[press release]

Bridges
5th March 2015Reason and inspiration
The Bridges stamp issue celebrates the leaps in engineering that have seen the UK’s bridges evolve from humble stone crossings to dramatic symbolic landmarks conceived by progressive architects. The stamp images feature British bridges constructed from a wide range of different materials, including gritstone, limestone, cast iron, wrought iron and steel, while referencing diverse styles of bridge engineering, from clapper and stone arch to suspension and bowstring girder.

Stamp details
Designed by London agency GBH, the ten photographic stamps from locations spanning the whole UK, are arranged chronologically: pre-1600 –Tarr Steps, River Barle; 1700s – Row Bridge, Mosedale Beck; c.1774 – Pulteney Bridge, River Avon; 1814 – Craigellachie Bridge, River Spey; 1826 – Menai Suspension Bridge, Menai Strait; 1849 – High Level Bridge, River Tyne; 1850 – Royal Border Bridge, River Tweed; 1911 – Tees Transporter Bridge, River Tees; 1981 – Humber Bridge, River Humber; 2011 – Peace Bridge, River Foyle. Seven of the ten are original commissioned photographs by award-winning architectural photography agency Hufton + Crow.

Stamp Set Price: £6.20
Code: AS71A

Number of stamps: 10
Design: GBH
Acknowledgements: Row Bridge © Tony Mangan 2008; Craigellachie Bridge © David Gowans/Alamy; Humber Bridge © Al High 2009; all other photography by Hufton + Crow © Royal Mail Group Limited 2015
Stamp Format: Portrait
Stamp Size: 35mm x 37mm
Number per sheet: 25/50
Printer : International Security Printers
Print Process: Lithography
Perforations: 14.5 x 14
Phosphor: Bars as appropriate
Gum: PVA

Product Portfolio
First Day Cover
Designed by GBH, the envelope design replicates the titling device from the presentation pack, featuring letters in the style of some of the bridges on the stamps on a grey graph-paper background.
Price: £7.92 (Inland) £6.60 (Overseas)
Code: AF390

Filler Card
The filler card combines all 10 bridges into one technical drawing. Drawn to scale and arranged in chronological order, the illustration highlights the evolution of each new bridge. The editorial content features a brief introduction to the subject of bridges and includes sets of statistics and facts relating to each of the ten bridges.

First Day Envelope
Price: 30p
Code: AE348

Presentation Pack
Developed by London agency GBH, the presentation pack design is inspired by architectural blueprints, and charts the engineering evolution of bridges across the UK. The timeline from the stamps break out onto the pack, which forms a central spine to the narrative and includes biographies of engineers Thomas Telford and Robert Stephenson, whose bridges feature on the stamps. The pack combines photography with technical drawings, to provide additional historical or engineering points of detail. The titling device features lettering in the style of bridge designs.
Written by architectural historian and television presenter Dan Cruickshank, the editorial content provides a general overview of the importance of bridges in the civilised world, in terms of how they make vital connections and improve communications, and also in the way they have been created from pioneering methods of construction and new materials. The history and development of each of the ten bridges forms the main body of the editorial content.
Price: £6.70
Code: AP399

Stamp Cards
The ten special stamps are reproduced at postcard-size in this collectable set of stamp cards.
Price: £4.50
Code: AQ218

Postmarks
Tallents House Postmark
The Tallents House handstamp features a line drawing comprising two different bridge designs, similar to the arch styles of Row Bridge and Craigellachie Bridge.
Alternative Postmark

The alternative handstamp references Bridge, Canterbury, a generic location chosen for the general ‘Bridge’ reference, and the line drawing features two different bridge designs, similar to the styles of Menai Suspension Bridge and the Royal Border Bridge.
Non Pictorial Postmark

First Day Facilities
Unstamped Royal Mail First Day Cover envelopes (price 30p) are available from main Post Offices and philatelic outlets approximately one week before the stamps go on sale.
Serviced (i.e. stamped and postmarked) Royal Mail First Day Covers are available by Mail Order from Royal Mail, Tallents House priced £7.92 (overseas £6.60).
Orders for Serviced First Day Covers have to reach Royal Mail by 5th March 2015. Customers may also send stamped envelopes on the day of issue to Royal Mail, Tallents House for the Tallents House, Edinburgh postmark. The address for Royal Mail is as follows:

Royal Mail
Tallents House
21 South Gyle Crescent
EDINBURGH
EH12 9PB

Customers who hand in or post stamped Royal Mail First Day Cover envelopes at main Post Offices® on the day of issue will receive the pictorial BRIDGE, CANTERBURY first day postmark.

Alternatively, customers may send stamped envelopes to any of the Special Handstamp Centres for the pictorial or plain BRIDGE, CANTERBURY postmark quoting the reference number of the postmark required.

The Special Handstamp Centre
Royal Mail,
St Stephens Street,
BIRMINGHAM B6 4AA

The Special Handstamp Centre
Royal Mail
Tallents House
21 South Gyle Crescent
EDINBURGH
EH12 9PB

The Special Handstamp Centre
Royal Mail,
South Shields DO,
Keppell Street,
SOUTH SHIELDS
NE33 1AA

The Special Handstamp Centre
Royal Mail,
220 Penarth Road,
CARDIFF,
CF11 8TA

The Special Handstamp Centre
Royal Mail,
Mount Pleasant
Farringdon Road
LONDON
EC1A 1BB

British Postmark Bulletin
Details of all forthcoming first day of issues and all sponsored special handstamps are announced in the Postmark Bulletin. This is available on subscription from Royal Mail, Tallents House at £12.25 (UK & Europe) or £24.55 (rest of the world).

Special Handstamps
A number of different sponsored Special Handstamps are available for every new stamp issue. They are announced in the British Postmark Bulletin.

Bridges Presentation Pack copy
Throughout history, bridges have made connections and improved communications, while also offering visual delight and a sense of distinction. Bridges express ambition, achievement, pride and identity, almost always enriching rather than compromising the natural settings in which they are constructed.

While many bridges are an expression of functional beauty, some outstanding examples were born of a leap of faith and imagination, created from pioneering methods of construction and new materials. Some of the most innovative structures crossing rivers, roads and valleys have been built in the UK: for example, the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, which opened to the public in 2001, has a 105-metre central span secured by cables to a supporting arch that both tilt to allow large river craft to pass beneath.

TARR STEPS
The origins of Tarr Steps, which crosses the River Barle in Exmoor National Park, are not definitively known. It has long been suggested that the structure could be up to 3,000 years old, but recent research reveals it is most likely to date from the 15th or 16th century.
Tarr Steps is a most elemental bridge formed by large slabs of gritstone – weighing up to 2 tons each and varying in length from 2 to 2.9 metres – placed flat on broad, low piers made from blocks of stone. Comprising 17 spans, the 55-metre bridge is held together by weight with no system of fixings or mortar. Serious flood damage over the years has resulted in substantial rebuilding and repairing of the original stones, but Tarr Steps remains an outstanding example of clapper-bridge construction.

ROW BRIDGE
Believed to have been constructed in the mid 18th century, this packhorse bridge over Mosedale Beck at Wasdale Head in Cumbria is a fine example of a type of bridge common in Western Europe in the Middle Ages.
Goods were often carried in panniers slung from packhorses, so bridges on trade routes could be narrow, making them quick and cheap to build. The relative lightness of the loads carried by this type of bridge – simply single rows of packhorses – meant that their forms could be daring, with added strength given to the material used through bold and ingenious design. Typically, as with Row Bridge, they were conceived as high semi-circular or segmental stone-built arches (an inherently strong form), often crossing a river or chasm in one slender span.

PULTENEY BRIDGE
Designed by the esteemed Scottish architect Robert Adam, Pulteney Bridge in Bath is the UK’s finest example of an ‘inhabited’ bridge. Completed by 1774, it contains shops, originally with accommodation above, and was built to link the ancient centre of Bath with the proposed new Bathwick estate on the opposite bank of the River Avon.
Adam based his structure on an unbuilt design by the great 16th-century architect Andrea Palladio, which the Italian had entered into a competition to build a bridge at the Rialto in Venice. Though Palladio’s scheme was not selected, it was published and became an inspiration for 18th-century architects such as Adam, whose resulting creation, made from mellow Bath stone, with its three semi-circular arches and pedimented centre pavilion, is one of the most beautiful classical bridges in the world.

THOMAS TELFORD
Born in 1757 into an impoverished home in Eskdale, Scotland, Thomas Telford became one of the greatest structural engineers of the 19th century. After starting his career as a stonemason, he became a road and canal builder, and by the early 19th century he was exploring the structural potential offered by pioneering materials and methods of construction. This led Telford to design epoch-making bridges utilising cast and wrought iron – materials that achieved great strength and wide spans with more elegance, economy and speed than traditional masonry construction. Built in 1829, and spanning 46 metres with a single cast-iron arch, Telford’s Galton Bridge in Smethwick was once the highest in the world.

CRAIGELLACHIE BRIDGE
Designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1814, Craigellachie Bridge carries the roadway on a single 46-metre-long arched span over the River Spey in Moray, Scotland.

Telford had the arch made of cast iron, which was revolutionary at the time because, unlike masonry, only iron could achieve the single long, slender and shallow arch required. The components were cast at a Welsh foundry in controlled conditions to ensure high quality and delivered to the site for assembly. Cast iron is very strong in compression but has low tensile strength, making it ideal for columns but not for beams. Well aware of the metal’s structural limitations, Telford built the bridge ensuring that the maximum number of its components are in compression. The span of the arch is restrained by masonry towers, designed in picturesque manner to look like miniature castles.

PONT GROG Y BORTH
MENAI SUSPENSION BRIDGE
Completed in 1826 to Thomas Telford’s design, the Menai Suspension Bridge linking the island of Anglesey to the Welsh mainland remains one of the most breathtaking bridges ever built in Britain.

The central span of its roadway, 176.5 metres long and set 30 metres above water level to allow tall-masted ships to pass beneath, was carried by 16 wrought-iron chains (since replaced by steel chains).

The road on either side of the central span is supported by tall and elegant arched limestone viaducts. With a total length of 305 metres, this was the world’s first great suspension bridge and established the potential of suspension-bridge technology to achieve both high and lengthy spans.

ROBERT STEPHENSON
Born in 1803 near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the son of George Stephenson, the future locomotive pioneer, Robert Stephenson would become a giant of the 19th century in locomotive and railway design and bridge-building. His bridges – many of which utilised modern technology in a stunningly bold manner – include some of the most epic creations of the early railway age. The spectacular High Level two-tier rail and road bridge, spanning the Tyne, introduced an unprecedented scale and form in the design of city-centre railway bridges, while the Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait, completed in 1850, pioneered the concept of long spans of ‘tubular’ form made from wrought iron.

HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE
Linking Newcastle-upon-Tyne with Gateshead, the High Level Bridge is one of the most innovative and visually powerful bridges created during Britain’s Railway Age.

This two-tier 408-metre-long bridge, designed by Robert Stephenson to carry road and rail traffic at a high level across the Tyne and allow tall-masted shipping below, is a hymn to the strength, utility and robust beauty of cast iron, used in combination with stone and wrought iron. The tall piers, up to 40 metres high, are made of local sandstone, which possesses great compressive strength and is able to withstand damp, while the iron bow-string girders forming the spans of the bridge (the widest being 38.1 metres) use cast iron for components that are in compression and wrought iron for elements that require tensile strength.

ROYAL BORDER BRIDGE
Crossing the River Tweed between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Tweedmouth, the Royal Border Bridge was constructed between 1847 and 1850 to the design of Robert Stephenson and was a key component in Britain’s expanding railway system, linking London to Edinburgh.

Of traditional masonry construction, the bridge is essentially a railway viaduct formed of 28 semi-circular-headed arches, each with a span of 18 metres, with the total length of the bridge – including approach works – reaching 658 metres. This vast extent, combined with the majestic 38-metre height of the arches as they cross the river and the slender form of the vertical piers, from which the arches spring, gives the structure a striking elegance. A superb piece of functional engineering, it is also a work of great beauty that complements the rugged border landscape through which it passes.

TEES TRANSPORTER BRIDGE
Completed in 1911, the Tees Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough is a most novel and visually arresting piece of engineering.

Vast in scale and utilitarian in appearance, its stripped-back, lattice-steel structure incorporates a pair of cantilevered trusses that span 259 metres – with a clearance above water of almost 49 metres – that are used to carry a ‘gondola’ across the river. Powered by electric motors, the gondola – which can convey both people and vehicles – is suspended above the river and pulled from one side to the other by a hauling cable in approximately two minutes. This unique design – executed by Sir William Arrol & Co. of Glasgow – was economic to construct and ensured that the crossing would not interfere with river traffic.

HUMBER BRIDGE
More than a century after the notion of a bridge or tunnel crossing the Humber estuary had first been debated, the eventual completion of the Humber Bridge in 1981 redefined the boundaries for suspension-bridge technology.

Its complex construction, by consulting engineers Freeman Fox & Partners, took nine years. With a total length of 2,220 metres and a central span of 1,410 metres between two towers of reinforced concrete, for 16 years the Humber Bridge was the longest single-span suspension bridge in the world. Its mighty scale, elegant minimal form and the fact that it leaps across one of England’s great natural boundaries has captured the imagination. The poet Philip Larkin, who lived in Kingston-upon-Hull, wrote ‘Bridge for the Living’, a poem that was set to music to celebrate the opening of the Humber Bridge.

PEACE BRIDGE
Spanning the River Foyle in Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland, the Peace Bridge functions not only as an urban route, but also as a work of art. Its ingenuity is expressed through delicacy and elegance.

This unique bridge, constructed for pedestrians and cyclists, was conceived as two distinct structural systems that work in absolute harmony. Completed in 2011 to the designs of Wilkinson Eyre, the Peace Bridge features a pair of tall masts, whose system of cables overlap mid-river to form a symbolic structural ‘handshake’ across the Foyle. The 235-metre-long pathway of this self-anchored suspension bridge provides a promenade and makes connections, while evoking a sense of pride, place and unity.

[press release]

Post & Go Working Sail
Issue date: 18th February 2015Reason and inspiration
Over the centuries, the beauty of sailing ships inspired innumerable grand paintings, including enormous seascapes and complex battle scenes – but it is the work of folk artists who painted on a more humble scale, observing ships as they came into the port, that has captured for posterity many types of traditional merchant and fishing vessels in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

These artists, often collectively known as the ‘pierhead’ painters, would seek commissions among the owners and crew of a ship in port. They would sketch from life and produce portraits of the vessel before the ship sailed again, usually within days. The typical portrait was a broadside view of the vessel at sea or leaving harbour, with details added in the background to help identify the location.

Pierhead painting forms a distinct genre of popular, or folk, art. The earliest examples appear in the 18th century though most date from the late 19th and early 20th century. They are mostly simple portraits of merchant ships and fishing vessels. They have little in common with the elaborate seascape of the traditional and academic schools of marine art. Pierhead artists are often described as naïve but this does not account for the skill of some of these artists. Neither does it allow for the accurate and often quite meticulous attention to detail. Those pictures that survive preserve, with accurate details, the only pictorial evidence of certain historic types of vessel.

The vessel always took precedence in the painting and the background, often out of scale, served to mainly identify the port. The style of Pierhead originated in Europe, where schools of artists grew up in the main ports catering for visiting merchant vessels. The development of this genre linked to the expansion in merchant trade that took place in the early 19th century. These paintings needed to be produced and sold quickly before potential customers left port, so the designs became standardised for quick and easy production Little is known about many of the ‘Pierhead painters’ beyond the names they signed. They were usually self- taught and consequently their work is free of formal painting technique. Ship portraiture was often a sideline activity to supplement an income. However for a few artists, it became their means of livelihood.

Stamps and Technical Details
Stamps: 6 x 1st Class
Products: FDC, Presentation Pack, Stampcards, Retail Book, Generic Sheet
Design: Osborne Ross
Acknowledgements: Falcon by JW Green © Lancashire County Council Museum Service; Briar by Alexander Harwood used with kind permission of Lossiemouth Fisheries and Community Museum, photograph © Royal Mail Group Ltd 2015; Humber Sloop ‘Harry’ by Reuben Chappell © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London; Margaret by Henry Lawson © Scottish Fisheries Museum Trust Ltd; Stag attributed to George Race © North East Lincolnshire Council, photograph © Royal Mail Group Ltd 2015;Nell Morgan by G Ramsey © Norfolk Museum Service.
Printer: International Security Printers
Stamp Size 56(w) x 25(h)
Print process: Gravure, Self-Adhesive

The Stamp Set is available from Tallents House and will be overprinted with First Class values and a philatelic code in gravure, printed and inserted in a carrier card designed by Osborne Ross.

Falcon by JW Green, 1897
John William Green (1863–1951) was a keen amateur artist, working in pen and ink, watercolours and oils. He had a particular interest in painting and drawing vessels seen in Fleetwood.

Briar by Alexander Harwood, 1907
Alexander Harwood (1873–1943) moved to Aberdeen in his twenties and worked as a fish porter for most of his life. He was a prolific amateur artist and painted hundreds of portraits of Aberdeen trawlers, working in watercolours, oils and gouache.

Stag attributed to George Race, date unknown
George Race (1872–1957) lived in Cleethorpes and specialised in painting portraits of trawlers arriving at the dock and would then sell his work to the seamen before their vessel left the port.

Harry by Reuben Chappell, date unknown
Reuben Chappell (1870–1940) was born in Goole and from an early age showed a talent for drawing ships. He made his living by painting ships and selling his oils and watercolours to seamen, first in Goole and then in Cornwall, where he became well known locally.

Nell Morgan by G Ramsey, 1886
Not much is known about G Ramsey, except that he lived in Norfolk and presumed to have been among the local ‘pierhead’ painters. He actively painted sailing vessels between 1856 and 1889.

Margaret by Henry Lawson, 1890
Henry Lawson (1872–1966) was a fisherman in Pittenweem who, as a teenager, earned extra money by painting boats. The Margaret was his father’s first boat and was used for line-fishing as well as drift-netting.

Products
Stamp Set and Carrier Card
The Working Sail carrier card features information about ‘pierhead’ painters, including how they worked and their historical importance. It also includes a short biography of each of the artists whose work appears on the stamps. Two of the stamp images are shown at larger size, and background information about Post & Go stamps is also included.
Price: £3.72

First Day Cover
The envelope designed by The Chase is a generic design for all Post & Go stamps, featuring a map of the UK. Each set of Post and Go stamps will have its own insert designed by Osborne Ross featuring information about ‘pierhead’ painters, including how they worked and their historical importance. It also includes a short biography of each of the artists whose work appears on the stamps. Two of the stamp images are shown at larger size, and background information about Post & Go stamps is also included.
Price: £4.94 (Overseas £4.12)
FDC Code: ZF017
First Day Envelope: ZE016

Postmarks
The Tallents House postmark features a line drawing of map of the UK. The alternative postmark references Great Yarmouth was chosen because of its maritime associations and because it is home to a museum that has a large collection of works by ‘pierhead’ painters, including George Race, G Ramsey and Rueben Chappell.

[press release]
Inventive Britain – 19th February 2015
Reason and inspiration
The United Kingdom has a long and rich history as an inventive nation. The Inventive Britain stamp issue celebrates this vital and creative aspect of the national character with eight key inventions of the past century in a range of disciplines and applications, from materials to medicine. From the splitting of the atom to the discovery of penicillin to the jet engine and in vitro fertilisation, Britain’s creative and resourceful spirit has not been bound by any particular field, crossing the breadth of science and technology, engineering and medicine. The eight inventions featured on the stamps, from the mighty Colossus (right) to super-strong carbon fibres, comprise only a handful of the transformative great British inventions from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Stamp details
Designed by GBH, each of the eight special stamps – available as 4 se-tenant strips of 2 stamps -depict key inventions created by British inventors over the last century: Colossus, World Wide Web, Catseyes, Fibre Optics, Stainless Steel, Carbon Fibre, DNA Sequencing, i-limb. The design company created original visual interpretations of the inventions’ key functions for six out of the eight stamps, while two were designed using existing imagery and Computer-generated imagery (CGI) illustration.

Number of stamps: Eight
Design: GBH
Acknowledgements: Colossus, Catseyes, Stainless Steel, Carbon Fibre, DNA Sequencing and i-limb stamp imagery created by GBH, 2015 © Royal Mail Group Ltd 2015; World Wide Web – Internet blog map image © Matthew Hurst/Science Photo Library; Fibre Optics – CGI illustration by Gecko Animation Limited; Catseyes is a registered trade mark of Reflecting Roadstuds Ltd; i-limb is a registered trade mark of Touch EMAS Limited t/a Touch Bionics
Stamp Format: Square
Stamp Size: 35mm x 35mm
Number per sheet: 30/60 (4 se-tenant strips of 2)
Printer: International Security Printers
Print Process: Lithography
Perforations: 14.5 x 14.5
Phosphor: Bars as appropriate
Gum: PVA
Stamp Set Price: £8.36
Code: AS66A

Product Portfolio

Stamps First Day Cover
Designed by GBH, the envelope design comprises a graphic representation of the Union Flag in the background, playing up the flag’s red, white and blue colour-ways. For consistency with the Presentation Pack design, the title typography comprises a CAD-style graphic treatment, with aspects of the inventions forming part of the letters’ construction.
Price: £10.51 (overseas £8.76)
Code: AF389

Filler Card
Written by Dr Lesley Paterson, the filler card includes eight pithy summaries referencing the development of each of the eight inventions while the title typography replicates that on the First Day Cover.

Dr Lesley Paterson is a professional science and engineering communicator at the Royal Academy of Engineering. She has written articles, reviews and book chapters on a range of topics from cloning to prosthetic limbs and has worked in communications and public engagement with science, technology and engineering for over 15 years.

Prestige Stamp Book First Day Cover
Price: £3.87 (overseas £3.23)
Code: HF065
First Day Envelope
Price: 30p
Code: AE347

Presentation Pack
Designed by London agency GBH, the Presentation Pack has been designed on a science-style graph-paper grid featuring an outline of the Union Flag. The title typography comprises a CAD-style graphic treatment, with aspects of the inventions forming part of the letters’ construction. Written by Dr Lesley Paterson of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the editorial content consists of a general overview about the subject of British innovation as well as a summary of each invention, referencing the key people behind the success stories and an insight into how the ground-breaking work was achieved.
Price: £8.90
Code: AP398

Prestige Stamp Book
The Inventive Britain Prestige Stamp Book celebrates the genius of the inventive British mind. Starting with the origins of stainless steel and concluding with the creation of the i-limb, writer Eugene Byrne reveals the background to all eight inventions and describes how each was developed and reached its potential. An informative timeline, relevant to each invention, also runs throughout the book.

Eugene Byrne is an author, freelance journalist and historical researcher based in Bristol. He edits the local history section of the Bristol Post and is a regular contributor to various national newspapers and magazines on history and heritage. He has written numerous Royal Mail products, mainly on science and technology subjects, including the Charles Darwin PSB, Concorde Medal Cover, The Royal Society Presentation Pack and PSB, the Halley’s Comet Commemorative Sheet, the 2010 Yearpack and the David Livingstone Commemorative Sheet.

Stamp Cards
The eight special stamps are reproduced at postcard-size in this collectable set of stamp cards.
Price: £3.60
Code: AQ217

Prestige Stamp Book Album
The Prestige Stamp Book Album allows you to keep your collection of these wonderful mini masterpieces in pristine condition. It comprises a single format binder with 10 single pocket leaves. Additional packs of 10 leaves can be ordered separately.
Album:
Price £15.99
Code: PA707

Album Leaves
Price: £4.50
Code PA708

 

 

 

 

Postmarks:

[press release]

Alice in Wonderland
10 Stamps – Issue date: 6th January 2015Reason and inspiration
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Lewis Carroll’s classic book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Royal Mail commissioned illustrator Grahame Baker-Smith, winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and author of FArTHER, to illustrate ten key scenes from the book. Art-directed by Godfrey Design, Baker- Smith offers a fresh, lively interpretation of unforgettable characters such as the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat and Alice herself, making the story come to life with new vivacity. The unusual vertical se-tenant format not only suits the topsy-turvy story but also adds philatelic interest.

Stamps
2nd Class The White Rabbit
2nd Class Down the Rabbit Hole
1st Class Drink Me
1st Class The White Rabbit’s House
81p The Cheshire-Cat
81p A Mad Tea-Party
£1.28 The Queen of Hearts
£1.28 The Game of Croquet
£1.47 Alice’s Evidence
£1.47 A Pack of Cards

Technical Details
Stamps: 2 x 2nd, 2 x 1st, 2 x 81p, 2 x £1.28, 2 x £1.47
Products: FDC, Presentation Pack, Stampcards, Retail Book, Medal Cover, Frames, Pins
Design: Godfrey Design
Illustrations: Grahame Baker-Smith
Printer: International Security Printers
Stamp size 35mm x 35mm
Sheet Size: 60 per sheet, 10 sheets or 5 sheets of ST pairs?
Print process: Lithogrpahy
Acknowledgements: Stamp designs © Royal Mail Group Ltd 2015

Products

Presentation Pack
The presentation pack, designed by Godfrey Design and written by Professor Hugh Haughton, tells the story of the genesis and publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. From the “golden afternoon” in July 1862, when Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson – better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll – told an outlandish tale to the young Alice Liddell and her sisters, through illustrator John Tenniel’s role, to the myriad editions over the past century and a half, the pack offers real insight into the story behind this classic children’s tale. Beautifully illustrated, it includes a photograph of Alice Liddell taken by Dodgson himself as well as reproductions of pages from his first hand-written manuscript. Price: £9.95 Code: AP396

First Day Cover
The First Day Cover, designed by Godfrey Design, features a striking illustration of the White Rabbit by Grahame Baker-Smith. The Tallents House handstamp features an illustration of the Mad Hatter’s hat drawn by John Tenniel for the original edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The alternate location is Oxford, where Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson lived and worked. Price: £11.78 (overseas £9.82) Code: AF388

Stamp cards
The 10 Special Stamps image are reproduced at postcard size
Price: £4.50, Code: AQ215

Retail Stamp Book
The Alice in Wonderland Retail Stamp book contains the two 1st Class stamps from this beautiful Special stamp issue, alongside 4 of the Machin 1st Class red stamps. Price: £3.72 Code: UB380

Postmarks
The Tallents House handstamp features an illustration of the Mad Hatter’s hat drawn by John Tenniel for the original edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

An alternative First Day of Issue pictorial and non-pictorial OXFORD postmark will also be available for this issue. OXFORD was chosen as this is where Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson lived and worked

TALLENTS HOUSE Pictorial FD1501-TH
OXFORD Pictorial FD1501-PL
OXFORD Non-pictorial FD1501-NP

Pin Badges (set of 5)
Price: £5.95 each,
Set of 5 Alice in Wonderland Pin Badges using the images of the stamps. The pin badges will be 30x30mm with a butterfly tie tack reverse. Each pin badge will be supplied on a backing card designed in the colours and style of the stamp issue and in clear hook and hang packaging. Not suitable for children under 3 years old due to choking hazard and sharp edges.
NB157: The White Rabbit (2nd Class)
NB158: Drink Me (1st Class)
NB159: A Mad Tea-Party (81p)
NB160: The Cheshire-Cat (81p)
NB161: The Game of Croquet (£1.28)

Panorama Pops™ Book – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith. Additional details not yet available.

Stamp Art
Set in a black box frame, these beautifully illustrated Alice in Wonderland Stamps make a great addition to the wall. Handmade for Royal Mail in the UK. Dimensions: 33x18cm Price: £5.00 Code: NZ051

An exquisite 150th anniversary edition of Lewis Carroll’s classic story, created in association with Royal Mail. Alice’s adventures are bought to life in this special three-dimensional cut-paper book, presented in a charming slipcase. The book unfolds to reveal 10 of the most famous moments in the classic story, from Alice falling down the Rabbit hole, to the Mad-Hatters tea party. The beautiful illustrations by Kate Greenaway Medal winner Grahame Baker-Smith were specially commissioned by Royal Mail for a set of commemorative stamps and this innovative version of the classic tale makes an irresistible gift.

Stamp Art
Set in a black box frame, these beautifully illustrated Alice in Wonderland Stamps make a great addition to the wall. Handmade for Royal Mail in the UK. Dimensions: 33x18cm Price: £25.00
Additional Frame – Alice in Wonderland Print and Stamp Price: £45 (TBC)

Medal Cover – Issue Date 5th March 2015
Price £TBC, Code TBC
, Visual not yet available – this is for information only.
The Alice in Wonderland medal cover is issued on 5 March 2015, in time for World Book Day, includes the Alice in Wonderland special stamps and a specially designed Royal Mint medal. The insert features key characters from the story as portrayed by notable illustrators over the past 150 years, all set within a beautifully conceived paper cut-out illustrations by Rebecca Sutherland. The medal cover has been designed by Interabang and written by Lewis Carroll expert Selwyn Goodacre.

[Royal Mail press release]
SPECIAL STAMPS CELEBRATE 50TH ANNIVERSARY

• • 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of Royal Mail’s modern Special Stamp programme, which celebrates the UK and our national character.  A total of 2,663 Special Stamps have been issued since July 1965
  • Every new stamp design is approved by Her Majesty The Queen before it is issued
  • Postmaster General Tony Benn introduced changes to the criteria for Special Stamps and made key decisions in 1965 which changed stamps forever
  • Other than The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh is the most featured person on Special Stamps since 1965 followed by William Shakespeare
  • Some of the most popular stamp issues in recent years include:
    • Battle of Trafalgar (2005)
    • The Beatles (2007)
    • Olympic and Paralympic Gold Medal Winners (2012)
    • Doctor Who (2013)
  • Outside London, the most featured city in the Special Stamp programme is Edinburgh followed by the town of Battle, East Sussex
  • Royal Mail has launched an online gallery of every Special Stamp issued since 1965. A short video presented by broadcaster and historian Dan Snow is also available. Both can be found at www.rmspecialstamps.com
  • Royal Mail today announced that 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the Special Stamps programme, which celebrates the UK and our national character.Criteria for the creation of Special Stamps to celebrate events and commemorate anniversaries relevant to UK heritage and life was devised by the then Postmaster General, Tony Benn, who worked with designer David Gentleman to modernise stamp design. The stamp of Sir Winston Churchill, issued in July of that year, was designed by Gentleman and was the first under Benn’s administration. It was the first British stamp to feature a contemporary individual and with its bold modernist approach with no words, it set the scene for the future. Including these, 2,663 Special Stamps have been issued.

Reflecting changes in society and culture
Over the past 50 years, Royal Mail stamps have mirrored the changes in society and culture at large. Stamps in the late 1960s celebrated the technological innovations of Britain, like the 1966 set which included the Jodrell Bank radio telescope, the hovercraft and the car industry. By 1982 stamps were commemorating the growing role of computers with Information Technology stamps depicting the then cutting-edge technology of lasers reading bar codes. This stamp is an early example of computer-assisted design. It remains Britain’s widest-ever stamp. Popular culture has been charted by stamps. As the Sixties generation grew up, many of their influences, such as pop music, moved into the mainstream. In the 1988 stamps celebrating the bicentenary of Australian settlement, an image of John Lennon appears alongside Shakespeare to represent Britain’s cultural contribution. The Beatles moved centre stage with their own stamp issue in 2007. This featured their classic album sleeves and remains the most popular stamp issue of the last ten years, and was one of the first to feature identifiable living people.

The commemoration of Shakespeare underlines how stamps have changed. In 1982 a set of stamps on the performing arts included a colourful painting of Hamlet. Thirty years later, a photo of actor David Tennant as Hamlet in contemporary dress and text in striking calligraphy reflected evolving interpretations of the Bard’s work.

Explorations of our love of popular culture have continued with highly successful stamps celebrating Harry Potter, Doctor Who and children’s TV icons like Bagpuss.

Stamp issues featuring sport have always generated interest with ‘England Win the Rugby World Cup’ (2003) and Gold Medal Winners at the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games among the most popular.

Most featured subjects
One of the consistently popular subjects featured on Special Stamps is the Royal Family, in particular national events such as Royal Weddings, the most recent being the marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton in 2011.

Over the past 50 years, The Queen is the person to feature most on Royal Mail Stamps. That doesn’t count Her Majesty’s silhouette in the corner of each Special Stamp. The next most popular individual to feature is The Duke of Edinburgh. He is followed by William Shakespeare – his face, as well as his work. The following have also appeared or had their contribution celebrated: Charles Darwin, HRH Prince Charles, HM The Queen Mother and Winston Churchill.

The UK’s towns and cities have influenced stamp designs over the past 50 years. Unsurprisingly, London is the city that features most followed by Edinburgh, Battle (East Sussex), Liverpool, York, Abbotsbury (Dorset) and Bath, Birmingham, Caernafon and Stratford-upon-Avon.

The most featured building or specific location is Buckingham Palace. Kew Gardens and St Paul’s Cathedral are next, followed by Abbotsbury Swannery (Dorset) and York Minster, Caernafon Castle and the Palace of Westminster.

Animals and transport have always proved popular subjects for stamps. Various species of bird have appeared most frequently followed by dogs, horses and cats. Reflecting the nation’s maritime heritage, ships and boats top the list of modes of transport followed by trains, aircraft, cars and buses.

As part of the programme to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Special Stamp programme, Royal Mail has launched an online gallery of every Special Stamp issued since July 1965. Visitors to the site at www.rmspecialstamps.com can browse through the stamps by the decade and also view the stamps that were issued in the year that they were born.

A short video presented by broadcaster and historian Dan Snow explores how the Special Stamp programme has been shaped by the changing face of the UK and is also on www.rmspecialstamps.com.

Special Stamp Programme – Criteria
The criteria have remained virtually unchanged since introduced by Postmaster General, The Right Honourable Tony Benn. They are to:

• • 1. Commemorate important anniversaries
    2. Commemorate events of national importance, including major contemporary UK successes on the international stage
    3. Reflect the contribution of the UK to world affairs in the broadest range of activities, from the arts and humanities to science and technology
    4. Explore ‘the British way of life’, celebrating the diversity of cultures and interests within the UK
    5. Contribute to the cultural life of the UK through the patronage of art and design

Other key facts
Counties that have been featured on Special Stamps (with identifiable content)

• • • Greater London: 100 stamps
    • Edinburgh: 12
    • Gwynedd: 12
    • East Sussex: 11
    • Kent: 10
    • Dorset: 9
    • Yorkshire: 9
    • County Antrim: 8
    • Somerset: 8
    • Surrey: 8

Themes that have been featured on Special Stamps

• • • Social History and Politics: 72 stamp issues
    • Animals and Natural World: 62 stamp issues
    • Christmas: 49 stamp issues
    • Visual & Performing Arts: 45 stamp issues
    • Royalty: 37 stamp issues
    • Sport: 35 stamp issues
    • Architecture & Built Environment: 34 stamp issues
    • Science/Engineering/Space: 32 stamp issues
    • Literature: 32 stamp issues
    • Transport: 28 stamp issues

Current stamps and stamp products are available at 8000 Post Office branches, online at www.royalmail.com/stamps and from Royal Mail Tallents House (tel. 03457 641 641), 21 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9PB.

[updated press release, posted December 29th]
ROYAL MAIL REVEALS ITS SPECIAL STAMP PROGRAMME FOR 2015

• The British sense of humour is celebrated with the Comedy Greats issue. The set features iconic comedians who have provided some of the nation’s most memorable laugh-out-loud moments in television, film and theatre history, including one of the nation’s best loved comedy duos, The Two Ronnies
• Prominent key British inventions, such as the world wide web, will be marked with the Inventive Britain issue
• 2015 will see the second issue in the five-year series of stamps commemorating the First World War. Featured in the set is an image of the football used by the London Irish Rifles during the Battle of Loos in 1915
• Bridges celebrates the engineering of ten of these iconic structures from across the UK
• 175th Anniversary of the Penny Black  is to be marked with a miniature sheet of stamps
• 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta will be commemorated with a set in June
• The bicentenary of The Battle of Waterloo and the 75th anniversary of The Battle of Britain will also be commemorated
• The sport of Rugby Union features in 2015, with England hosting the eighth tournament, the Rugby World Cup set of stamps launch in September

Royal Mail’s 2015 Special Stamp programme is set to showcase the Best of British from great inventions to some of our most cherished Comedy Greats.

The British sense of humour is celebrated with the Comedy Greats issue on 1 April. This set of stamps features iconic comedians who have provided some of the nation’s most memorable laugh-out-loud moments in television, film and theatre history, including one of the nation’s best loved comedy duos, The Two Ronnies.

May 2015 will see the second issue in the five-year series of stamps commemorating the First World War. Included in the set is an image of the actual ball used by Rifleman Frank Edwards who led his fellow troops into what became known as the Battle of Loos, by kicking a football into play on the battlefield ahead of their initial attack.

Royal Mail will also honour prominent key British inventions with the Inventive Britain issue in February. Included in the set is a stamp to mark the invention of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee. [The design is below.]

Bridges in March will see 10 stamps celebrate the engineering genius of these structures from across the UK.

May marks the 175th anniversary of the Penny Black, the world’s first ever postage stamp.

The 2015 calendar continues the military theme with Special Stamps marking the bicentenary of The Battle of Waterloo in June and 75 years since the start of The Battle of Britain in July.

The 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta will be marked by the release of a set of stamps in June, while a series of national events across the country will commemorate this historic document.

Rugby Union features in September with a set of stamps launching as England hosts the eighth Rugby World Cup.

In what is set to be a notable year of stamp issues, other sets include Bees and Christmas, which will take a religious theme.

2015 Special Stamp Programme

February                      Inventive Britain
March                          Bridges
April                             Comedy Greats
May                              Penny Black
May                              First World War: 1915
June                             Magna Carta
June                             The Battle of Waterloo
July                              The Battle of Britain
August                          Bees
September                   Rugby World Cup
November                    Christmas

About Royal Mail Special Stamp Programme
For almost 50 years Royal Mail’s Special Stamp programme has commemorated and celebrated events and anniversaries pertinent to UK heritage and life.

Royal Mail receives many hundreds of requests for subjects for its stamps every year, from the public, collectors and organisations. In addition it researches to find the major anniversaries and events for any one year.

Royal Mail collates all the subjects and then carries out careful and extensive research to arrive at the final list of stamp subjects.

Her Majesty the Queen approves all UK stamp designs before they are printed.

Today, there are an estimated 2.5 million stamp collectors and gifters in the UK and millions worldwide.

The stamps and stamp products are available at 8000 Post Office branches, online at www.royalmail.com/stamps and from Royal Mail Tallents House (tel. 08457 641 641), 21 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9PB.