Wallis and Futuna: Schweitzer

Wallis and Futuna issued this stamp (Scott #330) in 1985 honoring Albert Schweitzer. While the doctor's relationship with Africa is well-established and -known, I am curious about his appearance on the stamp of a Polynesian country. The stamp appears to have been issued to mark the 20th anniversary of his death. Perhaps it is Schweitzer's relationship with France itself which prompts his appearance on the stamp of a French territory stamp.

In any case, the doctor's image is shown on the stamp, along with that of an unidentified boy. The boy's features are imprecise such that he may be intended to represent youth of Wallis and Futuna, or perhaps youth of Africa. The boy is wearing a necklace which to those knowledgeable in such areas may provide clues as to his ethnicity. Some plant life is shown in the background, as well as a (church?) stained glass window and some organ pipes arranged in a round facade feature. We cannot know the site of the window nor organ, or if they are simply non-specific artistic representations.

I have a document that lists all the pipe organ stamps that I am aware of. It includes information that was in an old list developed by a member of the American Topical Society many years ago. The notes for this stamp include "Strasbourg Cathedral organ." A quick look at various images of the organ in the Strasbourg Cathedral reveals that the pipes on the stamp _could_ be from the cathedral organ. But the correlation is tenuous at best. There simply is not enough context provided with the stamp image to know for certain. I'm going to maintain my designation as "unidentified."

Wallis and Futuna: Ronsard

Wallis and Futuna is a French-related island nation in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean. It has had a complicated history. For several years it was a "French overseas territory." Since 2003 it has been termed a "French overseas collectivity." The land area of these islands is barely 50 square miles; the population is around 12,000 persons.

The present stamp was issued in 1985 (Scott #329), 300 years after the death of the stamp's subject, Pierre de Ronsard. Ronsard was a French poet. He is best known for his "love poetry" and his masterful use of language and meter.

The stamp features an image of Ronsard, in silhouette, super-imposed over a compelling drawing. A woman is standing at a table of some type, and is shown playing a positiv organ. A man's face peers over the row of pipes. He may be manipulating the pump for the organ, or perhaps is merely a listener to the music. A curious face (human or animal?) is placed before the table, on the border between the silhouette of Ronsard and the drawing of the woman and organ. I suspect the drawing is an illustration of a scene from one of Rosard's writings. But as I am not at all fmailiar with his oeuvre, I cannot but suppose. There doesn't seem to be any relationship between Ronsard himself and music, let alone the organ. Perhaps someone more familiar with his writings can clarify if this may be a scene from one of the writers works.