In the occasion of its bicentenary, POST Luxembourg issued a stamp featuring an effigy of writer Edmond de La Fontaine. Nicknamed Dicks, Edmond de La Fontaine was born in 1823 in Luxembourg. He studied at the University of Liège and was appointed as a lawyer in 1850, before entering the judiciary two years later.
Coming from a family for whom politics was important (his father Gaspard Théodore Ignace de la Fontaine was governor of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg), he began his literary career by writing articles in defence of his father. He then made his mark as a playwright, with one distinguishing feature: he was the first writer to publish a play in the Luxembourg dialect. This play was first performed in 1855. He went on to write others for which he not only published the texts but also composed the music. His favourite style was Vaudeville. He also wrote poems that were published posthumously.
He married Elise Dutreux in 1858 and became mayor of Stradtbredimus. He lived in the local castle. He ended his career as a Justice of the Peace in the canton of Vianden from 1881 to 1891. His body was buried in Stradtbredimus.
Philately and writers
POST Luxembourg has made the right move in paying tribute to him. Indeed, Edmond de La Fontaine has worked hard to promote Luxembourg culture, both in
terms of its dialect and its folklore.
This is not the first time that philately in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has paid
tribute to him. In 1948, he appeared on a set of Caritas stamps and was featured
on a stylised stamp in 1991.
It must be said that POST Luxembourg is eager to showcase its writers, as you can see from the various stamps illustrating this article. As a lover of Luxembourg culture, Dicks certainly deserves this posthumous recognition. Discover the others issues of POST Luxembourg :
