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p en n y b la c k p r o j e c t
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PENNY B
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Published by Joanna Coltman / Little Ephemera Empire joannacoltman.blogspot.com pennyblackproject.blogspot.com Š 2010 Copyright remains the property of the individual artist. Special thanks to Matty Smith.
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THE PEN N
YB
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THE FIR
TAMP S T
The Penny Black stamp first went on sale in England on 1 May 1840 and is widely recognised as the world’s first postage stamp. The Penny Black revolutionised the postal service by having postage paid by the sender rather than the recipient on delivery. Over 68 million Penny Black stamps were issued, however the stamp was only in use for little over a year as the red cancellation stamp was hard to see over the black ink and stamps were being reused. The stamp depicts Queen Victoria on a background of finely engraved engine turnings. The two upper corners contain a cross pattÊe and the lower corners contain letters designating the position of the stamp on the printed sheet. The printed sheets consisted of 240 stamps, arranged in 12 columns and 20 rows (AA designated the stamp on the top left, TL for the stamp on the bottom right). Stamps were printed on unperforated sheets and were cut by hand. The Penny Black is not considered a rare stamp and is readily available on the collectors market.
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pennyblackproject.blogspot.com
AN M T OL
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The Penny Black Project originated from the idea of wanting to be more creative but finding myself short of time. An invitation was issued in August 2009 both online and in print calling for time poor artists to create a series of postage stamps as pieces of art to help reinvigorate their creativity. The Penny Black Project consisted of six projects spaced six weeks apart and ran from October 2009 to June 2010. All participants were sent the same brief for each of the six projects however I was continually amazed but the variety and creativity of the participants and their stamps. The results of the Penny Black Project can be seen here in this zine and will form an exhibition to be shown at the new Myrtle Street Studio in Brisbane from 4th to the 11th of December 2010. My thanks go to the participants - Vanessa Berry & Simon Yates, Jay Dee Dearness, Manuela Dobelin, Georgi Lewis, Kate Moore, Joy Serwylo, Michelle Vandermeer and E J Zyla – for their dedication and inspiring creations.
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MYRTLE STR
EET
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D JAY DEE
RNESS A E
This is the first time Myrtle Street Studio has collaborated on exhibiting a project like the Penny Black Project and we are proud to represent the final artworks of the participants. All of the works in the Penny Black Project are print and paperbased, fitting in with Myrtle Street Studio’s mission of promoting this media to the public. Specifically initiated to fill a gap in Brisbane’s current art scene, Myrtle Street Studio represents student and emerging artists who work primarily in print and paper-based media. Our aim is to provide a professional yet contemporary art space for the local community. We are extremely pleased to represent an extraordinary range of approaches and techniques that illustrate the theme. In conjunction with the exhibition, Myrtle Street Studio has also organized a limited print run of selected works from the exhibition that will be available for sale during its public show.
www.myrtlestreetstudio.com
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VANESSA & ON M I S
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JAY DEE D E
ESS N AR
O J ECT PR
MANUELA
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E L IN B DO
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GEORG
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I W E
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KATE
RE O MO
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JOY S E
LO Y RW
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MICHELLE V
ERMEER D AN
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EJ
LA Y Z
Project One
Project Two
Project Three
The Penny Black stamp first went on sale in England on 1 May 1840 and is widely recognised as the world’s first postage stamp. The Penny Black revolutionised the postal service by having postage paid by the sender rather than the recipient on delivery. Over 68 million Penny Black stamps were issued, however the stamp was only in use for little over a year as the red cancellation stamp was hard to see over the black ink and stamps were being re-used. The Penny Black is not considered a rare stamp and is readily available on the collectors market.
The most expensive stamp in the world is the Treskilling Yellow that sold for 2.5 million Swiss Francs in 1996. Issued in Sweden in 1855 and depicting the Swedish coat of arms, a normal threskilling stamp was printed in green while the attaskilling stamp was printed in yellow. Due to an error the threskilling stamp was printed in yellow, creating the Treskilling Yellow. There is only one known copy in existence, found by Georg Wilhelm Baeckman who as a schoolboy discovered it in his grandparents’ attic in 1886.
The US Postal Service began regular airmail deliveries between Washington D.C. and New York City in 1918. A new stamp was issued depicting the Curtiss Jenny biplane used to deliver the mail in blue surrounded by a decorative frame in red. Printing in the two colours meant feeding each sheet through the printing press twice, a process that was prone to misprints. It is believed that only one misprinted sheet of 100 stamps dipicting an upside down biplane got through unnoticed. A block of four of the Inverted Jenny stamps was sold at auction for 2.9 million US Dollars in 2005.
Denomination: 1c Feature colour: Black Size: 21.6x27mm or 0.8:1
Denomination: 3c Feature colour: Yellow Size: 25x30mm or 1:1.2
Denomination: 24c Feature colour: Red Size: 32.5x30mm or 1:0.9
Project Four
Project Five
Project Six
The Mauritius Blue is one of the rarest stamps in the world with only 23 known copies in existence. Issued in 1847 the blue two pence stamp along with a red one penny stamp both depicted Queen Victoria and were the first stamps in the British Empire to be produced outside of Great Britain. The stamps are highly prized by collectors because of their rarity, their early dates and their primitive character. An invitation to a ball hosted by the wife of the Mauritius Governor that bears both the red one penny and the blue two pence stamps was sold at auction for 5.75 million Swiss Francs in 1993.
New South Wales celebrated its centennial in 1888 with what is widely recognised to be the first issue of commemorative stamps. The set of eight stamps were all inscribed with “One Hundred Years” and were printed in eight different colours. The stamps depicted an emu, a kangaroo, a lyrebird, a view of Sydney and portraits of Queen Victoria, Captain Cook, the first governor Arthur Phillip and the thengovernor Lord Carrington. The stamps are not considered rare and are readily available on the collectors market.
A cinderella stamp is anything that resembles a postage stamp that is not issued by a government postal service. There are many different types including poster stamps, propaganda labels, commemorative stickers, stamps issued by non-recognised countries or governments, court fee stamps, telegraph stamps, railway stamps and decorative stamps. The design of a cinderella stamp usually follows the principles of postage stamp design, but typically lacks a denomination or a country name. There is a Cinderella Stamp Club of Australia which currently accepts members world wide.
Denomination: 20c Feature colour: Blue Size 30x33mm or 1:1.1
Denomination: 50c Feature colour: Green Size 32x36mm or 1:1.1
Denomination: 55c Feature colour: Orange Size: 30x36mm or 1:1.2
Vanessa Berry & Simon Yates Simon Yates is an artist and a postman. Vanessa Berry is a zine maker and a letter writer.
vanessaberryworld.wordpress.com
Jay Dee Dearness
Manuela Dobelin
Is an artist who enjoys experimenting with printmaking, paper constructs, small jewellery objects and live plant material. She travels extensively and her art reflects an interest in how we interact with the environment around us.
Was born and raised in Germany and recently moved to Sydney. She is an architect by trade with a passion for illustrating, designing and crafting.
jaydeedearness.wordpress.com
www.rubyredrocket.etsy.com
Georgi Lewis
Kate Moore
Joy Serwylo
Is a modern day slashy; a product designer who enjoys designing fabrics, taking photos and cooking. It’s all creative.
Of katiecrackernuts, is a frustrated artist / writer / creative type who, by day, spends her time working to gruelling newspaper deadlines. If she wasn’t a newspaper sub and editor she’d be a florist. True.
Lives and works in the hills at the eastern edge of Melbourne, Australia. She uses textiles and paper and old books to create artworks. To make a living, however, she makes teeny weeny dolls.
georginoeplease.typepad.com
katiecrackernuts.blogspot.com
www.sewylo.com
Michelle Vandermeer
E J Zyla
Joanna Coltman
Is a Sydney-based designer who shares her time (unevenly) between graphic design, photography, art, exploring the urban environment, and making lots of stuff and things.
Is a self taught artist who writes, illustrates, and creates artists books, zines, and works on paper. She can be found ‘scribbling’ and ‘making’ well into the dark of night where she cocoons herself in worlds of her making.
Has recently moved to Launceston (from Brisbane) and gone back to uni (to study Business). She writes a zine called ‘little’ and likes to make things.
www.shelbyville.com.au
torntranslations.com.au
joannacoltman.blogspot.com
Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there. Josh Billings 1818-1885
p e n n y blackproje ct . b log spot . com