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Norvic Philatelics - GB New Stamps and Special Postmarks
As usual Royal Mail will issue a set of 6 Christmas stamps, a miniature sheet and a Smilers Sheet. This year’s Christmas stamps mark a return to a religious theme with traditional Italianate representations of angels created by Italian illustrator Marco Ventura who works on gesso coated paper. The stamps will be issued in definitive and large sizes. The two Madonna stamps were produced in reaction to a popular demand for stamps bearing an overtly Christian image and will be reissued in future years.
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The Angels stamps feature illustrations by Italian illustrator Marco Ventura. He works in a style similar to those of Renaissance fresco painters drawing in pencil on gesso coated paper and then hand colouring the image.
Marco Ventura grew up with angels, son of a book illustrator, a Roman Catholic in Italy where angels flutter across the walls of every church. “Since I was a child I’ve been surrounded by images of Saints, Madonnas and flying angels with banners,” he said. He began as a teenager like any medieval apprentice, hand colouring his father’s pen and ink illustrations. His own work is traditional in technique, beginning with drawings in very hard pencil on paper prepared with a thin coat of gesso plaster. Angels bearing their messages of peace on earth spelled out in rippling banners are a common motif in Italian art from the Renaissance on. There were about 100 preparatory sketches, and originally a whole orchestra of angels - “angels playing music was I thought a nice combination and very appropriate for the Christmas theme” - before the final versions were selected. The horizon is at the same level in each so that the angels line up in the same landscape across the four stamps.
“When painting the Angels I liked the idea of them as neither female nor male, also I wanted them to be on the earth - not flying in the sky – as nice protective figures that please everyone with their music.”
The two Madonna & Child stamps feature two classic
paintings of the image.
2nd class - William Dyce, c. 1827. In pearly light, the sweet
faced young Madonna cradling her child before a limpid landscape,
clearly shows the influence of Renaissance art, particularly of the
young Raphael. Dyce led the way
and in turn became a supporter of the radical group of young English
painters, the Pre-Raphaelites.
1st Class - The Madonna of Humility, Lippo di Dalmasio, c. 1390-1400.
Extensive damage and centuries of repairs have dimmed but not eclipsed
the grace of The
Madonna, crowned with 12 stars, against a disc of golden light,
recalling Saint John’s vision of
the Woman of the Apocalypse, “clothed with the sun”, in the
Book of Revelation.
Technical details:
Angels: Formatting and typography by Rose Design. Madonna:
Formatting and typography are by Peter Willberg.
The stamps have been printed by De la Rue Security Print in gravure.
The small stamps are definitive size - 20 x 24mm - and the Large Letter
stamps 30 x 24mm. The stamps will be die-cut on the self-adhesive
sheets, the two Madonna stamps with elliptical perforations like
definitives, and the Angel stamps perforated conventionally all round.
The stamps sold at PO counters and supplied to dealers have
rouletted backing paper for easy separation, but the stamps in
presentation packs have guillotined 'imperf' backing paper.
The 115x102mm Miniature Sheet will be conventionally gummed. It
contains the six stamps, arranged as a block of 4 and a pair, within a
border illustrated by Marco Ventura.
As the stamps are definitive-sized, the Christmas
stamp booklets will be the same size as definitive books of 12.
The generic self-adhesive Smilers® Sheet was designed by Rose Design and comprises 20 stamps: 8 x 1st class, 8 x 2nd class and 4 x 78p stamps set within a border and labels illustrated by Marco Ventura. The background features a snow scene with carol singers; thematic features include a cat, church, & Christmas Tree. The Smilers sheets are printed in litho by Cartor Security Printers. Click on the image for a larger one in a new window.
Our limited edition FDCs for this issue includes all 8 stamps with
postmark W10775, Bethlehem - Price £9.50 (image of
actual cover).
The Miniature Sheet cover with postmark M10768 Wesley Road - Price
£8.95 (image of actual cover).
The Smilers Sheet will be available as
Set of 4 Norvic FDCs each with on quarter of the whole sheet, with a
different angel postmark on each - £19.50
(note, due to the inclusion of 78p stamps the face value is higher than
in previous years).
Norvic FDC with three Smilers stamps 1 x 1st class, 1 x 2nd class ,
& 1 x 78p (postmark as shown: this is a mock-up) - £4.20
Products issued:
Post Office FDC with a full set of 8 stamps
Post Office FDC with the miniature sheet
Set of 6 Angel stamps or miniature sheet unused
Pair of Madonna & Child stamps unused
Presentation Pack
Set of 9 stamp cards (PHQ cards)
Smilers Sheet
Special postmarks available on the Day of Issue are shown below
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| Ref FD735 Official Bureau postmark |
Ref FD736 Official Bethlehem postmark |
Ref FD736N Official Bethlehem non-pictorial postmark |
Ref M10768 Wesley Road, Birmingham |
Ref N10771 Happy Christmas, York |
Ref W10775 Bethlehem, Llandeilo |
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| Ref N10772 Christmas Angels, GBFDC Association, Church, Lancashire |
Ref M10769 150th anniv of Edward Elgar |
Ref L10750 Dickens World, Chatham, Kent |
Ref L10744 Bletchley Park |
Ref L10743 A happy Christmas to one and all, Regal Way, Harrow |
Ref L10742 Angels International for Children in Crisis, Midhurst |
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| Ref L10747 Christmas Common Oxfordshire |
Ref L10746 Peacehaven, East Sussex |
Ref L10745 Wing, Buckinghamshire |
Ref W10774 Nasareth, Gwynedd |
Ref W10777 Bethlehem, Llandeilo |
Ref W10776 Bethlehem, Llandeilo, Carms |
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Ref W10785 Holywell Common, Flintshire This postmark was announced after the stamps were issued: if you wish to have a copy of this postmark on a FDC or on a plain envelope, please contact us as soon as possible. |
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This page was updated 20 November 2007
If you would like to know when this page is updated please use the 'Change Detection' panel at the top of the page or email us.
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| January 9 The Beatles 16 Definitive LOVE booklet |
February 1 Sealife of the British Coast 13 The Sky at Night |
March 1 World of Invention 1 Glorious Wales Smiler Sheet 22 Abolition of the Slave Trade 27 Definitive & Country stamps |
April 23 Celebrating England miniature sheet and Glorious England Smilers Sheet |
May 15 Beside the Seaside 17 Wembley Stadium MS and Smilers |
June 5 Machins 40th Anniversary miniature sheet, PSB & Smilers |
| July 3 Motor racing Grand Prix 17 Harry Potter books 26 Centenary of Scouting (Europa) |
August |
September 4 Endangered Species - birds 20 British Military Uniforms (I - Army) |
October 16 60th Wedding Anniversary of HM the Queen |
November 6 Christmas 8 Lest We Forget 30 Glorious Scotland Smilers |
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