Niger: Handel homage, 2015

 

The African nation, Niger, issued a mini-sheet of 4 stamps in 2015 honoring George Frederick Handel. The four stamps each include a  different portrait of the composer and a varying background. Three of the four stamps identify the background as representative of UR: the opera Ottone; LL, the opera Orlando; LR, the oratorio Messiah. The UL stamp show an unidentified pipe organ facade. Not knowing all the instruments associated with Handel all that well, I cannot identify the organ shown. Indeed, it may be an artist's rendering of a generic instrument. The selvage shows yet another image of the composer, at work on the score of Messiah. My copy of the mini-sheet is unused, a gift from Mark Jameson.

DDR: Handel

The DDR issued a pair of stamps honoring Handel on 27 April, 1959, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the composer's death. Handel was born in Halle, Germany which between the end of World War II and reunification, was situated in East Germany. The 10pf green stamp shows a statue of Handel from Halle. The 20pf red stamp shows the composer as depicted by Thomas Hudson in a painting of 1748. There is nothing particularly organ-related about the stamps, other than the fact that Handel composed for the instrument, and was a proficient player.

Handel memorial

This mini-sheet consisting of a single stamp was issued in 2009 by the Handel Haus Stiftung (Handel House Foundation) to commemorate the 250 anniversary of the death of Handel. Located in Halle, Germany the Handel House preserves and promotes all things Handelian.This bespoke stamp was a promotional item in 2009. The stamp consists of a portrait of Handel, that by Thomas Hudson from the 18th century, hanging in the Handel House facility. For our purposes, however, it is the selvage that is more compelling, for it contains elements of a pipe organ, along with potions of a musical score. The facade shown is not familiar to me; others may recognize it. The mini-sheet also includes what seems to be a slogan of sorts, "Es lebe der liebe Sachsie." That seems to me to render as "love live the beloved Saxon" (Handel), but my knowledge of idiomatic German is limited.