Planned but not issued Greetings Booklet: Farm Animals 1995 precursor

The recent issue of domestic pets reminded me of a Farm Animals issue.  Not this one from 2005, but an earlier set which was planned for a Greetings Booklet.

Norvic Philatelics limited edition FDC for 2005 Farm Animals set. 

Readers may recall the post back in June of this year about 1995 plans for self-adhesive Priority Service Machin definitives.  When he sent me that information MM also sent an information sheet about a booklet of 10 1st class stamps depicting farm animals; the booklet would follow the style of the time with 20 greetings labels

Greetings in Art booklet issued 1995, 10 stamps and 20 labels.

The issue date was to be 31 January 1995, with the stamps designed by Why Not Associates and printed by Walsall Security Printers in litho.  The animals depicted appear to be, in order, Dog, Duck, Cat, Sheep, Donkey, Goat, Horse, Chicken, Cow, and Pig.

Click on the image for enlargement

In the event, the January 1995 stamp issue (on 17th) showed five cats, and the Greetings booklet issued in March was Greetings in Art, shown above.

The last of this type of booklets was issued in 1997-8 (19th century flower paintings).

In 1999-2000 the 25-set Millennium series were all square stamps and no more Greetings sets were issued until the silver 'Occasions' set issued as five separate sheets.  

Royal Mail eventually returned to the Farm Animals theme 10 years after the initial concept, with stamps designed by by Rose Design using woodcut-style illustrations by Chris Wormell.  

2005 Farm Animals stamps printed in gravure by Enschedé.

 

Woodcut was also the basis of the illustrations used in the Sheep, Pigs and Cattle Post and Go stamps designed by Robert Gillmor.  

As with the previously described priority services definitives, nobody knows Royal Mail decided not to proceed with the 1995 set.  As far as I know this did not go to the proof stage.

  

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