A signed original postage stamp collage work from John A. Dickert featuring a collage of colorful birds (Yellow Shafted Flicker from the 1969 Alabama 150th Anniversary of Alabama statehood) flying to and perching upon flowering Camellia branches (the Camellias also from the Alabama stamp), the branches fashioned out 1968 one-cent stamps featuring Thomas Jefferson and the ends finished in ink. Finishing the collage is a set of four gray elephants below the birds and flowers derived from the six-cent "African Elephant Herd" stamp from the Natural History issue, released in 1969. The back of the collage, affixed to the paper dust cover, is the Alabama 1969 stamp, which features a camellia flower and Yellow-Shafted Flicker bird seen throughout the collage. The dust cover is also signed "John A. Dickert 1971" and a blacked-out sticker of his address in Philadelphia. The original frame measures 4 1/2" wide and 5 3/4" high. The collage itself measures 3 3/4" x 5", is in very good condition, and is signed by the artist. Small areas of discoloration from age are shown next to some of the flowers. The dust cover on the back is dry and brittle due to age, and shows several chips and tears.
From the American Philatelic Society 21st-Century Postage Stamp Collage Artists by Russ Hahn :
Dickert, John A. (1896-1973), Pennsylvania--Dickert, formerly of Overbrook, New Jersey, created many small symmetrical floral design collages from the 1950s to 1973. His collages were generally greeting card or post card size. He sold four framed works to a New Jersey couple in 1973, two in oval frames and two in rectangular frames. Some of Dickert's collages were sold at an auction in Philadelphia a few years ago, but no record of their sales have been located. Dickert's collages are small but intricate and well done. As signed and documented art, their value is estimated at $250 and up, depending on condition, etc.
In 1966 the Philadelphia Mainline Times ran an article on Dickert, who was 70 at the time. Princess Grace of Monaco saw the article and invited him to exhibit his collages at the Palais de Monaco as part of a postage stamp exhibit she was organizing. Her highness wrote, in part: "I was fascinated with your beautiful and intricate floral designs [and] I thought a few examples of your decoupages would enhance the exhibit greatly...." The artist sent twenty-five pieces. While there is no evidence Princess Grace purchased any of the collages, a copy of the letter of invitation to Dickert was included in a Mainline follow-up article on April 27, 1967.
