Page 13 - Delcampe Collections classiques EN-006

Stamps

Coming from a family for whom poli-
tics was important (his father Gaspard
Théodore Ignace de la Fontaine was go-
vernor of the Grand Duchy of Luxem-
bourg), he began his literary career by
writing articles in defence of his father. He
then made his mark as a playwright, with
one distinguishing feature: he was the first
writer to publish a play in the Luxembourg
dialect. This play was first performed in
1855. He went on to write others for which
he not only published the texts but also
composed the music. His favourite style
was Vaudeville. He also wrote poems that
were published posthumously.
He married Elise Dutreux in 1858 and be-
came mayor of Stradtbredimus. He lived
in the local castle. He ended his career
as a Justice of the Peace in the canton of
Vianden from 1881 to 1891. His body was
buried in Stradtbredimus.

Philately and writers
POST Luxembourg has made the right
move in paying tribute to him. Indeed,
Edmond de La Fontaine has worked hard
to promote Luxembourg culture, both in
terms of its dialect and its folklore.
This is not the first time that philately in
the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has paid
tribute to him. In 1948, he appeared on a
set of Caritas stamps and was featured
on a stylised stamp in 1991.
It must be said that POST Luxembourg
is eager to showcase its writers, as you
can see from the various stamps illustra-
ting this article. As a lover of Luxembourg
culture, Dicks certainly deserves this pos-
thumous recognition.

Luxembourg 1948, Caritas series with the effigy of Edmond de La Fontaine.
Luxembourg 1990, series of stamps, one of which features the Luxembourg
author Batty Weber.
Luxembourg 1992, Europa series presenting two Luxembourg authors: Nicolas
Gonner and N.E. Becker.
Luxembourg 2005, Marcel Reuland maxicard.
Luxembourg 2015, René Engelmann maxicard.

Delcampe Magazine 13