Georges Simenon, the creator of Maigret

As previously reported on this blog by Cees Janssen, Commissioner Maigret was “created” in Delfzijl. In the article by Cees You can also see 3 beautiful stamps by Simenon. This prompted me to delve deeper into the (philatelic) history of Simenon and his brainchild Maigret.

Georges Simenon

Georges Joseph Christian Simenon, was a Belgian (French-speaking) writer. He became known to the general public as the author of 105 books about Inspector MaigretAccording to tradition, Simenon created the character Maigret in Delfzijl during one of his boat trips in 1929.

Maigret

Jules Maigret is the protagonist in the 105 novels that the writer Georges Simenon wrote about him between 1931 and 1972. Jules Maigret is said to have been born in 1884. He is happily married to Louise, whom he addresses as 'Madame Maigret'. Their only child, a daughter, died shortly after birth. In philatelic terms, Maigret appears on stamps from France (1996), San Marino (1979), and Nicaragua (1973).

This last seal also refers to his books.

Films

A number of the books about Maigret have been adapted into films. Examples include the books Maigret Voit Rouge (1963) and Maigret et l'affaire Saint-Fiacre (1959), in which the actor Jean Gabin plays the role of Commissioner Maigret.

It is worth mentioning that the same actor, Jean Gabin, also plays the lead role in another book by Georges Simenon that is not about Maigret, titled “Le Chat” from 1966. A film based on this was released in 1971, in which Gabin plays the lead role alongside Simone Signoret.

Maigret stories were also adapted for television in the Netherlands. From 1964 to 1965, Kees Brusse played the role of Maigret, and from 1967 to 1969, Jan Teulings took on the role of the commissioner.

Triptych

Georges Simenon was born in Belgium (Liège), subsequently lived in France (Paris), and finally settled in Switzerland (Lausanne), where he died in 1989. In 1994, these three countries issued a “similar” stamp in memory of this great writer. In philatelic terms, we call this a “triplet.” I found a nice envelope (a handmade item, of course) on which all three stamps are affixed and bearing the commemorative stamp from the respective country.

triplets