Page 43 - Delcampe Collections classiques EN-007

Stamps

But as well as the various busts of
Marianne, it has been a tradition
since Charles de Gaulle for the
French President to choose a new
Marianne to illustrate stamps, en-
trusting an artist with the task of
representing France on millions of
small collectors’ items.
Marianne can be found in many
stamp collections, and today I
wanted to present her to you in
maximaphily.

What is maximaphily?
It’s a collection that combines
postcards, philately and cancella-
tions. A maximum card consists
of a postcard, a stamp and a can-
cellation on the same subject. Gi-
ven the number of Mariannes, the
subject is a collection in itself!

Why Marianne?
The name Marianne comes from
a revolutionary song from Albi,
southern France, «Garisou de Ma-
rianno», attributed to Guillaume
Lavabre from around 1792. Howe-
ver, it is highly likely that the choice
of the name Marianne was linked
to the popularity of the first names
Mary and Anne in 18th century
Catholic France. Indeed, the first
name Mary is that of Christ’s mo-
ther and Anne is that of Christ’s
grandmother, Saint Anne being the
mother of the Virgin.
Marianne became the represen-
tation of Liberty in France at the
end of the 18th century, after the Marianne maximum card by Cocteau. First day
French Revolution. Although Ma- cancellation 23/02/1961.
rianne’s presence was still dis- Marianne maximum card by Lamouche. First day
cancellation 01/10/2008.

Delcampe Magazine 43