MONACO MONTE CARLO 1925

PRINCIPAUTE DE MONACO

The 1925 Principality of Monaco stamp showing the Monte Carlo Harbor displays the Prince’s Palace of Monaco and the Monte Carlo Harbor. The palace sits atop “The Rock of Monaco (French: Rocher de Monaco) (which) is a 62-metre (203 ft) tall monolith on the Mediterranean coast of the Principality of Monaco. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea and the port.” (wikipedia.org).

In an article on the bbc.com it states that,

“Monaco is the second-smallest independent state in the world. It is a playground for tourists and a haven for the wealthy, the former drawn by its climate and the beauty of its setting and the latter by its advantageous tax regime. The country - a constitutional monarchy - is surrounded on three sides by France and occupies just under two square kilometres (0.75 sq. mile) of the Cote d'Azur, where the Alpes Maritimes meet the Mediterranean. Tourism drives Monaco's economy gamblers flock to the Place du Casino in Monte-Carlo and every May the principality hosts the Monaco Grand Prix. The country is a major banking centre and closely guards the privacy of its clients.”

On the cia.gov website they noted that Monaco was “founded as a Greek colony in the 6th century B.C., the name derives from two Greek words "monos" (single, alone) and "oikos" (house) to convey the sense of a people "living apart" or in a "single habitation."

The display of the palace on the stamp could be a reminder that by the date 1925, Monaco was a country that proudly supported the constitutional Monarchy. Throughout the history of the Princes of Monaco, it had political relations for many hundreds of years under the Kings of France. After the death of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in 1793 during the French Revolution Monaco’s Monarchy remained.

As stated in an article on wikipedia.org,

“The Prince's Palace of Monaco is the official residence of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. Built in 1191 as a Genoese fortress, during its long and often dramatic history it has been bombarded and besieged by many foreign powers. Since the end of the 13th century, it has been the stronghold and home of the Grimaldi family who first captured it in 1297. The Grimaldi ruled the area first as feudal lords, and from the 17th century as sovereign princes, but their power was often derived from fragile agreements with their larger and stronger neighbours.” It is said that “In 1701, Prince Antoine succeeded Louis I and inherited an almost bankrupt Monaco…” He was married to Marie of Larraine and his daughter “Louise-Hippolyte was married to Jacques de Goyon Matignon…” As time passed, “Louise-Hippolyte succeeded her father as sovereign of Monaco in 1731 but died just months later.” (Illustration 11 note) “Princess Luise Hyppolyte was one of only two women to rein over the Principality of Monaco.”

In trying to find a significance of the 1925 date of the stamp, an article tells of Princess Alice Heine who passed away in 1925. “Alice Heine (February 10, 1858 – December 22, 1925) was the American-born Princess consort of Monaco by marriage to Prince Albert I of Monaco.” (wikipedia.org).

The drawings of the sailing ships that are in the harbor of Monte Carlo could be a symbol of the longevity of the country and an indication of the history of Monaco as a port. It is stated that, “The Age of Sail (usually dated as 1571–1862) was a period roughly corresponding to the early modern period in which international trade and naval warfare were dominated by sailing ships, lasting from the mid-16th to the mid-19th century… By 1873, the Age of Sail had definitely ended…” (Age of sail). Interestingly, “The steamship has been described as a "major driver of the first wave of trade globalization (1870–1913) and contributor to an increase in international trade that was unprecedented in human history.” (wikipedia.org/steam). By the year 1925 when the stamp was printed, ships were being designed with turbine steam engines powered by coal, then fuels which led to diesel powered ships by the second half of the 20th century.

On the boarder of the stamp there are seven drawings of leaves that resemble four leaf clovers, (trèfle à quatre feuilles). The combined number of leaves on those images is 28. I was wondering if this would symbolize the previous 28 monarchy rulers beginning with Rainier I, Lord of Cagnes in 1297 to Albert I, (Albert Honore Charles Grimaldi), who reigned until 1922. The image of the palace setting high on the Rocher De Monaco seems to attract the most attention on the stamp, so could this then signify the grandeur of the 1925 ruler of the monarchy as a ruling authority sitting on a throne?

While searching through stamps many times the names of the designers and artists are not easily found. This stamp does bear the name Henry Cheffer on the bottom right corner. A brief mention on Wikipedia states that he was a French illustrator and printmaker. I am inclined to think that since he worked within the time-frame when the stamp was produced that he was the artist.

A curious note about the 13 X’s across the top of the stamp. If the X’s represent the roman numeral for ten and in years, then the total years of the 13 X’s would equal 130 years. If you subtract 130 years from the 1925 date of the stamp it takes you back to the year 1795, which is significant in the events surrounding the end of the history of the French Monarchy.

The time-frame of 1793 to 1814 was the French Occupation of Monaco and a man by the name of Gregoire Marie Jagot was the French commissioner and Justice of the Peace that is mentioned to be the one who governed Monaco during the French Occupation. History shows that King Luis XVI was the King of France up to 1793. “He was referred to as Citizen Louis Capet during the four months just before he was guillotined.” (wikipedia.org).

In a translated article about Gregorie Jagot it states that on “January 13, 1793 he wrote with his three colleagues however that "convinced of the crimes of Louis Capet, he pronounced his condemnation without appeal to the people. Convinced of the ambiguity of this formula, with his mountain colleague, Jeanbon Saint-André , the four men wrote the same day their true wish: for the death of Louis without appeal to the people.” The article further states that, “He was included in the proceedings brought against the members of the old committees and was arrested with them. Arrested following the disturbances of 12 germinal year III , he was declared indictment on May 29 , 1795 , and pending trial, imprisoned on June 2 , 1795. He benefited from the amnesty of October 1795.”

Is it possible that the French artist Henry Cheffer secretly blended a hidden reference to the past on the stamp to remind others of the political upheavals that occurred and those who had a hand in it? Could the 28 clover leaves be the subtle reminder that the long history of the Monaco Monarchy has triumphed?

Is it possible that the postage stamp holds secrets to the past that “coincidence” can’t be the easy way explain the similarities?

Referenced Articles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_of_Monaco

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17615784

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mn.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince%27s_Palace_of_Monaco

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Heine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Sail

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamship

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XVI_of_France

https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grégoire_Jagot

Translated
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%25C3%25A9goire_Jagot&prev=search