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Sunday 28 October 2012

A Hemulen's Collection - Sunday Stamps

This week theme of hobbies proved difficult for me until I came across the Hemulens, a species of characters created by the Finnish author Tove Jansson.

Hemulens tend to be obsessive characters devoting themselves to one interest - skiing, stamp collecting, butterflies or whatever. Does anyone recognise themselves?

It may have been a coincidence but in Saturday's Daily Telegraph an article appeared about the author Vladimir Nabokov who wrote 'Lolita.' Apparently Nabokov was an accomplished lepidopterist.

Now I had something to work with. I wouldn't say I am a Hemulen, but I have a butterfly or two.

USA Common Buckeye
Of course a lepidopterist is also interested in moths.

Romania - Saturnia pyri
The Saturnia pyri is a native of Europe, but not Britain, and is also known as the Great Peacock Moth or Giant Emperor Moth.

Mexico - Helasus
Malaysia
Malawi - Parasa moth
If I wanted to be obsessive about butterflies the one set of stamps I'd like are these from much nearer home.

Great Britain - Butterflies 1981

Shame that I have had to scan them from a catalogue. Oh well, I guess I shall have to remember the Tortoiseshell and Peacock flying round my garden in the summer.

Peacock butterfly on knapweed. 
But now it's time to explore the hobbies from others on Viridian's Sunday Stamps 94

8 comments:

VioletSky said...

your peacock butterfly is so beautiful! we have a few butterfly conservatories near here and if it weren't for them, I think I would miss out on all but the monarch butterfly. I find them they are hard to see :)

Jo said...

Love the Peacock in particular, don't remember it though. We have a butterfly conservatory here too, fascinating variety of butterflies and they also have an Australian bird species, Lady Gouldian which is pretty too.

Jo said...

I just checked on you Violet Sky, I think we must be talking about the same conservatory - near Breslau.

viridian said...

Butterflies are so beautiful, aren't they? Thank you for joining in this week.

21 Wits said...

To me all stamps (pretty much) are cool and lovely or cute...don't know much of the names or what's really hot or not...but there's something magical about stamps...and they seem to be going out of style fast-if people don't start mailing real letters and cards more often! Nice butterflies-and post!

Sheila @ A Postcard a Day said...

I do have the butterfly set, though as cards rather than stamps. I didn't think of them in terms of a hobby, but of course they fit perfectly.

Joy said...

A fascinating hobby which make lovely stamps. Nothing like seeing a butterfly fluttering around. I'm always fascinated by what people find in moth traps.

agi said...

i also didnt think of butterflies fitting into hobby category, good idea and great stamps!