Sunday, 1 January 2017

Dog Hill

1994: Letter Writing
This stamp sheet is called 'Dog Hill Kids at the Post Office' and shows postmen, the post office, a post-horn and of course a letter box.  The fact that the postman is carrying a sword intrigued me but beyond the interesting fact that when one receives a PhD in Finland you wear a silk top hat and a sword for the ceremony I could find no information.  The stamp sheet scene is from the imagination of Mauri Kunnas, graphic designer, political cartoonist and children's author whose books have been translated into many languages, his Santa Claus books being especially popular.  He mostly sets his stories in Finland's past and the Dog Hill Kids series is no exception being set in the early 1800s based on the Yli-Kirra Peasant Museum in Punkalaidun which is near his hometown.  For the Dog Hill enthusiast there is even a Dog Hill section in Tampare's Adventure Park.  His anthropomorphic dogs have also appeared in a retelling of the Finnish epic poem, the Kalevala, whereas his King Arthur's Round Table feature cats.  Some more of his illustrations can be seen in the article 'Lovable, Instructive Canines' here.

Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year filled with postal delight.

An entry to Sunday Stamps II - more favourite stamps at See It On A Postcard      

7 comments:

FinnBadger said...

What a fun sheet, so many little details, so I'm sure I'll be back later to check them out. The poor surprised pig is my favorite part.

Happy new year!

FinnBadger said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Scriptor Senex said...

What a great sheet. I love it.

Bob Scotney said...

A delightful sheet with which to start the year. Happy New Year, Joy.

Heleen said...

I think this sheet one of my favourites, too!
Both sheet and designer are new to me, thank you for sharing this information and joyful stamp sheet! And thank you for all interesting blog posts in 2016, happy new year!

VioletSky said...

These are the kind of stamps that work best with a souvenir sheet. Delightful set.

Mail Adventures said...

No wonder this set is a favourite!