has brought out on 09.10.2020, a set of seven stamps under its on-going postage stamp series titled - "Romanian Collections" on the theme of Music Boxes. The Music Boxes belong to the collection of the Museum of Romanian Records in Bucharest.
Music Boxes appeared in Switzerland and were originally made by watchmakers.
Towards the end of the 18th Century, the Swiss watchmaker Antoine Favre used the principle of tuned metal slats and introduced them in a watch. Shortly afterwards, they would form music boxes, created independently of clocks.
There were also several Music Boxes that performed multiple functions. For example,there were boxes that, in addition to a short melodic piece, hid cigarettes. At the push of a button, the song started and the doors in which the cigarettes were kept opened, remained open for a few seconds and then closed as the song stopped.
The six postage stamps issued in the set, the seventh one being a stamp on a Souvenir Sheet.
1) Postage Stamp of Lei 1.70 illustrates a Drum Music Box:
This Music Box was created in Switzerland in 1890 and is a rare piece, very interesting and with a charming sound. Swiss craftsmen put hours of work into watches and music boxes and their skill is still appreciated nowadays.
The Music Box contained a tuned metal comb whose teeth were driven by a pin cylinder. In addition, the cylinder did not contain a single song, but eight, with the option of playing all songs or repeating one song.
2) Postage Stamp of Lei 1.90 illustrates the Harmonipan Whistle Organ:
Such Music Boxes were used in fairs and markets by street musicians. They were operated on the basis of air, which acted on certain whistles, in a predetermined order.
The sound produced by such a box was loud, to be able to cover the street noise. Boxes were also often decorated with flowers or various images to attract the attention of passers-by.
Such boxes have become extremely rare now, due to the fact that they are made of many wooden or leather components, much harder to maintain and preserve. This piece was produced in Germany around 1910.
3) Postage Stamp of Lei 2.20 illustrates the Symphonia paper roll organ:
Unlike other music boxes, this type of machine worked not on cylinders, but with paper rolls.
Thus, inside the box, a mechanism was started that sucked the air, making it pass through certain holes, connected to different whistles. Such boxes were used in the United States around 1900, especially in chapels and churches.
4) Postage Stamp of Lei 3.30 illustrates the Kalliope Comb Polyphon:
This coin-operated Music Box of impressive size, capable of producing a loud and clear sound, has been designed for public and crowded spaces.
Created by the German company Kalliope in 1900, this Music Box could be placed in hotels, restaurants or even train stations.
5) Postage stamp of Lei 5.0 illustrates a Kalliope Disc Music Box:
For this type of Music Box, the sound was no longer recorded on a pin cylinder, but on a punched disc.
These perforations were the ones that drive the metal comb, producing the sound. The advantage of these music boxes was that the songs could be changed much easily than those with a cylinder, as the discs could be replaced without requiring complex procedures.
This Music Box was produced by Kalliope Company in Germany around 1905.
In addition to the music box engine and sound production mechanisms, the box was decorated with an image of a house on the riverbank.
6) Postage stamp of Lei 19.0 illustrates a Faventia Barrel Organ:
This Music Box, made in Spain around 1950, worked differently from all the others because the sound was played by hitting strings by special hammers. The box also contained two hammers that provided percussion, hitting a wooden board.
The box could be easily transported with the wheel frame and was decorated with flowers. The hammers were driven by means of a lever that had to be rotated at a constant speed.
This Music Box contained six pieces of music.
7) The perforated Souvenir Sheet of Lei 29.0 illustrates a Carousel Napoleon III Music Box:
This is a cigarette dispenser Music Box, produced in France around 1890.
This Music Box was in vogue in the 1920s, being a fun way to give cigarettes to friends, while listening to a short piece of music at the same time.
Sheetlets of 8 Stamps each and a coupon/label.
The Technical Details:
Stamp Set issue date: 09.10.2020
Designer: Ion Chirescu
Process: Offset
Colours: 4 Colours
Stamp Sizes: 36.0 mm x 36.0 mm
Stamp Values: .70 L, 1.90 L, 2.20 L, 3.30 L,5.0 L, 19.0 L and 29.0 L (Souvenir Sheet).
17) Institute of Speleology (Study of Caves) "Emil Racovita", Romania: A Century of Research (1920-2020): A set of four stamps issued by Romfilatelia (Romanian Post) featuring representative images of Caves of Romania which are of great importance for Speleological Research & Activity: Date of Stamp set issue: 18.06.2020
Shyam Sunder Shanker Naidu has commented:
ReplyDelete"Wow! That's awesome!"
This is indeed a beautiful set of stamps, Naiduji.
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