Bear (stamp of Greenland)

The polar bear is the subject of several postage stamps of the Greenland . The animal is represented with the naturalness or in armorial bearings. It illustrates under this second forms the first stamps specific to Greenland, emitted in 1905.

Stamp-parcels of 1905

Until 1905, the inhabitants of Greenland profit from the postal Franchise inside the territory, towards and since the Danish metropolis thanks to the Administration of the colonies (stamping with Danish stamps obliterated on arrival) and with the Den Kongelige Grønlanske Handel (literally “the royal company of trade of Greenland”).

May 1st, 1905, this frankness is removed for the postal parcels. The trading company emits a series of three stamps sold starting from July 14th, 1905. They are captioned “PAKKE-PORTO” and represents the armorial bearings of Greenland: the polar bear in a crowned blazon, above Vague S and under the flight of six birds. This drawing is of the Dane Gerhard Heilmann. Printed in Typography in sheet of twenty-five specimens, only two stamps of February 1937 are it in offsets, and known as Lachmann impression.

Until 1938 (emission of the first postage stamps for Greenland and the reorganization of the postal system of the territory), 39 stamps are emitted for 9 facial values différenciables by the quality of paper and the Dentelure.

Postage stamps

The polar bear is represented in a landscape of ice-barrier on the first emissions of 1938 and 1946 at the sides of stamps to the effigy of the king Christian X.

With the naturalness, it is represented on a stamp of 1945 in a series of “typical” images of the territory and another in 1976. In 1984, it appears killing Karale Andreasen, first teacher born in the east of Greenland. In 1995, it returns represented only, even approximately plane in 1997 for the emission Europa.

In armorial bearings, it appears on four of the eighteen values of the series of everyday usage of the years 1960 with the king Frederic IX and a Northern light above the constellation of Large Ourse. In miniature in 1985 on a painting of Gerhard Kleist. One of the two stamps for the tenth birthday of internal autonomy is devoted to the armorial bearings, the other being it with the flag.

See too

Sources

Nicolas de Pellinec, “" Ours" , first stamps of Greenland”, article published in Stamps magazine n° February 21st, th and th 2002, pages 98-99.
Personal site on the first series of stamps of Greenland (a page is devoted to the postage stamps of Greenland representing the bear).
Catalog Yvert and Tellier , volume 3, Stamps of Western Europe Denmark-Greenland, Amiens, 1998.

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