Jewish Painters Featured in Israeli and Topical

Judaica Philately

(5/1/2008)

 

Saryn Levy

 

Introduction

 

In the spring 2008, three peers and I began to research Emory Universitys The Sol Singer Collection of Philatelic Judaic, a comprehensive collection featuring Israeli and topical Judaica philately. Composed of three comprehensive series, the Collection already included many details provided as a result of the efforts of the staff of Emorys Robert W. Woodruff Library, Dr. David Blumenthal, and Levi Stewart. From this point, Dr. Blumenthal led our group through the task of further classifying this extensive collection, with each of us focusing on a more detailed aspect from which to research. I chose to study the category of Jewish classical painters, focusing on stamps within Emorys collection, as well as from outside sources. Ultimately, this undertaking resulted in a much more comprehensive understanding of Judaica philately within this category.

 

The Emory Stampchart of Israeli and Topical Judaica Postage Stamps

 

            This stampchart was composed in a format designed by Dr. David Blumenthal and Geoffrey Horowitz, classifying the collection of stamps both within and outside of the Sol Singer Collection. The following eighteen rubrics were observed, all of which were contained on an Excel spreadsheet:

 

Basic

Country of Issue

Date of Issue

Scott Catalogue number (or other catalogue number)

IPS (Israeli Philatelic Service) number (for Israeli stamps only)

Content

Title (usually from one of the catalogues)

Description (usually from one of the catalogues)

Additional Information (usually provided by us)

Internet Links (provided by us)

Categories (the purpose of this is to provide searchable categories)

Category A

Category B

Category C

MARBL Categories (provided by the Library cataloguers)

Philatelic

Format

Denomination

Color

Locators

Volume (in the Singer Collection)

Sequence (within each volume of the Singer Collection)

Non-Emory Source (for stamps added to the stampchart not in the Singer Collection)

 

 The Emory Stampchart of Israeli and Topical Judaica Postage Stamps is available online.

 

Additionally, Professor Blumenthal created a subsequent stampchart designed to eliminate repeated entries. This compilation contains only one format per catalogue entry. It is called A General Stampchart of Israeli and Judaica Topical Postage Stamps and is also available for online viewing in various forms.

 

Methodology

 

Following within the boundaries of these established categories, I sorted through the thousands of entries composed by the Robert W. Woodruff Library staff, separating and categorizing the stamps relevant to my particular study on Jewish classical painters. After completing this task, I also sought out outside sources relevant to my philately topic, taking great advantage of the past research of Isaac Borodinsky as published in 2000s Judaica in Philately: An Annotated Checklist[1], the comprehensive Scott Catalogue, and the greatly appreciated assistance of Gary Goodman and the members of his Judaica Thematic Society[2]. This generated "The Stampchart for Jewish Artists Featured on Israeli and Topical Judaica Postage Stamps," arranged by country and date. Unfortunately, some of the information received was incompatible with this study, but is nevertheless relevant. To access this related data, courtesy of Dr. Claude Wainstain, please see his comprehensive list in the Appendix.

            In an attempt to properly categorize each applicable stamp in a manner convenient to both the Emory community and fellow researchers, the three categories within the organizational rubric were broken into three increasingly detailed groupings to aid in future searches. Category A was labeled as Art, Category B as Painters, and Category C provided the name of the featured artist. This generated "The Stampchart for Jewish Artists Featured on Israeli and Topical Judaica Postage Stamps," arranged by category B and then "The Stampchart for Jewish Artists Featured on Israeli and Topical Judaica Postage Stamps," arranged by category C. With these detailed classifications, future enthusiasts should have the convenience of comfortably locating relevant information regarding Jewish artists featured within stamps.

 

The Stampchart for Jewish Artists Featured on

Israeli and Jewish Topical Postage Stamps

 

            As a result of my research, I located 399 stamps outside of Emorys present collection, in addition to the 131 stamps portraying the works of Jewish artists inside the Emory Collection. Totaling 530 stamps, these entries contain multiple commonalities and even interesting oddities.

 

Regarding countries of issue:

 

Regarding featured painters:

 

Regarding dates of issue:

 

After creating a stampchart solely featuring the works of Jewish artists from within both the Emory Collection and from additional outside sources, multiple relevant stamps appearing in many various formats were located. Nevertheless, they are all linked in their common theme of Jewish artists. It is our hope that the research completed will aid others and will continue to grow in detail.

 

            We welcome comments on our stampcharts. We welcome articles written on philatelic Judaica that utilize our stampcharts. Correspondence should be directed to Saryn Levy, Emory University, PO Box 124155, Atlanta, GA 30322; or to my email address, with an additional draft forwarded to Professor David R. Blumenthal, Tam Institute of Jewish Studies, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; or to his email address.

 

APPENDIX: THE WAINSTAIN LIST

 

 

 


[1] Borodinsky, Isaac. Judaica in Philately: An Annotated Checklist. 3rd ed. 3 vols. 2003.

[2] To contact Mr. Goodman and/or request membership into the Judaica Thematic Society, he can be reached through his email address.

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Chagall

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Max

[5] http://www.hoffmeister.cz/hotel-adolf-hoffmeister.php