Hermes

   After nine years of cutting linoleum blocks for replicas of stamps, I was finally ready for the Holy Grail of classic stamps, the Greek Hermes of 1861. Hermes, the messenger of the Gods, is perhaps the most appropriate of all subjects for a postage stamp. These first stamps of Greece were closely modeled after the French designs of Ceres and Napoleon III, and like those earlier designs, the Hermes featured a bust in a circular medallion with a crenelated border against a background of curved lines interspersed with dots. The block was quite difficult to carve, especially the background.  For each dot the block had to be rotated in a complete circle as the cutting tool delineated the margin of the dot. Every line throughout and every dot is cut so as to be wider at the base and narrow at the top printing surface, resembling a mesa in cross section.  If the cut were straight down on either side, the line would fall over after only a few prints, and the block would be useless.  
   There are so many varieties of the Hermes that it often takes an expert to differentiate between those worth pennies and others worth hundreds, or thousands of dollars (None of those as collaged in this print are worth more than a couple of dollars).  The Hermes were printed in various denominations and colors on cream, green or blue papers until 1886 when the design was modernized.  
  

Image Size: 4" x 5"
Paper Size: 9.5" x 13"
Paper Type: Legion Mulberry

Edition Size: 99
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Date cut: