Post by mourningdoves on Dec 6, 2016 22:03:30 GMT -5
Early this year, I was looking at the auction pages in the ISWSC journal, and my eyes stopped on a listing for a Bulgaria collection.
The better angels of my nature immediately took over. “Bulgaria?” they murmured in my ear. “They use the Cyrillic alphabet. That’s the one where they write ‘P” when they really mean ‘R’. It’s a devious alphabet, ‘Doves, not one for fine upstanding people like you. Bulgarian stamps are Communist wallpaper, ‘Doves. You hated that stuff when you were a kid and had some class. You don’t even know anybody from Bulgaria, do you now? Quick—name a Bulgarian baseball player." ("I think they're more into football there.") "That's beside the point. Walk away right now.”
After a lecture like that, I knew I had to put in a bid. And in good time arrived an album that...well, had seen better days, assuming this album had ever had any better days. At least it was bilingual—Bulgarian and German, not that that helps me any—but was bound in lightweight cardboard that held pages, not of newsprint, but of something close.
There wasn’t much Communist wallpaper; the printed pages ended in 1947, and the previous owner had only accumulated a few airpost sets from after that time and fit them in wherever there was room. There were, however, lots of stamps.
I got into some idle speculation about the stories behind the stamps. Why were they printed? Who designed them, and what were their lives like? Has anybody ever liked them? I got a sense that the previous owner loved this collection. I have no idea where it has been since the 1950s, or how it ended up in that ISWSC auction, but something about it felt curated, if you know what I mean—it was as if some time, some thought, and a lot of heart went into it all. I regretted having to break it up and rearrange it, but that paper wasn’t going to last forever.
Since then, I've mixed about 35 years of Communist wallpaper in with the classics. Bulgaria, as it turns out, is a fascinating place. I hope you enjoy this gallery.
The better angels of my nature immediately took over. “Bulgaria?” they murmured in my ear. “They use the Cyrillic alphabet. That’s the one where they write ‘P” when they really mean ‘R’. It’s a devious alphabet, ‘Doves, not one for fine upstanding people like you. Bulgarian stamps are Communist wallpaper, ‘Doves. You hated that stuff when you were a kid and had some class. You don’t even know anybody from Bulgaria, do you now? Quick—name a Bulgarian baseball player." ("I think they're more into football there.") "That's beside the point. Walk away right now.”
After a lecture like that, I knew I had to put in a bid. And in good time arrived an album that...well, had seen better days, assuming this album had ever had any better days. At least it was bilingual—Bulgarian and German, not that that helps me any—but was bound in lightweight cardboard that held pages, not of newsprint, but of something close.
There wasn’t much Communist wallpaper; the printed pages ended in 1947, and the previous owner had only accumulated a few airpost sets from after that time and fit them in wherever there was room. There were, however, lots of stamps.
I got into some idle speculation about the stories behind the stamps. Why were they printed? Who designed them, and what were their lives like? Has anybody ever liked them? I got a sense that the previous owner loved this collection. I have no idea where it has been since the 1950s, or how it ended up in that ISWSC auction, but something about it felt curated, if you know what I mean—it was as if some time, some thought, and a lot of heart went into it all. I regretted having to break it up and rearrange it, but that paper wasn’t going to last forever.
Since then, I've mixed about 35 years of Communist wallpaper in with the classics. Bulgaria, as it turns out, is a fascinating place. I hope you enjoy this gallery.
