By now many people will have seen the next stamp issue in print, broadcast and online media, so I felt no compulsion to rush this as I was preparing a display for our local stamp club.
We all know, from the proliferation of garden centres - as distinct from nurseries - over the last few decades, that the British like their gardens. How much they like - or dislike - gardening is a different matter, as senseless artificial/plastic grass spreads across the country like a plague destroying the environment that wildlife needs just so that no mowing is necessary.
Anyway, I'll put the soap-box back in the potting shded and tell you about the stamps, which are the first to bear the likeness of King Charles III, being issued before the definitives.
This is a set of 10 x 1st class (95p) stamps showing flowers, rather than the plants. Unfortunately Royal Mail haven't provided any details of cultivars or name varieties but if you can find a keen gardener who can spend a few minutes looking at the stamps you may be enlightened.
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| Garden Flowers set of 10 x 1st class issued 23 March 2023 |
The stamp deisgns show Sweet Pea, Iris Lily, Sunflower, Fuchsia, Tulip, Peony, Nasturtium, Rose, and Dahlia.
Technical details
The 35 mm square stamps are printed in two sheets of 50 in 10 se-tenant strips of 5 by Cartor Security Printers in lithography with conventional gum. Perforations are 14½.
Acknowledgements: Sweet pea © Jayar digital art/Getty Images; Iris © Mary Andrews/Alamy Stock Photo; Lily © Juan Carlos Juarez/Alamy Stock Photo; Sunflower © Brian Hagiwara/Getty Images; Fuchsia © scphoto/Alamy Stock Photo; Tulip © letty17/ Getty Images; Peony © Lezh/Getty Images; Nasturtium and Rose © Rosemary Calvert/Getty Images; Dahlia © John Martin/ Garden World Images Ltd.
Products
Set of 10 stamps, first day cover, presentation pack, stamp cards, framed set.
Eight days ago I commented that "A silhouette from the coins and definitives could more or less be any man so" and, from now seeing the flower stamps on another site, still believe that despite the addition of Charles's shoulder.
ReplyDeleteAnd for the plain background, on these plain stamps, surely it would have been better to have a proper portrait as with eights sets of the 1970s, four of the '70s and most recently Cats in 1995 and Burns in 1996.
ReplyDeleteBest stamp set for a long while. No mention of Stamp Cards for this set. Are they stopping them would you know?
ReplyDeleteThey are on the Royal Mail shop.
DeleteAnd also showing on BBC website.
DeleteThanks. They were not showing earlier this morning but I now see the site has been updated.
DeleteThe design of this set is near identical to the 2007 "Beautiful Blooms" issue from the USA.
ReplyDeleteOne news report wrongly states that "In keeping with stamp tradition, the King faces to the left" though I can believe that "The image is an adapted version of the portrait created by Martin Jennings for the new King Charles coins".
ReplyDeleteI agree with "It’s clear that the cameo is not at all satisfactory on this first King Charles issue" on the site that's known for showing stamps early.
Shame they're not like the 1976 Roses stamps and showing some foliage. Also the flower name could be more subtle and also include the cultivar which IMHO looked good on the aforementioned issue
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree about the flower name; subtle it aint! Shame too, apart from the text these are a nice design but they've got the text proportions all wrong.
DeleteThe King should face left, as King George VI did.
ReplyDeleteIf they follow the same protocol as on Commemoratives for many years, the silhouette will face into the body of the stamp dependent on the design. There has not been a set way for the head to face for many years, on Commems at least.
DeleteAnonymous,
DeleteYes, that's correct for commemoratives.
On definitives the monarch has always faced left which is into the body of the envelope.