Forthcoming stamps will also feature postcrossing, classic paintings, and fall moods
Four new Finnish stamp releases from Itella Posti Oy on September 9 feature 17 different images. Angry Birds characters and the global postcard hobby "postcrossing" will bring an international flavor to the stamps being released in the autumn. The well-known paintings of Eero Järnefelt and atmospheric images of the fall represent Finland in the stamps.
Itella Posti Oy will make history by releasing the world's first official Angry Birds stamps, featuring six of the popular game characters - five birds and one pig. The designer of the stamps is Toni Kysenius, Art Director at Rovio Entertainment, who also designed the HockeyBird character and related stamp issue for last year's IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships.
In order to ensure authenticity, the Angry Birds stamps feature a pattern which is only visible under UV light. In addition, an irregular perforation follows the shape of the characters. The sheet of six 1st class stamps also includes Priority labels fitting the appearance of the stamps.
"Postcrossing" is an international and strongly growing hobby in which people from different parts of the world send each other traditional postcards. In the future, Finnish enthusiasts will be able to send their cards using dedicated stamps. The Postcrossing booklet released by Itella Posti Oy features four 1st class NVI stamps and Priority labels. The layout of the stamp sheet, which can be folded in two in the middle, was made by the Helsinki-based design agency Kokoro & Moi.
The postcrossing website www.postcrossing.com currently has more than 426,000 registered users from 214 countries. The basic idea of postcrossing is that each sender of a card receives at least one card back from a random sender somewhere in the world. Globally, postcrossers send approximately 600 postcards every single hour. There are some 15,000 postcrossers in Finland, and so far they have sent more than 1.7 million cards.
Stamps being issued in September also celebrate the painter Eero Järnefelt (1863-1937), whose 150th anniversary is marked this year. Järnefelt is regarded as one of the great masters of the golden era of Finnish art, who depicted reality in a realistic yet lyrical way. The large 1st class stamps of the miniature sheet designed by Teresa Moorhouse depict two of Järnefelt's classic paintings from the art collections of the Ateneum Art Museum.
Raatajat rahanalaiset (Under the Yoke (Burning the Brushwood)) from 1893 is a realistic depiction of slash-and-burn agriculture and the living conditions of peasants. The painting is also known as Kaski (Slash and burn). The painting Metsämaisema (Forest Scene) from 1895 depicts a view from Räsävaara, Koli, with rugged pines. The clouds on the background of the miniature sheet are from Järnefelt's outdoor paining Saimi kedolla (Saimi on a Pasture) from 1892.
This year's traditional fall-themed stamp in Itella Posti Oy's stamp release is the miniature sheet Signs of Fall designed by Emil Bertell. The five oblong 1st class stamps feature beautiful and atmospheric pictures, of which Sauna on the Shore, Rowboat, and Apple Harvest are set in a nostalgic rural landscape. Boy with Umbrella and Park Bench, on the other hand, feature a more urban setting.
Itella Posti Oy
Itella Communications
All stamps available for sale are featured in Posti's online shop.
Technical data of the Finnish stamps relased September 9, 2013 (PDF)
