Trades of Yesteryears II stamp issue from Luxembourg

A joiner cuts, planes, knocks, embeds, assembles…
Joinery is an activity somewhere between carpentry and cabinetry. The placement of most flooring, for instance, is carried out sometimes by a carpenter, and other times by a joiner. Cabinetry is generally reserved for the joiners’ most delicate work, in particular the making of furniture. Joiners are building professionals who traditionally work in wood. They manufacture and place doors, windows, and cupboards. They provide measurement services. Their professional discipline is joinery but also the arrangement of insulating materials as well as light ironwork.
The Potter
The appearance of pottery was an essential step in the history of civilisation and goes back to the Neolithic era. The first pottery items, baked in the open, were matt and porous, and of a sombre colour. A silicabased coating that made them watertight was also discovered very early on. Earthenware is a pottery item with an opaque white or tinted tin glazing. Earthenware items, intended for a rich clientele and made by renowned manufacturers, reached their pinnacle in the 18th century. They became more common among the wider population when the privileged classes turned to porcelain.
The Stonemason
A stonemason is an artisan who hews stones used to build or restore buildings.
But they are not just artisans. Their design skills allow them to develop and refine their perception of forms and shapes. Skilful with their hands, a stonemason’s motions are precise and sure. Before beginning work on a historic monument, they study different architectural styles and acquire basic knowledge of the history of art. Another indispensable quality: meticulousness. A tool slipping or an exaggerated groove can lead to a work in the making being irreparably damaged.
The Printer
Printing uses a collection of technologies that enable the reproduction of the written word and of illustrations in large quantities, generally on paper, in order to be able to distribute them widely. In 1440, Johannes Gensfleisch, better known by the name of Gutenberg, had the idea of using movable characters in lead, thereby inventing modern typography.
For a long time, printers remained at the level of a small artisan. Nevertheless, even though wages were low, the work was considered prestigious. Since books remained costly objects, typographers were constantly in contact with wellread men. A printer also had an important privilege: the right to carry a sword.
Jacques Doppée: painter, designer, watercolourist, engraver.
Educated in Belgium at the Académie royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles and at the Ecole des Arts d’Ixelles, he specialised in medieval techniques. Jacques Doppée is inspired by nature and has a fondness for landscapes and beach views. He also creates stylised and floral subjects or insects represented graphically and in great detail. As an author of postage stamps, he has already designed numerous stamps for the Belgian and Luxembourg post services and even for the Faroe Islands.