[press release, translated using Google]
Stamps with ideal image of a farmhouse
Issue date: January 4th   Larger image of full pane below

The Hague, 6 January 2021. PostNL will issue the first stamps of this year for the Typically Dutch series. In 2021, the series will focus on housing types and facades that are characteristic of our country. The first sheet of stamps is a tribute to the farmhouse.

After this Stolpboerderij sheet
More stamps in the Typically Dutch series will appear in the coming months about wooden houses (22 February), canal houses (22 March), houseboats (6 April) and terraced houses (14 June).

All under one roof
The square bell-jar farmhouse with pyramid-shaped roof was created in the mid-16th century in North Holland. A characteristic of this Dutch farm type is that the entire farm – people, animals and harvest – came together under one roof. There are 2 variants: with the North Holland bell jar the stable doors are at the back, with the West Frisian bell jar at the front.

Dutch skies
The design of the Typisch Nederlands stamp series was again made this year by graphic designer Edwin van Praet of Total Design from Amsterdam. Initially, Van Praet wanted to depict the farmhouse against a neutral background. While illustrating, he thought how beautiful it would be if you also saw the famous Dutch skies. “Every stamp in the series shows a different time of the day,” says Van Praet. “At the farmhouse it is dawn, the break of day when the farmer goes to work and the dew is still on the land.”

Broedersbouw
The 1742 farmhouse depicted on the stamp is called Broedersbouw and can be found in the North Holland village of Zuidoostbeemster. In the illustration on the stamps, the farm is flanked on the side by a tree, the front shows the green grassland. There is a black line at the bottom of the stamp that refers to the street level. To the left of the farm, the rising sun can be seen against a sky with blown strips of sky.

Romantic ideal
According to Van Praet, the farmhouse has an “incredibly beautiful shape”, as if it was made to be depicted on a stamp. He made a painting based on that form. “A romantic illustration as an ideal image of the bell jar. But it is not a nostalgic picture, it has really become an illustration of today.”

Availability
The Typisch Nederlands – Stolpboerderij stamp sheetlet has 6 identical stamps with the denomination Nederland 1, intended for mail up to 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands. The stamps will be available from January 4, 2021 at the post office in the Bruna stores and via the website. The stamps can also be ordered by telephone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number 088 – 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.