The ultra-rare withdrawn Hepburn stampsThe news reported today by the BBC that a rare sheet of stamps is to be sold for charity attracted my attention since it concerned an image of the late Audrey Hepburn with a cigarette holder in her teeth. The article states that the the stamps, produced in 2001, were quickly withdrawn by the German Post Office (which had commissioned them). I imagined that they were withdrawn for "non-smoking" reasons but in fact this was not the case - and of course in 2001 the stupid political correctness about such images had not reached the fever pitch of 2007.
Anyway, the piece reminded me of an article from 2007 on CM's blog Jour Après Jour (French) concerning the stupid business of Stalinist-revisionist air-brushing of old images of famous people with cigarettes, cigars or pipes. CM was not the only one by the way: another blog called Frogsmoke carried pieces on the same subject and in particular the commemorative stamp showing an image of André Malraux:
Anyway, the piece reminded me of an article from 2007 on CM's blog Jour Après Jour (French) concerning the stupid business of Stalinist-revisionist air-brushing of old images of famous people with cigarettes, cigars or pipes. CM was not the only one by the way: another blog called Frogsmoke carried pieces on the same subject and in particular the commemorative stamp showing an image of André Malraux:
And the stamp?
SourceEven Winston Churchill has been "sanitised" as reported on an amusing blog called "The Chap"
The irony of all this of course is that in the case of the Hepburn stamps is that the cigarette holder was a replacement for a pair of innocent sunglasses!
How the world changed in six years!
Until the next time
The irony of all this of course is that in the case of the Hepburn stamps is that the cigarette holder was a replacement for a pair of innocent sunglasses!
How the world changed in six years!
Until the next time
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