FOCUS ON PHILATELY
by Ingert Kuzych and Val Zabijaka
"Historic Ukrainian Churches" series: reconstructing a stamp production process
Artist Yuriy H. Lohvyn, one of the most prominent artists in Ukraine today, is also a prolific stamp designer. Since 1991, when Ukraine once again became an independent postage-issuing state, more stamps have entered circulation bearing Mr. Lohvyn's imprint than that of any other artist. Ukrainian collectors have twice awarded him the Heorhiy Narbut Prize for "best Ukrainian stamp design" and his definitive series "Ethnographic Scenes" continues to be the workhorse of the Ukrainian mail system. In all, by the end of 1999, Mr. Lohvyn was responsible for 30 of Ukraine's stamp issues.
Although not a prizewinner, it is his 1996 designs of "Historic Ukrainian Churches" that have garnered the most critical acclaim from Ukraine collectors worldwide. The vivid colors used and the dynamic cloud patterns make for an appealing and eye-catching postal commemorative set.
On December 25, 1996, Ukraine Post released the set of four stamps in what has remained its most elaborate emission to date. Five different types of sheets depicted these stamps: one containing nine blocks of all four stamps (Figure 1) and four sheets each carrying 18 stamps of one of the four churches alternating with 18 descriptive labels, arranged in a checkerboard pattern (Figure 2).
The authors of this article have been able to obtain items representing three distinct stages of the production process for these stamps: preliminary drawings (signed by the artist), final essays (also signed) and proof printings (authorized by various authorities). Together these materials portray the evolution of this postal issue and provide a fascinating glimpse into some of the steps pursued by the artist in his dealings with Ukraine Post. Before presenting our detective work, however, a bit of descriptive background on the stamps of this issue is necessary.
The images
The four stamps of the "Historic Ukrainian Churches" release depict places of worship that have been designated as architectural monuments by the Ukrainian government; each church is shown during a different season of the year. The first stamp is of Ukraine's most famous church, St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, which has now been designated a United Nations World Heritage Site. Built during the 11th century and transformed during the baroque era, it is shown in a springtime setting. The darker (reddish-brown) areas of the cathedral facade reveal some of the original medieval brickwork underneath the white, 17th and 18th century overlay of stucco and whitewash. The sepulcher of Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise is housed in this structure.
The next stamp shows St. Eliah Church in Subotiv, Cherkasy Oblast, during the summer. This 17th century building is the architectural prototype for the Kozak Baroque style; it serves as the final resting place of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky.
The third stamp presents St. George Church in Drohobych, Lviv Oblast, surrounded by orange-yellow autumn foliage. Although the exact age of this wooden structure is unknown, it has stood for at least 500 years. No other Ukrainian wooden church displays such a high degree of artistic construction.
The final stamp depicts the Trinity Cathedral of Novomoskovsk, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, in winter. Completed in the late 18th century, it represents the apex of Ukrainian wooden church construction.
Step 1: preliminary sketches
The design work for the four-stamp release apparently began in 1995 since the preliminary drawings all carry that year. The artist decided to make his initial compositions using colored pencils: he elected to show the churches during various seasons, with the name of the region in bold lettering (both in Cyrillic and Latin) along a side of each design. The two left-sided-text designs (St. Sophia and St. George) and two right-sided-text designs (St. Eliah and the Trinity Cathedral) help give a frame impression when the images are viewed together as a block of four.
The preliminary artworks - each drawing measures an average of 186 mm by 129 mm - do not display any value designations. Rather, they were used to present the overall design concept and color scheme. The descriptions of the churches were indicated using the same Cyrillic font style as the region's name, but in a smaller size (Figure 3).
Step 2: essays
By the latter part of 1995 Mr. Lohvyn's basic designs had been approved by Ukraine Post, but decisions were still needed on what values would be assigned to these stamps and which font style would be used for the church descriptions. The essays, prepared with vibrant watercolors, are slightly more than half the size (140 mm by 97 mm) of the preliminary paintings; they also show more structural details in each of the buildings.
While one essay still displays a 1995 date, the others carry 1996, but it is possible to see that the "6" had previously been a "5." Additionally, the 50,000-karbovanets value first assigned to each of the stamps was changed to 20,000 for three of the designs. A final ruling on what font style to use to describe the churches had still not been made. Three of the illustrations display a block-type print, while the fourth uses an italic style (Figure 4).
Step 3: approved designs
By about the middle of 1996, the final approved designs - which did not differ greatly from the essays - were ready to be converted into stamps. Figure 5 shows part of a proof sheet of the St. Sophia Cathedral issue: a block with three stamps, a corner label and production notations.
Immediately to the right of the illustrations is the statement "For the II [second] Proof" and two signatures, both dated August 9, 1996. Below are two alteration statements by the artist and his signature all in black ink. The instructions are: "shadows on the building require more ultramarine," and "green color on roof and cupolas needs to be more intense." The third change, added later in blue ink, instructs "change values to 20 [kopiiky]." This was done to accommodate an impending currency adjustment._1 _
Final printing
Additional changes made before the final printing included using the simpler block-style print for the descriptive text, which was deemed more appropriate than the italicized version. A decision was also made to print these stamps in different formats: sheets with blocks of all four stamp designs and sheets of each design with descriptive labels.
Apparently, the original intention (as seen on the proof) was to use only labels in each corner of a six-by-six format. Subsequently, someone at Ukraine Post decided to be different and create a new pattern, alternating 18 stamps with 18 labels on every sheet. Eventually 100,000 copies of each stamp were printed by "Derzhznak" in Kyiv: 200,000 on sheets with blocks of four and 200,000 on sheets with labels (50,000 of each stamplabel combination).
Ingert Kuzych may be contacted at P.O. Box 3, Springfield VA 22150 or by e-mail at: ingertjk@gateway.net.
1. On September 2, 1996, Ukraine introduced the hryvnia as its new main currency unit; it is composed of 100 kopiiky. By decree, 100,000 of the old karbovantsi equaled one new hryvnia. [Back to text]
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, April 2, 2000, No. 14, Vol. LXVIII
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