Summer stamps 1939 and other [un]mirrored summer stamps!

I could not have imagined beforehand that the discovery of a maximum card of the 12½ cent summer stamp of 1939, bearing the image of Peter Stuyvesant (1610 – 1672, Governor of Curaçao and New York), in my archive would lead to an article. Opposite viewing direction What is remarkable about the Maximum Card? The former governor's viewing direction on the stamp is opposite to that of the painting on which the stamp is based. In other words, we are dealing here with a mirrored summer stamp image. Further investigation Stuyveant's opposite viewing direction on the summer stamp (NVPH 322) piqued my interest and curiosity: what about the viewing direction of the other four 1939 summer stamps? With the help of the extensive reference work 'Postwaarden Nederland' (chapter C12), it is easy to find an answer. The designers based their work on historical visual material such as photographs, lithographs, drawings, and paintings. On the 2- and 3-cent stamps, the viewing directions of the figures correspond to the origin, whereas the three remaining stamps are the opposite. personal choice of stamp * 1 cent painter Mathijs Maris (1839 – 1917): born 100 years ago. * 2 cent painter Anton Mauve (1838 – 1888): celebration of his 100th birthday is based on incorrect information. He was born in 1838; the stamp issue was nevertheless maintained. * 3 cent physician Gerard van Swieten (1700 – 1772): due to the medical aspect of the fight against tuberculosis and cancer, a physician had to be featured. Van Swieten, as a pupil of Boerhaave, aligns particularly well with the Boerhaave stamp of the 1938 summer stamp issue. * 5 cent theologian & man of letters Nicolaas Beets (1814 – 1903): 100 years earlier, his collection of stories 'Camera Obscura', containing folk tales including one about the Stastok family, was published. * 12½ cents Governor Peter Stuyvesant (1610 – 1672): the World's Fair in New York was the reason for placing Stuyvesant on the highest value stamp for franking letters to foreign destinations. His year and place of birth are difficult to determine. His father, a minister, had posts in Peperga and Scherpenzeel. Peter Stuyvesant was most likely born in Peperga. Unique maximum card with signature of Peter Stuyvesant The maximum card was stamped at the Scherpenzeel – Munnekeburen post office on May 1, 1939, the first day of issue of the series. Both villages are located west of Wolvega (next to the A32) in the south of Friesland. Peter Stuyvesant's signature enhances the card's appeal as a personal item. Governors period Curaçao From 1642, Peter Stuyvesant served for several years as governor, director, and commander of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao on behalf of the Dutch West India Company. He fought against the Spaniards (similar to the conflict in the Netherlands) in the Caribbean region north of the ABC islands. In 1644, he lost his leg on the battlefield of Sint Maarten (then under Portuguese control) due to a direct Spanish hit. New Netherlands & New Amsterdam (New York) In 1609, the English explorer Henry Hudson, in the service of the Dutch West India Company (WIC), sailed the Halve Man on the wide Hudson River. He was searching for a route to the Indies. He passed the island of Manhattan (Native Americans called it Manna Hatta [land of hills]) and founded New Netherland there. In 1653, the city was granted city rights by the WIC. * In the foreground of the 300th Anniversary New York stamp, the three-masted ship sails with the Dutch tricolor at the masthead, with the city of New Amsterdam (1659) in the background, on which are visible, among other things, the three-masted ship, a windmill, a tall flagpole with a flag (welcoming the ship on the left in the harbor), a church, and a gallows (invisible on the stamp due to the ship). In the far background are the outlines of New York in 1953. * The present-day Manhattan was purchased from a local Native American tribe in 1626 for 60 guilders worth of trinkets, after which the trading post of New Amsterdam was founded. * Peter Stuyvesant was Governor-General of the colony of New Netherland (period 1645 – 1664). A strict and headstrong administrator, not very tolerant, in contrast to our country, towards followers of different religions. Stuyvesant statues Wolvega, Peperga & Scherpenzeel A 'division' exists between Scherpenzeel and Peperga. Both villages state with full conviction that Peter Stuyvesant was born in their village. The result? A memorial stands in both villages. * In Peperga, a ship stands on a large boulder; the designer is unknown. * In Scherpenzeel, a memorial obelisk has stood since 1955, topped with the three-masted ship 'De halve maen', by sculptor Jentsje Postma. * Also in Wolvega, the main town of the municipality of Weststellingwerf, a statue of Peter Stuyvesant has stood since 1955, by sculptor Jentsje Popma. Mirrored and unmirrored summer stamps It would be going too far to list the visual source material with background for all 37 different summer stamps (1935 through 1941 & 1947) in as much detail as the 1939 summer stamp issue. Hence the accompanying inventory: * 18 identical viewing directions on stamps and original images. * 19 images on stamps mirrored relative to the visual source material. Three of these stamps are based on a person depicted frontally. * The viewing directions of the persons initially vary. From 1939 onwards, the portraits are predominantly oriented to the left.