Gaston Aime Camille Fontanille (born 11 May 1883), also known just as Delandre, was a French

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

and conman born in Valence, the son of a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

The Delandre Vignettes

One of Delandre's many schemes was the invention of the Delandre

vignette Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

which was a popular form of label or

poster stamp The poster stamp was an advertising label, a little larger than most postage stamps, that originated in the mid-19th century and quickly became a collecting craze, growing in popularity until World War I and then declining by World War II until they ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He started by reproducing Italian regimental vignettes when the supply of originals proved insufficient for his needs. From there he expanded to include French army stamps and ultimately he produced over 4000 different patriotic stamps which have become a popular collecting area in

cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

philately Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is poss ...

. Delandre responded to claims of forgery of the Italian vignettes by claiming that they were 're-impressions'. He explained in a 1916 letter that he sold three types, real ones, re-impressions and new stamps that he created himself. He also stated that he had produced successful facsimiles. Detailed catalogues of Delandre's oeuvre have been produced by Charles Kiddle and Walter Schmidt.

Arrest and death

Following the success of Delandre's other productions, the

French Red Cross The French Red Cross (french: Croix-Rouge française), or the CRF, is the national Red Cross Society in France founded in 1864 and originally known as the ''Société française de secours aux blessés militaires'' (SSBM). Recognized as a public u ...

asked him to produce similar stamps for them in order to raise funds. Unfortunately, despite selling many stamps, Delandre failed to pay the Red Cross their share of the proceeds and in 1917 he was arrested. By 1925 he was on the run after perpetrating yet another fraud involving silver foxes. He ended up in Marseille and under the guise of Baron Edmond Picarat he began another fraud by starting a leprosy charity. On the verge of being discovered, he committed suicide by taking poison on . He was buried as Edmond Picarat until his true identity was discovered some months later.

Other activities

Delandre was arrested many times for various other schemes including the creation of a chemical company to which he appointed several prominent businessmen as directors without their knowledge, and the sale of noble titles of dubious status. Other pseudonyms used by Gaston Fontanille include ''Commander Deville'', ''The Baron Allard'', ''The Marquis of Vaurens'' and ''The Count of Chabanes''.Birch, Brian. ''Biographies of Philatelists and Dealers Vol.1 A-E'', Wigan, 2008, p.539.

References

External links

Online catalogue of Delandre vignettes.
{{Authority control 1923 deaths 20th-century French criminals Stamp forgers Cinderella stamps 1883 births Date of death unknown Suicides by poison

The Delandre Vignettes

Arrest and death

Other activities

References

Further reading

External links