putting our stamp on the Royal Mail Year Book.

Once again, we were delighted to have contributed to Royal Mail’s flagship philatelic products this year. Aimed at collectors, the Royal Mail Year Book and Royal Mail Year Pack beautifully bring together all the pictorial special stamps issued during the past 12 months.

In 2019, we were treated to yet another showcase of outstanding stamp design, covering a smorgasbord of subject matter, including sets on Forests, Leonardo, Elton John, The Gruffalo, Curious Customs and Birds of Prey.

The elegant, slip-cased, 64-page Royal Mail Year Book was designed by our friends at True North, taking as their theme ‘Along These Lines’, a nod to the discursive and enlightening stories running through the chapters of the publication.

Jim interviewed all 14 stamp designers, finding out about their thinking, process and how they arrived at their final designs. He also wrote the introduction, tying the threads of the book together, as well as the Star Wars chapter — a profile of the swaggering, slippery, yet essentially good-hearted character Lando Calrissian.

The 2019 Royal Mail Year Pack (below) was designed by Chris Challinor at Studio Up. This is a more streamlined affair, which as well as the stamps themselves, serves up all the stamp design credits, special postmarks and an overview of the year’s programme written by Jim.

The 2019 Royal Mail Year Book and Royal Mail Year Pack are both available to buy from the Royal Mail website.

click to download pdf.