Tuesday 31 December 2013

Edmund Dulac - part 7

Edmund Dulac (1882 – 1953) was a French magazine illustrator, book illustrator and stamp designer. For full biographical notes on Dulac see part 1. For earlier works see parts 1 - 6 also.

This is part 7 of a 7-part post on the works of Edmund Dulac:


1935 Gods and Mortals in Love:



Front Cover

Aphrodite and Adonis

Circe and Ulysses

Herakles and Deianeira

Jason and Medea 

Orpheus and Eurydice

Pan and Syrinx

Perseus and Andromeda 

Pluto and Persephone 

Psyche and Cerberus 

Selene and Endymion 

1939 The Daughters of the Stars by Mary Crary:


'Greeted as honoured guests'

'They might have been lovers'

1944 The Nativity:


15.8 cm diameter

1951 The Marriage of Cupid and Psyche re-told by Walter Pater:


Front Cover


Frontispiece and Title Page

Frontispiece

Title Page











1954 Comus:


Front Cover

Title Page













Stamps and Banknotes:

Dulac also designed postage stamps and banknotes. He designed the postage stamp issued to commemorate the Coronation of King George VI that was issued on 13 May 1937.


1937 Dulac's design for 1 ½ penny postage stamp for Coronation of King George VI

1937 Issued postage stamp for 1 ½ penny postage stamp for the Coronation of King George VI


The head of the King used on all the stamps of that reign was his design and he also designed the 2s 6d and 5s values for the 'arms series' high value definitive.

1937 Portrait by Edmund Dulac, typography by Eric Gill
2½ Penny stamp 

1937 Portrait by Edmund Dulac, typography by Eric Gill
1 Penny stamp 

1937? Hexagonal design George VI

1938 Bicolour version of Dulac's hexagonal design
One Shilling stamp

1938 Bicolour version of Dulac's No. 2 design
1½ Penny stamp

1939 High value "Arms Series"
2 Shillings and 6 Pence stamp

1939 High value "Arms Series"
Five Shillings stamp

1940 Dulac's "Dual Head" design
2½ Penny stamp

1940 The Cameo with Queen Victoria on the 2d Orange
2 Penny stamp

In early 40s Dulac prepared the project of Polish 20 zlotych note for the Bank of Poland (Bank Polski). This banknote (printed in England in 1942 but dated 1939) was ordered by Polish Government in Exile and was never issued.

Dulac designed stamps and banknotes for Free France during World War II. This is Marianne de Londres (aks Marianne de Dulac) issued as a set of 20.
The model was Lea Rixens, the wife of a friend of Dulac. The series is called de Londres because the stamps were first printed in London, but apparently not issued because of the war.  Produced/issued 1942 to 1946.

1942-46 100 Franc note

1942-46 500 Cents note

1942-46 issue stamps
50 Centimes, 2 Francs, 3 Francs, 20 Francs

1942-46 issue stamp
2½ Francs

1942-46 issue
4 Francs

1942-46 issue
10 Francs

1994 Commemorative issue
2 Francs, 80 Centimes

Dulac contributed designs for the sets of stamps issued to commemorate the 1848 Olympic Games and for the Festival of Britain in 1951.

1948 Olympic Games postage stamp
1 Shilling

1951 "Commerce and Prosperity" Festival of Britain 
2½ pence postage stamp

1951 Signed Festival of Britain
2½ pence postage stamp

Dulac was one of the designers of the Wilding series stamps, which were the first definitive stamps of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. He was responsible for the frame around the image of the Queen on the 1s, 1s 3d and 1s 6d values although his image of the Queen was rejected in favour of a photographic portrait by Dorothy Wilding to which he carried out some modifications by hand. He also designed the 1s 3d value stamp of the set issued to commemorate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, but he died just before it was issued.

1 Shilling 3 Pence stamp