The sketch was completed by artist Henry Courbould and engraved by the father and son team of Charles and Frederick Heath. The Penny Black, released in 1840, featured a simpler design based on a sketch of the 15-year-old Queen Victoria in profile. One precursor to the modern stamp - artist William Mulready’s lettersheets - were so ridiculed for their ostentatious design that it hastened the rise of the Penny Black, which would later become recognized as the world’s first adhesive postage. It’s true that great attention has been paid to design since the first stamps were produced. Most importantly, they are illustrative of historical and political trends that change over time. The decisions are also informed by cultural mores, such as the American prohibition on depictions of living persons. These decisions are often informed by practicalities, such as the use of different colors to signify different denominations. Although restrictive, there have been some beautiful and austere numerical stamps produced throughout history, particularly in Switzerland and Brazil.Įach country is free to establish its own internal guidelines for stamp graphic design. Numericals - Perhaps the least common type of stamp is a stamp with the denomination as the predominant design component. It has been expanded to include cultural figures and other notable individuals. To this day, portraiture plays an important role in stamp design, particularly in the U.K. Portraiture - Almost exclusively, the earliest postage stamps featured a portrait of either a monarch or statesman as a key part of their design. Postage stamp graphic design generally falls into one of four categories: When we talk about beautiful postage stamps, it’s almost always the design to which we are referring. While there are no official restrictions on shape or size, most stamps are rectangles measuring no more than 1¼ inches at their widest. With few exceptions, all include the name of the issuing country, the denomination and some sort of graphical element to distinguish it. Design Characteristicsīy their very nature, postage stamps have to work within a set of fairly strict design parameters. The more popular stamp collecting became, the more incentive there was to cater to that market. In reality, it was probably a bit of both. From a historical perspective, there’s room to debate whether stamp collecting became popular as a way of recognizing and celebrating this beauty, or if the collectible market inspired national postal systems to produce more remarkable and noteworthy designs. Of all the reasons why people collect stamps, their inherent beauty is perhaps the easiest to explain to those who aren’t naturally drawn to philately.
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