Greece : Stamps

Greece
Essays.

Missing : Chocolate and Yellow.   (Any whom may have duplicates, please contact)

Greece.

A stamp that nearly made it into my personal list of 50 best stamp designs of all time,
be it not for the Pilot's left hand on the motor.  What was the designer thinking?  A tragedy.

Perhaps the intent was to depict the pilot performng his pre-flight check.

1934
Sc381

The Discobolus and the entrance to the Athens Stadium.   (Rural postmark aboard)

Yep! the colour combination got me as well.
The hand reminded me of the 1970's cartoon "Keep on truckin'" or perhaps the Simpsons.
I'd wager all the money in your purse, the Pilot's shoulder etc, is a correction for some other issue.
His shoulder is not in proportion at all, as you mentioned.
Still, he is a better draughtsman than I'll ever be, this was just a critical observation.

"very long straights and very sharp corners"

Nice piece Ryan. Thanks.

And my absolute favorite set of stamps -- bar none -- are the first Greek airmails, which I think were a very unusual design for their time (1926):

Greece:

St Zeno : The Letter Carrier...........................




Illustrator : Mr. Monty Wedd, Australia.

Greece:
1954
"Head of Charioteer"
1200 Drachma.




Charioteer : who once drove a team of horses, with reins that remain in his hands, is one of the earliest surviving bronze statues
in Greek art.
Cast about 470 B.C. it seems stiff, though dignified and powerful.

It is fascinating, Rod, how you manage to synthesize relevant material from so many diverse sources. Well done! Always informative posts from you!

Rod, I'm amazed at your ability to retrieve past info!

I Googled to try to find a larger image of that album page, with no luck. But I see that the author has a website, although this subject doesn't appear to be on it (at least based on a quick scan). But perhaps you could contact him.

www.ingraham.ca/bob/

-- Dave

Wow!! I bet that really "flies" huh?

Stoltzpup,  received your trade today of the 1926 "Patagonia" Airmails, and the Hermes heads,  Many many thanks.

Was hoping the Aust mail would have beaten you,  trust you shall receive the 1/- Black, very shortly.
Rod.

I don't know how good is your French, but here is what the Serrane Guide has to say about that Greece Olympics issue.  I tried to run it through Google Translate and was able to pick up a little of the ideas. Hope this is helpful:

1896. JEUX OLYMPIQUES. N°s 101 à 112.
Variétés. — 60 lepta gris (ie r tirage), gris au lieu de noir : 2 N ;
2 U ; 2 lepta sans signature du graveur 2 fois par feuille, sur une
paire verticale : 5 N ; 5 U ; 2 dr. paire non dentelée au milieu : rare.
Le 1 drachme avec tache blanche (défaut de planche sous le triangle
à droite du cartouche de la valeur) : 5 N ; 5 U.
Faux. — Les 40, 60 1. et les 2, 5 et 10 drachmes ont été falsifiés
à Gênes (I.) et pourvus de fausses oblitérations à Genève (F.)...
et ailleurs !
Imitations photolithographiées qui sont loin de la finesse des
timbres originaux; papier blanc-gris, dentelure 14 1/2x14 au lieu
de 13 1/2 x14.
Les originaux du 40 1., 2 et 5 drachmes ont le fond formé de
petits carrés bien dessinés portant chacun 2 petits traits parallèles
; les faux ont un fond formé de ronds ou d'ovales blancs plutôt
que de carrés et l'on n'y voit que rarement un point ou un trait.
Dans le 5 drachmes, l'H de MOXJCHON est indistinct et
ressemble à un W. Les originaux des 60 1. et 10 dr. ont le ciel (au-dessus du char
romain ou du Parthénon) formé d'un semis de points très régulier,
très aligné. Dans les faux, ces points manquent par endroits. Piquages
arbitraires. 1
Fausses oblitérations de Genève.
Rondes à date, 1 cercle :
0P1N002 (Corynthe) 2 NOEM [ 1896 M
AOH1NA1 (Athènes) 22 AnP 10 H 6 1896 6
APrOS (Argos) 7 cJ»EBT 1900.
A date, double cercle :
APTA (Arta) 13 MAPT 99
Truquages. —• Les 5 et 10 drachmes surchargés (émission de
1901) ont été tripotés à Athènes pour enlèvement de la surcharge.
La loupe et la benzine font reconnaître facilement les traces de
cette opération et de la repeinture consécutive.