Translating themes into stamp designs in Indonesia<\/p>\n
By Lila Fitri Aly<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian word perangko (stamp) is derived
\nfrom the Latin word franco, a receipt for payment of the mailing
\ncost of a letter.<\/p>\n
Long before the use of stamps, people in the old kingdoms of
\nSriwijaya, Tarumanegara, Mataram, Purnawarman and Majapahit,
\nexchanged letters by royal messengers.<\/p>\n
Letters were written on a variety of materials such as bark,
\nbamboo and palm leaves. In the seventh century, the Chinese in
\nJava used palm leaves to write letters back home.<\/p>\n
The arrival of the Dutch in Indonesia started the use of paper
\nfor letters and the use of stamps to post them.<\/p>\n
The Dutch Indies introduced stamps in 1864. The first ones
\nwere wine red in color and depicted King Willem III of the
\nNetherlands in a square frame. The top of the stamp was
\nemblazoned with 10 cents and the word postzegel (stamp) was
\nwritten across the bottom. On the left side was the word Nederl
\nand on the right Indie. This first Dutch Indies stamp was not
\nperforated. Two million of such stamps were printed in Utrecht,
\nthe Netherlands. The picture was designed by J.W. Kaiser of
\nAmsterdam.<\/p>\n
Indonesia started printing its own stamps in 1945, when the
\nPerjuangan (struggle) series was issued in Yogyakarta and some
\nother cities. Although the drawings on the stamps were simple,
\nthe print in one color and the material only straw paper, the
\nevents on them were a telling record of Indonesia's history of
\nstruggle.<\/p>\n
According to Suhaimi, head of the Indonesian Stamp Museum at
\nTaman Mini Indonesia Indah in East Jakarta, Indonesian stamps
\nfall into four categories.<\/p>\n
The first category is the annual series on the President. The
\nsecond is on a number of dead eminent people. The third is the
\ndepiction of national and international events, such as the
\nBamboo Conference, the World Cup, the Non-Aligned Movement and
\nAPEC. The last category celebrates the anniversaries of various
\nevents.<\/p>\n
According to Suhaimi, there are four other types of Indonesian
\nstamps. The first are the definitive stamps (stamps continuously
\nin use until their withdrawal). The second are stamps with a
\nsurcharge issued to raise money for charity.<\/p>\n
\"Usually an organization wanting to issue stamps contacts the
\nMinistry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications,\" Suhaimi said.<\/p>\n
Surcharge stamps issued so far include stamps for the kidney,
\npolio, leukemia and cancer foundations.<\/p>\n
Other stamps are issued for natural phenomenon, such as the
\neruption of Mount Galunggung in West Java in the 1980s, and solar
\neclipses.<\/p>\n
The last type of stamps are on culture, flowers and animals.<\/p>\n
Developed countries plan the issuance of the stamps five years
\nahead, which is ideal because it allows ample time to produce
\nhigh quality stamps, according to Suhaimi.<\/p>\n
Indonesian government policy stipulates that new stamps be
\nissued every year.<\/p>\n
\"The issuance of stamps is planned one year in advance,\" said
\nSlamet Affandi, administration chief of the Indonesian Stamp
\nMuseum.<\/p>\n
Institutions interested in issuing stamps send their requests
\nto Directorate General of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications.
\nThe letters are screened and the selected themes are brought to a
\nteam at the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications. The
\nteam consists of representatives from the ministry, philatelists,
\nphilately writers, stamp traders and Peruri, the state printing
\ncompany. This team decides on the next year's themes.<\/p>\n
\"The discussion is focused on the themes of the stamps to be
\nissued, the number of issuances, and so on,\" Suhaimi added.<\/p>\n
He said that countries usually issue a maximum 12 themes a
\nyear. Indonesia opts for 14.<\/p>\n
\"Less frequent issuances benefit a country's stamp
\ncollection,\" Suhaimi said.<\/p>\n
Customer's taste<\/p>\n
Indonesian stamps are designed by Peruri, which also prints
\nsecurity papers, such as shares, obligations, travelers' cheques,
\ncheques, duty stamps and other excises.<\/p>\n
\"As the producer and printer we must be able to understand the
\ncustomer's wish. His preference must be expressed in accordance
\nwith the theme,\" said Sudirno, of the picture planning section at
\nPeruri.<\/p>\n
\"Attention is also paid to the techno-economic aspect. The
\nprice should be relevant. A product may be good but the
\nproduction cost should not be too high. And, lastly, security
\nmust be considered. Stamps should be counterfeit-proof and
\ncolorfast,\" said Sudirno.<\/p>\n
Orders come from the Directorate General of Tourism, Post and
\nTelecommunications and PT Pos Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"Not all requests for issuance can be met because they don't
\nmeet the criteria,\" said Sudirno.<\/p>\n
There can be up to 20 to 25 theme requests a year, which are
\npared down to a maximum of 14.<\/p>\n
A theme comprises Rp 300, Rp 500 and Rp 700 stamps, each with
\na different picture.<\/p>\n
Peruri has 16 stamp designers, said Slamet Sugiyanto, chief of
\nthe picture design department.<\/p>\n
\"Designing stamps gives happiness. There is great satisfaction
\nwhen the artist can offer his customer the best and especially
\nwhen the stamps circulate throughout the world,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We must be very accurate. The responsibility is great. To
\ndraw an animal I must have the best data, which I can check with
\nthe Bogor Agriculture Institute, the Indonesian Science Institute
\nin Jakarta or with some experts,\" he added.<\/p>\n
If there is a mistakes, the stamps must be withdrawn from
\ncirculation, which obviously inflicts losses on the government
\nand can give the printer a bad name. Yet, this possibly brings
\nadvantages to philatelists because the harder a stamp is to get,
\nthe higher its price will be.<\/p>\n
Berthold Sinaulan, a stamp collector, said some Indonesian
\ndesigners lack the capability to translate a theme into a
\npicture.<\/p>\n
\"For example, if the theme is National Education Day, the
\npicture often shows somebody studying. Also, on the theme of
\nFive-year Development Program, the picture is often of somebody
\nworking in a rice field,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But he observed that in general the designs have improved
\nsince the 1980s after the government started to pay more
\nattention to the field. There are also frequent stamp design
\ncompetitions which have contributed to the development of
\nIndonesian stamps.<\/p>\n
\"The design of Indonesian stamps is fairly good compared to
\nthe designs in philatelist countries like the U.S., Australia,
\nBritain and Japan. However, Indonesia's stamp designs must be
\nfurther developed,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/translating-themes-into-stamp-designs-in-indonesia-1447893297",
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