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BELGIUM
Belgique/België2003
Georges Simenon
Feb. 13, 1903 (Liege, Belgium) -
Sept. 4, 1989 (Lausanne, Switzerland)Inspector Maigret
27.66×38.40mm (1.1×1.5") 38.15×48.75mm (1.5×1.9") 27.66×38.40mm (1.1×1.5") April 28, 2003 perf 11½
rotagravure on polyvalent-phosphorescent paper
designed by Myriam Voz & Thierry Martin
Three stamps honoring Georges Simenon, creator of Inspector Maigret, were issued in 2003 to commemorate the 100th anniveresary of Simenon's birth.
The 0,49€ shows Jean Gabin in a poster for the film Maigret tend un piège.
The 0,59€ shows a poster with Gabin and Simone Signoret for the film Le Chat.
Designers' Comments
"Pour ces deux affiches que nous avons dû reprendre dans leur version originale évidemment, nous avons retravaillé au niveau des couleurs, pas au niveau du dessin", explique Thierry Martin. "Nous avons souhaité une mise en scène de cinéma avec une lumière typique au cinéma. Pour ce faire, le côté gauche est blanc et vire peu à peu au noir, au fur et à mesure que l'on va vers la droite du timbre", ajoute-t-il. Quant aux éléments qui ont guidé le choix de l'affiche du film Le chat, Myriam Vos évoque le fait que cette affiche est bilingue et qu'Annie Cordy figure parmi les acteurs.
"C'est un clin d'oeil pour la Belgique", note la dessinatrice.
"For these two posters which we obviously had to use in their original versions, we reworked them at the color level, not the design level," explains Thierry Martin. "We wanted a cinematic production, with the typical lighting of the movies. To do that, we made the left side white, shading little by little towards black, moving to the right of the stamp," he adds. As for what guided the choice of the poster of Le Chat, Myriam Vos cites the fact that this poster is bilingual and that the Belgian actress Annie Cordy is in the film.
"It's a tip of the hat to Belgium," notes the designer.
The 0,84€ is a photo of Georges Simenon at his typewriter in a souvenir sheet with a single stamp. 
The background of the souvenir sheet
is a photograph of the Quai des Orfèvres
by Jean-Pierre Ducatez.
The 0,49€ and 0,59€ stamps were issued in mini-sheets of ten stamps. (Thanks, Helen!)
The PRIOR tab on 0,49 euro stamps is for letters mailed within Belgium. For this priority mail, delivery is promised during the next workday if the mail is at the post office by closing time. Normal postage is 0,41 euros, delivery within three working days.
According to the Belgian Postal Service website, these stamps were scheduled to go on presale
at Centre Culturel de Sclessin, rue des Beaux Arts 4, 4000 Liège and Scheppersinstituut,
Cooppallaan 12, 9230 Wetteren between 10 am and 5 pm on Saturday, 26 April 2003.first day covers
imperforates
1000 imperforates were issued. They were given as gifts to Belgian Post management, ministers and royalty in Belgium, who, according to their importance, received single stamps or blocks of four.
first day sheet
click for back of sheet
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