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Seals of Love
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A few years ago, I met an elderly man in Boroojerd. He was the oldest stamp maker in the city. He was sitting on the floor in his dusty, empty shop. Beside him were some tools remained, from his old vocation. After a while I noticed two pieces of black cloth, which were in place of his missing legs. His legs had been recently amputated from the knee as a result of gangrene.
He told me of distant years, of his mosque-front chamber, of his masters, of his penny-a¬day wages and of the permanent wounds on the sides of his fingers. When he recognized me he spoke of everything in his sweet dialect and with the shine of excitement in his eyes. It seemed as if no one had visited him in a along time, and maybe he thought his past profession was no longer important to people. He had carved on Alam (metal banners used in Moharram) during the final years of his occupation, but that also had lost its attraction as result of the application of acid etching. He and others like him put their designs on pieces of stone, opal or silver selflessly and sincerely while in extreme solitude, poverty and desperation.
These were the unknown artists and great artisans who inscribed the stamps and depicted their imagination and stamped the void seal on their own names because today there is no recognition of them. What poured from their compassionate fingertips were the marvelous words and designs, which today as a part of the graphics history of this land rival the visual and written signs and images of this age.
My first contact with stamps goes back to my childhood, the years in which the shapes and designs on the framed documents and marriage papers in my relatives' houses became the inseparable memories of my staring eyes. Therefore, years ago, when studying graphics in undergraduate school, I traced "the history of stamps" as one of my favorite subjects. I have made the pledge ever since to continue my work. However, I haven't been able to keep my promise as I had expected, so years had to pass before I could fulfill my wish through the present book.
I feel it is appropriate to mention some of the current research I have done: The article on Iranian photographers' stamps, The article on decorative borders and frames of the Qajar era, The collection of printed designs on the inside of old envelopes, Collection of logos and symbols in the history of the Iranian press, The comprehensive graphics book oflran and a book named The developmental process of Iranian stamps since its beginning." This book is the result of many years of collecting documents and records that have been sealed on their headers and margins They are mostly from Boroojerd and Salas (Tooysergan, Nahavand and Malayer) and their suburbs. They have been partly maintained by the efforts of the late Etemadolmolk and his son, Etemad Daftar and Khosrokhan and his son, Taghai Khan who are my kin and because of their government jobs have kept these documents. the seals have been collected and classified by the author. Some of the stamps are copied or photographed from other documents. Another part of this collection, specially a number of stamps in part five that have been designed by Mirza Taher HaKakbashi were published in Honar va Mardom periodical No. 189-190. Some are from some pictures that master Mosha'shaii provided me with many years ago. I hereby would like to acknowledge the great people whom I have mentioned in this preface and I also find the opportunity appropriate to thank all the people who have assisted me to make this work possible.
Mohsen Ehteshami Spring of 2004
Seals of Love
A Graphical Look at Stamps of Qajar Era
by Mohsen Ehteshami English Translation:Mehdi Afshar
© KETAB-E-KORSHID Publication 2007 Address: P.O.Box:14335-348,Tehran,IRAN Tel: (+9821) 88722224
Fax:(+9821)88721099
www.ketab-e-khorshid.com
info@ketab-e-khorshid.com
mo.ehtesh@yahoo.com
First Edition: 2004
Second Edition: 2007
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