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of the Rings issue planned Following in the footsteps of New Zealand Post, Royal Mail has revealed that it will kick off its 2004 programme with a Lord of the Rings issue to mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of the first two books in the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy. However, unlike the recent New Zealand issues the stamps won’t feature any scenes from the two already released Lord of the Rings movies, but will feature illustrations relevant to the famous Tolkien stories. Royal Mail previously issued a Tolkien stamp book in 1992 to mark the author’s birth centenary. Provisional details of the full GB 2004 Special Stamp programme are as follows:– • January – Lord of the Rings • February – Steam locomotives; Occasions • March – Northern Ireland • April – Merchant ships • May – Royal Horticultural Society • June – Wales • July – London • August – Royal Society of Arts • September – Woodland animals • October – Crimea • November – Christmas The Northern Ireland, Wales and London issues are part of the ongoing new ‘A British Journey’ regional pictorial series, whilst Merchant Ships marks the launch of Queen Mary II – the future flagship of the Merchant Navy. The steam locomotive set is to mark the bi-centenary of the first steam locomotive, in Wales in 1804, whilst the Royal Society of Arts issue is for the 250th anniversary. According to a Royal Mail spokesman : ‘The Crimea issue is the most significant historical one as its the 150th anniversary of the Charge of the Light Brigade’. Elsewhere the Royal Horticultural Society set marks the bi-centenary of the first ever English flower show. |
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