Saturday, March 10, 2012

Sunday Stamps

First up, we have Astrid Lindgren, a Swedish author of children's books, among them, Pippi Longstocking.  
Though her stories for children were loved, her attitude towards adultery) which was reflected in her writings) was not so muchIn her personal life, after an affair with her editor, she gave birth to a child out of wedlock. Until she was able to afford to take care of him, he was raised in a foster home where she regularly visited on weekends. It would seem that after declining marriage from the child's father, he declined support for the child. She would later marry her boss. Still, she was a advocate for children's and animal rights and against corporal punishment and was bestowed an award "...For her commitment to justice, non-violence and understanding of minorities as well as her love and caring for nature." 

Then there is American author and abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose most recognized work is possibly Uncle Tom's Cabin written in 1852, but she also wrote numerous other novels, travel memoirs as well as articles and letters.
Legend has it that upon meeting President Lincoln he was to have said to her "so you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great [civil] war", such was the polarizing effect of her writing among readers in the North and the South. It all started when she wrote to a newspaper saying she wanted to write a story about the problem of slavery, "I feel now that the time is come when even a woman or a child who can speak a word for freedom and humanity is bound to speak... I hope every woman who can write will not be silent."

Then there is someone perhaps a little less famous but by no means less influential in the lives of average Americans. Mary Lasker was a philanthropist and health advocate whose Lasker Award is considered the most prestigious medical research award one can receive. She supported National Health Insurance under President Truman - it failed. She then decided to fund medical research as a way to promote public health. She was also the president of the precursor to Planned Parenthood and she and her husband were instrumental in making the American Cancer Society the powerhouse that it is today. Ironically, her husband was one of the advertising executives who came up with the "Lucky Strikes Means Fine Tobacco" slogan for the cigarette company before the dangerous effects of tobacco became known.

Finally, we have the unnamed Women in  Military Service

See more Women in Stamps for March's Women's History Month in the US and the UK
(Canada celebrates in October)
by visiting Viridian's Postcard Blog

35 comments:

  1. I love the stamp you finished this post off with. My mom was a Wave from 1945-1947.

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    1. i am afraid I am not familiar with 'Wave', but I am glad to bring you happy feelings.

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  2. I hadn't heard of Mary Lasker before. It sounds like she has been very influential.

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    1. I had no idea. it was an interesting read to learn about her influence.

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  3. Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is a book that I shall never forget. I hadn't heard of Mary Lasker either.

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    1. And I though all the Americans would be familiar with Lasker!
      I haven't read Uncle Tom's Cabin since high school and I am ashamed to admit, I don't remember much of the details.

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  4. The stamps are so interesting! Thanks so much for all the info.
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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    1. It is fun when one can find info on the stamps - that doesn't always happen easily!

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  5. Those stamps are great! At least Canada recognises the influence women have. Well, not all women, but you know what I mean!

    Its about time the UK did some stamps like that!

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    1. your turn will come. or maybe the post office needs a few suggestions?

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  6. I'm particularly taken with your first two stamps because I have a long-standing (amicable) argument with someone who queries the point of fiction.

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    1. now, that must be an interesting discussion!!

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  7. Lovely stamps of the authors and thanks for the information.

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  8. I had heard about the Lasker prize, but not all the details about Mary Lasker's life.Because it's a larger denomiantion, I hadn't see the HB Stowe stamp before. thanks for participating!

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    1. well, now I don't feel so bad as I had not heard of her before at all!

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  9. I like the first one, where the author is flanked by cartoon kids.

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    1. I tried to find out who those kids were, but I am not really familiar with her stories.

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  10. Wonderful information. I loved Pipi Longstocking as a child and also have read Uncle Tom's Cabin but beyond that, I knew none of this. Thanks.

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    1. I remember reading Pippi, but I don't think I was particularly fond of her.

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  11. These are all fine stamps and very deserving women. I hadn’t heard of Mary Lasker before either.

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    1. They are all deserving, aren't they? Mary Lasker deserves to be better known.

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  12. What a wonderful collection :)

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  13. Excellent selection this week.
    I had come across Lasker many times when I was researching for health funds several years ago.

    My Stamp Menagerie

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    1. thanks. interesting that her name was familiar to the one who is possibly the farthest away!

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  14. Great stamps! I love the HBS-author stamp--love the engraving. I hadn't heard of Mary Lasker either--always nice to learn something new (or of someone who's done so much!).

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    1. Harriet looks a little sad, but rather pretty.

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  15. Very interesting post. I enjoyed reading it!

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  16. Interesting selection of stamps, and appreciate your added explanations. Sad that Astrid L had to have her child raised by a foster parent - it was so common then. I feel that the modern world needs people like Mary Lasker who take a broader and more sane view of issues like public health - too important to be squabbled over from a narrow political point of view.

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    1. Somehow, I imagine it might have been easier for Lasker to put her ideas into action then than it would be in todays climate.

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  17. I like the design of the Lindgren, the pale blue portrait and the vivid blue of her character (the mischievous farmer's boy Emil of Lönneberga). I've never seen a portrait of Stowe before, and like everyone else never heard of Mary Lasker, both things highlight the marvels of stamps.

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    1. Thanks, i wondered if that was Emil, but I was familiar enough with her stories.
      I am actually learning a lot from researching the stamps I'm getting! People don't pay enough attention to these little works of art and education!

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  18. Lovely stamps! I think Astrid Lindgren was a free spirit who refused to be tied down and it can't be adultery if neither was married at the time of the affair. I love the Women in Military stamp.

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    1. she probably was a free spirit. I haven't read her books, but according to one site, she included 'adultery' in her stories a few times too often. it may have been something else, though ;)

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