Captain Marian Kasprzyk (*1933) was no doubt the greatest artist of the GBLA. He was the mate of the Djakarta in the first half of 1968.
He produced not only the first stamps of the Djakarta, which are catalogued in the Great Bitter Lake Association Encyclopaedia and Stamp Catalogue, but also the first GBLA linocut cancellers and pictures.
His linoprinted pictures of all 14 ships are shown on pages 51 to 64, stamps, cancellers and other pictures on pp. 255 to 260. Therefor only a few samples and notes to demonstrate his craftsmanship.
For this stamp he had engraved three linocuts - one for each colour.
Linoprinted pictures had sometimes more colours, but pictures were printed from only one engraved linocut each.
To print pictures of 14 ships, 13 linocuts were enough. The Boleslaw Bierut and Djakarta were exactly the same type of ship.
He showed other GBLA members how to do linocuts and printing. A lesson used by Captain Benda during his later stints, when he printed stamps in 1972 and 1974.
We can see some linoprints in GBLA and ASFE collections. Naturally, all are shown in the above mentioned book. They are my favorite GBLA items.
Marian passed away on February 2, 2022. My Dear Friend, rest in peace.
Sources: collection and archives of the author
Contact to author: valdpete@yahoo.com
