ǺLAND – Carl Björkman
Åland commemorated the 150th anniversary of the birth of Carl Björkman (1873-1948) with a single €4 stamp on February 15. Björkman was a leading figure in the movement from 1917 to 1922 to reunite Åland with Sweden, being known as the “architect of the autonomy.” Björkman was elected to the first Åland parliament and appointed Premier in 1922, after the decision on autonomy by the League of Nations made Åland a political neutral and entirely demilitarized part of Finland. He remained Premier until 1938, laying the foundation of autonomy for Åland. The stamp, designed by Johanna Finne, is available online from here.
CANADA – Black History Month
February as Black History Month was commemorated on January 30 by Canada Post, which honored a young Black woman with a Permanent stamp booklet of six self-adhesive stamps. According to Canada Post, Chloe Cooley’s “brave protests against her enslavement added momentum to the abolitionist movement in Upper Canada in the late 1700s.” The design shows Cooley in the foreground with a scene depicting her being forcibly taken from Queenstown, Upper Canada to New York state to be resold when her owner found out that slavery might soon be abolished in Canada. Despite the fight she put up she was sold in March 1793 and never heard from again. Months later, the importation of slaves into Canada was prohibited due in part to her story being told. The booklet is available from here.
DENMARK – Architecture
Denmark’s Postnord issued a set of four stamps and a souvenir sheet on January 2 to call attention to the work of the organization known as Realdania. This non-profit philanthropic foundation aims to improve life in and around old buildings. The four stamps feature local town halls, courthouses and prisons throughout Denmark with an old blueprint as a background on the souvenir sheet. The stamp on the left shows the Vordingborg Town Hall designed by royal surveyor Peter Kornerup; next is a terraced house in Thisted; then in Store Heddinge, a Koch-designed courthouse; and in Fredericia, a courtyard and prison. The stamps and souvenir sheet are available online from here.
FINLAND – The Language of Flowers
Floral arrangements reminiscent of 17th century Dutch paintings were designed by artist Kreetta Järvenpää for a pair of non-denominated domestic rate stamps issued on January 18. Järvenpää considers flowers timeless and versatile as “they adapt and change over the course of their lives, just like we humans do.” When arranging her photographs using image-editing software, she pays “particular attention to the shapes, size, texture and colors of the flowers.” The stamps depict flowers grown in Finland, Persian buttercups and tulips and were issued in a 10-stamp sheet with five each of the two values. They are available from here.
FRANCE – Love, Marriage and Birth
A heart-shaped single domestic rate gummed stamp was issued by La Poste in decorative sheets of 12 on January 30. Designed by agnès b. and with layout by Aurélie Baras, the stamp features a stylized heart shape within a perforated heart design. In the center of the heart are words from the song “Amour, amour” (“Love, love”) from the visually extravagant musical film written and directed by Jacques Demy based on the French fairy tale, Donkey Skin, released in 1970. The stamp is available from here.
GERMANY – 100th Anniversary of the Disney Company
On October 16, 1923, 21-year-old Walt Disney and his older brother, Roy, founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio in Los Angeles. Today, it is the oldest continuously running animation studio in the world. The studio’s first animated works were a series of cartoons starring a live action girl in an animated world, known as the Alice Comedies. Starting in 1927, a series of fully animated shorts starring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was released and in 1928 the first sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie, starring Mickey Mouse, started the Disney brothers firmly on their way to success. A stamp issued by Deutsche Post on March 1 features Disney’s main animated characters: Pluto, Daisy Duck, Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck. Panes of 10 can be ordered from here
GREAT BRITAIN – X-Men
The popular X-Men appear on the latest Marvel Universe stamps and souvenir sheet issued by Britain’s Royal Mail on February 16. A set of 12 stamps created by British comic book artist Mike McKone exclusively for this set consists of six 2nd Class and six 1st Class stamps with the X-Men in action scenes. Among those featured are Professor X, Colossus, Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Storm. Five different stamps on the souvenir sheet depict mutant enemies faced by the X-Men: Juggernaut, Mystique, Emma Frost and Sabretooth with a £1.85 Magneto stamp in the center. An initial set of Marvel Universe stamps was issued in 2019. These are available from here.
GUERNSEY – Year of the Rabbit
Lunar New Year stamps are a popular topic and Guernsey has issued 10 sets over the years, including the latest for the Year of the Rabbit on January 5. Printed in red, symbolizing fire, joy and good fortune, and gold, which symbolizes wealth and prosperity, the stamps spread these sentiments for everyone in the coming new year. The single stamps are issued in sheets of 10 in six denominations: Red Packet Rabbit (56p), Carrot Rabbit (79p), Longevity Rabbit (87p), Golden Coin Rabbit (£1.21), Chrysanthemum Mother and Baby Rabbit (£1.39) and Double Fortune Rabbits (£1.50). For more information, visit this website.
LIECHTENSTEIN - Crypto Stamp, No. 1 The Cat
Over the past two years Liechtenstein has issued five crypto stamps, the latest – which sold out before this went to press (sorry, folks) – consists of four different versions. According to its website, these depict a cat with green sunglasses: 1400 pcs; pink sunglasses: 900 pcs; gold sunglasses: 650 pcs; and rainbow-colored sunglasses: 50 pcs. Which one you get is random. Though it appears to be a normal stamp with perforations, wet-glued and with an SQR code, it can be scanned with a smart phone to reveal “the digital twin of the stamp, as well as the serial number and one of four possible collector’s items.” More about crypto stamps can be found here.