[press release; translated by Google] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Iconic Shapes Dominate the Typically Dutch – Museums Stamps

The first stamp sheetlet of 2023 in the ‘Typisch Nederlands’ series from PostNL was issued on January 2^nd. The six stamps are dedicated to the many high-quality museums in our country. This year’s series “Typically Dutch” is devoted to various sights that are important and typical of the Netherlands.

The design of “Typically Dutch – Museums” is the work of senior graphic designer Adam Lane and creative director Edwin van Praet, of Total Design from Amsterdam. In the series, stamp sheets will appear later this year with the subject of windmills (February 13), flower fields (March 20), cheese markets (March 20) and Wadden Sea (August 14).

Hundreds of Museums, Millions of Visitors
The Netherlands is a real museum country. With many hundreds of museums that attract many millions of visitors. The oldest museum in our country is the Teylers Museum in Haarlem (from 1784). The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (from 1885) attracts the most visitors every year.

Iconic Shapes
The stamps of the “Typically Dutch – Museums” stamp sheet feature picture frames and vases in various sizes. The iconic shapes are grouped in a tight pattern across the stamps. The design language is as simple and geometric as possible, but still recognizable, according to graphic designer Adam Lane. “In this way we have succeeded in designing stamps with powerful images within the pattern game. The loose stamp shows a strong design, while the story behind the theme remains legible.”

Content Aspects
It is not only the form that dominates on the stamp sheet, there is also a substantive aspect to the choice of design concept with icons and patterns. Creative director Edwin van Praet: “This applies to all stamp sheets that will be issued this year in the Typically Dutch series. Whichever museum you visit, a pattern has always been deliberately chosen for how, for example, paintings hang on the wall. When it comes to collecting art, museums naturally also follow a fixed pattern to build up their collection.”Availability
The stamp sheet “Typically Dutch – Museums” has six stamps in six equal designs, with the value indication Nederland 1, intended for mail up to and including 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands.

The “Typically Dutch – Museums” stamps are available as long as stocks last at the post office in the Bruna stores and via the webshop [direct link]. The stamps can also be ordered by telephone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number 088 868 99 00. The price per sheet of 10 stamps is € 10.10. The stamps are valid indefinitely.

[VSC Note: The link to first day covers (“Eerstedagenveloppen”) is here.]

[press release, translated via Google Translate] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
New nature on new stamps: full attention for the Marker Wadden

Between 2016 and 2021, five islands have been constructed in the Markermeer; the Marker Wadden. Representatives of the flora and fauna of this new nature reserve feature on the latest stamp sheetlet that PostNL has issued January 2 in the series “Experience Nature.”

[According to Wikipedia, “the Marker Wadden is an artificial archipelago under development in the Markermeer, a lake in the Netherlands.”]

The following ten inhabitants of this area play the leading role on the stamps “Experience Nature – Marker Wadden”: mute swan [right], bulrush, spoonbill, marram grass, little plover, bearded man, common tern, smelt, grasshopper warbler and sea buckthorn. All photos are included in a graphic layer of overlapping circles of different sizes, which break through the boundaries of the perforations.

Island 6 and 7
With the construction of the Marker Wadden, the initiators in the Markermeer want to promote nature restoration and improve bird abundance. The project is still ongoing, islands 6 and 7 will be completed this year. A visit to the Marker Wadden is already possible via a fixed ferry service, with departures from April to October from Lelystad.

Friesland, Overijssel and North Brabant
With the series “Experience nature’, PostNL draws attention to various nature areas in our country. After this first issue, three more stamp sheets will follow this year: about Skrok and Skrins in Friesland (February 13, 2023), the Wieden in Overijssel (June 12, 2023) and the Oisterwijkse Bossen en Vennen in North Brabant (August 24, 2023).

Close to the hearts
Natuurmonumenten manages the Marker Wadden. Roel Posthoorn, project director at the foundation, is proud of ‘his’ area. “The essence of Marker Wadden for me is that it was born from the feeling of desire. In nature management we are often busy looking for solutions to problems. But this is something we want, we desire. Something that is close to people’s hearts. That is why they are very welcome.”

Landscape variation
The stamp sheet Experience nature – Marker Wadden is a design by graphic designer Frank Janse from Gouda. “The common factor of this issue about Marker Wadden is the new nature that man has created here. There is a lot of variation in the landscape, with parts that are regularly flooded. This way you attract different species, mainly fish and birds, that feel at home where water and land meet.”

Availability
The stamp sheet “Experience Nature – Marker Wadden” has ten stamps in ten different designs, with the value indication Nederland 1, intended for mail up to and including 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands.

The “Experience Nature – Marker Wadden” stamps are available while stocks last at all PostNL sales points, the post office in the Bruna stores and via shop.postnl.nl/webshop/collect-club/postzegeluitgiften/bdn-marker-wadden-10-vel-nl1 [direct link. The stamps can also be ordered by telephone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number 088 868 99 00. The price per sheet of 10 stamps is € 10.10. The stamps are valid indefinitely. [VSC Note: The link to first day covers (“Eerstedagenveloppen”) is here. There are two for this issue, shown above and below.]