The postal administrations of the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Denmark will jointly honor celebrated Polish engraver Czeslaw Slania’s 100th birth anniversary with commemorative souvenir sheets to be issued on August 12th. A ceremony celebrating the first day issue of the new souvenir sheets will take place at the Great American Stamp Show (GASS) 2021 in Rosemont-Chicago, Illinois. Martin Mörck, a world-renowned Norwegian-Swedish artist who designed the sheets and engraved the stamp on the sheets, is planning to attend the show and meet with collectors. Mörck’s attendance to GASS 2021 is made possible thanks to the efforts of Armagan Ozdinc, a prolific collector and specialist of Mörck’s works, and sponsorship of Linn’s Stamp News. APS Digital Marketing Specialist Taisia Osipova took this opportunity and interviewed the APS member Ozdinc to learn more about his connection with Martin and his interest in philately.
Czeslaw Slania’s 100th birth anniversary with souvenir sheets
How did you become involved in philately?
I first became involved in philately by starting to collect mint stamps of Turkey at age 14. In later years, my involvement in the Turkish philately evolved into the areas of traditional philately and picture postcards for the period of early 20th century. My interest in the Turkish philately still continues until this day.
In 1990, I also developed a strong interest in the Scandinavian philately, primarily the stamps of the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland, as a result of my fascination with the beautiful landscape of these three enchanted North Atlantic islands. As I started building up my stamp collection of these Nordic islands, I came to the realization of how elegant the stamps engraved by Slania were, especially those ones from the Faroe Islands. This became my entry point to the world of engraved stamps. After this realization, I expanded my Scandinavian collection to include all the stamps engraved by Slania for the Nordic postal administrations.
What made you connect with Mörck/inspired you to collect his works?
As I got involved more in engraved stamps and developed a better appreciation for this form of art, I started paying much closer attention to engraved stamps in general. Although I was aware of a vast number of Swedish and Danish stamps engraved by Mörck in 1990s, I did not get attracted to his artwork until I started seeing his beautiful Faroe Islands Vikings and Greenland expeditions series souvenir sheets issued in early 2000s. These souvenir sheets were so attractive for me, not just because of high quality engravings, but also because of beautiful masterpiece illustrations. After these issues, I started expanding my Slania-engraved stamp collection with the Mörck stamps. At this juncture, it became very clear to me that a new stamp artist star was emerging and Mörck was undoubtedly the person to be Slania’s heir.
How did you first meet Martin?
After I built up my Mörck stamp collection over time, I started forming my own questions without answers. One day, I decided to send Mörck a message to his e-mail address that I acquired from his website. In my e-mail, I introduced myself, mentioned to him that I was both a Slania and Mörck artwork collector and wanted to exchange e-mails with him to ask my questions about his stamps and other artwork. Four hours later, he responded to my e-mail. I was shocked that I got such a quick response from this world-renowned stamp artist. He was so kind in his response and told me that I could contact him anytime for any of my questions.
This was the start of my dialogue and eventual friendship with Martin. Over months and years, I asked lots of questions to him and he patiently answered all of them. Through these e-mail exchanges, I have learned a lot, not just about his stamps, but also about designing, illustrating and engraving in general. I was clearly enhancing my knowledge. These exchanges ultimately made me decide to be specialized in the overall Mörck artwork beyond his stamps. At the end, I have made this commitment to myself and also Martin.
Although I was learning a lot through our correspondences, my biggest wish was to watch and observe him while working in his studio. When I mentioned this to him, he was so kind and invited me to Sweden to spend some time with him. This was definitely one of the most exciting trips I had across the Atlantic Ocean. During this visit, I spent a number of days in his studio and watched him while sketching, pen & ink drawing, hand engraving and making die proofs. Eight months later, I visited him again and did more observations. Those days spent in the Mörck studio were definitely an eye opener for me and felt like an apprenticeship. Not only I learned a lot by observing him, but I have also personally witnessed his artistic skills, creativity and passion for art. At the end of my both trips, I left Sweden with an ammunition of knowledge and fond memories.
Photo of Martin Mörck, courtesy of Armagan
What was your most memorable moment with Martin?
I cannot recall a particular memorable moment with Martin. However, I felt that our dinner conversations about current events were always memorable while eating the delicious food cooked by Martin who happens to be an excellent cook; especially when it comes to seafood. Martin is an intellectual man who is well versed in current events and world affairs. As Martin being a true lover of Greenland, we often had a passionate discussion around the climate change and its impact on Greenland.
I was actually expecting lots of memorable moments from our planned trip to Eastern Greenland in April 2020. Martin organized a dog sledding trip including a group of Chinese stamp collectors and myself. I was so excited about that trip. Martin was going to show us those places in Greenland that inspired him for his illustrations on those 12 beautiful Greenland expedition series souvenir sheets. Unfortunately, we had to cancel that trip once the Covid-19 pandemic hit the globe.
What is your favorite stamp that Martin has created?
It is so difficult to pick only one favorite stamp among more than 900 stamps designed and/or engraved by Martin. Therefore, I will mention few of my favorite Mörck stamps. They are as follow:
- 2002 Viking voyages on North Atlantic waters by Faroe Islands (Scott 413)
- 2004 Arctic expeditions of Otto Sverdrup by Norway (Scott 1399a), Greenland (Scott 426a) and Canada (Scott 2027) – joint issue
- 2008 Greenland expeditions of Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld by Greenland (Scott 528a) and Finland (Scott 1321) – joint issue
- 2011 Harpa building by Iceland (Scott 1238)
- 2015 Winston Churchill portrait by Jersey (Scott 1854)
- 2015 Arctic expeditions of Prince Albert I by Monaco (Scott 2823)
Are there any upcoming stamp shows or other philatelic events, besides the Great American Stamp Show which Martin is attending, that you or Martin plan to attend?
There are none planned at the moment. However, one possibility for both of us is to attend London 2022 in February. It is my intent to bring Martin again to future Great American Stamps Shows and definitely Boston 2026!