On September 9, Posti will release four new sets of stamps, containing a total of 18 new designs. The endangered Saimaa ringed seal, pygmy damselfly and lesser white-fronted goose will each be given their own stamp. Other themes featured on the stamps include Finnish edible mushrooms, everyman’s rights and contemporary art.
Petteri Mattila has designed a new series of 30 stamps featuring three endangered animal species found in Finnish nature: the Saimaa ringed seal, the pygmy damselfly and the lesser white-fronted goose.
The 1st class stamps will be released in cooperation with WWF Finland. The reverse sides of the stamps contain information on the species and their protection and the protection work done by WWF. The critically endangered species featured on the stamps face many threats, including climate change and other changes to their habitats. However, the ringed seal population has actually increased thanks to conservation work: the species, which had been hunted to the brink of extinction, has been protected since 1955, and WWF began its conservation work in 1979. The Saimaa ringed seal population is currently estimated at 320.
Everyone in Finland can enjoy nature regardless of who owns it. The Everyman’s rights stamps in the Finland 100 years series pay tribute to this right. The booklet, containing six 1st class stamps, was designed by Jussi Kaakinen.
– The photographs represent different seasons, the most common natural environments and people from children to the elderly. They enjoy being in nature and know how to behave there. As a first-time stamp designer, I was fascinated by the simplification required by the small image size, but also by the fact that even such a small space is enough to depict vast landscapes. The landscapes on the Everyman’s rights stamps continue outside the actual stamp area, and when separated from the sheet, the stamp may look surprisingly different, says Kaakinen.
Read more about everyman's right in Finland.
The stamps will also feature various sought-after Finnish forest mushrooms: the chanterelle, russula paludosa, craterellus cornucopioides, lactarius deterrimus and tricholoma matsutake i.e. matsutake. Posti has designed a booklet of five 1st class stamps in close collaboration with Sieni-ihmiset ry (the association of mushroom enthusiasts).
The designers of the stamps are the legendary graphic designer Erik Bruun, graphic designer Minni Havas, who has a photorealistic style, Sakke Yrjölä, who is known for his fish illustrations, designer Teemu Järvi, who specializes in nature themes, and painter Tiina Suikkanen. The graphic design for the stamp booklet is by Dog Design. The first day cover and cachet of the publication will be designed by Erik Bruun.
Posti will highlight Finnish contemporary art in a set of four 1st class stamps. The Art Post II miniature sheet is an extension of the fall 2015 set of stamps. The artists featured on the stamps are Ville Andersson and Eeva-Riitta Eerola.
– The stamps were inspired by Nick Cave’s ballad Love letter. The sensitive, hopeful atmosphere of the song shows how much emotion a letter can contain. With the stamps, I want to urge everybody to continue this beautiful tradition: writing letters to each other, Andersson says.
– In painting, I am fascinated by the way in which a painting allows you to experience things and evokes many simultaneous interpretations. I hope that these stamps will increase people’s interest in contemporary art and more broadly in our visual culture, Eerola says.
All stamps available for sale are featured in Posti's online shop.
The Endangered animals sheet contains 30 stamps.
