03.05.2012

Latvijas Pasts issues stamp dedicated to 150^th birthday of outstanding bibliographer Jānis Misiņš

To mark the 150^th birthday of the Latvian bibliophile and outstanding bibliographer Jānis Misiņš, Latvijas Pasts has released a new commemorative stamp and envelope; the first-day cancellation event will take place on April 25 in the premises of the Academic Library of the University of Latvia in 10 Rūpniecības Street, Riga, from 9 AM to 7 PM.

The denomination of the new stamp is LVL 0.98, suitable for mailing a registered letter within the territory of Latvia. The stamp was designed by artist Valda Batraks; its print run is 100,000. The stamp displays a portrait of the bibliographer, while the envelope depicts a part of one of the historical buildings that once housed the Misiņš' Library, and the outline of an open book.

Jānis Misiņš was the father of scientific bibliography in Latvia, and was known as an active bibliophile, librarian, bibliographer, book seller, publisher, binder, and publicist.

In the beginning of the 1880s, Misiņš, in spite of lacking the official permit required at that time, opened a library in the parish school of Tirza, which loaned books to the locals. After receiving a permit from the governor of Vidzeme in 1885, he established a private library open to the public in the Krāces house of Tirza parish; it is considered to be the beginning of the modern Misiņš' Library. After the formation of the independent Republic of Latvia, Misiņš worked as the head of the Latvian book department and deputy director of Riga Library from 1920 to 1938.

The Misiņš' Library is the oldest and most complete collection of Latvian literature, as Misiņš set a goal of gathering everything that was written in Latvian, everything written about Latvia and Latvians, all printed works of Latvia, and everything written by Latvians, regardless of the language or place of publication, as well as translations of works by Latvian authors.

See the commemorative stamp and envelope dedicated to the 150^th anniversary of Jānis Misiņš.

The next new philatelic release is scheduled for May 11.

About SJSC Latvijas Pasts

Latvijas Pasts ensures the widest availability of postal services throughout Latvia by maintaining more than 600 post offices. The primary function of the company is provision of the universal postal service; Latvijas Pasts also provides commercial transport, express mail, payment, press subscription, retail and philatelic services. Latvijas Pasts is a fully state-owned company with more than 4,500 employees.

Additional information
Zane Plone
SJSC Latvijas Pasts
Public Relations Specialist
Phone: +371 67608504
E-mail: zane.plone@pasts.lv
twitter.com/latvijas_pasts