[drawn from the press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Autumn Palette
Issue date: 24 October
Sheetlet with five different stamps for domestic use, up to 20 grams
Item #850069
Design: Yvonne Warmerdam, Orange Licensing, Gouda
Illustrations: Janneke Brinkman-Salentijn
Cost: A sheetlet of five stamps costs €6.55.
In addition to the official issue program, PostNL offers a framework stamp program every year. This program is flexible. Each issue is designed based on a fixed layout, with a fixed number of framework stamps. The stamps are available exclusively through the webshop and from Collect Club customer service at +31 88 868 99 00, while supplies last.
Janneke Brinkman-Salentijn is best known as an illustrator and watercolorist of nature 
subjects, who has a master’s degree in microbiology. Her watercolors have been featured on planners, calendars, greeting cards, puzzles, bed and kitchen linens, and a wide variety of other products for over 30 years. In 2017, Brinkman-Salentijn celebrated her 25th anniversary as a botanical artist with a special exhibition at Slot Zeist, which PostNL commemorated with a silver stamp entitled “25 Years of Passion for Flowers.”
She loves this time of year. “Autumn is the best season there is. I think it’s a truly wonderful time, when you can often go outside without a coat. Everyone’s back from vacation, looking tanned and well-rested, ready to get back out there. The same goes for nature, which is still full of autumn flowers, berries, and other fruits. The sun no longer shines brightly but gently, so the colors are much more vibrant, especially warm shades of red, orange, and brown. Truly vibrant colors, as you can see on the beautiful Autumn Palette stamp sheet. It’s a beautiful design, and I still consider it a great honor when your work is chosen to be featured on stamps.”
The subjects on the stamps and selvage include a maple leaf, a feather, dahlias, a butterfly and berries.
“It all fits,” says issue designer Yvonne Warmerdam. “[Brinkman-Salentijn] always draws her inspiration from nature or gardens. The dahlias on the stamp sheet, for example, come from the Het Zoete Land picking garden, near Leiden where she lives. She found the feather on the street, and the rose is from her own garden. So she always finds something from everywhere.”
The flowers, plants, and fruits on the stamp sheet capture the desired autumnal atmosphere, with red-orange and purple as the dominant colors.
Note: PostNL does not sell directly to collectors in North America. Its website refers to a company called Nordfirm, which says it sells Dutch new issues at face value. The Virtual Stamp Club has no connection to this company.
Collectors may also wish to contact the U.S. firm Bombay Stamps, which can also obtain first day covers upon request, with lower shipping fees. The email is sales@bombaystamps.com Again, The Virtual Stamp Club has no connection to this company.
Among “names” born in 1926, I won’t be surprised if there are stamps for Tony Bennett (and 2026 will be just 3 years since he died), Chuck Berry, and Ralph Abernathy (although his tell-all book angered other civil rights leaders). A dark horse candidate would be Jerry Lewis, whom the French considered a comic genius but here IMHO would more likely be honored for his philanthropic work on behalf of the fight against Muscular Dystrophy.
