2971 ROMANIA (Alba) - A man had a clop

2971 A shepherd in Sebeş, Alba county

For the Romanians, the pastoralism is one of the ancient traditional occupations, but also a way of life, both north and south of the Danube, based on which was developed a whole culture. The men involved in this occupation, be they ciobani (shepherds - those caring for sheep) or baci (who handles the processing and conservation of meat and milk) have specific clothing, with very small differences by region. Among the specific elements is the clop, a hat with very small brims, or even without brims. I don't know if the man in the postcard is shepherd, but he wears such a clop.

The clop is made of felt, which is pull on the mould, is binds with string, and is keeps immersed in paint - with the mould - for two hours (paint must penetrate only one side, on the inside the clop must to remain white, otherwise the shepherds not buys it, because he say that's made of oddment). Then it is dried, polished, starched, dried again, pressed, and polished. Then it is apply the oilcloth, is cut, is made the hem, and finally it is completed by hand: the lining, the ribbon, and the bowknot of velvet. Increased little polish and clop his good shower at the fair. Its manufacture lasts about 10 days and must be taken about 60 times in the hand.

About the stamps
The first stamp, depicting Anthericum ramosum (Anthericum ramosum) (0.50 RON), is part of the series Flowers' Clock II, about which I wrote here. The last stamp, depicting Mexican Red Knee Tarantula / Brachypelma Smithi (1.20 RON), is part of the series Tarantulas, about which I wrote here.

References
Clopul, frate cu oierul… (rom) - Sibiu News website

Sender: Adina Popescu
Sent from Bucharest (Bucharest / Romania), on 24.02.2017
Photo: Anselm Roth