DIR. FELIPE CUADERNO
By Carolina B. Clemente
(Philippine Journal of Philately, Nov-Dec 1950)
“Oh! so nice. What beautiful stamps!
Superbly fine souvenirs of this
country."
Such remarks from tourists, their eyes sparkling
with admiration, were common enough at the stamp windows of the
Manila Post Office before the war. Globe trotters who were avid
stamp collectors used to stop here expressly to buy Philippine
stamps.
The man chiefly responsible for the choice of the
designs of these stamps was the then Assistant Director of Posts,
Felipe Cuaderno, one of our leading Filipino philatelists who on
various occasions represented the Philippines in the Universal
Postal Union Conferences in Europe before and after the war, and now
the Director of the Bureau of Telecommunications.
Keen, brilliant, versatile and distinguished of
taste, Director Cuaderno was eminently suited to take charge of
selecting stamp designs. Charming art being his delight, he always
sought elegance and grace in every design, inter-relating the
aesthetic expressions with the political, social and cultural
evolution of the people.
With his taste and temperament and the job he was
in, he could not but be a philatelist.
When asked what had attracted him to stamp
collecting, he answered that it was his fondness of art and of
learning, and added,
"Such masterly designs depicting in barely a
square inch, in most cases, allegorical sketches of national and
international events, national heroes, national flowers and trees,
beautiful buildings and monuments, agriculture and industries, and
countless number of subjects, will readily attract people
appreciative of things that are beautiful and as if produced by
magic. By collecting stamps, one learns of the history, customs and
civilization of each country.”
His interest in postage stamps began way back
in 1918 when during the process of the so-called Filipinization of
government offices, he was transferred from the Ayuntamiento to the
Bureau of Posts. Orders for the printing of postage stamps used to
pass through the Administrative Division where he was then assigned.
A
little later he took charge of having designs for postage stamps
prepared and of ordering their printing from the States.
Although he has the complete collection of
Philippine stamps since the American Occupation, Director Cuaderno
says that he does not specialize on any issue, but just purchase a
few of each issue and study them further during his leisure time for
his enjoyment.
Some
are given to friends abroad, officials of foreign postal
administrations, whom he met during various postal congresses.
Recollecting some instances how he had certain
stamp designs prepared, he said,
"I made it always a point to select renowned Filipino artists for
the preparation of stamp designs. They are almost always very busy
and one has to study carefully how to approach them and win them to
prepare the designs. I remember well the time when I approached the
designer of our Republic Commemorative stamp. He was so busy then
that he had no time to think of an allegorical design for such
proposed stamp. He happened to be carrying several designs intended
for some other purposes, among which was that of a Filipina in
native dress. I suggested it would do if the flags of the nations
would be drawn at the background with the
Filipina carrying the Philippine flag. He agreed
to revise that sketch of his and presented it to the committee on
selection. It
was the winning design.
"Then there was the occasion when the design
for the six-centavo stamp, a Filipina carrying a stack of rice, was
finished. I made the mistake of openly remarking to the artist that
the arms were proportionately big.
He
naturally felt offended and asked if I intended teaching a professor
how to draw. He was my friend and I simply explained that as the
drawing would be reduced to a very small size, about a square inch,
it might be well not to emphasize the arms. I learned later that he
asked the opinion of a companion of his in the profession, who
confirmed my fear about the oversized arms. It turned out later that
he was losing his sight."
As to the difficulty of having our postage
stamps printed abroad, he remarked,
"It is
indeed unfortunate that there are still no appropriate machines for
printing postage stamps in the Philippines. Before the last war, we
could not prepare designs of stamps sufficiently in advance of the
time when they were needed, as there were no sufficient funds for
the purpose. When the funds were finally obtained, we had to rush up
the preparation of designs and forward the order for printing to the
Bureau of Engraving in Washington, D.C, passing through several
offices here and in the United States. Until now postage stamps are
being printed by the American Bank Note of New York. If we had the
proper printing machines here, it would be easier and more
convenient to manufacture such stamps."
Notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Cuaderno is
known to be very sparing with his time, he was in the mood to tell
some interesting anecdotes connected with the printing of certain
stamps, like the Pagsanjan Falls, Dr. Jose Rizal, and the Sta. Lucia
Gate.
"There were in the course of printing new
stamps certain incidents which even with meticulous care could not
be avoided," he said. "Take the case of the
Pagsanjan Falls
(Magdapio Falls according to our very good friend Mr. Esperidion).
When the order for its printing was received by the Bureau of
Insular Affairs, War Department, Washington, D.C., a radiogram was
dispatched to the Philippines inquiring if there would be any
objection to the use of a better front view of such falls which was
found among the files of the Bureau of Insular Affairs. We replied
that there was no objection.
It turned out later, after the stamps
had been placed on sale, that the view used was that of Vernon
Falls, I think, somewhere in California.
"There was the case of the picture of Dr. Jose Rizal which was used
in one of the new issues. The picture used was an authentic one, but
somebody claimed later that the hair was parted on the wrong side.
Whether the photographic plate used in making the die was inverted
to give such a result, nobody knows. Somebody claims, however, that
Dr. Rizal used to part his hair sometimes the other way. It remains
a mystery up to these days.
"Lastly, there was the case of one of the
gates of the Walled City, the Sta. Lucia, I think, which was used in
one of the designs of new postage stamps after the liberation. We
had to order stamps immediately from the States and all we could do
was to get hold of certain postal cards of Philippine views printed
in the United States. I gave the postal card bearing the picture of
the gate to Professor Amorsolo who prepared the final design for the
stamp. After the stamps had been placed on sale, there was a claim
that it did not bear the picture of the Sta. Lucia Gate, but of
another gate in Intramuros.
Whether
the printers of the postal cards made a mistake in printing the
wrong name of the gate, is not known. I remember, however, having
seen while playing golf at the Municipal Link, certain masons
repairing the gates from time to time without plans to guide them in
restoring portions of the gates. This may be the reason for the
differences in appearance of the gate from very old pictures of the
original gate. However, I am not sure of this."
When asked what suggestions he could give for the
dissemination of philately in our country, and awakening of interest
in our postage stamps of collectors in foreign countries, he advised
that facsimile pictures of certain groups of special issues be
posted in schools. Students can be effectively attracted and
convinced about stamp collecting when they actually see the designs
of stamps and the subjects portrayed therein.
Then he said that most tourists collect stamps of
countries visited by them. If one travels, he would see peddlers
selling postage stamps to tourists at the docks.
For the convenience of tourists arriving at the
Port of Manila, therefore, he suggested the posting of placards at
the piers indicating the location of our Branch Post Office in front
of Pier 13, where postage stamps may be purchased.
