Focus of stamps

Focus on stamps The Collector’s Magazine Optical Art: Large-scale illusions on new stamps Red Cross: Special stamp honours two founding fathers Focus exclusive: Invitations from Franz Hohler and Jimmy Flitz

Special stamps “Dinosaurs in Switzerland”

Giant saurians brought back to life

3/2010

New catalogues hot off the press!

rom ble f r 2010 a l i a be Av ptem e S 3

Swiss Stamp Catalogue (SBK) For over a century, the SBK has been an absolute “must” for collectors. This reference work in German and French provides a comprehensive overview of stamps and is updated – or if necessary revised – every year. The 2011 version covers changes in prices, new varieties and various special fields on which many collectors have also cooperated.

The 2011 SBK – as always, packed with philatelic expertise.

Art. No. 1597 787 CHF 35.00

Zumstein Catalogue Zumstein’s Switzerland/Liechtenstein Catalogue is a modern classic of its kind, with over 800 clearly presented pages of practical details and information for collectors in German and French. It contains the latest market prices, and has been supplemented with new varieties and illustrations. This year too, the Catalogue comes with the popular CD-ROM featuring inventory and print functions, plus other extras.

Art. No. 1597 725 CHF 35.00

Both catalogues are available from Swiss Post’s philatelic salespoints in Basel, Berne, Lausanne, Lugano, St Gallen and Zurich, as well as from our “Stamps & Philately” Customer Service and on the Internet at www.swisspost.ch/philashop. Place your catalogue order now for postage-free delivery starting 3 September 2010.

Editorial

Of famous people, art, prehistoric animals and a speedy Swiss Mouse Contents News Special stamps and picture cards Optical art

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5–8

Special stamps, puzzles and competition Saurians in Switzerland 9–12 Stamp booklet, picture cards, book and CDs The Swiss mouse “Jimmy Flitz” 13–16 Special stamps Swiss composers

17–19

Special stamp Franz Hohler – Literature

20–21

Special stamp EFTA 50 years

22–23

Special stamp 100th anniversary of the death of Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier 24–25 Special stamp 100th anniversary of the birth of Jeanne Hersch 26–27 Range of products

28–31

Cover page: This is roughly how things looked 65 million years ago, when saurians like the therapod dinosaur in the picture also inhabited Switzerland.

Roland Zoss surrounded by his audience: he came up with the idea of Jimmy Flitz – the picturebook mouse now featured on a stamp – in 1994.

Photo: Tomas Wüthrich

Dear Reader It’s over a month since the summer solJ In contrast, “Jimmy Flitz”, the Swiss stice, and the days are already drawing in, Mouse, is very much alive. This perky, making way for autumn with its colours curious rodent made lots of friends and and an equally colourful bunch of stamps had exciting adventures on his travels from Swiss Post. through Switzerland. Swiss Post is paying J Five famous Swiss with centenaries tribute to this fun mouse with a stamp in 2010 are being honoured on special booklet. stamps: J Issue 3/2010 also stars another – Jeanne Hersch – a fascinating woman “celebrity stamp” designed by a famous who championed human rights and liberty Swiss, this year giving author Franz Hohler throughout her life and was also one a chance to have his (concise) say about of the first women in Switzerland to hold things. professorial tenure.

J Another Swiss Post special stamp – Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier – spotlights the 50th anniversary of EFTA, two men whose vision and tireless efforts originally founded as an alternative wrote a major chapter in Swiss history, to today’s EU. in the shape of the Red Cross.

– Rolf Liebermann and Heinrich SuterWishing you a pleasure-packed read! meister – two names worthy of “fortissimo” praise. These talented composers created works that became famous far beyond the borders of their homeland.

J Next, a shift from the musical arts to Optical Art transports us from the world of two-dimensional visual images to a three-dimensional one. Let the shapes and Sincerely, colours on these stamps work on you and see static pictures come to life.

J Life and its endless fascination: saurians died out millions of years ago yet are still all around us. Three special stamps depict Patrick Salamin these prehistoric creatures that lived in Head, Post Offices & Sales Member of Executive Management Switzerland too, on land, in water and in the air.

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News

LUNABA 10 opens its doors Late this summer, from 3 to 5 September 2010, Swiss stamp fans will be making a beeline for the Messe Luzern (Lucerne Exhibition Centre) and the LUNABA 10 stamp exhibition. All classes will be represented at this Level II national stamp event, and there will also be an exhibit spotlighting new issues by the postal services of Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Swiss Post has issued a picture postcard (showcased in the last issue of Focus) to mark LUNABA 10. While stocks last, it can still be purchased from www. swisspost.ch/philashop and from our philatelic salespoints. Swiss Post will also be present in Lucerne with a special post office.

Terms/conditions for on-line orders

“Cancelling” the Rhaetian Railway A birthday is a great reason for a party, so the Rhaetian Railway (RhB) decided to mark its centenary by inviting people from far and near to an Open Day. Thousands came, and Swiss Post too conveyed its congratulations, with Executive Management member Patrick Salamin symbolically handing over the special Bernina Railway stamp. Together with RhB Director Erwin Rutishauser, he “cancelled” one of the latest locomotives and ever since, the modern train composition has been travelling the RhB network in its special-stamp and firstday-cancellation livery.

Well done, the lucky winners!

An outsize special stamp calls for a giant cancellation mark: Swiss Post Executive Management member Patrick Salamin (right) and RhB Director Erwin Rutishauser «cancel» the locomotive featuring the Bernina Railway stamp. Photo: zvg

Publisher’s details “Focus on stamps” is a free magazine, published in English, German, French and Italian.

Published by

During the first half of 2010, Swiss Post amalgamated its online shops which can now be found in their new, clearer format under www.post.ch/shops. Its General Terms and Conditions of Business (GTC) have been altered accordingly and subdivided into “General Terms and Conditions of Business for Swiss Post Shops” and “Swiss Post ’Philately’ General Terms and Conditions of Business”.

This means slight changes for customers who order via the Internet, but no changes whatsoever for those with standing orders or for stamp fans who order products through our Customer Service, order forms or the Top brochure.

Swiss Post’s GTC can be downloaded from www.post.ch/post-agb.htm or ordered from our “Stamps & Philately” Customer Service.

The competitions in the last two issues of Focus were a big hit with readers.

We received over 10,000 entries for the aviation competition where the top prize – an exclusive flight for four with the Swiss Post hot-air balloon – went to Hans-Peter Wyss from Rheinfelden. The railway anniversary draw attracted just as much interest. Here the two main prizes, a Niesen package for two and a private guided tour of the RhB engineering workshop in Landquart, were won by Bernard Rouly from Geneva and Eduard Riva from Frauenfeld respectively. All the winners, of other prizes too, have already been notified. Warmest congratulations!

Swiss Post Post Offices & Sales Stamps & Philately Viktoriastrasse 21 3030 Berne Switzerland Total print run 160 000 copies Sales & Customer Service J Tel. Switzerland: 0848 66 55 44 J Tel. from abroad: +41 848 66 55 44 J Fax: 058 667 62 68 J E-mail: stamps@post.ch J Website: www.swisspost.ch J Shop: www.swisspost.ch/ philashop “Focus on stamps” No. 3/2010 Copy deadline: 22.6.2010 Distribution: from 20.7.2010 Stamp issue: 3.9.2010

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Special stamps Optical Art

When shapes and colours play tricks on the eye When images suddenly move or a ball in a picture seems to float in mid air, optical effects are a likely explanation. Even though such images are only painted and two-dimensional, the eye feels drawn into a three-dimensional world. Now Swiss Post is issuing three special Optical Art stamps designed by Youri Messen-Jaschin.

Are there times when you can barely believe your own eyes? That could well be your reaction to pictures inspired by Optical Art, a style of art that plays tricks on the beholder. Because when you look at Optical Art images, you suddenly see much more, something different and maybe even in other colours and geo metric forms.

The Optical Art movement sprang up in the 1960s. Geometric shapes and lines as well as deliberately selected colour patterns are used to create moving and flickering effects in the eye of the beholder. Motifs almost look as though they are floating and three-dimensional, and lines suddenly appear to move; that’s why Op Art was also called Kinetic Art in the Sixties.

For the very first time, Swiss Post is featuring Optical Art on stamps created exclusively for it by Youri Messen-Jaschin. This Swissborn Latvian artist has made an international name for himself as one of the foremost exponents of Optical Art and has now exhibited practically all over the world. In an interview, Messen-Jaschin – who says he finds inspiration for his works in his sleep – speaks of his enthusiasm for this style of art and about what he has to bear in mind as he paints so as to open up the moving world of Optical Art to the beholder.

First-day cover motif

Special stamps Optical Art Sales Philately: From 26.8.2010 until 30.9.2011, while stocks last Post offices: From 3.9.2010, while stocks last Validity Unlimited from 3.9.2010 Printing Offset, 5- and 3-colour; Joh. Enschedé, Haarlem, Netherlands Sizes Stamps: 40,5 44 mm Sheets: 151 220 mm (4 rows of 3 stamps) Paper White stamp paper, without optical brightener, self-adhesive, on backing paper, 220 gm² Perforation 13¾:13¼ Designer Youri Messen-Jaschin, Lausanne First-day cancellation

What effects do you see on the stamps?

You’ll find the “answer” with the main effects on page 8.

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“Optical Art: an eye and mind game”

Youri Messen-Jaschin, Optical Art is a special style of painting. What first prompted you to paint geometric shapes of all things?

When I was studying in Gothenburg, I got to know famous Optical Art exponents like Jésus Soto, Carlos Cruz-Diez and Julio Le Parc. They initiated me into the logic of their art, and I quickly became hooked.

They taught me Kinetic Art – or Op Art – in a matter of days. The movement in the pictures is not just a question of geometric shapes and lines. Colours play an important part as well: two complementary colours can “clash” with each other. For instance, by merely juxtaposing a red square and a blue square, you create a movement. Things like that fascinate me: you have colours and geometric shapes on the one hand, and mathematics on the other.

You say that Optical Art involves mathematics. Does this make it almost an exact science?

Not quite. But in order to create these illusions, you have to proceed with great mathematical precision. Squares or triangles which are just a few millimetres narrower or wider may not achieve the same optical effect. In a work of art, the size and thickness of the lines, for instance, are crucial. But at the same time, Optical Art involves the brain and the eye. For example, the effect also depends on the angle from which we are seeing the picture and how far away from it we are. Our brains react mathematically.

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Does looking at these pictures put too much strain on the brain?

Yes, in a way. The eye registers an image, and then the brain analyzes it. But at some point, the capacity of the brain gets saturated and can no longer absorb all the influx of mathematical information.

So the image and the geometric shapes are transformed into other colours and shapes. Or it looks as though the image is shifting into another optical illusion.

Does everybody see the same effects?

No, the impact of the images varies. Some people see a painting as pink or green, while others see the same work as red or blue. Optical movements are also perceived differently, and if somebody sees little or no effect, that too is normal. A lot of factors are involved – like whether somebody is happy or sad, stressed out or relaxed.

My paintings open up a prismatic world to the eye. The square, as the basic element, provides the backdrop and is enriched by another juxtaposed geometrical shape.

These geometric forms are reproduced uniformly over the whole surface of the painting and gradually develop without losing their identity, even when I break the harmony by introducing a series of parallel lines. My paintings bring about the mental deprogramming that clears the way for pure sensation, which is the starting point of any reverie.

Do some people respond to Optical Art better than others?

Yes, children. They don’t think about things too much and often have a very open mind. With them, Optical Art works immediately, in a matter of seconds. Adults often take longer, and in my exhibitions it’s frequently the children who explain the pictures to the adults. Some people are so perceptible that they must leave a room that is completely given over to Optical Art. The impact is so powerful that they lose their balance and become disoriented.

Have you met people who see more in your paintings than you yourself do?

Indeed I have, and that’s what Optical Art is all about. The scope of things you can see is not defined, and the list of effects is simply immense.

You usually paint pictures with a surface area of at least one square metre.

How did it feel to create little stamps with Optical Art? It was challenging because using the same technique on a smaller scale was just not enough. I had to calculate the effect differently, and it took over a month and countless pencil sketches before I got the effect to work on the scale of 4 by 4.3 centimetres. The effect is the same, but the work behind it was more complicated, like when it came to making the red ball look as though it was floating and threedimensional on the stamp too. But solving the mathematical problem was fun.

And what was the solution?

There’s always a little trick to Optical Art, and of course I’m not going to give it away. After all, a chef keeps his best recipes to himself too (said with a smile).

Special stamps Optical Art

Jaschin’s works not only hang on the wall. The walls themselves are often works of art. The 69-year-old also designs whole exhibition spaces, completely rigging them out with Optical Art (picture above and far left, at an exhibition in Lausanne). Photos: zvg

Autograph session Artist Youri Messen-Jaschin will be giving autographs on Friday, 3 September 2010, in Lausanne. The designer of the new “Optical Art” stamp set will be signing first-day covers at the Lausanne Philatelic Salespoint, Av./pl. de la Gare 1, from 4–5 p.m.

Please note that he will autograph no more than three covers per person.

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Picture postcards and stamps Optical Art

Send Optical Art postcard greetings Picture postcards and stamps Optical Art

“Answer” The red ball on the CHF 0.85 stamp looks as though it is floating and threedimensional, against a flickering, rotating background. On the CHF 1.00 stamp, elongated black and red diagonal lines create the illusion of coloured squares that are interlinked. And if you look at the black-and-white circles on the CHF 1.40 stamp, you think you are seeing moving cones of light, like when a record spins. However, don’t worry if these effects are less obvious or not the same for you, because people perceive them to varying degrees.

Sales Philately: From 26.8.2010 until 30.9.2011, while stocks last Post offices: Not available Validity Unlimited from 3.9.2010 Printing Offset, 4-colour Sizes Cards: 148 105 mm Stamps: 40 43 mm Paper picture postcards White offset board, 260 gm² Designer Youri Messen-Jaschin, Lausanne Set price CHF 5.05

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Besides using Optical Art stamps, you can also send Optical Art greetings. Youri Messen-Jaschin, the man behind the special stamps, has also created three more Optical Art pictures that come as a postcard set, complete with the three special stamps. These postcards are a definite eye-catcher – whether sent as greeting cards, given as a token of appreciation or displayed in your home.

Special stamps Saurians in Switzerland

Saurians in Switzerland – on land, in water and in the air Numerous skeleton and footprint finds confirm what a lot of people do not know: many millions of years ago, there were dinosaurs in Switzerland too. Reptiles which are now extinct (saurians) lived not just on terra firma, but also in the water and in the air. Three new special stamps showcase a selection of Swiss saurians, bringing them back to life.

Fossils of many extinct saurians have been identified, and logically enough paleontology which studies them is also known as “the science of past life”. It deals with fossils and traces of former organisms, i.e. of fauna and flora. Part of this science involves researching the relationships between extinct organisms and how they lived. Among other things, this throws light on the convoluted path of evolution on Earth.

Depictions of prehistoric life or true-to-life three-dimensional models – for display in museums for instance – often supplement this research, enabling the general public to experience these ancient organisms and bringing these long-dead creatures back to life.

Switzerland has a long-standing tradition of paleontological research: back in 1451, the Zurich polymath Felix Hemmerli interpreted fossils as the remains of former creatures on the strength of his own observations of Nature. Konrad Gessner, the Zurich doctor and natural scientist, collected and sketched fossils. And Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, another doctor and scholar from Zurich, is regarded as the founder of paleobotany, the science of prehistoric plants. In the early 19th century, paleontology became a scientific discipline in its own right, thanks to the work of the French zoologist Georges Cuvier. And the 20th century saw the creation of vertebrate paleontology schools in Switzerland too – in Basel und Zurich. ➔

Painstaking, meticulous work; a paleontologist lays bare fossilized saurian eggs millions of years old that were previously buried under several layers of soil.

Photo: Keystone

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From small to gigantic Paleontology has achieved a higher public profile with the growing general interest in dinosaurs since the 1970s. At the latest since the film “Jurassic Park” (1993), dinosaurs and other saurians have been on everybody’s lips. Swiss Post’s new stamps illustrate a small cross-section of successful national paleontological research.

Dinosaurs first appeared in the late Triassic period 228 million years ago and died out at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary 65 million years ago. However, in actual fact, they exist to this day in the form of birds, their direct descendants. In the Mesozoic Era, dinosaurs ranged from the size of hens to gigantic creatures 40 metres long and weighing 100 tonnes.

Dinosaur finds in Canton Aargau Switzerland’s best dinosaur skeleton finds stem from so-called late Triassic sediment in a clay pit in Frick, Canton Aargau. The herbivorous prosauropod (Plateosaurus) which could measure up to 10 metres long was first discovered there decades ago.

In spring 2006, Switzerland’s first theropod dinosaur skeleton was discovered in Frick where the fossil comprises virtually the whole torso with spine, ribs, ventral ribs, shoulder girdle and pelvis, plus a front arm and the front part of the tail. And since then, the skull too has been found.

Bones of the theropod dinosaur found in Frick Photo: University of Zurich

Skull of the ichthyosaur recovered in Frick Photo: Sauriermuseum Frick

The theropod dinosaur belongs to the early theropod family of Coelophysidae. Open growth plates in the spine, shoulder girdle and pelvis indicate that it was not yet fully grown. Furthermore, the configuration of certain bones reveals that the creature was male. The preserved stomach contents record its last meal, providing information about its range of prey.

Amongst other things, the bones and teeth of a tuatara were identified.

torpedo-shaped and looked rather like dolphins. However, they propelled themselves with side-to-side movements of the spine while dolphins use up-anddown movements.

Ichthyosaurs used to live in Switzerland too, and recent proof was discovered of the presence of Ichthyosaurus communis, largely on the basis of a sizeable skull fragment from the early Jurassic period found in Frick. The strata from which this fossil was recovered are an impressive 190 million years old.

Ichthyosaurs were dangerous and effective predators with long snouts equipped with many strong teeth. The stomach contents of ichthyosaurs have revealed that the squid of the day (belemnites) were part of their diet. Like dolphins, Ichthyosaurus communis had a dorsal and a crescent-shaped tail fin which it used like dolphins for propulsion.

Ichthyosaurs similar to dolphins Saurians existed not just on land but also in water. Ichthyosaurs lived in a marine environment and were strong swimmers. They were around from the early Triassic period 250 million years ago, but disappeared again in the Upper Cretaceous period 80 million years ago, possibly because they could not compete with today’s sharks which spread rapidly in the world’s oceans after the postJurassic period. Most ichthyosaurs were

Frick (Canton Aargau) has become a real centre for saurian research: scientific excavations are continually uncovering new finds from the late Triassic period. Photo: Ben Pabst

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Special stamps Saurians in Switzerland

First-day cover motif

Skeleton of the pterosaur found in Graubünden Photo: Rico Stecher

Airborne thanks to membranes Besides birds, bats and flying foxes, pterosaurs were another group of vertebrates with the ability to fly. Recorded as far back as the late Triassic period, 228 million years ago, they died out with the dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period, 65 million years ago. Early pterosaurs had long tails, and later ones had short tails. What also set them apart – particularly in morphological terms – were their skulls, teeth and also the size of their torso, limbs and wings. The latter consisted of a strong membrane sail spanned using a greatly elongated fourth finger.

An excellently preserved specimen of a pterosaur from the late Triassic period was recently found on the Tinzenhorn mountain in Canton Graubünden and described as Raeticodactylus filisurensis. The fossil comprises virtually the whole skull and much of the skeleton. The shape of the skull, with its prominent cranial crest and high mandible, is remarkable. The exten-

sive set of teeth consists of monocuspid fangs and back teeth with several cusps. The humerus is much thinner than that of similar contemporary species.

Going by its skull and dentition, it is assumed that Raeticodactylus filisurensis specialized in catching fish by skimming the surface of the water with its snout open.

Winand Brinkmann, Paleontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich

Dinosaurs, saurians, reptiles?

Extinct reptiles are generally referred to as saurians. The term “dinosaur” covers certain saurians that developed a mammal-like gait and ruled the land during the Mesozoic Era. Ichthyosaurs and pterosaurs are also extinct reptiles, and therefore saurians too.

Saurians predominated during the Mesozoic Era (Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods).

The Triassic period referred to in the body of the text began roughly 250 million years ago.

The Jurassic period followed it about 200 million years ago, while the subsequent Cretaceous period lasted from approximately 145 to 65 million years before our time.

Special stamps Saurians in Switzerland Sales Philately: From 26.8.2010 until 30.9.2011, while stocks last Post offices: From 3.9.2010, while stocks last Validity Unlimited from 3.9.2010 Printing Offset, 5-colour; Cartor Security Printing, La Loupe, France Sizes Stamps: 33 28 mm Sheetlets: 192 95 mm (2 rows of 3 stamps) Paper White stamp paper, without optical brightener, mat gummed, 110 gm² Perforation 13¼ Designer Angelo Boog, Wallisellen (ZH) First-day cancellation

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Competition Saurians in Switzerland

Win a genuine fossil several million years old Usually, you only get to see fossils in museums, and then often only behind protective glass. Enter our competition and you can win a genuine fossil of your very own – a unique piece of the history of life on Earth – or one of the other attractive prizes.

Stamp motifs also available as jigsaws

1st prize: A framed fish fossil (from the Eocene epoch) 2nd prize: An ammonite fossil (from the Jurassic period) 3rd prize: The fossilized tooth of a giant shark (from the Miocene epoch) 4th to 10th prizes: A saurian sheetlet on a first-day cover 11th to 20th prizes: A saurian block of four on a first-day cover 21st to 30th prizes: A first-day cover with the saurian stamps Prizes 1 to 3 have been donated by the Sauriermuseum in Frick.

Autograph session and sales stand Angelo Boog, who designed the saurian stamps, will be giving autographs on Thursday, 26 August 2010, in the Sauriermuseum in Frick. He will sign your philatelic vouchers at Swiss Post’s sales stand from 10.30–11.30 a.m. and from 1.30–2.30 p.m. Please note that he will autograph a maximum of three vouchers per person. Swiss Post sales stand opening hours on 26 August: from 9 a.m. to noon, and from 1–4 p.m.

Sauriermuseum Frick, Schulstrasse 22, CH-5070 Frick www.sauriermuseum-frick.ch

The motifs of the three saurian special stamps also feature on jigsaws for kids and young people.

Measuring 25 × 21 cm, these 70-piece puzzles come as a set costing CHF 18.80.

Entry coupon “Saurians” competition Competition question Where is the skeleton of Switzerland’s only theropod dinosaur exhibited?

Last name

Conditions of entry Closing date for entries: 23 August 2010 (date of postmark). Winners will be notified in person. The names of the main prize winners will be published in “Focus on stamps”. Prizes will not be paid out in cash. The judge’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the competition.

Employees of the Swiss Post business unit responsible for competition organization and their families are not eligible for entry. Only one entry coupon per person, please.

First name Send this coupon (or a copy of it), to arrive by 23 August 2010, to: Address Postcode/Town Country E-mail address

Swiss Post Post Offices & Sales PV25 / Focus Competition Viktoriastrasse 21 3030 Berne Switzerland

Special stamp The Swiss mouse “Jimmy Flitz”

The Swiss mouse goes globetrotting Jimmy Flitz is literally a picture-book mouse, with a pictureperfect career. And now that Swiss Post is starring the travelling mouse on a CHF 0.85 special stamp, this explorer of Switzerland is off to see the world.

First-day cover motif

Special stamp The Swiss mouse “Jimmy Flitz” Sales Philately: From 26.8.2010 until 30.9.2011, while stocks last Post offices: From 3.9.2010, while stocks last Validity Unlimited from 3.9.2010 Printing Offset, 4-colour; Joh. Enschedé, Haarlem, Netherlands

Admittedly, there is no shortage of mice in the vibrant world of children’s picture books, with characters like Mats and Numi, Frederick, Luzili, Leo and a nameless mouse that features in a TV programme.

These rodents read, tame cats or “try their paw” at socialism, but most of them have never made it onto a stamp – a privilege reserved for Jimmy Flitz, the ultimate Swiss mouse.

In fact, it is surprising that Jimmy Flitz has had to wait so long for this tribute.

Sixteen is a ripe old age for a “Mus musculus” (the scientific name for house mice). Though, strictly speaking, Jimmy Flitz is a church steeple mouse or “Mus musculus cathedralis”, who began his career in the steeple of Berne Cathedral back in 1994, in the story “Das Kind vom Turm” (The Child in the Tower) – the first children’s book written by Berne poet, songwriter and author Roland Zoss.

Sizes Stamp: 33 28 mm Stamp booklet: 254 62 mm (open) (2 rows of 5 stamps) Paper White stamp paper, with optical brightener, self-adhesive, on backing paper, 220 gm² Perforation Serpentine cut (4 sides) Jimmy Flitz is just as popular with children as the concerts at which young fans sing stories in dialect with Roland Zoss. Photo: Tomas Wüthrich

Easy contact with kids The book was the first visible and readable signal from a man who had just undergone a radical transformation after finally finding the object of his decade-long quest. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve been yearning for warmth and vitality”, says Roland Zoss. “In the course of my search for them, I travelled through over ➔

Designer Viviane Dommann, Meilen (ZH) First-day cancellation

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➔ 50 of the world’s warm countries, gathering impressions and stories, and I noticed that, strangely enough, it was easier to make contact with kids than with adults in all cultures.” Nevertheless, this commercial college teacher kept poetry for adults as a sideline, penned challenging novels such as “Saitenstrassen” (Streets of Strings) and recorded CDs with songs in High German, like “Flieg meine Seele” (Fly my Soul).

It took the birth of his daughter Lea in 1994 to make him realize what was hidden within him and what he had been searching for in the “outside world”: an attentive eye for the childlike whose profound meaning and beauty can only be expressed in simple terms. Roland wrote “Das Kind vom Turm” (The Child in the Tower) for Lea, then two years later “Die Bärenfastnacht” (The Carnival of the Bears). He invented stories about a mythical creature, the “Xenegugeli”, and a boy called Güschi, wrote international music for kids from “Muku-Tiki-Mu” land and lullabies from Slumber Land. The scenarios changed, but one character remained a constant – Jimmy Flitz, the lovable, astute church-steeple mouse with the red-and-white striped T-shirt.

Jimmy Flitz’s fame is spreading Three years ago, the time was right for Roland Zoss to make Jimmy Flitz the cen-

A poet with words and music: since 1994, Roland Zoss has written many stories and songs about «his» Jimmy Flitz. Photo: Nicole Zoss

tral character in his stories, so the steeple mouse became a peripatetic explorer – the charming Swiss mouse curious to discover Switzerland’s regions and cultures. “Jimmy Flitz – e Reis dür d Schwyz” (A Journey through Switzerland) was a three-part musical play sung and narrated by wellknown Swiss performers like Marco Rima, Corin Curschellas, Christine Lauterburg and Büne Huber.

Stamp booklet The cover of the booklet of ten selfadhesive Jimmy Flitz stamps features the mouse in scenes with his friends Wulwul, the bear wolf, Fernanda the flower fly and Bubur the dragon.

The Switzerland Tourism organization sponsored the project, the “Vereinigung zur Förderung Schweizer Jugendkultur” (Association for Promoting Culture for Swiss Youth) awarded the story its “Goldig Chrönli” (Golden Crown), and the airline Swiss included Jimmy Flitz’s travel adventure in its kids’ programme. New York’s Putumayo World Music label even featured Roland Zoss’s “BärengeburiBubuland” on its “European Playground” album, making it the only children’s song in Swiss dialect distributed worldwide.

One thing led to another, and Jimmy Flitz became more and more famous. “From the start, the mouse was my mascot”, says Roland Zoss, “and it’s now a protected trademark.” This brings the mouse full circle in two ways: first with its adventurous trip through the cantons of Switzerland, beginning and ending in Berne. And second, with its public success, which was never the prime aim but confirmed that the author had taken the right decision back in 1994.

And the fact that Jimmy Flitz will now be touring the world on a stamp also brings things full circle for Roland Zoss in another, personal way. In his teens, he qualified as a federal postal official in Berne and Niederbipp. So, from an early age, he brought people news and stories, both positive and less positive, all of them franked with stamps. “I also learned a lot about people at the postoffice counter”, Roland Zoss explains.

Back then, he hated having to wear a tie at work (he rebelled by wearing an orange bow tie). Now, at 59, he has been a fulltime poet for five years and has arranged his whole world on feel-good lines, letting us feel good with him.

Christian Hug

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Postcards The Swiss mouse “Jimmy Flitz”

Playful, colourful and adventurous: postcards for Jimmy Flitz fans

Viviane Dommann’s gloriously colourful illustrations also come as a set of three postcards.

With Swiss Post to a Jimmy Flitz concert A Jimmy Flitz stamp is something to celebrate, so this September, Swiss Post is organizing concerts in five small Swiss towns. Roland Zoss & the Jimmy Flitz Band will perform and sing stories in Swiss dialect, taking the audience on Swissmouse Jimmy Flitz’s adventure-packed journey through Fairyland Switzerland to mysterious menhirs, sacred lakes and mythical creatures. The exploits of the cheeky little mouse are truly heart warming! A superbly atmospheric experience with cool music ranging from rock to folk, performed by professional musicians. So note the advance sales dates and secure your seat now! Admission: just CHF 5.00 per person.

The members of the Jimmy Flitz Band are: Dajana Wetzel, Stefan W. Müller, Christoph Kohli, Chrigu Dietz, Tinu Stadelmann and Roland Zoss.

Dates and venues Saturday, 4 September 2010, 2 p.m.

Wilderswil BE, community centre (Mehrzweckhalle) Sunday, 5 September 2010, 2 p.m.

Rapperswil SG, Hotel Restaurant Kreuz Sunday, 12 September 2010, 2 p.m.

Brig, Zeughaus Sunday, 19 September 2010, 2 p.m.

Frauenfeld, Eisenwerk

Saturday, 25 September 2010, 2 p.m.

Glarus, Assembly Hall, Cantonal College (Aula Kanti) Special price CHF 5.00 per person (aged three and over) Tickets On sale from 16 August 2010, from: Swiss Post 3800 Interlaken, Marktgasse 1 3812 Wilderswil, Lehngasse 22 8640 Rapperswil, Untere Bahnhofstrasse 2 3900 Brig, Bahnhofstrasse 1 8500 Frauenfeld, Rheinstrasse 1 8750 Glarus, Schweizerhofstrasse 10 No telephone bookings. Tickets while stocks last.

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Product offer The Swiss mouse “Jimmy Flitz”

Listen, read and marvel: “Jimmy Flitz – e Reis dür d Schwyz” – musical play and book The fantastic story “Jimmy Flitz – e Reis dür d Schwyz” is already available as a prize-winning musical play on CD, and now it has also been published as an illustrated book (in High German only).

The play – in three episodes with 18 songs – appeals to all ages and was recorded with well-known Swiss-German dialect performers such as Büne Huber, Corin Curschellas, Marco Rima, Hanery Amman and Christine Lauterburg. Jimmy Flitz and his pals set off in search of Switzerland’s roots, immerse themselves in mystical eras and meet mythical creatures.

Roland Zoss skilfully weaves ancient legends into his fable, which is interspersed with musical gems that range from folk through rap to rock. Well worth listening to!

Book: “Jimmy Flitz, die Schweizermaus” The book of the audio play, in German, superbly illustrated by stamp designer Viviane Dommann. 112 pages, 4-colour, size 17.5 × 24.5 cm. Article-No. 1607 904, CHF 29.90

Audio play CD 1: E grossi Reis faht ds Guggisbärg a 59 mins., Article-No. 1607 901 CHF 29.00

Audio play CD 1: Zum heiligen See über d Alpe 54 mins., Article-No. 1607 902 CHF 29.00

Audio play CD 1: Kroki-LokiGotthardfahrt & Dracheflug zum Matterhorn 63 mins., Article-No. 1607 903 CHF 29.00 16

Set with 3 CDs: The whole “Jimmy Flitz – e Reis dür d Schwyz” trilogy Total duration 176 mins.

Article-No. 1607 900, Special price for the Focus on stamps Readers: CHF 79.00 The audio play is available in Swiss German dialect, and the book in High German only. www.jimmyflitz.ch

Special stamps Swiss composers

Centenary tribute to the composers Liebermann and Sutermeister Internationally, Switzerland is not generally thought of as a country famous for great music, but the composers Rolf Liebermann and Heinrich Sutermeister created works that reached audiences far beyond its borders. Swiss Post is marking the centenaries of these two musicians with two special stamps.

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Special stamps Swiss composers Sales Philately: From 26.8.2010 until 30.9.2011, while stocks last Post offices: From 3.9.2010, while stocks last

Photo: ImagePoint

Validity Unlimited from 3.9.2010 Printing Offset, 5-colour; Bagel Security Print, Düsseldorf, Germany Sizes Stamps: 40 32.5 mm Sheets: 190 162 mm (4 rows of 4 stamps)

Where is Switzerland’s Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Wagner or Strauss? No schools of classical or modern composition that have inspired the world with new techniques or aesthetic approaches have come out of Switzerland. And even the burgeoning of “nationalist” music in many European countries, buoyed by the rising tide of nation states, seemed to pass Switzerland by, because of the stable political conditions that had existed there for centuries. Even its lively folk and brass-band music culture could not really compensate for its lack of “serious music” output.

Late Swiss “stars” But is the Swiss music scene really that dismal? By no means! Othmar Schoeck, Arthur Honegger und Frank Martin may have been a long time coming, but

Paper White stamp paper, without optical brightener, mat gummed, 110 gm² Perforation 13:13¼

when they finally emerged in the early years of the 20th century, they created valuable musical works which attracted considerable interest and have stood the test of time. Born between 1886 and 1892, they had already composed their first pieces when, in 1910, two men were born within five weeks of one another who were to make composition in Switzerland a sustained focus of attention in the decades that followed: Rolf Liebermann (1910– 1999) and Heinrich Sutermeister (1910– 1995).

Designer Roberto Renfer, Zurich Photos: Fritz Peyer, Photographer (Liebermann) Peter Andersen, Photographer, (Sutermeister) First-day cancellation

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Both were quick to look outside Switzerland to its neighbouring countries when starting their careers – Liebermann studying in Budapest and Vienna, and Sutermeister in Paris and Munich. And the impressions they gleaned there had an impact on their subsequent artistic evolution. Sutermeister soon developed close musical and friendship ties with the Carl Orff and Werner Egk circle, while Liebermann’s own interest in the latest modern trends in music was reinforced by his work as private secretary to conductor Hermann Scherchen, a resolute advocate of modern music.

Nevertheless, both soon put down roots in the Swiss musical scene: Sutermeister’s work was mainly centred on Berne (radio,

municipal theatre), while Liebermann was active in a number of fields in his home city of Zurich. Though military service during the Second World War restricted their freedom of movement and writing time, it did not adversely affect their development as composers.

In fact, this period even carried both their careers an important step forward.

Liebermann was called up in Ascona where he took lessons from 1940 onward with Vladimir Vogel who had emigrated there from Germany. This was a decisive phase during which the young composer first encountered the rigorously structured concepts of the so-called twelve-tone technique. He did not, however, slavishly follow its tenets but in his later work

Rolf Liebermann was opera house director in both the Palais Garnier in Paris (right) and in Hamburg (far right: performance of “Kyldex I”).

Photos: ImagePoint/ Fritz Peyer

was receptive both for music that was tonal and melodious and for complex techniques and the latest achievements of avantgarde music – the incorporation of dance rhythms and jazz.

Opera for all His “Concerto for Jazz Band and Symphony Orchestra” (1954) proved especially popular, and other works for orchestra, chamber music and solo pieces were equally successful, as were his major operas, including “Penelope” (1954), “Die Schule der Frauen” (The School for Wives) (1955) and “Freispruch für Medea” (Acquittal for Medea) (1995) which were performed at major opera houses.

Even during the decades when he was general manager of the Hamburg and Paris opera houses, Liebermann’s great achievement was his tireless championing of modern music for which he continually provided an open platform. In addition, he saw opening up the institutions he managed to new audience groups as part of the “democratization of opera” for which he was aiming. In particular, he encouraged young people to overcome their frequent apprehension of contact with an often seemingly elitist opera culture.

The opera “Die schwarze Spinne”, regarded as one of Heinrich Sutermeister’s seminal works, is still being performed seventy years on, here in 2007 in St Gallen.

Photo: Keystone

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Special stamps Swiss composers

In 1940, a dark year for world politics, Heinrich Sutermeister also had a crucial career experience. The first performance of his opera “Romeo und Julia” (based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet) in Dresden marked his international breakthrough. He was given leave to attend the première, and on his return, as he used to recount with a smile, people were less interested in his artistic experiences than in the general situation in Nazi Germany. Sutermeister adapted major works of Western literature in other operas, such as “Die Zauberinsel” (The Magic Island), modelled on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”, and “Raskolnikoff”, inspired by Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”.

Swiss “national opera” He was part of the musical theatre tradition as embodied in particular by Giuseppe Verdi and the subsequent “verismo” (realism) style at the turn of the 20th century, with its salient focus on melody and song, the inclusion of arias and duets, and scenes with large choruses.

From the outset, rhythm was a driving factor in his composition, with the best example probably being his most popular work “Die schwarze Spinne” (The Black Spider) (1935/36), a one-act opera commissioned by Radio Berne. By using Jeremias Gotthelf’s novella, Sutermeister’s score confirmed his close affinity to his Swiss roots, earning the work its status as a “national opera” in every sense of the word.

Way to heaven While his opera based on Flaubert’s “Madame Bovary” received critical acclaim but was not a popular success, works like “Der rote Stiefel” (The Red Boot), “Titus Feuerfuchs” and “Roi Bérenger” – his last opera, written between 1981 and 1983 and inspired by Ionesco – were performed several times and did much to establish Sutermeister’s status as a composer. Besides his ten operas, he wrote important works for the concert hall.

In addition to three piano and two cello concertos, his “Missa da Requiem” (1951/52), the première of which was conducted by Herbert von Karajan, and “Te Deum” (1973/74) are worthy of special mention.

In connection with the latter, in an interview with the author on the occasion of his 80th birthday, Sutermeister recounted the following: “[…] That’s far and away the best thing I’ve ever written. At one performance, the Bishop of SolothurnBasel came up to me and said: ’With this piece, you’ve won your way to heaven.’

– It’s incredible for a bishop to say something like that. It’s not that I’m smug about it, but it’s good to know that I found the right medium – the medium we all have to find.”

Christian Heindl, musicologist and President of the Österreichischen Gesellschaft für zeitgenössische Musik (Austrian Society for Contemporary Music)

Portrait of Liebermann, cosmopolitan composer The centenary of the birth of Swiss composer and opera house director Rolf Liebermann is also being duly covered by TV and radio. Mürra Zabel’s two-part documentary film highlights the many facets of Zurich-born Liebermann, whose creativity, charisma and charm influenced the musical life of the 20th century like few others, and places particular emphasis on his compositions.

TV documentary broadcasts: SF1 12 September 2010, at 10.45 p.m. (Part 1 and 2) www.sf.tv 3sat 18 September 2010, at 10.35 p.m. (Part 1) 22 September 2010, at 9 p.m. (Part 2) www.3sat.de Lucerne Festival preview On 29 August 2010, at 4 p.m. in Lucerne’s stattkino cinema, to be followed by a panel discussion, moderated by Mark Sattler, with Mürra Zabel, Ursula Haas and George Gruntz. Swiss Post’s special stamp will also be presented, and the CD with Liebermann’s opera “La Forêt” (The Forest) will make its public debut. Admission free.

(Repeat on 30 August at 7 p.m.) www.lucernefestival.ch DRS2 radio broadcasts about Rolf Liebermann: 9 September 2010: CH-Musik – Rolf Liebermann: Die Musik (His music) 13 September 2010: Parlando – Rolf Liebermann: Das Leben (His life) 14 September 2010: Reflexe – Rolf Liebermann und sein Einfluss auf die Schweizer Musikszene (Rolf Liebermann and his influence on the Swiss music scene) www.drs2.ch

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Franz Hohler does not need many words to tell a story – as his stamp with the “big dwarf” tale goes to show.

“The big dwarf. Once upon a time, there was a dwarf over 6 feet tall.”

Photo: Christian Altorfer

Special stamp Franz Hohler Sales Philately: From 26.8.2010 until 30.9.2011, while stocks last Post offices: From 3.9.2010, while stocks last

Franz Hohler – Versatile author with a pithy style

Validity Unlimited from 3.9.2010 Printing Offset, 3-colour; Cartor Security Printing, La Loupe, France Sizes Stamp: 40 32.5 mm Sheet: 190 162 mm (4 rows of 4 stamps) Paper White stamp paper, without optical brightener, mat gummed, 110 gm² Perforation 13:13¼ Designer Franz Hohler, Zurich First-day cancellation

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Franz Hohler has been one of Switzerland’s foremost writers for more than forty years. Now, Bienne-born Hohler has designed a stamp for Swiss Post, following in the footsteps of other representatives of Swiss culture in recent years.

Since the mid-Sixties, Franz Hohler has been a major star in Switzerland’s cultural firmament. His first successful one-man programme of satirical cabaret was followed by countless productions of various kinds. Hohler performs on stage, radio and television as well as writing short stories, anecdotes, novels, poems, cabaret scripts, plays and children’s books.

Born in Bienne in 1943, Hohler now lives in Zurich. Once a cabaret per-former, he now concentrates on writing, and his latest published works include “Das grosse Buch” (The big book) (stories for children, Hanser, 2009) and “Das Ende eines ganz normalen Tages” (The end of an abso-lutely normal day) (stories, Luchterhand 2008). On the subject of his own correspondence, he roguishly explains that he does not just write e-mails

but also letters on which he sticks stamps.

Further on in this feature, you can read what Hohler himself has to say about his relationship to letters and stamps. Franz Hohler’s stamp is the latest in the series of stamps by representatives of Swiss culture issued now and then by Swiss Post.

Launched in 2004 with cabaret performer Emil Steinberger, this series has featured motifs by musician Stephan Eicher, Dimitri the clown, dancer Nina Corti, film-maker Fredi M. Murer and artist Hans Erni. And it is to continue in 2011.

Special stamp Franz Hohler

“I’m still not totally immune to the magic of these little rectangles”

I’ve been writing ever since I learnt to read: little stories, little poems and letters.

When I was on holiday with my grandparents in Schönenwerd, I used to write my brother a letter almost every day. He was on holiday with our other grandparents in Bienne. And what really made the letter a letter was the stamp.

Back then, letters cost 20 centimes, postcards 10 centimes and a postcard with fewer than five words 5 centimes. This rate always struck me as odd, and I used to ponder about the weight of words.

Obviously, a postcard covered in writing was heavier than “Kind regards, Yours Franz”.

It struck me as natural to start collecting these stamps, so I got boxes ready, asked for stamp stock books and Müller’s “Jugendalbum Schweiz-Liechtenstein” (Switzerland-Liechtenstein album for young collectors) as presents, raided the homes of relatives and friends, kept a close eye on my parents’ mail which, in my opinion, featured far too few special stamps, and began collecting according to a kind of system. For instance, I was missing the 20-centime postage-due stamp – one of a

fairly prosaic-looking set where the amount payable was written in italics and which had something censorious and demanding about it. So I sent my grandparents an unstamped New Year card asking hypocritically whether they already had snow too. I then collected the card with the cancelled postage-due stamp from them on my next visit, and I still have it to this day in my postal stationery album, in a transparent plastic folder.

My brother collected stamps too, and for Christmas, we often asked for a block or miniature sheet that our parents had to

buy in the course of the year at the post office counter and then put aside till Christmas. They hid away the blue “Lunaba” miniature sheets dating from 1951 with the four flag throwers so well that the stamps never turned up again. My father was convinced he had stuck them in a

book, so my brother and I leafed through half his library but without finding them.

The sheet increased in value (though its value has probably slumped again since), and at the time my own children were interested in stamps, its catalogue value was just under CHF 1000. It was one of the Christmas delights at my parents’ home to watch my children and those of my brother, their faces red with effort, as they (vainly) raked through my father’s bookshelves in the hope of coming across this coveted treasure.

Searching is probably part of collecting and valuable in itself, like waiting for fish is for anglers. Back then, the 20-centime definitive featured the Grimsel dam, with its pump house standing on a spur of rock.

An error in part of the print run left the building open bottomed, with no finishing line at its base. We hunted for this variety on every single letter sent to our parents,

collecting stamps that I first came to realize that errors can be valuable.

And to this day, I’m still not totally immune to the magic of these little rec-tangles.

Though most of my correspondence lands in a virtual mailbox nowadays, I still regularly receive real letters and postcards, both from home and abroad, and I cut out perfectly cancelled, undamaged stamps and put them in a box through which visiting children who collect stamps can trawl for animals, flowers, countries or whatever they happen to collect.

By the way, if there are any children who collect dwarfs, there will be another one to add to their albums from 3 September.

Franz Hohler

An evening with Franz Hohler As a Focus reader, you can meet Franz Hohler and experience his way with words first hand. We are giving away 120 tickets for an exclusive reading event in Berne.

On the evening of 9 September 2010 (from 6 p.m.), you are invited to Berne’s Museum of Communication to get to know this successful author in person and enjoy hearing him read from his work.

Send your order (maximum of two tickets per order), stating your exact address and customer number, to:

but it was like waiting to see whether you’ve won the Lottery. There were any number of perfectly finished Grimsel pump houses, but never one that was architecturally flawed. It was probably through

Swiss Post Post Offices & Sales Stamps & Philately Kurt Strässle Viktoriastrasse 21 3030 Berne Tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Customers allocated free tickets will be sent details of the programme direct.

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Special stamp EFTA 50 years

EFTA: 50 years in the service of international free trade This year, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Initially founded as an alternative to the European Union, EFTA has made a substantial contribution to economic cooperation in Europe and, for Switzerland, it remains an important trade-policy instrument to this day. Swiss Post is issuing a special stamp to commemorate this milestone.

Detail of an EFTA sheet of stamps

“Small but significant” would be an apt description of EFTA. Though it may seem to be overshadowed by the European Union and other international groupings with a higher profile, there is no doubt as to its importance, even if it now has “only” four member countries – Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Switzerland in particular derives considerable economic benefit from EFTA as a great many of the framework conditions for Swiss foreign trade are shaped by EFTA negotiations with third countries.

Twenty of the 23 free trade agreements currently implemented by Switzerland are regulated within the framework of EFTA.

What is EFTA? EFTA (European Free Trade Association) was foun ded in January 1960 in Stockholm. The Stockholm Convention, designed to achieve economic growth and prosperity for its Member States, came into effect on 3 May 1960. The founding members Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom were later joined by Finland, Iceland and Liechtenstein (in the case of Finland, just temporarily).

EFTA’s headquarters are in Geneva.

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Thanks to this network, Switzerland enjoys preferential conditions in economic exchanges – not just in Europe, but worldwide.

Facilitating trade For an export-oriented nation like Switzerland, which earns every second franc abroad, unimpeded access to international markets is of special importance. These agreements help to preserve and improve the attractiveness and competitiveness of Switzerland as a place to do business.

For example, trade is facilitated so as to reduce or eliminate customs charges. And after all, the EFTA States taken together constitute the world’s seventh-largest trader in goods and its fifth-largest trader in services, making the four small EFTA countries an interesting trading partner.

As was said earlier, small but significant….

Despite very similar objectives, EFTA does not see itself as competing with the World Trade Organization (WTO) or with the EU, but as a complement to them. The agreements negotiated by EFTA are based on WTO regulations and, wherever possible, go even further than these standards.

Fluctuating development Fifty years ago, nobody would have believed that EFTA with its free trade agreements would be operating internationally today. When Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom allied to form EFTA in 1960, it was in reaction to the founding of the European Economic Community – the forerunner of the present EU – three years earlier. At that time, the EFTA States could not, or did not wish to, join the Community.

Initially, free trade in both economic blocks was confined to their respective partners and gradually expanded to inter-block trade as of 1972. The entry into force of the European Economic Area in 1994 and the bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the EU in 2002 and 2004

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created a common market stretching from Iceland to Greece, and from Estonia to Portugal, covering a large proportion of Europe. EFTA has made a major contribution to this process and the fact that, over the years, more and more countries have left the Association to join the EU – the latest being Austria, Finland and Sweden in 1995 – in no way detracts from its achievements.

With the growing importance of world trade in the wake of globalization, both the EU and EFTA Member States extended their free trade policy to the countries of Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean region, as well as to other key international trading partners, in the 1990s.

The document founding EFTA was signed for Switzerland in 1960 by Ambassador Gottlieb Gut. The fact that EFTA and the EEC (the forerunner of today’s EU) were pursuing very similar aims made the two organizations a favourite target of caricaturists’ barbs (picture above, dating from 1960). Photos: EFTA

Reason to celebrate Today, EFTA has four members: beside its founder States Norway and Switzerland, it includes Iceland (as of 1970) and Liechtenstein (as of 1991). In summer 2009, Iceland applied for EU membership, but it is not yet clear whether this will merely make EFTA smaller in future or whether it will have to consider realignment. None of this alters the fact that 50 years of EFTA have been a resounding success for all concerned. This pragmatic, efficient organization seldom hits the headlines, but its importance past and present – both for its members and for world trade – is truly impressive.

Max Schweizer and Peter Kaufmann, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the WTO and the EFTA in Geneva

Special stamp EFTA 50 years Sales Philately: From 26.8.2010 until 30.9.2011, while stocks last Post offices: From 3.9.2010, while stocks last Validity Unlimited from 3.9.2010 Printing Offset, 2-colour; Giesecke & Devrient, Leipzig, Germany Sizes Stamp: 33 28 mm Sheet: 195 145 mm (4 rows of 5 stamps) Paper White stamp paper, without optical brightener, mat gummed, 110 gm² Perforation 14:13¾ Designer Demian Conrad, Lausanne First-day cancellation

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Special stamp 100th anniversary of the death of Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier

The visionary and the workhorse – two very different Red Cross initiators Genevan personages Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier played a decisive part in the early days of the Red Cross. Their altruistic concept has since developed into a worldwide network so, one hundred years after their death, Swiss Post is issuing a special stamp honouring the dedication of Dunant and Moynier.

It all began over 150 years ago. In the context of the struggle for supremacy in Europe, a bloody battle waged at Solferino in northern Italy on 24 June 1859 cost more than 40,000 lives. Observing how thousands of casualties had been abandoned on the battlefield, Henry Dunant – who happened to be in the area on business – urged local women to help the wounded, regardless of which army they belonged to.

Three years later, Dunant published a book entitled “A Memory of Solferino” in which he called for an international convention to protect casualties of war, suggesting that relief organizations should be set up in all countries to train volunteers in times of peace so as to support army medical staff in the event of war. This was the idea that gave birth to the Red Cross.

Henry Dunant – the visionary Henry Dunant was thus the visionary whose experience on the battlefield promp ted him to take action. In 1863, he and four others, including General Henri

The Red Cross Movement With its 100 million members and volunteers, the International Red Cross Movement is the world’s largest humanitarian network. It comprises: J the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), founded in 1863, with its headquarters in Geneva. The ICRC monitors compliance with the Geneva Conventions and protects the victims of armed conflict.

J 186 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies which provide health, social, integration and emergency services in their respective countries.

J the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, founded in 1919, with its headquarters in Geneva. The Federation is the worldwide umbrella organization of the National Societies. Its main missions are disaster relief, assistance to refugees and providing health services. It also promotes cooperation between the National Societies.

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Dufour and Gustave Moynier, founded the organization which was the precursor of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Though effective as a dedicated philanthropist, Dunant was unsuccessful as a businessman and went bankrupt. Growing tension developed between him and Moynier, and when Dunant lost his position in society, he even resigned from the ICRC under pressure from Moynier. It was not until 1901 that Dunant’s work was honoured with the first Nobel Peace Prize.

He died on 30 October 1910 in Heiden (Canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden).

Gustave Moynier – the workhorse Dunant found support for his idea in Gustave Moynier, a prosperous lawyer and President of the Geneva Society for Public Welfare. From 1864 until his death on 28 August 1910, Moynier also presided over the ICRC. He was a methodical, meticulous mover and shaker who set his stamp on international humanitarian

legislation and the development of the national Red Cross societies in the 19th century. Dunant the idealist and Moynier, the lawyer: two people with very different temperaments who campaigned for the

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Special stamp 100th anniversary of the death of Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier Sales Philately: From 26.8.2010 until 30.9.2011, while stocks last Post offices: From 3.9.2010, while stocks last Validity Unlimited from 3.9.2010 The Red Cross fast-forwarded: the 1850 Battle of Solferino inspired its foundation (woodcut, left), and the first Geneva Convention was signed just one year later (above). The face of Red Cross aid in 2010 (top): field hospital operating in Haiti. Photos: zvg

Commemorative events In Geneva: J Guided tours of Red Cross sites in Geneva’s Old Town, 20–22 August and 3–5 September 2010 J E xhibition on Dunant and Moynier, from 21 September 2010 to 23 January 2011, in the International Red Cross Museum J “Dunant – Moynier” Symposium on 14–16 October 2010 in the International Red Cross Museum www.dunant-moynier.org

same goal. What they accomplished survives as the most important humanitarian organization which protects and assists people in need.

Printing Offset, 4-colour; Gutenberg AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein Sizes Stamp: 33 28 mm Sheet: 195 145 mm (4 rows of 5 stamps) Paper White stamp paper, with optical brightener, mat gummed, 110 gm² Perforation 13¼:13½ Designer Martin Eberhard, Zurzach (AG) First-day cancellation

In Heiden (Appenzell Ausserrhoden): J Special exhibition in the Henry Dunant Museum, until 14 November 2010 J “Kids Cross” – Children run for peace, on 12 September 2010 J Commemoration of the centenary of Dunant’s death on 30 October 2010, with the premiere of the oratorio “Dunant – ein dramatisches Menschenleben” (Dunant – A Dramatic Life) www.dunant2010.ch

Christina Williamson / Beat Wagner

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Special stamp 100th anniversary of the birth of Jeanne Hersch

The undying fascination of Jeanne Hersch Geneva-born philosopher Jeanne Hersch was one of Switzerland’s most famous intellectuals in recent times and, throughout her life, she championed human rights and liberty. She would have been 100 years old this year. Now, a Swiss Post special stamp pays tribute to this centenary.

Do you remember the well-known philosopher Jeanne Hersch who died in 2000 in Geneva? This year marks the centenary of her birth in 1910.

Jeanne Hersch was an exceptional personage, a pugnacious philosopher and a born teacher. We know her from the numerous lectures she gave, from her weekly radio broadcasts in the 1970s, 1980s and even 1990s. She expressed her ideas off the cuff, in French but also in German.

She had a keen analytical mind, and was a resolute woman for whom clarity of expression and thought were very important. Hersch was courageous and fearless, even when swimming against the tide of received ideas. It was easy to follow her thinking, because she guided her audience step by step to the crux of her argument, somehow leaving them with a feeling of happiness.

An insistent challenger But Jeanne Hersch could also irritate her opponents. For her, waging “affectionate war for the sake of truth” – as she said, quoting her great mentor Karl Jaspers – was of vital importance and a real necessity. And she never missed an opportunity to do so. She was also convinced that when the great majority supported an opinion, you should confront this trend and look for counterarguments. She continually did just that, stirring up a hornet’s nest on more than one occasion.

She received many awards for her stance, commitment and work. They included three honorary doctorates – from the Universities of Basel and Oldenburg, and what is now the Lausanne Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) – and a whole series of prizes: the Foundation for Human Rights Prize (1973), the Montaigne Prize (1979), the Max Schmidheiny Freedom Prize (1980), the Max Petitpierre Prize (1985), 26

the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education (1985), the Albert Einstein Medal (1987) and the Karl Jaspers Prize (1992).

nervous energy. So she was all the more delighted to be able to publish the book “Birthright of Man” with more than 1,000 quotations from the world’s culA Genevan with Polish roots tural traditions for UNESCO. These quotaJeanne Hersch was the first-born child of tions showed that human dignity is a student couple of Polish Jews who not just a Western idea but applies to all fled to Switzerland from the Tsarist regime human beings everywhere. in 1904. Her parents were members of Jeanne Hersch bore witness to and took a Tsarist resistance movement, fighting a critical stand on the history of the for socialism and hence for more justice in past century with its horrendous wars and Poland and Russia. They championed totalitarian regimes. Her major concerns secular international Judaism and above were freedom and responsibility, educaall cultivated Jewish culture and education. ting young people, the quest for meaning, Hersch studied literature in Geneva, democracy which should not be taken Paris, Heidelberg and Freiburg in Breisgau. for granted and, of course, human rights.

It was in Heidelberg, between 1929 and To put it in a nutshell: she was an out1932 that she met Karl Jaspers who standing woman. became her great mentor. She remained Monika Weber, former Councillor of State and true to him all her life, translating his President of the Jeanne Hersch Society works into French.

One of the first women professors From 1936 to 1956, Jeanne Hersch taught at the International School in Geneva before becoming a professor at Geneva University (1956–1977), making her the first woman in Switzerland to hold tenure in systematic philosophy. Besides her regular professional activity, she travelled extensively to Latin America, North Africa, the USA (giving guest seminars at leading universities) and even to Thailand, where she accompanied the royal family as tutor to their three children on a year-long journey through the kingdom.

For two years (1966–68), she was a Director at UNESCO in Paris, where she set up the Division of Philosophy. Probably nowhere else are so many compromises required than in an international organization, and this period was a learning process for Hersch. Being unable to push through what she saw as the truth took its toll in terms of physical and

Even though combative Jeanne Hersch defended her ideas vehemently and, if necessary, pulled no punches, her work was respected and repeatedly honoured with awards.

Photo: Keystone First-day cover motif

Special stamp 100th anniversary of the birth of Jeanne Hersch Sales Philately: From 26.8.2010 until 30.9.2011, while stocks last Post offices: From 3.9.2010, while stocks last Validity Unlimited from 3.9.2010 Printing Offset, 5-colour; Gutenberg AG, Schaan, Liechtenstein Sizes Stamp: 33 28 mm Sheet: 195 145 mm (4 rows of 5 stamps) Paper White stamp paper, with optical brightener, mat gummed, 110 gm² Perforation 13¼:13½ Designer Tessa Gerster, Lausanne First-day cancellation

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Range of products

First day of issue of stamps 3.9.2010 Special stamps

3.9.2010

Optical art

Special stamps Saurians in Switzerland

White stamp paper, self-adhesive

CHF 0.85 Red Ball CHF 1.00 Blue Red Black CHF 1.40 Circle Red Blue

CHF 0.85 Theropod dinosaur CHF 1.00 Ichthyosaur CHF 1.40 Pterosaur

Set on first-day cover C6 1578 580 only CHF 4.15

Block of four on first-day cover E6 (3 covers) 1578 630 only CHF 16.00

Set 1578 150 W 1578 550 CHF 3.25

Set of blocks of four 1578 160 W 1578 560 CHF 13.00

Picture postcards and stamps

3.9.2010

Optical art Set of 3 picture postcards “Blue I”, “Blue Illusion”, “Vibrato” costing CHF 0.60 each and the 3 stamps of CHF 0.85, 1.00 and 1.40 (not affixed) 1578 911 W only CHF 5.05

Unstamped covers available from 26.8.2010 Single stamp on first-day cover C6 (3 covers) 1578 600 only CHF 5.95

C6 (162 114 mm) 1578 700 CHF 0.90 E6 (200 142 mm) 1578 701 CHF 1.00

Sheets of 12 stamps CHF 0.85 1578 111 W 1578 511 CHF 10.20 Folder 1578 660 W 1578 670 CHF 4.15

CHF 1.00 1578 112 W 1578 512 CHF 12.00

Set 1577 150 W 1577 550 CHF 3.25

Set of blocks of four 1577 160 W 1577 560 CHF 13.00

Sheetlet of 6 stamps CHF 0.85 1577 311 W 1577 351 CHF 5.10 Sheetlet of 6 stamps CHF 1.00 1577 312 W 1577 352 CHF 6.00 Sheetlet of 6 stamps CHF 1.40 1577 313 W 1577 353 CHF 8.40

CHF 1.40 1578 113 W 1578 513 CHF 16.80

The picture postcards are not included in standing order.

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Collection sheet 1578 680 W 1578 690 CHF 3.85

Sheetlet on first-day cover C5 0.85 Theropod dinosaur 1577 591 only CHF 6.30

Sheetlet on first-day cover C5 1.00 Ichthyosaur 1577 592 only CHF 7.20

3.9.2010

Stamp booklet

3.9.2010

CHF 0.85 The Swiss mouse “Jimmy Flitz” White stamp paper, mat gummed

Set on first-day cover C6 1577 580 only CHF 4.15

Unstamped covers available from 26.8.2010 Single stamp on first-day cover C6 (3 covers) 1577 600 only CHF 5.95

The Swiss mouse “Jimmy Flitz”

Single stamp on first-day cover 1575 580 only CHF 1.75 Unstamped cover available from 26.8.2010 1575 700 CHF 0.90

No blocks of four available Customers with a standing order for block of four will receive for each block of four in their standing order 1 1575 150 W and/or 1575 550

No block of four on first-day cover available Customers with a standing order for block of four on first-day cover will receive for each block of four on first-day cover in their standing order 1 1575 580 No sheet available Available only as a single stamp (1575 150 W/ 1575 550 ) or as a stamp booklet (1575 300 W/ 1575 800 )

C6 (162 114 mm) 1577 700 CHF 0.90 C5 (229 162 mm) 1577 701 CHF 1.20

Stamp booklet with 10 CHF 0.85 self-adhesive stamps 1575 300 W 1575 800 Folder 1577 660 W 1577 670 CHF 4.15

3.9.2010

White stamp paper, self-adhesive

Single stamp 1575 150 W 1575 550 CHF 0.85

Block of four on first-day cover C6 (3 covers) 1577 630 only CHF 15.70

Picture postcards

Set of 3 picture postcards “Dragon flight”, “Roasting”, “Musician” costing CHF 0.60 each (without stamps) 1575 911 CHF 1.80 CHF 8.50 The picture postcards are not included in standing order.

Collection sheet 1577 680 W 1577 690 CHF 3.85

Stamp catalogues

Sheetlet on first-day cover C5 1.30 Pterosaur 1577 593 only CHF 9.60

Set of the three first-day covers C5, each one with a sheetlet Theropod dinosaur, Ichthyosaur, Pterosaur (3 covers) 1577 590 only CHF 23.10

Folder 1575 660 W 1575 670 CHF 1.75

Collection sheet 1575 680 W 1575 690 CHF 1.45

Please note: For technical reasons, some items such as block of four and block of four on first-day covers, sheets, strips as well as special requests such as horizontal pairs etc., cannot be provided.

Zumstein Switzerland/Liechtenstein/UN Geneva 2011 German/French (see advertisement on page 2) 1597 725 CHF 35.00

Swiss Stamp Dealers Association Switzerland/Liechtenstein/UN Geneva 2011 German/French (see advertisement on page 2) 1597 787 CHF 35.00

The stamp catalogues will be delivered in Switzerland and in Liechtenstein only.

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Range of products

Ordering made easy: use the enclosed order form!

Special stamps

3.9.2010

Swiss composers

3.9.2010

CHF 1.00 Franz Hohler – Literature

CHF 1.00 100th anniversary of the birth of Rolf Liebermann CHF 1.40 100th anniversary of the birth of Heinrich Sutermeister

White stamp paper, mat gummed

Folder 1582 660 W 1582 670 CHF 3.30

Set 1582 150 W 1582 550 CHF 2.40

Special stamps

Set of blocks of four 1582 160 W 1582 560 CHF 9.60

Collection sheet 1582 680 W 1582 690 CHF 3.00

White stamp paper, mat gummed

Single stamp 1580 150 W 1580 550 CHF 1.00

Block of four 1580 160 W 1580 560 CHF 4.00

Single stamp on first-day cover C6 1580 580 only CHF 1.90

Block of four on first-day cover C6 1580 630 only CHF 4.90

Folder 1580 660 W 1580 670 CHF 1.90

Collection sheet 1580 680 W 1580 690 CHF 1.60

Unstamped covers available from 26.8.2010

Sheet of 16 stamps 1580 111 W 1580 511 CHF 16.00

Sheets of 16 stamps CHF 1.00 1582 111 W 1582 511 CHF 16.00

Set on first-day cover C6 1582 580 only CHF 3.30

Block of four on first-day cover E6 (2 covers) 1582 630 only CHF 11.60

CHF 1.40 1582 112 W 1582 512 CHF 22.40

C6 (162 114 mm) 1580 700 CHF 0.90

Unstamped covers available from 26.8.2010 Single stamp on first-day cover C6 (2 covers) 1582 600 only CHF 4.20

Key

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C6 (162 114 mm) 1582 700 CHF 0.90 E6 (200 142 mm) 1582 701 CHF 1.00

W = mint = cancelled

E6 (200 142 mm) 1580 701 CHF 1.00

Special products Set of single stamps, 3/2010 issue The single stamps/sets of the 3/2010 issue of 3.9.2010 are displayed on a free A5 backing card with a protective cellophane wrappring.

1573 150 W 1573 550 CHF 15.05

Set of first-day covers, 3/2010 issue The first-day covers with set of the 3/2010 issue of 3.9.2010 are combined in one free cover.

1573 580 only CHF 22.25

2009 Year book of Swiss stamps 1513 830 W 1513 831 CHF 66.00

2009 Set of first-day covers 1512 530 only CHF 85.60

2009 Year Set 1514 320 W 1514 820 CHF 57.20

Voucher for philatelic articles 871 399 CHF 15.00

Swiss Post’s General Terms and Conditions of Business concerning the purchase of stamps and philatelic items form an integral part of individual orders and are tacitly accepted by each customer who sends an order.

These Terms and Conditions (updated version of March 2010) can be ordered by telephone (+41 [0]848 66 55 44) or by e-mail (stamps@ post.ch). They are also available at www.swisspost. ch/philately/gtc.

Special stamp

3.9.2010

Special stamp

3.9.2010

Special stamp

3.9.2010

CHF 1.40 EFTA 50 years (European Free Trade Association)

CHF 1.90 100th anniversary of the death of Henry Dunant and Gustave Moynier

CHF 1.00 100th anniversary of the birth of Jeanne Hersch

White stamp paper, mat gummed

White stamp paper, mat gummed

White stamp paper, mat gummed

Single stamp 1581 150 W 1581 550 CHF 1.40

Block of four 1581 160 W 1581 560 CHF 5.60

Single stamp 1576 150 W 1576 550 CHF 1.90

Block of four 1576 160 W 1576 560 CHF 7.60

Single stamp 1579 150 W 1579 550 CHF 1.00

Block of four 1579 160 W 1579 560 CHF 4.00

Single stamp on first-day cover 1581 580 only CHF 2.30

Block of four on first-day cover 1581 630 only CHF 6.50

Single stamp on first-day cover 1576 580 only CHF 2.80

Block of four on first-day cover 1576 630 only CHF 8.50

Single stamp on first-day cover 1579 580 only CHF 1.90

Block of four on first-day cover 1579 630 only CHF 4.90

Folder 1581 660 W 1581 670 CHF 2.30

Collection sheet 1581 680 W 1581 690 CHF 2.00

Folder 1576 660 W 1576 670 CHF 2.80

Collection sheet 1576 680 W 1576 690 CHF 2.50

Folder 1579 660 W 1579 670 CHF 1.90

Collection sheet 1579 680 W 1579 690 CHF 1.60

Unstamped cover available from 26.8.2010 1581 700 CHF 0.90

Sheet of 20 stamps 1581 111 W 1581 511 CHF 28.00

Unstamped cover available from 26.8.2010 1576 700 CHF 0.90

Sheet of 20 stamps 1576 111 W 1576 511 ° CHF 38.00

Unstamped cover available from 26.8.2010 1579 700 CHF 0.90

Sheet of 20 stamps 1579 111 W 1579 511 CHF 20.00

Set with the 3 Musical play CDs “The complete trilogy ’Jimmy Flitz – e Reis dür d Schwyz’”* Swiss German dialect Total duration 176 min. (see page 16) 1607 900 CHF 79.00

Book “Jimmy Flitz, die Schweizermaus”* available in German 112 pages, four colours, size 17.5 24.5 cm (see page 16) 1607 904 CHF 29.90

Demi-Sheet of 10 stamps 1576 121 W 1576 521 CHF 19.00

Set of 3 puzzles “Saurians”* Theropod dinosaur, Ichthyosaur, Pterosaur 70-piece puzzle (see page 12) 1577 900 CHF 18.50

Musical play CD 1 “E grossi Reis faht ds Guggisbärg a”* Swiss German dialect Duration 59 minutes (see page 16) 1607 901 CHF 29.90

Musical play CD 2 “Zum heiligen See und über d Alpe”* Swiss German dialect Duration 54 minutes (see page 16) 1607 902 CHF 29.90

Musical play CD 3 “Kroki-Loki-Gotthardfahrt & Dracheflug zum Matterhorn”* Swiss German dialect Duration 63 minutes (see page 16) 1607 903 CHF 29.90

* These articles will be delivered in Switzerland and in Liechtenstein only.

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Holidays just around the corner. What about your mail?

0848 888 888 Your post ofďŹ ce on the phone

e er Servic m o t s u C lp.

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Beautiful stamps for eye-catching holiday greetings.

www.swisspost.ch/philashop