It has long been a wish to issue a stamp series that delves into the rich treasure trove of ethnographic photographs taken in Greenland. This new series not only affords a visual insight into Greenland’s cultural history, but also acknowledges the rich heritage and many life stories found in these old photographs. Bringing ethnographic images to light builds a bridge between the past and the present and allows the viewer to reflect on Greenland’s cultural identity. The series will be a combination of postal payment instruments, collector items and a piece of vibrant cultural dissemination. The series is created in collaboration with Ina Rosing. As many of our ardent collectors are aware, she is the daughter of Dagny Rosing and Jens Rosing, the ‘Grand Old Man’ of Greenlandic stamps. Ina says of her first two stamps in the series: “I have tried to strike a balance whereby the colouring brings the photographs to life and evokes certain emotions – without dominating the very fine works themselves.” The first stamp depicting a group of people in the mountains was taken by W. Thalbitzer in 1906, while the stamp with the women by the animal skin tents was taken by Th. N. Krabbe anno 1904. Both photos are from Tasiilaq in East Greenland.
William Thalbitzer
(1873 – 1958), Danish linguist, philologist and Eskimologist. In 1900, he spent a year in Ilulissat, West Greenland, studying the Greenlandic language. Later, from 1905 to 1907, he stayed in Tasiilaq with his wife, where they lived among the locals and collected ethnographic materials. There, he documented the local Inuit culture through both writing and photography. His photographic documentation affords a rare and valuable insight into traditional Inuit life as it was lived then before major exterior influences. Daily life, clothing, utensils and types of housing were among his themes. Today, his photography serves as an important source for understanding the social structures and cultural practices of the Inuit of that period. He became fluent in the Greenlandic languages and wrote a series of academic works on the languages, religion and lifestyle of the Inuit. He was one of the pioneers in the study of Inuit language and culture in Greenland and North America and is still considered an important figure in Greenlandic research, especially for his contribution to the documentation of East Greenlandic dialects and culture at a time when much of this information was still unknown to Europeans.
Thomas Nedergaard Krabbe
(1861 – 1938), most often referred to as Th. N. Krabbe, was a Danish doctor, ornithologist and avid amateur photographer, who became renowned for his colourful photographs from Greenland, especially of places like Nuuk, Tasiilaq and Thule. The pictures which were taken between 1891 and 1909 are currently on display at the Greenland National Museum in Nuuk. During his stay in Tasiilaq, he documented the Inuit way of life, culture and surroundings through a series of photographs, which are today considered invaluable sources of cultural history. Krabb’s photography depicts traditional tools, clothing, dwellings and social activities, and provides a unique insight into life among the Inuit prior to the extensive modernisation of Greenland. His photographic documentation is today preserved in archives and used in research as visual documentation of a culture in transition.
