Angels have been a popular theme over the years and these divine messengers made an appearance for GBs 33rd year of Christmas stamp sets and were issued in 1998.
I like how the rich colours used are different palettes on each stamp. The designer, Irene von Treskow, born in Berlin in 1940, is a freelance artist and also an Anglican Priest. I wondered how that improbable life journey from Berlin to a Church of England vicar was made and discovered, by chance, that she was interviewed for the British Library National Sound Archive (which holds millions of recordings). Formats vary from cylinders made in the late 19th Century to the latest digital media of today (and the multifarious systems to play them). A recording of Irene von Treskow was made in 2002 as part of the "
Oral History of the British Post Office" and yes it takes six sixty minute tapes to tell her story including her stamp designs both adopted and unadopted.
Royal Mail pushed the boat out for the presentation pack which involved a bit of paper engineering and calligraphy as you could cut out and fold an angel with biblical quotes
which would eventually look like the one on the top. One of the stamp angels also appeared on the Christmas aerogramme that year. Aerogrammes are now a piece of postal history, discontinued by Royal Mail in 2004.
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8 comments:
I miss those blue aerogrammes. I don't remember ever getting (or sending) any decorated ones, but recently found a few at a stamp sale, so am now on the lookout for more.
I checked that link - she must have been quite a talker to have filled all those tapes! What I read was certainly interesting.
I'm not usually such a great fan of Christmas stamp designs (compared with others throughout the year), and I don't buy presentation packs for those, but I probably would've made an exception for these angels. I think the colours are so appealing, especially the ones with blue hair. I didn't realise they had finished aerogrammes, but I'm not surprised. I saw on the front of a newspaper today that Shropshire will no longer be a cancellation when they close the sorting office in Shrewsbury next year, the mail will have to go to Wolverhampton or Chester or Cardiff and be franked/cancelled accordingly.
Wow, the colours of these angels are really amazing. I've never seen them. I think I'd use the stamps during the whole year...
I wonder where we were at Christmas 1998 as I only have the 26p stamp. This is quite an attractive set.
the first angel is my favorite. She looks bright and cheery, but the others look kind of dull and gloomy to me.
I sometimes think I go around semi-conscious because here is yet another issue I don't recall.
Those are really beautiful.
sorry to be visiting so late. This is really a lovely set.
Thank you for joining in this week.
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