Germany. Heroes of Childhood: Heidi & Pippi
About stamps and plots
05.12.2019
On December 5, 2019, the German Post issued 2 stamps in the series "Heroes of Childhood: Heidi and Pippi Longstocking".
The heroines of the new series of postage stamps, by designer Jennifer Dengler, are the cheerful and perky Pippi from Sweden and the kind, compassionate Heidi from Switzerland. These characters from world famous children's books are very different, but they also have something in common: they are still very popular and are companions to many children around the world. More than 50 years passed between the "birth" of these girls, but now they peacefully coexist on postage stamps.
Heidi was invented by the Swiss writer Johanna Spyri (1827 - 1901) in the late 19th century. The first story about Heidi was published in 1879 and was an instant success. Later, Johanna Spyri wrote several further books in the series. Heidi is a little orphan who lives with her grandfather and her best friend Peter the goatherd in the mountains of Switzerland. The girl's story is appealing, not only for the vivid descriptions of the landscape and life in the pasture, but also for the author’s insight into how children see life and show their feelings. The books about Heidi deservedly rank among world children's literary classics, have been translated into more than 50 languages, and their total circulation is 55 million copies. Generations of children around the globe have followed the stories of kindhearted Heidi. Heidi became especially popular in Japan. Since the book was first translated into Japanese in 1920, numerous Japanese-language editions have appeared. The story has also been adapted for popular manga comics and various picture books.
The second stamp of the series is dedicated to an even more famous character in children's literature: Pippi Longstocking by the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren.
Astrid Lindgren (1907 - 2002) is one of the most famous and successful authors of children's books. Her works comprises 90 novels, short stories, picture books, drama and scripts. They have been translated into over 100 languages. Lindgren received, among others, the UNESCO Book Prize and the Great Gold Medal of the Swedish Academy.
Astrid Lindgren wrote the first story about Pippi, “Pippi Longstocking”, in 1945, then two more books “Pippi Goes Aboard” and "Pippi in the South Seas". The adventures of Pippi Longstocking have been translated into 70 languages and nearly 66 million books have been sold to date.
Pippilotta Victoriaria Tea-cosy Appleminta Longstocking, the daughter of the pirate captain Ephraim Longstocking, is a cheerful girl with freckles and red pigtails that stick out in different directions. From her father, Pippi inherited super-human physical strength, as well as a suitcase of gold, which allows her to exist comfortably. Pippi lives alone in the Villa Villekulla in a small Swedish town with her friends: the monkey Mr. Nielson and the gray horse. The girl is friends with the neighbors' children Annika and her brother Tommy, and the three of them have all kinds of adventures. Pippi is confident, fearless, but at the same time kind and generous, she uses her extraordinary strength only in emergency situations.
On a postage stamp, Pippi, demonstrating her extraordinary strength, holds a horse above her head. Yes, Pippi has her own horse, his name is "Horse" because that is what he is. Although in some works based on the book (films and TV series), the horse takes on different names: Old Man, Little Uncle, Alfonso, Horatio. Unlike all other horses that live in stables, Pippi's Horse lives in a house - on the terrace of the Villa Villekulla. When asked by Tommy's amazed friend about such an unexpected situation, Pippi thoughtfully replies: "You see, in the kitchen she would only get underfoot and in the living room she would be uncomfortable - there is too much furniture." If Pippi wants to drink tea on the terrace, she carries the Horse into the garden in her arms. From time to time, Pippi herself and her friends ride the Horse.
The German Post made an excellent choice in deciding that the main characters of this series of stamps should be Heidi and Pippi Longstocking.
The presentation of stamps from the Heroes of Childhood series took place on December 5, 2019 at the Ducal Museum in Gotha. The choice of this place was due to the fact that the first book about Heidi by Johanna Spyri was published in Gotha in December 1879 by the publisher Emil Perthes.
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