Moomin History

So, the final round up, and a few quirky gems. The first is this gorgeous postmark. Of the many wonders to be found in Muumimaailma, the fact that it has its own post office is not the least. It’s located in the book shop and of course, a wide range of Moomin stamps and postcards are available – and posting a card or letter from there is the only way you’ll get this lovely postcard, and presumably a guarantee that Moomin himself will hand-deliver your mail.

The last two images are curios from the past. The Moomins were not the first creations from the Jansson stable to grace Finland’s postage stamps. Tove’s mother, Signe Hammarsten Jansson was an acclaimed artist and illustrator in her own right and between 1929 and 1962, designed over 200 different stamps. Signe – or ‘Ham’, as she was known – was a huge influence on her daughter, and the young Tove would spend hours at her mother’s side, copying her drawings. It’s here that she gained her fascination with cross-hatching, an often-used anti-forgery device, and something that was repeatedly used in the Moomin illustrations.

Ham also drew the cover illustration for another book… but that’s a post for another time.

On learning this, I dug out my old stamp collection, untouched for around three decades and – lo and behold – there were two of her stamps. As collectibles, their value is probably low, but to a Moomin archivist, they’re quite the find.

As promised in part one, here are the 2009 Moomin postage stamps. These were based on some of Tove’s sketches and give a rare insight into the creative process behind the Moomin comic strips. One thing that I have in common with my fellow cartoonists is the sense of apprehension when going over pencil lines with ink. There’s always a fear that the inked image will not have the same life and vibrancy as the pencil lines, and this can be doubly true when the final product is compared to the rough sketches.

This never seems to have been a problem for Tove Jansson; the Moomin strips are bursting with movement and fluidity. But the rough-hewn feel to the sketches is something else again; there’s that sense of wonder at seeing the first draft of a Moomin illustration, particularly if it’s one that has gone on to appear everywhere afterwards.

It’s not so easy to place these ones; the first looks as though it could be from Moomins on the Riviera.

That’s a nice little touch on the magnification of Little My’s eye in the spectacles. Amazing detail work on the curtain rails!

Moomin and Snufkin debate a philosphical point; and Moominpappa is set to tumble into a cargo hold full of fireworks.

That fine British institution, the Royal Mail, is worthy of celebration. It comes up with timely, well-thought-out stamps and First Day Covers, and despite rising prices, is still a bit of a bargain. Having said that, Finland has it knocked into a cocked hat. Not only do they honour Finland’s contribution to Heavy Metal and their premier homoerotic artist, but they’ve also doffed their cap to the Moomins on more than a few occasions. The most recent set was in May last year, but as I discovered on my recent visit to Muumimaailma, there have been quite a few others.

The ones pictured were released in 2011 and – well, they speak for themselves. I picked up a packet of these along with the 2009 set, which features preliminary sketches from the comic strips. I’ll post these up shortly.

It’s also worth noting that if you send a postcard from Moominworld, not only will you have your choice of stamps, but you’ll get an exclusive Moominvalley postmark. As if you needed one more reason to go…