Sweden Post to celebrate 150th anniversary of Swedish stamps in May, announces commemorative stamp issue

Introduction of the postage stamp system in 1855 made it possible for everyone to send correspondence throughout Sweden at a uniform rate, regardless the distance. The simultaneous introduction of mailboxes also made it easier to send correspondence by mail. Sweden Post is releasing the Swedish Stamps 150 Years postage stamp issue on May 26 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the postage stamp in Sweden.
 
Summertime stamps
Heavenly green oases where busy urbanites practice stress management, so-called garden allotments offer much-appreciated respite and proximity to nature. Sweden Post's Summer at the Allotment stamps will spruce up your summertime correspondence. The stamp designs depict a relaxing break in the garden, sowing and harvesting as well as the relief a thorough watering provides on a scorching summer day.
 
Tumba Bruk
Sweden's bureau of engraving and printing, Tumba Bruk, was founded 250 years ago by the Swedish Riksbank (Sweden's central bank). The postage stamp, which portrays Mother Svea, features typical details from the engraving process such as microtext, Guilloché ornamental patterns and fluorescing color.

 
Sweden-Norway
On May 27 Sweden Post and Norway Post will release the Neighbors Developing Together postage stamp issue, which features the new link between Sweden and Norway created by the Svinesund Bridge crossing the Ide fjord.
 
Digital images can be downloaded here:
http://cws.huginonline.com/P/134112/pictures.html
 
For more information, please contact:
Thérèse Bergling, PR and communications, phone +46 8-781 64 60, email
therese.bergling@pf.posten.se
 
 
Facts and technical details
 
Release date: May 26, 2005
 
Swedish Stamps 150 Years
The first Swedish postage stamps, featuring a "four skilling banco" rate for letter mail weighing up to 16 grams, were issued on July 1, 1855. When Sweden's parliament decided to introduce the postage stamps, similar systems existed in some 50 other countries. The world's first postage stamp was the British One Penny Black, which was issued in 1840.
 
Introduction of the postage stamp system made it possible to send correspondence throughout Sweden at a uniform rate. The single rate sparked a soft revolution, too, because it granted all social classes equal access to communication via letter mail.
 
The first Swedish issue comprised five stamps featuring skilling banco rates and bearing the national coat of arms. Three years later the skilling banco rates were replaced by rates denominated in öre.
 
Sweden Post is celebrating the Swedish stamp's 150th anniversary with the commemorative eight-design booklet Swedish Stamps 150 Years.
 
Four designs, depicting details from famous Swedish stamps from previous issues, focus on the stamp's design and artistic expression.
The designs feature: Lady with a Veil from the 1972 Gustavian Art issue, 5 öre from the 1951 New Numeral Type issue, Mounted Postal Courier from the issue Tercentenary of the Post Office in 1936 and Angelica from the 1984 Mountain World issue.
 
The anniversary issue's other four designs celebrate the social development of the stamp and the Swedish Post from 1855 up until the present. Count Pehr Ambjörn Sparre (1828-1921), father of the Swedish stamp, introduces us to the issue. Sparre made efforts early on to introduce forgery-proof bills and, at the age of 26, was commissioned to create the Post Office's first postage stamps.
Another design is The Letter, which illustrates how letter mail correspondence facilitates contacts with loved ones the world over. The third design, Transportation, demonstrates how the Post Office has used modern modes of transportation such as trains and airplanes when they arrived on the scene in the 1800s and 1900s. The fourth and final design is Rural Postman, which illustrates how the Post Office reaches even the remotest homes in Sweden.
 
Designed by: Gustav Malmfors
Illustrator: Thorsten Fridlizius' illustration of the plane was based on a photo furnished by the Postal Museum
Format: Booklet of eight stamps
Engraved by: Martin Mörck (Sparre and Rural Postman)
Engraved by: Piotr Naszarkowski (The Letter and Transportation)
Manufacturing process: Combination of intaglio and four-color offset
Denomination: First-Class Domestic
 
Summer at the Allotment
The garden allotment movement began in Germany in the 1800s, though it didn't catch on in Sweden until the first decade of the 1900s. The idea behind the garden allotment was to give lower income households, especially those with children, access to plots where they could grow fruits and vegetables for personal consumption. It would also give kids a place to play in the fresh air.
 
A booklet of ten self-adhesive stamps will feature four stamp designs. One stamp design will also be released in a coil. The stamps depict the August Harvest, Garden Respite, Joy of the Harvest, Watering and Planting.
 
Format: Booklet of ten self-adhesive stamps; coil of regular gummed stamps (one design)
Illustrator: Inga-Karin Eriksson
Manufacturing process: four-color offset
Type: First-class mail
 
Tumba Bruk
The Tumba Bruk bureau of engraving and printing was founded by Sweden's Riksbank in 1755 in a move to stem the tide of forgeries in the country. Following the foundation of the bureau, Sweden no longer imported the paper used for printing money.
 
The Tumba Bruk is reminiscent of paper money featuring Mother Svea in the middle. Mother Svea is a common symbol for Sweden and appears frequently in the context of money.
 
Format: roll
Designer: Karin Mörck-Hamilton and Hannu Järviö
Engraver: Gunnar Nehls
Manufacturing process: one-color intaglio, two-color offset
Denomination: 15 kronor
 
Release date: May 27, 2005
 
Neighbors Developing Together, Sweden-Norway
Sweden and Norway have developed side by side throughout history. 2005 marks the 100th anniversary of the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden, as well as marking the establishment of a new link - the Svinesund Bridge.
    
Format: Block of two stamps (two designs)
Designer: Enzo Finger
Engraver: Sverre Morken and Lars Sjööblom
Manufacturing process: Combination of intaglio and four-color offset
Denomination: 10 kronor, first-class international mail                            

Sweden Post connects people and organizations around the world by delivering mail promptly, reliably and cost-effectively. We drive value creation by combining conventional postal services and convenient electronic solutions, and integrating these services into customer businesses. With over 3,000 retail service outlets, we provide daily service to 4.5 million homes and 800,000 businesses in Sweden. Every day we handle 20 million pieces of mail. With sales of over SEK 25 billion and roughly 30,000 employees, the group is one of the largest in Sweden. The parent company, Posten AB (publ), is wholly owned by the Swedish state. For more information, please visit our website at www.posten.se