[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
PostNL Celebrates Mondrian Year with Golden Stamp

PostNL on April 14 issued a special gold stamp in honor of the 150th birthday of painter Piet Mondriaan. The Amersfoort culture alderman Fatma Koşer Kaya officially received the first copy of the gold stamp.

Victory Boogie Woogie
Mondriaan (1872-1944) became world famous with his geometrically abstract works. The gold stamp features a cutout of the Victory Boogie Woogie, Mondrian’s last painting from 1944. The unfinished work, owned by the Dutch state, hangs in the Kunstmuseum in The Hague. The font on the stamp for the value indication 1 and the Netherlands is a design by type designer Martin Majoor from Arnhem. For the rest of the typography, the SF Orson Casual Heavy by type designer Derek Vogelpohl (ShyFoundry) from Omaha, Nebraska was used.

Limited edition
The 24-carat gold stamp 150 years Piet Mondrian is printed in a limited edition. PostNL delivers the stamp including a special storage cassette with certificate of authenticity. The price is € 50.00. PostNL issues gold stamps exclusively on the occasion of special anniversaries and other special commemorations, always in a limited edition. The special thing about this latest issue is that colors other than gold have been used for the first time.

Cargo bike à la Mondrian
The golden 150th anniversary of Piet Mondriaan stamp was delivered today with an electric PostNL mailbox. For the occasion, this was provided with the characteristic black lines and colorful surfaces that we know from Mondrian’s paintings. Four of these mailbox bikes have been made that will continue to ride throughout the Mondriaan year. PostNL is replacing more and more vans with these types of cargo bikes, which are cleaner and more city-friendly. Hundreds of these are now driving through the Netherlands.

Special Artists meet Mondrian
Simultaneously with the presentation of the first gold stamp, alderman Koşer Kaya opened the exhibition Special Artists meet Mondriaan in the Mariënhof (Kleine Haag 2, Amersfoort). The exhibition consists of works by people with disabilities, who have been inspired by paintings by Mondriaan. In addition to paintings, drawings, textiles and ceramics are on display.

Availability
The golden stamp 150 years Mondriaan is, while stocks last, only available via the webshop [in Dutch] at the customer service of Collect Club on telephone number 088 – 868 99 00. The stamp shows value 1, intended for mail up to and including 20 grams with a destination in the Netherlands. The validity period is indefinite. [Inasmuch as the stamp costs €50 (about US$54.25), you’d be a fool to use it for a domestic letter — or even an international one! —VSC]

[The Wikipedia article on Mondriaan, or “Mondrian,” notes that he was living in New York City at the time of his death at age 71 from pneumonia.]