[from a press release]

Issue: Typically Dutch – Cycling
Date of issue: 4 April 2022
Appearance: sheet of six stamps in six identical designs
Item number: 420461
Design: Claire Bedon and Edwin van Praet (Total Design), Amsterdam

On 4 April 2022, PostNL will publish the Typically Dutch – cycling stamp sheet. This issue is the third in the Typically Dutch series this year. In 2022, the multi-annual series is dedicated to five sports in which the Dutch excel. Earlier this year, stamps featuring ice skating (3 January) and hockey (21 March) were published as part of this series. Later this year, PostNL will publish stamps featuring the typically Dutch sports of sailing (9 May) and football (15 August).

There’s nothing more Dutch than a bicycle. The Netherlands is home to more bicycles (22.9 million) than people. With all those bicycles, we travel some 17.4 billion kilometres per year, which is around 1,000km per person, with an average speed of 15.6km/hour. Relatively, the most kilometres are covered by the 36,000 cyclists who are members of the over 370 cycling clubs in the Netherlands. Their interests are protected by the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Wielren Unie (KNWU, ‘Royal Dutch Cycling Union’), which was founded in 1928. Besides road cycling, there are many other cycling disciplines: BMX, track cycling, cyclocross, mountain biking, beach racing, para-cycling and artistic cycling.

The Netherlands has produced many famous cyclists, including big names such as Jan Jansen (Tour de France winner), Hennie Kuiper (gold medallist at the Olympic Games), Joop Zoetemelk (Tour de France and Vuelta de España winner) and Tom Dumoulin (Giro d’Italia winner). The Dutch are often also world leaders in disciplines such as track cycling (Jeffrey Hoogland, Harrie Lavreysen) and cyclocross (Lars Boom, Matthieu van der Poel). The achievements of Dutch female cyclists are even more impressive. Especially over the past few decades, Dutch women have dominated global cycling. Well-known champions are Leontien van Moorsel (four Olympic gold medals, Tour de France Féminin winner; shown on the right), Marianne Vos (one Olympic gold medal, twice World Championships winner in road cycling, three times Giro Rosa winner), Anna van der Breggen (one Olympic gold medal, twice World Championships winner in road cycling, once World Championships winner in time trial, four times Giro Rosa winner) and Annemiek van Vleuten (one Olympic gold medal, once World Championships winner in road cycling, twice World Championships winner in time trial, twice Giro Rosa winner).

The stamps on the Typical Dutch – cycling stamp sheet feature an illustration of a cyclist gaining momentum by getting out of the saddle and pushing the bicycle to the left. In the bottom right-hand corner, three diagonal lines can be seen in the background, representing the lines on a cycle track and on public roads. At the bottom of each stamp is a white strip with the sorting hook, the year 2022, the country (Netherlands) and the denomination 1. The tyre of the front wheel continues onto the strip a little way. The same is happening with the bicycle helmet in the white strip at the top. The logo for the Typically Dutch series is printed above each stamp, with a folded Dutch banner on the left and right. The picture is repeated in enlarged form on the edge of the sheet. The dominant colour blue continues on the two tabs on the right. The Typically Dutch logo appears once more on the top edge of the sheet, while the bottom edge features a short explanatory text.

The mood of the Typically Dutch – cycling stamps is created by the colour blue in the background, with orange (helmet, front fork), red (cycling shirt), yellow (face, arms, legs) and black (glasses, bib shorts, handlebars, cycling shoes, front wheel, pedals and bottom bracket) as contrasting colours. Van Praet: ‘All five issues this year include the colours of the Dutch flag. In the right order: first red, then white, then blue and finally two kinds of orange. Diversity was essential. The series features two female athletes, two male athletes including the cyclist, and one neutral figure.’

Technical Specifications:
Postage stamp dimensions: 30 x 40 mm:
Sheet size: 170 x 122 mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black and orange
Print run: 75,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of 6 stamps in 6 identical designs
Design: Edwin van Praet and Claire Bedon, Total Design, Amsterdam
Printing company: Cartor Security Printers, Meaucé-La Loupe, France
Item number: 420461

Issue date: 22 March
Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe

Issue: The Netherlands from the Air
Appearance: 12 sheets of five different personal stamps marked ‘Nederland 1’, the denomination for post weighing up to 20g sent to an address within the Netherlands
Design: studio026, Velp
Photography: Karel Tomeï, Eindhoven

In 2022, PostNL will be issuing a series of 12 personal stamps entitled Kijk op Nederland (The Netherlands from the Air). Each stamp in the series features an aerial photograph of a prominent site in the Netherlands, based on the themes of architecture, buildings, infrastructure, nature and water. The sheets will be issued in four sets, 22 March, 14 June, 13 September, and 15 November.

More details on the series are here.

This set:
Groningen
Fortified village (Bourtange), salt marsh (Hornhuizen), Groninger Museum (Groningen), art installation De Natte Ogen (Winschoten), Damsterdiep (Eemskanaal)

Friesland
ir. D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station – Woudagemaal (Lemmer), Afsluitdijk (Kornwerderzand), Het Rif (Schiermonnikoog), skûtsjesilen (De Veenhoop), Achmea tower (Leeuwarden)

Drenthe
LOFAR telescope (Exloo), roundabout (Coevorden), brinkdorp (Noord-Sleen), Bargerveen Nature Reserve (Veenland), Hunebedcentrum dolmen (Borger)

Technical Details:
Sheet size: 102 x 148 mm (wxh)
Stamp size: 40 x 30mm (wxh)
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black and blue
Print run: 5,000 sheets per issue

Issue: The Netherlands from the Air
Appearance: 12 sheets of five different personal stamps marked ‘Nederland 1’, the denomination for post weighing up to 20g sent to an address within the Netherlands
Design: studio026, Velp
Photography: Karel Tomeï, Eindhoven

In 2022, PostNL will be issuing a series of 12 personal stamps entitled Kijk op Nederland (The Netherlands from the Air). Each stamp in the series features an aerial photograph of a prominent site in the Netherlands, based on the themes of architecture, buildings, infrastructure, nature and water. The themes are shown at the top of each stamp sheet. Each theme was assigned its own colour, which in turn corresponds to the colour of the typography on the stamps. Each stamp states where the picture was taken, what we are looking at and what the title of the series is. The bottom edge of the sheet features an enlargement of one of the aerial photos as a background image.

The top of the sheet edge features a graphic representation of a fictitious Dutch subdivision pattern. By colouring in parts of it, the letters of the title of the series have been made visible on top of the subdivision pattern: KIJK OP NEDERLAND. The title becomes visible when all the stamp sheets are placed side by side. [Click to see a much, much bigger image.]On the left edge of the sheet, under the provincial name, is a map of the Netherlands depicting the provincial boundaries. The relevant province is picked out in colour.

The sheets will be issued on four dates, as follows:Item number: 820031 Groningen 22 March
Item number: 820032 Friesland, 22 March
Item number: 820033 Drenthe, 22 MarchItem number: 820034 Overijssel, 14 June
Item number: 820035 Flevoland, 14 June
Item number: 820036 Gelderland, 14 JuneItem number: 820037 Utrecht, 13 September
Item number: 820038 Noord-Holland, 13 September
Item number: 820039 Zuid-Holland, 13 SeptemberItem number: 820040 Zeeland, 15 November
Item number: 820041 Noord-Brabant, 15 November
Item number: 820042 Limburg, 15 November

Details on the 22 March set are posted here.
Details on the 14 June set will be posted here.
Details on the 13 September set will be posted here.
Details on the 15 November set will be posted.

In addition to the usual stamp release schedule, PostNL also has an annual personal stamp release schedule. This programme is flexible. It allows PostNL to respond to topical developments and requests. Each issue is designed based on a fixed layout with a fixed number of personal stamps. The stamps are available while stocks last on the webshop.

The design of the personal stamps for the The Netherlands from the Air series was created by Huub de Lang and Anne Schaufeli of studio26 in Velp. They designed stamps for PostNL before, but this was the first commission for a series. ‘With a huge topic this time,’ says Anne Schaufeli. ‘The brief was to depict the Netherlands from above on 12 stamp sheets using existing photographic material. One province per stamp sheet – that was our starting point. Then we developed our concept, as usual. The main thing that struck us is that if you look at the Netherlands from above, you notice that everything is cultivated down to the square metre. This malleability of the landscape is reflected in the subdivision patterns that you can often only see clearly from the air. The land was divided and delimited through subdivision, revealing the intervention of man. This is really characteristic of the Netherlands. We found the balance between man and nature to be an excellent theme to pursue further. This is typical of our approach: first we plan, then we work it out. This way, we could also find images that could represent the Netherlands in the same way on all stamp sheets.’

Based on the concept they had drawn up, Schaufeli and De Lang established the selection criteria for the photos. ‘We decided to use the themes of architecture, buildings, infrastructure, nature and water,’ Schaufeli explains. ‘As these are pretty broad terms, we were able to use a large variety of images. For each province, we first looked at which landmarks would qualify. This included logical candidates such as the Afsluitdijk, for example, plus the Delta Works, the windmills at Kinderdijk and the Ridderkerk intersection, of course. But the search for images also threw up all kinds of surprises. Like the Natte Ogen art installation in the Haringvliet near Winschoten and the green cathedral at Almere.’

Dutch photographer Karel Tomeï specialises in aerial photography. Schaufeli: Following our advice, PostNL contacted Tomeï to ask if he would like to participate in this series of stamps. So he started looking for images with the concept and themes as guidelines. Sometimes the image we were looking for could not be found, other times he came up with pictures we were not expecting. Or he would send us a beautiful image, but the content just didn’t fit the concept. And vice versa. We ended up looking at masses of pictures.’

According to Schaufeli, other criteria also played a part in the selection of the 60 photos for the 12 stamp sheets. ‘We didn’t want too much repetition. Like 12 bridges, for example. And each stamp sheet had to give an equivalent overall picture. That was a bit of a puzzle, to say the least. The angle at which the photos were taken is important. We would have preferred them all to be taken straight from above, but that does not work in all cases. For example, if you want to feature a tall building. However, our aim to get as many pictures taken straight from above sometimes ended up with amazing results. Take the Groninger Museum, for example, which makes a very different impression from the air than it does from the side.’

Technical Details:
Sheet size: 102 x 148 mm (wxh)
Stamp size: 40 x 30mm (wxh)
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, black and blue
Print run: 5,000 sheets per issue

Issue: Mauritshuis Bicentenary Celebration
Date of issue: 21 February 2022
Appearance: sheet with six stamps in six different designs, with value 1 for post up to and including 20 grams for a destination within the Netherlands
Item number: 420262
Design: Studio Maud van Rossum, Amsterdam
Photography: Mauritshuis, The Hague
Lithography: Marc Gijzen, Voorburg

On 21 February 2021, PostNL issued a new stamp sheet with six stamps about the famous flower still-lifes at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Mauritshuis bicentenary celebration is being issued to mark two centuries since the museum opened its doors to the public. The denomination on these stamps is ‘1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20g destined for the Netherlands. The stamp sheet was designed by Studio Maud van Rossum from Amsterdam.

The Mauritshuis in The Hague houses a world-famous collection of 17th-Century Dutch paintings. The collection is on display in two historic buildings in The Hague: the Mauritshuis and the Galerij Prins Willem V. The Mauritshuis is a 17th-century city palace on the Plein, and the Galerij Prins Willem V is an 18th-century museum on the Buitenhof.

The history of the collection in the Mauritshuis begins in the Galerij Prins Willem V. This gallery was opened in 1774 and was the first museum open to the public in the Netherlands. This is where Stadtholder Willem V displayed his collection of paintings to the general public. His son, King William I, donated a large number of these works to the Dutch state. In 1822, 200 years ago this year, the collection moved to the Mauritshuis. The most famous paintings, such as The Bull by Paulus Potter, View of Haarlem with Bleaching Fields by Jacob van Ruisdael, Two African Men by Rembrandt, View of Delft and Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer are always on display. There are also special exhibitions on different subjects that change three times a year.

Opening on 17 February 2022 – the anniversary year –, the In Full Bloom exhibition will focus on the most beautiful floral still-lifes from the Mauritshuis collection. In the 17th Century, still-life paintings with flowers were a specialised genre in the Low Countries. It emerged in Middelburg and Antwerp and then also became popular further north. To celebrate the bicentenary, a flower installation inspired by the collection of paintings is being built in and around the Mauritshuis. The façade of the Mauritshuis will also be adorned with an ‘impossible bouquet’ of flowers, consisting of sustainable imitation flowers combining spring, summer and autumn, just like the still-lifes from the 17th Century.

‘The Mauritshuis has a fantastic website that even allows you to visit the museum online,’ said stamp designer Maud van Rossum. “They took advantage of the lockdown to digitise the entire museum. So you can take a virtual walking tour through the exhibition rooms from the comfort of your own sofa. That same evening, I was able to view each flower still-life in the collection on my own screen.’

In 2020, graphic designer Van Rossum designed the stamp issue that celebrated the 450th anniversary of the publication of the world’s first atlas. In 2021, she created the stamps for Queen Máxima’s 50th birthday. ‘This is a completely different subject,’ says Van Rossum about the Mauritshuis bicentenary celebration stamp sheet.

The stamps are available while stocks last at the post office counter in Bruna shops and at www.postnl.nl/bijzondere-postzegels [in Dutch].

Technical Details:
Stamp size: 25 x 36mm
Sheet size: 108 x 150mm
Paper: normal with phosphor print
Gum: gummed
Printing technique: offset
Printing colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black
Edition: 95,000 sheets
Appearance: sheet of six stamps in six different designs
Studio: Maud van Rossum, Amsterdam
Photography: Mauritshuis, The Hague
Lithography: Marc Gijzen, Voorburg
Printing company: Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number: 420262