FOR SOME 50 years POST Greenland was privileged to have Jens Rosing as its number one stamp designer. During his long career he produced more than 130 different stamp designs. He was extremely versatile expertly handling images of people, animals and numerous other subjects.

It all started way back in the mid 1950s. Rosing was asked to design Greenland’s very first commemorative stamp featuring a scene from the Mother of the Sea, an old traditional story. It’s a very attractive stamp which was beautifully engraved. The 1957 version was printed in greenish blue colour. It was then reprinted in 1961 in plain blue. The 1957 variety is four times as costly as the reprint.

1966 The Boy & his Fox Series

In the 1950s and 60s most Greenlandic stamps were designed by Viggo Bang. Rosing was mainly commissioned to design the stamps with purely Greenlandic motifs. Thus his second stamp was the 1962 Drum Dance followed in 1966 by yet another stamp in the Greenlandic Legends series. The stamp shows The Boy and the Fox and it marks the beginning of Rosing’s long association with legendary Polish-Swedish stamp engraver Czeslaw Slania.

Until well into the 1980s all Greenlandic stamps were recess-printed in one colour only (with very few exceptions). In my view this is the classic period of Greenlandic philately. Starting in 1985 more and more stamp issues were either printed in offset or in a combination of offset and recess printing. These later issues are of course more colourful but lack the classy appearance of the one-colour recess printed stamps.

Leafing through my Greenland album I rediscover all of Rosing’s wonderful stamp designs and I realize that his work could easily be grouped together as a specialized collection telling a lot about the life, traditions and culture if the Inuit people on the big island in the Arctic. In addition there are numerous appearances of Greenland’s wildlife. The stamps designed by Rosing are still very affordable and a complete collection can very possibly be assembled for less than $200.

Jens Rosing was born in 1925 in the town of Ilulissat (Jakobshavn in Danish). He married a Danish woman and they had four children. Until the late 1950s, the family lived in the Nuuk (Greenland’s capital) area. In the 1950’s he helped introduce domestic reindeer into Greenland and in the 60s he took part in several scientific expeditions. He also served as the director of the museum in Nuuk.

The family then moved to Denmark. They lived in Humlebaek, a Copenhagen suburb. Despite being so far away from Greenland he continued to work for the Greenlandic postal service. In 1985 he designed the coat of arms for the local government in Greenland. It shows a standing polar bear. It is shown on a 1986 stamp (which Rosing did not design).

1986 Standing Polar Bear Coat of Arms stamp

In addition to designing stamps he was a very talented artist using various materials and techniques to produce his works. Rosing also provided the illustrations for several children’s books. He was the renowned author of a number of books on Greenlandic culture. Towards the end of his life he received many awards in recognition of his distinguished services to both Greenland and Denmark. On May 24, 2008 Jens Rosing passed away at the age of 83.

His very last stamp was released in 2007. It shows his beloved dogs pulling his sled somewhere in Greenland. This is also the country’s largest stamp so far. With a face value of just 3 kroner I guess this beauty can still be picked up for about a dollar. Greenland collectors all over the world appreciated the design which was voted the most beautiful stamp in 2007. Rosing learnt about this honour a couple of months before his passing.

Jens Rosing’s last stamp: 2007 3kr Dogs pulling sled

Greenland has lost one of its most important cultural personalities and also one of its major ambassadors in portraying the island and its people to the outside world.

The Grand Old Man of Greenlandic philately has left us but the Rosing name will still be associated with Greenlandic stamps. Jens Rosing’s daughter Ina is a very talented artist who has already designed several stamps for Greenland. She was born in 1965 in Denmark but has spent some time in Greenland. I expect we will see more of Ina Rosing’s work on future Greenlandic stamps.