[from the press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Jimmy Nelson – Ode to the Netherlands
Issue date: 25 January 2023

The series of four stamp sheets entitled “Jimmy Nelson – Ode to the Netherlands” feature portraits of women and girls in Dutch national and regional dress, photographed by Jimmy Nelson for his 2022 book Between the Sea and the Sky. The stamps were designed by graphic designer Larissa Rosvaenge of Jimmy Nelson Studio. The denomination on these stamps is ‘1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20g destined for the Netherlands.

National and regional dress is location- and region-specific clothing that is subject to unwritten rules that are known and clear to those who wear it locally. Most Dutch regional dress can be traced back to earlier civic fashions, especially from the 17th and 19th centuries. In some places, elements of that fashion were maintained while the general fashion changed. Many variations emerged throughout the years. In many areas of the Netherlands, regional costume has disappeared; in others, the disappearance is taking longer than predicted.

• Ode to the Netherlands I (item 830011) features the dress of Veluwe, Huizen, Schouwen-Duiveland, Volendam, Rijssen
• Ode to the Netherlands II (item 830012) features Walcheren, Friesland, Leeuwarden, Scheveningen, Arnemuiden
• Ode to the Netherlands III ((item 830013) features Spakenburg, Marken, Urk, Zaanstreek, Kampereiland
• Ode to the Netherlands IV (item 830014) features Hindeloopen, Staphorst, Katwijk, Enkhuizen, Axel

In the book, British-Dutch artist Jimmy Nelson [right] portrays 20 Dutch communities in traditional and regional dress in their own environment. The 528-page book features intimate photographic portraits and iconic landscapes, captured with an analogue plate camera. The detailed nature of the images, with plenty of contrast and depth, harks back to the work of the Dutch master painters of the 17th century.

The Jimmy Nelson – Ode to the Netherlands stamps were designed by Larissa Rosvaenge [left], who is responsible for all designs as a graphic designer within the Jimmy Nelson Studio team. She also designed the book Between the Sea and the Sky from which the photos featured on the stamps were taken.

The Between the Sea and the Sky project was created during the COVID pandemic, when travelling to faraway places, where Nelson usually takes his photographs, was not possible. “As a creative company, we are always looking for human connection,” Nelson explains. “Thanks to the COVID measures, we discovered that there is actually a great wealth of cultural heritage within the Netherlands, a heritage that creates connections within the conscious community, also through storytelling and experiencing a collective past together. As a creative studio, we consider beauty to be an important factor. We are not anthropologists or regional dress experts, but we delved deep into the subject and presented it in the most beautiful and balanced way possible, both in the book, in the accompanying exhibition and now also on the stamps.”

In selecting the photos, designer Rosvaenge sought balance.

“Balanced ages, for example: the youngest person portrayed on the stamps is 3 years old, the oldest well into their 80s,” she said. “But also balance in where people came from, what colours predominated in the pictures and what viewing directions there were. Moreover, we tried to avoid repetition as much as possible.”

A colour scheme that reflects the seasons emerged almost spontaneously, Rosvaenge added.

“We ended up with stamp sheets on which white predominated in winter, light colours emerged in spring, stronger colours appeared in summer and darker shades surfaced in autumn.”

Nelson says technology played an important part in these pictures.

“I shoot in natural light with an analogue plate camera, with a wide aperture and a slow shutter speed. This requires people to sit still for a long period of time, and you can see that in the intensity of their facial expressions.”

Rosvaenge says the designs have multiple layers.

“All sorts of things are going on, and you will have to look several times to get through those layers,” the designer said. “That is why I would love it if people bought two of each stamp sheet: one to keep, the other for sending mail. Preferably for love letters, of course.”

Sale & Validity
The Jimmy Nelson – Ode to the Netherlands stamps are available while stocks last at www.postnl.nl/collect and can be ordered by telephone from the Collect Club customer service on telephone number +31 (0)88 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.

Technical Details
Stamp size: 30 x 40mm (wxh)
Sheet size: 170 x 122 mm (wxh)
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black
Print run: 4 x 10,000 sheets
Appearance: four sheets of five personal stamps in five different : designs
Design: Larissa Rosvaenge
Photography: Jimmy Nelson
Printing company: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem

[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.]