British Stamps
FIRST LOOK: World’s first ever Game of Thrones Stamps just revealed
Update 23/01:
Royal Mail’s Game of Thrones Stamps
officially released today.
Secure yours now by clicking here >>
Revealed for the first time today, Royal Mail are set to release 15 new Game of Thrones stamps celebrating the global-success of the hit fantasy TV show, filmed primarily in the British Isles and featuring a star studded cast brimming with home-grown talent.
Scheduled for release on 23 January 2018, the new stamps will feature 10 of the best loved characters from all seven series’, including Tyrion Lannister, Arya Stark, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and Ned Stark, as well as an exclusive Miniature Sheet, comprising the Iron Throne, the Night King, Drogon and Ghost.
Royal Mail’s Game of Thrones Stamps
The stamps are Royal Mail’s first ever Game of Thrones stamp issue, and the first Postage Stamps to feature Game of Thrones, the world over.
Here’s your first look at the new stamps alongside a bit of info about each one…
Sansa Stark
SANSA STARK
Eddard Stark’s oldest daughter, Sansa, was held in King’s Landing by the Lannister’s after her father’s murder. Initially naive and trusting, she learned how to play the Game of Thrones by observing the devious Petyr Baelish. Following a battle to reclaim her ancestral home, she became the Lady of Winterfell.
Jon Snow
JON SNOW
The King in the North is a loyal and honourable man. After joining the Night’s Watch, he rose to become the Lord Commander, but his insistence on making common cause with the wildlings led to mutiny and his demise. Resurrected, he returned to Winterfell and defeated Ramsay Bolton.
Eddard Stark
EDDARD STARK
The head of the Stark family was an honourable, upright and decent man in a dark world. Asked by his oldest friend Robert Baratheon to govern as Hand of the King, he found himself out-manoeuvred at every turn. His execution on trumped-up charges fuelled the War of the Five Kings.
Olenna Tyrell
OLENNA TYRELL
Sharp of tongue and fierce of wit, Olenna Tyrell was the matriarch of the Tyrell family. After losing almost all her family in an explosion orchestrated by Cersei Lannister, Olenna vowed revenge and joined forces with Daenerys Targaryen hoping to bring the Lannister lions to their knees.
Tywin Lannister
TYWIN LANNISTER
The head of the Lannister family was a consummate tactician who ruled his adult children with an iron will. Having engineered victory in the War of the Five Kings thanks to his astute military tactics, Tywin was later undone by his refusal to respect and appreciate Tyrion Lannister.
Tyrion Lannister
TYRION LANNISTER
The youngest Lannister, Tyrion spent most of his life shunned by his family, who failed to appreciate his sharp political mind. Falsely accused of poisoning Joffrey, he was freed by his brother Jaime only to then murder their father. He has pledged his allegiance to Daenerys Targaryen.
Cersei Lannister
CERSEI LANNISTER
Robert Baratheon’s widow spent years hiding a dark secret: her three children were not Robert’s but the product of a long-standing relationship with her twin brother Jaime. Now all three children are dead, and Cersei sits on the Iron Throne in King’s Landing. She is determined to see off all other contenders.
Arya Stark
ARYA STARK
Eddard and Catelyn Stark’s youngest daughter was more interested in learning to fight than becoming a lady. After her father’s death, she survived on her wits, eventually training with the Faceless Men in the Free City of Braavos. She subsequently returned home to Winterfell and reunited with her siblings.
Jaime Lannister
JAIME LANNISTER
Cersei’s cynical twin brother has a major flaw – his love for his sister. Captured early on in the War of the Five Kings by Robb and Catelyn Stark, he was freed by the latter against her son’s wishes. Increasingly troubled by Cersei’s behaviour, he was last seen leaving King’s Landing.
Daenerys Targaryen
DAENERYS TARGARYEN
Revered by her followers as the mother of dragons, Daenerys Targaryen recently landed in Westeros to claim the Iron Throne. Shortly after her arrival, Jon Snow, hoping to convince her to help him fight the forces beyond the Wall, offers the support of the north.
Winter is here with Royal Mail’s official Game of Thrones stamps
The issue consists of independently custom-designed stamps, with unprecedented detail to showcase 10 central Game of Thrones personalities, 4 non-human characters and the Iron Throne itself.
The set of ten best-loved character stamps show exclusive photographic representations of central characters from across all seven seasons in the Game of Thrones’ series. Each stamp is centred on an individual character and is a complex montage of multiple images from the series; creating ten bespoke images that embody the crux of each character’s story. Each individual design is assigned a ‘colour identity’, aligned with the character and their environment, as well as being a reflection of the production values and themes of the series.
Game of Thrones Miniature Sheet
The Miniature Sheet centres on the non-human characters in the Game of Thrones series with a very different emphasis to the mint stamps. Despite this, they adhere to a similar design concept; creating distinctive backgrounds through an overlay of imagery to provide insight into the character’s stories. All 4 stamps are carefully constructed in a way that reflects the characters’ environments; however, they are all united by the Iron Throne Definitive at the centre of the sheet, mirroring what lies at the heart of the season as winter comes.
Game of Thrones Framed Collector Card
If you’re interested…
You can own all of the new Game of Thrones stamps right now on a limited edition Collector Card – professionally framed and ready to hang.
Remember the ‘Classic Toys’ of your childhood – vote for your favourite
This August Royal Mail will be releasing a brand new set of stamps which will undoubtedly prove popular with collectors young and old.
The stamp issue celebrates ten of the UK’s most iconic and beloved ‘Classic Toys’ from the last 100 years – from Meccano to Action Man.
And although this brand new issue will undoubtedly evoke strong feelings of nostalgia across generations, given the variety it certainly begs the question, which was your favourite?
Take a look at the stamps above and VOTE for your favourite on the poll at the bottom of the page
Here’s a little bit more about each of the stamps:
1)1st Class: Merrythought Bear
Merrythought is a toy manufacturing company established in 1930. Its most famous individual bear was arguably ‘Mr Whoppit’ which was based on the “Woppit” character from the Robin comic in 1956.
2) 1st Class: Sindy Doll (first appearance 1963)
Sindy was the best-selling toy in the UK in both 1968 and 1970. With her wholesome looks proving a big hit. Originally designed by Dennis Arkinstall for Pedigree Toys and Dolls, she was modelled on an adolescent girl, and new outfits were issued every six months.
3) 1st Class: Spirograph (first appearance 1965)
Spirograph employs complicated mathematical formulae to create hypotrochoids and epitrochoids, using ‘rotor’ and ‘stator’ pieces. This sounds much too complicated for a toy aimed at children, but the mathematics works unseen in the background – all a child has to do is stick a coloured pen through a hole in one of the Spirograph tools on a piece of paper, twirl it around a few times and watch a pattern emerge. Awarded ‘Toy of the Year’ by the British Association of Toy Retailers in 1967.
4) 1st Class: Stickle Bricks
Stickle Bricks are primarily intended for toddlers and were invented in 1969. An individual stickle brick is a colourful plastic shape which is a few centimetres long and which has a “brush” of small plastic “fingers” on one or more edges. The fingers of adjacent stickle bricks can interlock, allowing them to be joined in various ways.
5) 1st Class: W. Britain Toy Figures
The William Britain company originally produced lead soldiers but subsequently switched to plastic, acquiring a manufacturer of plastic soldiers, Herald, in 1959. The soldiers proved particularly popular in the 1970s, the key selling point being that they came ready-painted. US Cavalry, Greek warriors and cowboys and Indians were among the most popular characters.
6) 1st Class: Space Hopper
Although the origins of this concept are Italian, it was initially intended as an exercise device rather than as a toy and featured a wooden handle. The version we know and love was a British creation, from Mettoy who added the ribbed, antennae-like handles and the iconic kangaroo face, in 1969. The ‘Space Hopper’ name captured the imagination of children.
7) 1st Class: Fuzzy-Felt
Fuzzy-Felt was created in 1950 by Lois Allan and comprises a flocked backing board onto which a number of felt shapes – silhouettes or more detailed printed versions, it can be placed to create different pictures.
8) 1st Class: Meccano
Invented by Frank Hornby, this was originally marketed as ‘Mechanics Made Easy’ (1901), but the name was switched to the more familiar Meccano in 1907. Meccano retains the basic elements including the spacing on the perforations and the 5/32inch Whitworth thread on the screws, meaning that new Meccano sets can still incorporate old pieces. Meccano is one of the crown jewels of the British toy industry, although now French-owned, Meccano remains amongst the most collectable of British toy manufacturers.
9) 1st Class: Action Man
American toy firm Hasbro invented the concept of a doll that boys could play with – 1964’s GI Joe, with features based on decorated war veterans. The first dolls for the UK market appeared in 1966, initially named Action Soldier. Among the most popular are footballer kits and the Red Devil parachutist, Action Man was awarded ‘Toy of the Year’ by the British Association of Toy Retailers in 1966. A 2004 poll of the public to find Britain’s Favourite Toy placed Action Man at number 2.
10) 1st Class: Hornby Dublo
Frank Hornby first introduced the scale model train sets in 1920. Originally, sets were built on the ‘O-gauge’ scale (about twice the size of the current Hornby sets). Hornby’s genius was to switch to the OO-gauge (known as ‘Horny Dublo’) from 1938, which allowed for complex layouts to be built on a smaller budget and in a smaller space, taking into account the modest size of the average British living room. Hornby trains are able to appeal to many different character types across multiple generations.
Which was your favourite? VOTE NOW in our poll below:
If you’re interested…
Pre-order your ‘Classic Toys’ First Day Cover today
The ‘Classic Toys’ stamps are sure to be of interest to anyone who fondly remembers the iconic British toys explored in the Royal Mail issue.
You can reserve all of the new ‘Classic Toys’ stamps now on a limited edition First Day Cover.
As Royal Mail’s new Songbird stamps hit the right note with collectors, BBC’s Chris Packham signs for Westminster…
4th May sees the release of Royal Mail’s stunning new Songbird stamps. As soon as we heard about the release of the stamps, we discussed who we could work with to create the ultimate presentation for collectors.
Chris Packham signing the limited edition Songbird Stamps Collector Card
It didn’t take long for us to unanimously agree that Chris Packham was our man!
Chris is one of today’s most highly respected television naturalists presenting BBC’s Springwatch, Autumnwatch & Winterwatch. And adding further to his CV, he proudly serves as Vice President of the RSPB.
Shortly after contacting him, we were delighted to hear Chris had agreed to sign 500 framed Songbirds stamp sets for us. Here he is at home signing the first of the collector cards.
Once these arrive back with us, they’ll be sent off to Royal Mail to have the stamps specially postmarked with the first day of issue postmark and then returned to us once again to have them professionally framed.
The full set of stamps features the Nightingale, Wren, Blackcap, Cuckoo, Yellowhammer, Great Tit, Goldcrest, Willow Warbler, Song Thrush and Skylark.
If you’re interested…
We’re now taking pre-orders for the special Chris Packham Signed Edition. Just 500 will be made featuring all the Songbirds stamps on a Framed Collector Card, postmarked with their first day of issue…
So if you want one, click here for details before they sell out.