Dear Reader, The year 2003 will be an exciting philatelic year for POST Greenland with a grand supply of new and beautiful designs from our Greenlandic artists. Just to mention a few exciting themes - our beautiful ships are illustrated and engraved by Martin Mörck and the Greenlandic sledge dogs are illustrated by Naja Abelsen and engraved by Lasse Sjöblom. We continue the series of joint issues, this time with Post Danmark, by marking the 100th anniversary of the Danish Literary Greenland Expedition. This year POST Greenland will participate in a series of exhibitions and we will try to be represented at as many exhibitions as possible. We are happy to meet our current
and new customers around the world and we are delighted at the increasing popularity of Greenland stamps. Our website www.stamps.gl enjoys a continuously increasing number of visitors. The number of electronic enquiries via email is also constantly growing. We regard this as a positive growth and as such POST Greenland plans to update the website in the near future, to make it more dynamic and user friendly for all our visitors. POST Greenland is closely monitoring the development in all relevant fields for improvement in the quality of our stamps. As a result, in 2003 we will introduce other types of paper for our stamps. These types of paper are adjusted to the printing methods, which are used on our stamps.
Abroad many people connect the winter in Greenland with bitter cold and a lot of ice and snow. Indeed, we do have plenty of these things, however, an overwhelming plain of snow upon snow is also hidden in a mountain plateau, often bathed in bright sunshine – it is a must to experience this fascinating and magnificent natural landscape at least once in a lifetime. Enjoy your reading. Yours sincerely,
Søren Rose Philatelic Manager
rederi k
-is a Philatelist
Hello, my name is Frederik. I am 12 years old and have been living in a town called Tasiilaq on the East coast of Greenland for 18 months now. Last Summer I moved from "Ringkøbing" in Denmark with my parents and my two sisters (age 14 and 3). I began collecting stamps when I was 5 years old. My uncle from Germany had given me his old stamp collection, because he could see that I found it exciting to look at the stamps with him. In the beginning I mainly collected stamps with funny designs like dinosaurs, animals and ships, but as time progressed I gradually switched to collecting Danish and Greenland stamps. When I was 10 years old, I became a member of "Ringkøbing Stamp Club". For a long time I was the only child and the second youngest collector was approximately 50 years old. Everybody was very sympathetic and nice and I always took home a bag with lots of stamps. I always looked forward to Thursday evenings, when it was time to go to the stamp club. Soon I had collected approx. 25,000 stamps and I always had something to do, whenever I got bored. Then I would go through the bags I had received and I found it very exciting to find some stamps that were missing from my collection. The most exciting thing, however, was to be around the other collec-
tors and exchanging stamps. In the club I learned how to sort my collection and that it would be wise not to spread the collection over too large an area. Therefore I began to concentrate on Danish stamps. These were also the stamps I packed for our 3-year stay in Greenland. The funny thing is I moved in just across the road from the Greenland Philatelic Bureau. At this very moment I have a clear view of the Philatelic Bureau with "Sømandsfjeldet" (The Sailor’s Mountain) behind it. I am a member of the philately now and I collect Greenland stamps with great joy. I have always thought the designs on the Greenland stamps to be very beautiful and often they tell something about the country. Tasiilaq has approx. 1800 inhabitants and it is the largest town on the entire East coast. The school has 450 pupils and has recently been renovated. Unfortunately not many people collect stamps in this town. There are plenty of things to do here in Greenland other than collecting stamps. During the winter I often go skiing, because there is a ski lift 5 minutes from my house. I have been dog sledding quite a lot across the fiord and up the mountains from lake to lake. The nature around here is incredibly beautiful both during the summertime and the wintertime. It is very exciting to go dog
sledding; but it is even more fun to drive a snow mobile. The speed is more appealing to me. I love to go fishing in a stream, which runs through the town and falls into the fiord. I have also tried to go fishing on the ocean, where I among other things caught a catfish that weighed 17 kilograms. I also play soccer and like to visit the Internet café we have established at the school. Last summer I hiked for 8 hours with two of my friends from Denmark, my sister and our father across the Island of Ammassalik to a school camp at the "Sermilik fiord" near Ikatteq. Here you can watch enormous icebergs floating by and look out onto the ice cap. It is very beautiful. The trip was very strenuous; but as luck would have it when we arrived, we found a lot of Donald Duck comics. It is very cosy to be at the school camp and flop down after a long hiking trip. Once in a while I get to go along on sealing trips on the ocean. On one of the trips I saw some whales. It was ‘cool’ to see such enormous animals and be that close to them. I am happy to be able to experience Greenland and to explore the fantastic nature around here, but I also miss having more friends to share my interests with. It is a challenge to be in a classroom, where they speak a completely different language.
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Report from "Frimærker i Forum 2002" ("Stamps in Forum 2002" in Copenhagen) "Frimærker i Forum 2002", the largest stamp and trading exhibiton in Northern Europe was arranged by Danmarks Frimærkehandlerforening, Danmarks Filatelist Forbund, Post Danmark, Postverk Føroya and POST Greenland. We bring you our report from this exhibition in Copenhagen. 4
By Lars Anker-Møller, Head of Sales in POST Greenland, Filatelia The last business transaction has been carried out and the sales booths are empty once more. The only ones remaining are the different postal services and traders, who hurriedly pack their articles away. It is time to take stock for "Frimærker i Forum 2002". Our expectations had not been very high, since the recent exhibitions have shown a decreasing interest in visiting stamp exhibitions. The management of "Frimærker i Forum" had prepared for such consequences and wisely - as an old saying goes – cut one’s coat according to one’s clothes with the lowest budget seen for many a year. So, it was with excitement that we stood by on 8 November at 10 a.m., as Erling Daugaard, president of the exhibition, gave a warm welcome to everybody. Subsequently the Postal Orchestra of Copenhagen played in front of a "forcemeat shaped" crowd of visitors, who impatiently awaited the opening in order to acquire the very latest stamps. "Frimærker i Forum 2002", took place during the period from 8 to 10 November. The theme of the exhibition was the maritime environment. POST Greenland exhibited three lectures behind our sales booth: Ole Ventegodt vividly narrated the navigation of the Greenlander ships, Birte Haagen held a slide show lecture on sealing in Greenland and Asger Fredslund told about
his exciting time with the Sirius Patrol. Next to our sales booth Oline was making all kinds of beautiful figures in steatite, while chatting with the large number of visitors who wanted to know about her beautiful artwork. Consequently, the visitors had plenty to look at and listen to. I have to admit that I did not have time to listen to any of the lectures, since the crowd at our sales booth was so large that at times we had to have four people serving the customers; nevertheless a lot of people had to queue for up to 45 minutes before it got to be their turn. That is why I would very much like to say thank you to all the visitors at POST Greenland’s sales booth for your patience and good spirits. Especially, the first mini sheets issued by POST Greenland in March 2002 were much sought after during the entire exhibition, both in the mint and in the cancelled version. The demand on these mini sheets with the designs depicting the Greenlandic drum and the wooden mask was so great that we had to bring back home orders from several visitors. Furthermore seeing so many of our customers receiving our new Greenland Year Pack and the Christmas Stamps so well was a great joy. The latter were issued in the traditional whole sheets with gum on the back as well as self-adhesive stamps in the popular Greenland Christmas Stamp Booklet. Finally, we ought to mention that
our joint issue with Post Danmark and Postverk Føroya, which incidentally carried the theme "The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea", ICES, apparently has appealed to the collectors. So, a vast number of ICES souvenir sheets and ICES souvenir folders were handed over the counter during the three days of the exhibition. More than 8,000 people visited "Frimærker i Forum 2002"; not an enormous number, but in return every participating postal service at the exhibition gave reports of record-breaking business. This means that next year presumably will bring an even larger number of participating postal services. Many visitors at POST Greenland’s sales booth chose to accept our offer of taking out a subscription on Greenland Year Packs. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all the new subscribers to POST Greenland. Now that the last light has been turned off in Forum, the preparations for this year’s exhibition have begun, at which time I look forward to seeing everybody at "Frimærker i Forum" once more.
POST Greenland’s competition during "Frimærker i Forum 2002" In connection with "Frimærker i Forum 2002" we arranged a competition in which you had to answer three questions about Greenland. The prize was a beautiful model of a kayak made of sealskin and wood. The lucky winner was Ole Hansen from Copenhagen, aged 61 and a security manager. After the draw I caught Ole on his mobile phone while he was in an elevator on his way to the car park under a department store in the town of Ballerup in Denmark, where the rest of our conversation took place while the bag of e.g. Christmas brew was placed on the floor. Ole is indeed a worthy winner as his comments below clearly state: "I began collecting stamps while I was still in school, which must have been sometime during the early 50’s. Most of the boys in my classroom did it, so we were exchanging stamps like mad. My first stamp I think was a red one of King Frederik IX of Denmark. This stamp is probably not available today. My interest in Greenland stamps began a couple of years later after having visited "Postvæsenets salgskontor for frimærkesamlere" (The Sales Office of Postal Services for Stamp Collectors) – today "Post Danmark Stamps", which was situated at the General Post Office in Bernstorffsgade 32 in
Copenhagen. Here you were also able to buy Greenland stamps. Except from the "Pakke-Post" and the American issues with surcharge, I have collected every issued Greenland stamp in mint. At the time I thought it cost a fortune to buy "Gustav Holm" (AFA 41) denominated at DKK 5.00 out of my own pocket money! I visited Greenland in 1975 and in 1977. Two wonderful trips with experiences like: • Navigating between the icebergs on the ships "Disko" and "Kununguak" along the west coast between Maniitsoq and Ilulissat – a fantastic view. • A demonstration by a kayaker in Aasiaat. • The enormous glacier in Ilulissat – a beautiful sight in the midnight sun. • Visited the arctic station in Qeqertarsuaq. Ate a whale steak on "the bus" (the ship "Tudliq") on the way between Aasiaat and Qeqertarsuaq. • Caught a Minke Whale in Aasiaat, followed by distribution of the whale. • A confirmation in Sisimiut with the parents and the confirmants in national dress. • A handshake by the prime minister in Ilulissat – I was a spectator and maybe I stood out too much so that the prime minister at the time, Anker Jørgensen, thought I was one of the notabilities of the town. • Sat on a mailbag in a helicopter from Sisimiut to Kangerlussuaq. • When the plane from Kangerlussuaq to Copenhagen was delayed, we got to go onto the ice cap, where we made some coffee from the ice on the spirit heater. While drinking the coffee two reindeer walked by, but they quickly ran off again."
Ole finishes by saying he is extremely happy to have won the kayak and he looks forward to receiving it very much. Once again POST Greenland wishes to congratulate Ole on winning.
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THE HUSKY ( KALAALLIT QIMMIAT )
By Emil Rosing, the managing director of the National Museum & Archive of Greenland. Emil Rosing was born in Tasiilaq in 1939. Educated at teacher’s colleges in Greenland and Denmark, he took a philosophy examination at the University of Copenhagen in 1971. During the period 1974 to 1980 he was head of the Graphic Workshop, today’s Art School of Greenland. He took ethnology as a subsidiary subject at the Institute of Eskimology in Copenhagen in 1984. From 1984 to 1985 he was employed in the Arctic Section at Musée de l’homme in Paris. Since 1991 he has been managing director of the National Museum & Archive of Greenland in Nuuk. Generally when referring to the husky there is no particular BREED of dog in question. The word husky relates to the SLEDGE DOG, which nowadays is only kept in West Greenland from Kangerlussuaq (Søndre Strømfjord) to the Thule district and in every settlement in East Greenland. In the desolate National Park in North and Northeast Greenland amongst other things, the military sledge patrol Sirius uses the dog sledge during their work of exercising the Danish sovereignty.
Dogs in Greenland The oldest traces of dogs in Greenland stem from the oldest period in Greenland’s pre-history: The Saqqaq culture. In archaeological excavations in a present-day dog
01107303. 12.03.2003 Mini sheet. Sledge dog puppies DKK 36.00
district like the Disko Bay at Qeqertasussuk near Qasigiannguit (Christianshåb) and Qajaa (in the Jakobshavn Ice Fiord), several canine bones have been found, which are among the oldest known canine bones in the Eastern Arctic. They are about 3,500 years old. The bones clearly show that the Saqqaq dog resembled the present-day Greenland sledge dog. However, we do not know what it was used for, since there is no knowledge of any sledge remains from that period; however, there are many indications that it was a pack animal. Cuts in the bones indicate that the dogs were presumably also consumed as food.
01107304. 12.03.2003 Mini sheet. Portait of a Sledge Dog DKK 38.00
The dog in pre-historic times You can imagine that the dog and the human were closely connected during the Saqqaq era. The Saqqaq people lived in a region in which sealing has had immense significance up to the present-day, especially during winter. When the Disko Bay was covered with ice and the Ringed Seal was maintaining its vital breathing holes in the compact ice – and during the polar nights, the Saqqaq man set out to hunt on the sea ice along with his dog, which was skilled in tracing and marking the breathing holes of the seal by means of its sensitive sense of smell. The dog tracked down the sealing
Illustration by Jens Rosing.
ground and so the hunter was able to harpoon the seal at the right time. The illustration at the bottom of page 6 by Jens Rosing clearly shows how the man and the dog helped each other to sustain life.
The dog in historic times We know from the earliest contacts with travellers and whalers from Europe that the Greenlanders used dogs as draught animals in front of a sledge. It is documented as early as in "Perlustrationer" by Hans Egede, which portrays the life in West Greenland during the 18th century and later on in the beginning of the 19th century, e.g. the meeting of John Ross with the people of the Thule district. The husky was born to "live and die in a harness", as the sealer Elmar Drastrup expressed in the 1930’s after having resided for many years as a sealer in Northeast Greenland. The husky has been trained throughout many generations to function as a draught animal for heavy transportation on long journeys, where it is capable of dragging several times its own weight hour after hour, even day after day. There are countless accounts of its value on expeditions, sealing trips and tourist trips. The husky was not exactly born to be a racing dog – it is a hardy worker, with a body structure that has not changed notably for thousands of years. We know that Scottish and other European whalers and travellers from Newfoundland brought along dogs on their cruises, especially to North Greenland, where the sledge dog is at home. It is inevitable that a certain amount of crossbreeding took place. The typical signs of a husky are the upright and proportionally small ears. One wonders if the dogs with the "bent" ears could be repercussions of the crossbreeding and what about the longhaired Meqqujuut?
"Dog and Sledge" The sledge dog and sledding make up an important part of Greenland’s culture, which
is seen from abroad as characteristic of Greenland. Concurrently with the growth in population and the regulation of society, it has also become necessary to draw up rules and regulations regarding the keeping of dogs, which are enforced by the authorities in the districts and on a national basis and which have to be observed by the dog owners. Today the number of sledge dogs in the dog districts is estimated at 25,000 to 30,000. The dogs, which are kept tied up all year round, apart from during sledge rides, demand efficient care and attention if they are to be a source of pleasure. Consequently, it is very demanding to keep a dog team. To take part in sledding activities, it is to this day necessary to observe certain principles and cultural features.
Care and attention of puppies is important. It is possible to achieve a uniform and satisfactory team by selecting the right mating partners for the bitches. Screening of puppies may be necessary. In order to obtain robust, good-looking dogs with stamina it is also necessary that feeding is carried out with great care Breeding and training demands knowledge, time and patience. E.g. it is necessary to have a well-developed communication with one’s dogs in order to be able to control them, especially in dangerous situations. Naming is a chapter in itself, which can be both varied and funny, but it is also very
important in the communication with the dogs. Signals e.g. for speed have always been individual and private. They are constructed and used by the most skilled and experienced sledge drivers. The equipment is very traditional, but nowadays it is obviously made of new materials. There are variations, especially in the design of the sledge throughout the three dog sledding regions made up of Thule, East Greenland and West Greenland. The differences are conditional on the nature of ground, the extent and character of the ice and the cultural traditions. The sledge fundamentally consists of two runners, joined by crossbeams and two stanchions. The shape is ancient. The oldest known sledge remains is a small sledge dragged by ropes from the Dorset era approx. 600 years B.C. (2,600 years before now). The dog sledges of today descend from the people of the Thule culture, who arrived in Greenland approx. 1200 years A.D. The harness, which can be described as the "clothing" of the dog, is very important. It has to be individually adjusted to the particular dog that is going to wear it. In that way its body is taken care of during the hard work it has to perform. The traces, which lead from the sledge to the dog, need to be of a certain length and easy to detach, in order to be able to disentangle the dogs at any given time. The harness system was constructed for the dogs to run in the formation of a fan, which has always been used in Greenland. The dog whip, which to this day is made of a wooden stick with a thin strap of sealskin, is primarily used as a tool to guide and control the dogs, if they do not obey the control language that they have been trained in by the sealer.
Equipment for the sledge Of course the actual equipment for the sledge and the sledge ride can vary from
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01303012. 12.03.2003 Souvenir folder Sledge dogs DKK 30.50
01301211. 12.03.2003 Stamp booklet no. 11 Sledge dogs DKK 61.00
owner to owner and according to the objective of the ride. Sledding is connected with those regions where you find compact ice during the winter and, when winter approaches, both people and dogs look forward to go sledding during the coming winter season. Throughout centuries the people have used the possibility of sledding during the winter for sealing and fishing, for transportation from place to place, for visiting trips between towns and settlements and for pleasure trips for family and friends in their spare time.
races and the Greenland Championships. At the same time the clubs accomplish a major and commendable piece of work in maintaining the sledding culture, in which they pay great attention to maintenance and improved nurturance of the Greenland sledge dog. The many sledge races during the winter are to this day extremely popular and provide great joy for both the locals and the tourists.
Sledge racing On 9 March 1949, the first organized sledge race was arranged in the now abandoned coal mining settlement Qullissat in the Disko Bay with 19 participating sledges from the surrounding settlements in Vajgat. The route was 40 kilometres long and the fastest driver took 2 hours and 11 minutes. Today most North Greenlandic towns have sledding clubs and every year during early spring they arrange both local sledding
01100303. 12.03.2003 Sledge dog puppies DKK 4.50
01100304. 12.03.2003 Portrait of a sledge dog slædehund DKK 4.75
01100305. 12.03.2003 Sledge dog at work DKK 6,00
Date of issue: 12 March 2003 · Printing Method: Steel engraving · Paper: HS4, yellow fluorescent Engraving: Lasse Sjöblom · Artist: Naja Abelsen · Format: G – horizontal Outside measurements: 39.52 x 28.84 mm · 40 stamps per sheet
of the Year 2002 Greenland Stamp
POST Greenland has repeated this successful competition and, for the fourth consecutive year, invited collectors of Greenland stamps, readers of Greenland Collector and any one interested to vote for the stamp of the year from amongst all 15 stamps, issued by POST Greenland in 2002. Every single vote participated in the draw for the main prize of two beautifully crafted East Greenlandic sealskincovered cushions, designed and hand-crafted by a local seamstress. Furthermore we had a draw for 10 "consolation prizes" in the shape of the beautiful books "Stamps Tell the Story of Greenland". It turned out to be somewhat of a thriller this year; there was not a clear favourite among the stamps and the suspense on which stamp was to be elected as "Stamp of the Year 2002" went on till the very end. Now, however, the votes have been counted. In total we received 2472 votes from our readers and collectors all over the world, and G-293 won the competition with a total of 336 votes, equivalent to 13.6%. It is one of our popular ship stamps, "Nordlyset", denomination DKK 2.00, printed in steel engraving and in G-horizontal format. It was illustrated and engraved by Martin Mörck, whom we know as the artist behind several of the stamps by POST Greenland. Martin was also responsible for the printing of last year’s winning stamp, the Christmas stamp by Buuti Pedersen, as well as the illustration and printing of all the stamps in our ship series and the ICES stamps from our latest issue, the definitive series, the very popular Sirius stamp from 2000, the snow owl stamps and the orchid series and last but not least the printing of the "Europa" stamp 1999 illustrated by Buuti Pedersen. As a result, the voters have elected a worthy winner and POST Greenland congratulates Martin on the election of one of his beau-
tiful ship stamps as "Greenland Stamp of the Year 2002". The first runner-up was G-289 "Snow Sculpture", one of the two "Norden" stamps 2002 with the denomination DKK 31.00. The stamp is printed from a photograph taken by POST Greenland's General Manager Per Svendsen during the Nuuk Snow Festival 2001, printed by Morten Stürup. This stamp received 299 votes, equivalent to 12.1% of all votes received. Third place went to G-297, denomination DKK 11.00, with a total of 237 votes,
equivalent to 9.1%, which was the "Europa" stamp of 2002 drawn in Kunuk Platoú’s characteristic and artistic style. We are proud to have last year’s "Stamp of the Year" winner, the artist Buuti Pedersen draw the lucky winner among all the received votes. Buuti Pedersen is a respected illustrator and painter, who has resided in Tasiilaq – the hometown of POST Greenland, Filatelia - since 1995 with her family. Besides being the artist behind the winning stamp of last year, as well as the second runner-up the same year, Buuti has also illustrated the Christmas stamps of 1995, the highly praised "Europa" stamp of 1999 and the stamp "Greenland Year 2000". Buuti is also very active doing pictorial as well as sculpture art and her art is represented at the Leiden Museum of Anthropology in the Netherlands, the Danish Embassy in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and "Katuaq", Greenland’s Cultural Centre in Nuuk, to name but a few. The winner of the beautiful sealskin The winner of the beautiful sealskin-covered cushions is: Ebbe Dietrichsen from Copenhagen in Denmark. After the draw we telephoned the winner, and it was a very happy and surprised
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60-year old Ebbe Dietrichsen, who was informed that he was the winner of the draw for the beautiful sealskin-covered cushions, which were the first prize in the competition of the election of the Greenland stamp of the year 2002. Ebbe has collected Greenland stamps for over 30 years, and has many memories from the time when he as a ship’s boy and later as ordinary seaman with the fleet of the KGH (the Royal Greenland Trade) sailed food to Greenland and returned to Denmark with cryolite.
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Once again we would like to congratulate Ebbe on winning the beautiful prize.
The 10 consolation prizes went to: 1. Kurt Svendsen, 2830 Virum, Denmark 2. Alis Lykke Kibsgaard, 2765 Smørum, Denmark 3. John Knutsen, 8485 Dverberg, Norway 4. Ove Thiesen, 4773 Stensved, Denmark
POST Greenland is delighted by the many positive responses from our readers and collectors, who have taken part in the election of the most beautiful Greenland stamp of the year 2002. We would like to congratulate all the winners and thank every one for their great support.
5. Jørgen Vibæk, 4600 Køge, Denmark
We now look forward to arranging the competition to elect the "Greenland Stamp of the Year 2003".
6. Flemming Hvid, 7323 Give, Denmark 7. Jan B. Dahl, 0687 Oslo, Norway 8. Liselotte Krøyer, 5700 Svendborg, Denmark 9. Rune Lindberg, 654 60 Karlstad, Sweden 10. Sonja Prideaux, 123 58 Farsta, Sweden The main prize and the consolation prizes have been dispatched to the winners.
The votes were distributed as follows: G No. Number of votes in% G-288 56 2,3 G-289 299 12,1 G-290 167 6,8 G-291 214 8,7 G-292 100 4,0 G-293 336 13,6 G-294 100 4,0 G-295 136 5,5 G-296 159 6,4 G-297 237 9,6 G-298 92 3,7 G-299 102 4,1 G-300 118 4,8 G-301 171 6,9 G-302 148 6,0 Invalid 37 1,5 Total 2472
Title "Norden" 2002 - "Stone and Man" "Norden" 2002 - "Snow Sculpture" Cultural Heritage III - Drum Cultural Heritage III - Mask Additional Value Stamp - "Paarisa" Ship Stamp - "Nordlyset" Ship Stamp - "Hvidbjørnen" Ship Stamp - "Stærkodder" Ship Stamp - "Haabet" "Europa" Stamp 2002 - Circus Definitive series 2002 ICES 100 years - Greenland Shark ICES 100 years - Redfish Christmas stamp - 1 / 02 Christmas stamp - 2 / 02
Position 15 2 6 4 12 1 12 9 7 3 14 11 10 5 8
"The Danish Literary Greenland Expedition"
01303013. 12.03.2003 Expeditions in Greenland I Souvenir folder. DKK 47.25
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"The Danish Literary Greenland Expetition" On 12 March 2003 the starting signal sounds on POST Greenland’s new, grand stamp series ”Expeditions in Greenland”. The series, which will be issued in conjunction with other postal services throughout the world, is intended as a tribute by POST Greenland to the many brave people, who devoted their lives to exploring the characteristic geology of Greenland, the harsh and beautiful nature as well as the unique pre-history of the country. A joint issue with Post Danmark marks the first issue in this exciting series. Date of issue: 12. March 2003 Printing method: Steel Engraving Paper: HS5, yellow flourescent Artist: Martin Mörck Engraving: Martin Mörck
By Flemming Petersen, Vice-chairman of Danmarks Filatelist Forbund (Denmark’s Philatelic Federation).
01100306. 12.03.2003 Expeditions in Greenland I/1
Saunder's Island DKK 15.00 Format: double B - horizontal. Outside measurements: 62.16 x 23.60 mm 30 stamps per sheet
01100307. 12.03.2003 Expeditions in Greenland I/2
Knud Rasmussen DKK 21.,00 Format: B - horizontal. Outside measurements: 31.08 x 23.60 mm 50 stamps per sheet
In collaboration with Post Danmark, POST Greenland issues two stamps with designs from "The Danish Literary Greenland Expedition", to mark its 100th anniversary year. The motif on the stamps is a picture, which shows the famous author and Greenland explorer, Knud Rasmussen, who participated in the expedition as translator and sledge driver, as well as a panoramic picture of the settlement on the Island of “Aqpat” (Saunder’s Island). The rest of the participants of the expedition were as follows: the leader of the expedition, author and journalist Ludvig MyliusErichsen, translator and sledge driver Jørgen Brønlund, marine painter Count Harald Moltke and sealer Gabriel Olesen (Gaba). By a coincidence Gaba had joined the journey to Cape York when a sealer called Simon, who was well over 50, had backed out at the last moment due to family matters. This took place in "Kuk", the northernmost settlement in the Danish Northwest Greenland. The great hunter
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Simon backed out in spite of a signed contract with a wage of DKK 1.00 a day as well as a life insurance for his surviving relatives if he got very unlucky. At the same time he appointed his sister’s son Gaba to be his replacement, while Gaba gapingly listened to the conversation. After a pause Gaba proclaimed that his maternal uncle had spoken on his behalf. The expedition had had a very difficult beginning. Permission had been applied for over a long period of time, but a refusal was received from the Greenland Trade Department, who had to approve every journey to Greenland. Similarly an application to the Minister of the Interior turned out to be fruitless; apparently the expedition had too
much of an air of "tourist journey" about it. Finally on 17 March 1902 a new application sent directly to the Minister of the Interior, Enevold Sørensen, produced a favourable outcome. As a result, the president of the Greenland Trade Department voluntarily chose to resign. The objective of the expedition was to journey from Cape Farewell in the south to Cape York in the north, wintering in "Jakobshavn", travel by dog sledge through "Upernavik" to Cape York, where they were to stay for 5 to 6 weeks in order to study and paint the Eskimo tribe. To achieve a successful expedition the backgrounds of the expedition participants were as follows: Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen was a well-read journalist and author, who as the leader of a student journey to Iceland had met Knud Rasmussen. He had not previously been to Greenland, but had had an invitation from T. V. Garde and Captain H. V. Bang, to join the expedition of the Carlsberg Foundation heading for the east coast of Greenland. However, the Greenland Trade Department had denied permission. Count Harald Moltke had visited the Island of Disko in 1898 and there exhibited his fantastic abilities to paint and draw.
Knud Rasmussen was born and raised in "Jakobshavn", spoke Danish as well as Greenlandic, was a capable dog sledge driver and especially had a happy personality, with the ability to gather people round him. Consequently, Knud was to gather myths and stories from the local population for Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen’s book "Greenland of Today". As a medical practitioner, Doctor Alfred Bertelsen was to examine the local population, but was also a valuable asset to the participants of the expedition on their continued journey to the pagan territory of Cape York. However, Alfred Bertelsen chose not to participate in this part of the journey and left a small medicine cabinet for the remaining participants of the expedition. Jørgen Brønlund, who grew up as a childhood friend of Knud in "Jakobshavn", met the expedition in "Kangeq" close to "Godthaab" and wanted to come along. Reverend Schultz-Lorentzen gave his permission to his catechist Jørgen Brønlund for 1 year, who then participates in the expedition as translator no. 2. The expedition departed from Copenhagen on 1 June 1902 on the ship "Godthaab" and they had planned to return the following year.
01106306. 12.03.2003 Souvenir sheet. DKK 36.00 Expeditions in Greenland I
Date of issue: 12. March 2003 Printing method: Steel Engraving Paper: HS5, yellow flourescent Artist: Martin Mörck Engraving: Martin Mörck
On 15 June they arrived in the town of "Godthaab", where people lined up to model for Harald Moltke at which they were paid the "princely" amount of DKK 2.00 to 3.00. From here the journey went north in an "umiaq" (women’s boat). On 1 August (in "Sukkertoppen") Knud Rasmussen was very close to losing his life, when he capsized in his kayak. Lying upside down in the cold water, Knud managed, however, to escape from the kayak and swim a little in the permanently ice cold water. Three kayaks came to his rescue and managed to save him and bring him up to the warm room, where Knud on account of the dramatic cooling of his body temperature lost consciousness. On 24 March 1903 they departed from the northernmost Danish settlement and headed for Cape York. Not until 9 February the following year did they all return to "Tassiusak" bringing along a load of experiences, a mixture of accidents, illness and strains as well as a deep respect of the local population. The annual bath and delousing took 3 days. Six of the Eskimos from Cape York had chosen to come along on the journey. Consequently, for the first time a contact between the heathen Eskimos in the north and the northernmost Danish settlements was established, this in spite of the fact that the hunting areas with easily recognizable sledding tracks had earlier on almost crossed. The outcome of the expedition turned
out somewhat different than expected: During the stay in Cape York Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen already planned his next expedition to the east coast, the well-known "Denmark Expedition", for which he himself and Jørgen Brønlund paid with their lives. The collected works of "Greenland of Today" only became the book "Greenland", which describes the journey to and the stay in the Cape York territory. It was to be Harald Moltke, who finished the book and the journey was Harald Moltke’s last trip to Greenland, since he contracted permanent physical debilities due to illness. We may still rejoice at the fantastic pictures and drawings made by Harald Moltke. Knud Rasmussen published "Myths and Legends from Greenland" in three volumes as well as a book entitled "New People". Based on a new law in Greenland of 1905 "Den Grønlandske Kirkesag" (the Greenlandic Church Congregation) was established in 1906, which as one of its first tasks, stationed missionaries in the Cape York territory, where an isolated, heathen Eskimo tribe numbering 200 individuals lived as nomads in this extremely huge territory. With the permission of the Danish government, Knud Rasmussen established a private trading station in 1910. The territory came to play a big part in the life of Knud Rasmussen and the territory was not taken over by the Danish State until 1937.
Final Sale
on 31 March 2003
The following stamps will be removed from our sales list on 31 March 2003, provided they are not sold out prior to this date. Any remaining stocks will be shredded. 01100276. 05.02.2001 Nature moves in. DKK 10,00
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01100284. 16.10.2001 Seal. DKK 8,00 01100285. 16.10.2001 Polar Bear. DKK 21,00 01100292. 05.03.2002 ’Paarisa’. DKK 4,50 + 0,50
Payment within 14 days Payment of our invoices is to be made within 14 days from the date of the invoice. We kindly ask you to note that the registration of your payment will take approx 2 weeks or more. As a result, on occa sions you may receive an invoice with a balance, which does not include your recent pay ment. All information on prices, fees etc. are subject to printer’s errors.
POST Greenland will participate in the following stamp exhibitions during the period from March to May 2003:
News from POST Greenland On 10 March 2003 the post office in 3955 Kangaatsiaq will change its regular cancellation. The exchange is due to wear and tear. Legible addressed envelopes for last and first day cancellation must be received by POST Greenland, Filatelia no later than Friday 7 March 2003.
• SVENDBORG PÅ MÆRKERNE in Svendborg, Denmark from 15 to 16 March 2003 • Philatelia in Cologne, Germany from 21 to 23 March 2003 • TOF60 in Taastrup, Denmark from 29 to 30 March 2003 • Mare Balticum in Kiel, Germany from 23 to 25 May 2003 A Greenland special cancellation will be made for the exhibitions Philatelia in Cologne and Mare Balticum in Kiel. Envelopes to be cancelled with these special cancellations must, as always, be received by POST Greenland, Filatelia at the latest the day before the opening of the respective exhibition.
From our Final Sale on 30 November 2002 we announce the following stock figures:
01100200. 25.04.1996 Humpback Whale DKK 0.50 Stock figure: 493,402
01100274. 05.02.2001 Uninvited Guests DKK 4.50 Stock figure: 275,498
01100224. 15.08.1997 Ammassalik Woman DKK 16.00 Stock figure: 189,706
01100286. 16.10.2001 Christmas Stamp 1/01 DKK 4.50 Stock figure: 202,088
01100227. 05.02.1998 Harbour Porpoise DKK 2.00 Stock figure: 218,389
01100287. 16.10,2001 Christmas Stamp 2/01 DKK 4.75 Stock figure: 209,501
01100248. 07.05.1999 The Man from Aluk DKK 7.00 Stock figure: 161,055
01106277. 05.02.2001 AWGames 2002’ Souvenir Sheet DKK 20.00 Stock figure: 78,301
01100273. 05.02.2001 Catching in the Skerries DKK 1.00 Stock figure: 181,665
01301106. 16.10.2001 Christmas Stamp Booklet No. 6 DKK 55.50 Stock figure: 27,718
Worth knowing… Please send your orders/changes to: POST Greenland, Filatelia P.O. Box 121, 3913 Tasiilaq, GREENLAND Phone: (+45) 7026 0550 and (+299) 98 11 55 Fax: (+299) 98 14 32 Email: stamps@tele.gl Any change in name, address and/or subscription must be received by POST Greenland, Filatelia no later than 5 weeks prior to an issue. When exchanging stamps worth more than DKK 100.00, POST Greenland, Filatelia charges a fee of 45% of the face value. No more than 3 exchanges per customer per year are allowed. The maximum annual value of exchanged stamps per customer cannot exceed DKK 50.000 in nominal value. The stamps are always exchanged to new stamps of the customer’s choice. The fee of 45% must always be paid in cash and is, therefore, not payable using other stamps. For further information please contact POST Greenland, Filatelia. NOTE: Please do not write your order on a giro transfer form as these are processed automatically. How to pay: By giro: Denmark: BG Bank A/S, Girostrøget 1, 0800 Høje Taastrup, Account No.: 1199-940 4120. Sweden: Postgirot Bank AB (publ) Vasagatan 7, 105 06 Stockholm. Account No.: 41 45-9. Norway: Postbanken, Kunderegister Bedrift, 0021 Oslo. Account No.: 7878.06.55312 Finland: SAMPO BANK, UNIONINKATU 22, 00075, SAMPO. Account No.: 800016-70617928. The Netherlands: Postbank NV, Account No.: 3487172. Switzerland: Postscheckamt, Office de cheques postaux, Ufficio dei conti correnti postali, 4040 Basel. Account No.: 40-6773-5. Germany: Postbank, Niederlassung Hamburg, Überseering 26, 22297 Hamburg. Account No.: 541414200 BLZ 200 100 20. United Kingdom: Alliance & Leicester Giro Bank plc, Bridle Road, Bootle, Merseyside, Liverpool GIR 0AA. Account No.: 358 7118.
Luxembourg: Postes et Telecommunications, Division des Postes, Service des Cheques Postaux, Secretariat, 38 Place de la Gare, 1090 Luxembourg. Account No.: 26606-28. France: La Poste, Centre Régional Des Services Financiers, de la Poste en ile-deFrance, 16 rue de Favorites, 75900 Paris. Account No.: 250.01 F020. If you transfer an amount from outside Denmark through our giro account 1199-940 4120 in Copenhagen, Euro Giro will charge you a fee for each transaction.
ceive an invoice with a balance, which does not include your recent payment. All information on prices, fees etc. are subject to printer’s errors. We are your service team We are the people you reach whenever you write, fax, email, or telephone POST Greenland. Some of us have been here for several years whilst others are fairly new. We look forward to being of service to you regarding your philatelic inquiries.
Credit cards Access, Eurocard, JCB, MasterCard, VISA, Dankort, Maestro, VISA Electron Cheque - in your own currency. Cash - to be sent by insured mail Postal order IRC (IBRS) - international reply coupons: value DKK 6.00 each. 1-year deadline for claims Any claims concerning stamps and philatelic items purchased from POST Greenland must reach POST Greenland, Filatelia, no later than one year dated from the last day of the month in which the items were dispatched. The date of the postmark or the invoice is valid as the date of dispatch. Payment within 14 days Payment of our invoices is to be made within 14 days from the date of the invoice. We kindly ask you to note that the registration of your payment will take approx 2 weeks or more. As a result, on occasions you may re-
Anja Panduro Pedersen, Sales Assistant. Danish, English, German.
Lene Skov Meyhoff, Correspondent. Danish, German, English.
Bjarne Andersen Correspondent. Danish, German, English, French.
Kristian „Karé“ Pivat, Assistant Clerk. Greenlandic, Danish.
Andreas Fett, Sales Assistant. German, Danish, English.
Lars Anker-Møller, Head of Sales. Danish, English, German.
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POST Greenland POST Greenland, Filatelia P.O. Box 121, 3913 Tasiilaq, Greenland Phone +45 70 26 05 50 +299 98 11 55 Fax +299 98 14 32 stamps@tele.gl www.stamps.gl Søren Rose, Chief Editor, Lene Skov Meyhoff Anja Panduro Pedersen Pertti Frandsen TELE Greenland, Napp Wilche 1397-8632 Søren Rose
Please remember – from March until May 2003
12.
New Day Cancellation in 3955 Kangaatsiaq. Issue: Sledge dogs in Greenland: 3 commemoratives, 2 mini sheets, 1 stamp booklet, 1 souvenir folder The Danish Literary Greenland Expedition 1902-04: 2 special stamps, 1 souvenir sheet, 1 souvenir folder
15.
Exhibition: ”Svendborg på Mærkerne”, Denmark, 15.-16.03.03
21.
Exhibition: ”Philatelia mit T’card und MünzExpo”, Cologne, Germany, 21.-23.03.03
25.
Arctic Circle Race 2003, Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg), 25.03. – 01.04.03
29.
Exhibition: ”TOF60”, Taastrup, Denmark, 29.-30.03.03
23.
Exhibition: ”Mare Balticum 2003”, Kiel, Germany, 23.-25.05.03
May
New postal rates concerning the additional charge on registered post and insured letters As of 2 January 2003 the postal rates concerning additional charges on letters and packages posted through POST Greenland have increased. The additional charge for a registered letter posted domestically in Greenland, or to Denmark or the Faroe Islands, has increased from DKK 31.00 to DKK 35.00. The additional charge for registered packages went up from DKK 46.00 to DKK 50.00. The additional charges for insured letters have also increased from 46.00 to 51.75 for the first DKK 3000.00. For every additional DKK 1000.00 a charge of DKK 3.00 will be added, as opposed to formerly DKK 0.00. However, POST Greenland’s postal rates for transferring funds and post office faxes have decreased as of 2 January 2003. For more information we refer to the new postal rate folder issued by POST Greenland, which can be acquired free of charge through Filatelia or on POST Greenland’s website www.post.gl.
To our customers residing in Denmark
• The 50-year anniversary of Qaanaaq
The "POSTSAG" (Mail Matter) arrangement is being discontinued
• he “Europa” stamp theme – Poster Art
On 2 January 2003 the arrangement of being able to label letters from Denmark to POST Greenland, Filatelia as “mail matter” was discontinued. In the future letters to Filatelia must be franked according to Post Danmark’s postal rates.
• The new stamps by AnneBirthe Hove in the “Cultural Heritage” series • Arctic Team Challenge • And much more…
For the sixth time the world’s toughest cross-country skiing race, "Arctic Circle Race", will be held in Sisimiut (Holsteinsborg). POST Greenland marks this great international sports event that takes place from 25 March through 1 April by issuing a Greenland special cancellation. Clearly addressed envelopes for cancelling with this special cancellation must be received by POST Greenland, Filatelia no later than Monday 24 March 2003. POST Greenland wishes all participants and organizers of ACR 2003 a very good and enervating cross-country skiing race! Read more about ARC on www.greenland-guide.gl/acr/ POST Greenland sponsors the 2003 Drambuie World Ice Golf Championships The 5th Drambuie World Ice Golf Championships will take place in Uummannaq from 27th March to 1st April 2003. POST Greenland is happy to announce that we will act as sponsor of the golf balls to be used during these world-famous championships.
PLEASE NOTE: POST Greenland has decided to postpone this year’s issue of the Greenland additional value stamp for the benefit of the fond „Santa Claus of Greenland" from 16th June 2003 to the last Greenland issue of the year. TMA.02.07.01
March 10.
In the next issue, read about
GREENLAND
C o lle c to r
MEET A YOUNG PHILATELIST FROM TASIILAQ
REPORT FROM “FRIMÆRKER I FORUM 2002”
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SUBSCRIPTION MAGAZINE FOR COLLECTORS OF GREENLAND STAMPS VOL. 8 - NO. 1 - FEBRUARY 2003
THE GREENLANDIC SLEDGE DOG
THE 2002 GREENLAND STAMP OF THE YEAR
THE DANISH LITERARY GREENLAND EXPEDITION 1902 – 04
SALES FIGURES FROM 30.11.2002 AND FINAL SALE ON 31.03.2003
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