THE 1940-1941
ELIZALDE CHRISTMAS SEALS
By Nemy L. Rivera
Elizalde & Company,
Inc. briefly described itself as “importers & exporters and general
merchants & manufacturers. Established in 1854, it was engaged,
through the 14 subsidiary companies that it managed, in paint
manufacture, distillery, shipping, rope production, lumber, mining,
cattle-raising, milling and insurance.
The 1940 Christmas
Seals
1940 - Farm Scene - Regular issue, and,
Rouletted copy, with right selvage intact, autographed by Cesar F. Legaspi, stamp designer
In 1940, upon the
suggestion of some of its executives and staff officers, the
company decided to issue its own Christmas seal, the “first private
Christmas seal of the Philippines”. For this purpose, it conducted
a seal design contest from July to October 1940, offering P50.00 (a
comfortable amount during those days when the minimum monthly wage
was P30.00) for the best design, sketch or idea of a Christmas
seal. This was won by Federico V. Colman of Manila. Artwork was
drawn by Cesar F. Legaspi, a staff artist of Elizalde (1917 - 1994,
declared national artist for visual arts in 1990). The design was
symbolic of agriculture and commerce in the Philippines, and
portrayed a Filipino farmer plowing the field, with coconut palms in
an island and the prow of S.S. Mayon, the “queen of Philippine seas”
owned by the Manila Steamship Co., in the background.
This was printed by
Imprenta Germania, Legarda, Manila, in horizontal panes measuring
165 x 76 mm, with five 21 x 45 mm seals per pane. There were two
printings of 10.000 seals each. First day of issue was December 27,
1940. The seals were given away free to the public upon request.
The 1941 Christmas
Seals
1941 - Baptism
of Sultan Ali Mudin of Jolo in 1750
Because of the
enthusiastic response to the 1940 seals, Elizalde & Co., decided
to issue another Christmas seal for 1941. The design featured the
baptism of Sultan Ali Mudin of Jolo in 1750. The company stressed
that the underlying theme was “Gratitude”, because this event
“marked the beginning of better understanding between Christians and
Mohammedan Filipinos”. This appreciation extended to the “paving of
Philippine-Spanish cooperation in building trade and commerce for
three centuries” and the “last forty-three years of
Philippine-American collaboration and friendship”.
The design was drawn
by Manila artist, Victor Loyola, and printer presumably was the same
printer of 1940. Mintage was 20,000 seals in vertical panes
measuring 64 x 212 mm, with five 38 x 30 mm seals per pane. There is
a little known variety, with the man in foreground wearing an orange
coat, instead of red. Distribution, likewise free, was overtaken by
the outbreak of the Pacific War. Which
probably explains why the 1941 issue is more difficult to secure
than 1940.
In 1981, author
wrote Elizalde & Co., requesting for more information, and possible
some samples of the seals. A vice-president courteously replied
“that we are deeply sorry, however, that we cannot provide you with
a spare or even a xerox copy of the said seal in view of a fire that
struck our records many years ago. We have no way of tracing back
where those seals might be now, if there are still available, and
there seems to be nobody in our company who remembers them.”
(With basic data quoted or culled from
The Elizalde Stamp Journal issues of Jul-Aug-Sep 1940, Oct-Nov-Dec 1940, Jan-Feb-Mar 1941 and
Jul-Aug-Sep 1941).