Britain’s 1964 International Botanical Congress stamps highlighted the talents of the husband-and-wife design team of Michael and Sylvia Goaman.
They had previously produced botanical designs for Sierra Leone’s Flowers set in 1963.
Printed in photogravure by Harrison & Sons, this attractive multicoloured issue seemed to mark the newly independent nation’s determination to make an impression on the philatelic world.
Switzerland had first introduced Landscapes definitives in 1934, focusing on its famously spectacular scenery of mountain peaks and passes, gorges, waterfalls and lakes.
But in 1949 a completely new set was released, with a rather different take on the subject.
The set of 12 had ‘technology in the landscape’ as its overriding theme, and therefore majored on industrial design, with images of railway viaducts, man-made reservoirs, ports, power stations, survey marks and even electricity pylons.
The second miniature sheet in Royal Mail’s railway tour of the UK will be released on March 8.
Classic Locomotives of Scotland features four different types of engine, two in colour photographs and two in black and white, with a background image of LNER Class K2 2-6-0 crossing Glenfinnan Viaduct in the Highlands in 1947.
The sheet was designed by Delaney, and printed in litho by Cartor.
Royal Mail is celebrating the life and work of 10 significant but in some cases lesser-known citizens, in a special stamp issue on February 23.
The Britons of Distinction set celebrates distinguished individuals from the realms of engineering, computing, architecture, music, politics, literature and design, with a secret agent added to the mix for good measure.
Some are quite familiar names but others less so, certainly in comparison with the Eminent Britons set of 2009.
The Kings & Queens series of stamp issues which started in 2008 concludes with the House of Windsor & Saxe-Coburg-Gotha set on February 2, bringing the story of the British monarchy up the present day.
The five most recent monarchs are illustrated through contemporary portrait paintings, as in previous sets, with Queen Elizabeth II taking pride of place on the top value in her Diamond Jubilee year.
Following the style of the earlier issue in this series, a miniature sheet of four stamps highlights landmark events that have taken place during the dynasty.
This year’s Christmas stamps, issued on November 8, feature illustrated scenes inspired by the Nativity, and specifically illustrating verses from the gospels of Matthew and Luke.
The stamps were designed by Together Design, from paintings by Peter Malone, and printed in gravure by De La Rue.
The sheet stamps are self-adhesive, but, as in every Christmas issue since 2004, the same designs also come in gummed format in the accompanying miniature sheet.
The first set in a two-part series making up an alphabetical tour of famous landmarks of the United Kingdom will be released on October 13.
Part one of the UK A-Z comprises 12 1st class stamps showing photographs of sights starting with the letters from A to L, making it the biggest single commemorative set yet issued by Royal Mail.
Part two, covering the letters M to Z, is set to break that record with a 14-stamp set in April 2012!
The stamps were designed by Robert Maude and Sarah Davies (who were also responsible for the Aerial Post miniature sheet in September), and were printed in lithography by Cartor in sheets which yield se-tenant strips of six.
Royal Mail issues a miniature sheet and prestige stamp book on September 9, to mark the centenary of the First UK Aerial Post, which was the world’s first scheduled airmail service.
Gustav Hamel’s flight from Hendon to Windsor on September 9, 1911, was the first of a series by four pilots carrying covers commemorating the coronation of King George V (see page 42).
The four stamps reproduce period photographs, and the border shows an original publicity poster.
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