New Czech stamps + an offer

Talking about vintage cars, I am happy to show a new set of six self-adhesive stamps which were issued by the Czech Post on 5 September. These are pictures by self-taught Czech artist Václav Zapadlík who specialises in the so called "Auto Art". The big stamps (5.5 x 3.3 cm) show:

a) Duesenberg SJ - 1933
b) Wikov 70 - 1931
c) Mercedes Benz 540 - 1936
d) Rolls Royce Phantom III - 1938
e) Bugatti Royale 41 - 1934
f) Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8a - 1929

and are simply awesome. Since I noticed that our local post-office has quite a lot these booklets, I am offering to send one stamp from the series on a postcard or a cover to anyone interested. In return please send me a nicely-stamped postcard showing the place where you live. (In case we haven't exchanged before, please send first, I will reply right upon receiving your card). The E rate means "EUROPE" and one stamp covers the postage to all European countries, for overseas I will add a definitive. I will send the mail hand-cancelled.

If interested, please drop me an email at milan @ noir . cz

Another recent Czech issue (2012)

This is the current Czech EUROPA stamp in the Visit... series, showing the present and the past of Prague: the old Bridge Tower and the avant-garde Dancing House. Nominal value 20 CZK, the rate for sending mail up to 20 grams to Europe. Classical engraved stamp issued on 2 May 2012.

Some recent Czech issues (2012)

The lovely Italian engraved stamp showing the Santissima Trinita Montastery near Cava de' Tirreni reminded me that there were two recent Czech issues of similar old-school engraved stamps... In the Beauties of Our Country series, on 7 March 2012, there were two stamps showing the landscape of Kuks in East Bohemia and the statue of Wisdom by Matyáš Braun located in the famous Kuks sculpture avenue.

The other engraved stamp presents the Baťa Canal in East Moravia, also known as the Otrokovice-Rohatec Canal, which is a historical 52 km waterway built in 1935-38 to connect the town of Otrokovice with Rohatec. The waterway partly follows the Morava river, the rest is a complex of man-made canals with a number of gates, locks (14), and other water structures. There are 23 bridges across the canal, with pedestrian underpasses (platforms with iron-bound low railing used to support tow ropes when towing boats below the bridge). The main material transported on the waterway was lignite from the Ratiškovice mines owned by the Baťa company (text from the Czech Post website). There are plans that the canal should be extended even to Kromeriz where I live. The stamp was issued also in a booklet with two different tabs/coupons.

New Czech stamps - October 2010

Continuing the overview of the recent Czech stamp production... in the post about September stamps I forgot to mention another new A rate definitive stamp, one of the prettiest issued last year. It appeared on 29 September 2010 and shows a hand-painted postal shield of the Austrian postal administration from the collection of the Postal Museum in Prague, with the texts "C.k. poštovní and telegrafní úřad" and "K.k. Post und Telegrafen Amt", six postal goblins busy about their work and a historic map. Print run unknown.

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On 20 October 2010 the Post issued two new stamps in the Technical Monuments series... this time dedicated to bridges: 10 Kč stamp shows one of the newest bridges in the country which is located in Ústí nad Labem on the Labe River (constructed in 1993-1998), whereas the 12 Kč stamp shows the oldest one, in Písek in South Bohemia (older even than the Charles Bridge in Prague). Pity these stamps are rather simplistic, to be honest, I am not too enthusiastic about them:( Print runs: 1,500,000 and 800,000 copies.

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On the same day there were also new additions to the Historic Stoves series: 10 Kč - Art Noveau stove from the village of Troubky-Zdislavice in the district of Kroměříž, and 20 Kč - Art Deco stove from the town of Nové Město nad Metují in East Bohemia. Print runs: 1,500,000 and 1,000,000 copies.

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The stamp issued in October 2010: Myšpulín the Dog from the Four Clover Leaf comics series in a booklet of domestic-rate self-adhesives stamps, continuing in the tradition of Fifinka issued on 28 April 2010. The rest of the quartet will appear in 2011.

New Czech stamps - September 2010

Still catching up to finish the presentation of the new Czech stamps of 2010:-) (because two new stamps for 2011 are already out...)

On 1 September, the Post issued this lovely sheet with fauna and flora of the South Moravia Biosphere Reserve, with stamps showing butterflies, a hoopoe, a grasshopper and a lizard, along with a set of coupons. Print-run: 70,000.

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On the same day, a new sports stamp was also issued, dedicated to the FIBA World Basketball Championship. Then with the rate of 17 Kč for sending postcards and light letters to Europe. But on 1 September the rate changed... and 17 Kč went up to 20 and 18 Kč for overseas increased to 21 Kč.

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September also saw new additions to the definitive series of flower stamps, widely used here: anemone, tulip and iris.

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There were also three new stamps with letter denominations. PRO FILATELIA A rate stamp with a boy and a girl looking at stamps (9 stamps with 12 coupons in a sheet), PRO FILATELIA E rate stamp with a boy and a stamp (9 stamps and 12 coupons in a sheet, 9 repeated, 3 unique), and the Four Leaf Clover comics characters which had been available until then only as self-adhesives in booklet. Now there is the whole gang as a regular A rate stamp, again issued as 9 stamps and 12 coupons (3 of them being unique).

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And on 29 September there were two new additions to the Personalities series, with Arnold Branald, author of children's book and a playwright, and Karel Zeman, film-maker and graphic designer, hugely popular for his breathtaking film adaptations of Jules Verne novels, using sets painted in the style of Victorian illustrations (mainly engravings by Gustave Doré). More about him also here.

New Czech stamps - June 2010

After a pause... I am here with the new Czech stamps series, this time covering the month of June 2010.
On 16 June the Czech Post issued a really nice engraved stamp of 17 Kč commemorating the 700th anniversary of the succession of the Luxembourgs to the Czech throne. The stamp shows the married couple of John of Luxembourg and Elisabeth of Bohemia. As a result of their marriage, Jean of Luxembourg became king of Bohemia in 1310. The stamp is a joint issue with the Duchy of Luxembourg, was designed by Czech artist Karel Zeman and printed in Prague. Print-run 265,000 stamps.

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Two geographical stamps were issued on the same day in the "Beauties of Our Country" series. 12 Kč stamp dedicated to the town of Klatovy (in Plzeňský kraj in West Bohemia), known for its Baroque pharmacy, carnations, catacombs, and the Renaissance townhall with the Black Tower; and 14 Kč stamp of the town Štramberk in Moravskoslezský kraj, with historic centre and the Gothic tower called Trúba. Print-run of each stamp: 224,000.

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Always on 16 June, another geographical stamp, showing the landscape of the Protected Landscape Area of Žďárské vrchy (Žďárské Hills) approximately in the centre of the Czech Republic. Print-run: 1,500,000.

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16 June: an offset printed stamp of 21 Kč (overseas rate for postcards and light letters up to 20 grams) commemorating the 600th anniversary of the Old Town Astronomical Clock, one of the major sights of Prague. Print-run: 500,000.

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On 23 June the Czech Post issued this unplanned 10 Kč stamp to celebrate the victory of the Czech team at the World Ice Hockey Championship in Germany (ice hockey is one of the national passions). The player kissing the trophy looks a bit like Jaromír Jágr, the team's captain, but only remotely, as it is still not permitted to portray living people on Czech stamps (except the president). Print-run: 1,500,000

New Czech stamps - May 2010 - II.

Here's a continuation of the presentation of new Czech stamps. Let's go back to May where I left off... before these two self adhesive stamps were issued on 26 May, both in booklets of six, as part of the new strategy of the Czech post to produce stamps in new, attractive, ease-to-handle formats. And I love these stamps! They show the famous works by Alfons Mucha, Czech painter and graphic designer, Gismonda - originally a poster for a Sarah Bernhard theatre production (E type = Europe rate), and the Zodiac (Z type - Zámoří = Overseas rate). Europe rate is now 17 Kč (20 Kč from 1 September 2001), Overseas rate is 18 Kč, and from tomorrow 1 September 2010 it goes up to 21 Kč.

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Always on 26 May the Czech Post issued this 10 Kč stamp in the For Children series, showing an elf by Helena Zmatlíková (1923 - 2005), a leading Czech illustrator of children's books with a very distinctive style, known to everyone here also due to her television work.

New Czech stamps - May 2010

There are two new stamps issued on 5 May 2010. The first shows the typical view of the Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge in a fine engraving by Miloš Ondráček. The sheet of four stamps and a margin with a text in Czech and English was issued on the occasion of a representative exhibition presenting more than 90 years of the Czech stamp production held at the Prague Castle from 12 May to 1 August 2010. Print-run unknown.

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The Czech contribution to the EUROPA project, an illustration from a book by Karel Čapek (1890 - 1938) called Dášeňka, or the Life a Puppy, about the adventures of a wire fox terrier from its youth to adulthood. The stamp is printed in offset and issued in a sheet of six, with one hologram logo of the Czech Post. Print-run: 210,000.

New Czech stamps - April 2010

Issued on 14 April 2010, in the series presenting explorers and travellers, here is Enrique Stanko Vráz (1860 - 1932), traveller and photographer of a mysterious origin, whose name might be only a pseudonym of an unknown nobleman. He travelled all over the world and gathered a huge collection of insects and birds which he donated to the National Museum in Prague. The stamp shows him and a Japanese countryside. Print-run 500,000.

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Issued on 14 April 2010, two transcausasian carpets from the collections of Czech museums:

21 CZK - kasim ushag, from Nagorno-Karabakh, 19th century, hand-woven, wool, 191 x 48 cm
24 CZK - celaberd from Karabakh, mid-19th century, hand-woven, wool, 194 x 146 cm

Print-run: 140,000 each.

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Issued today, 28 April 2010, the first self-adhesive Czech stamp ever! With a new letter denomination to boot. The small revolution in the Czech stamp production has begun! The stamp is printed in offset, issued in booklets of 10, and shows Fifinka, one of the four characters from a famous Czech children's comics called Čtyřlístek (Four Leaf Clover). The A-letter is domestic rate for postcards and letters up to 50 grams, E (for Europe) and Z (for overseas - zámoří) will follow. All the newspapers and most TV stations have reported on this, and there is a big discussion about the consequences of this move. There are even concerns about the future of the Czech philatelic tradition. I am not so pessimistic, there are still many very nice engraved stamps scheduled for the coming months:-) The state-owned Czech Post has only decided to make stamps more attractive for more people, hopefully.

EDIT: A new website has been launched to promote these new sticker stamps (unfortunately, the text is only in Czech). But new lovely Alfons Mucha stamps can be seen there, to be introduced in May 2010, rates E and Z.

New Czech stamps - March 2010

There were three new stamps issued in March, two of them planned, one added unexpectedly, more or less.

The 10 Kč engraved "Easter" stamp, issued on 10/3, shows the typical Czech *pagan* celebration of spring (not to do much with the Christian festivities). The boys carry a huge willow (osier) rod with which they beat young girls and get ribbons and coloured eggs to put in their basket... Print-run: 7,750,000.

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Date of issue: 10 March 2010, print-run: 73,000, an engraved stamp in an offset-printed sheet dedicated to the prominent Czech romantic poet Karel Hynek Mácha (1810 - 1836), author of May. Born in Prague, Mácha loved to roam the castles and ruins in northern Bohemia... nowadays called "The Mácha Country".

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Here is the relatively unexpected addition to the issue plan, a 10 Kč stamp celebrating the two gold medals and one bronze won by Martina Sáblíková at the Vancouver Olympics. The really interesting thing is that the speedskater is nowhere to be seen:-) It has been a policy of the Czech Post not to show living personages on stamps, which, however, will change soon, due to a small "revolution" in the Czech stamp production about to take place in the coming months, there was even a feature about it in today's newspapers, more info soon.

New Czech stamps - February 2010

Issued on 10 February 2010, a single stamp dedicated to the Winter Olympic Games held in Vancouver. For the image the author chose a figure of a speedskater, abstractly representing the phenomenal Martina Sablikova (no living personalities can be depicted on Czech stamps with the exception of the president). The 18 CZK rate is designated for sending mail up to 20 grams outside Europe. Print-run 600,000.

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10 February 2010 also saw the issue of the stamp commemorating the Vancouver Paralympics, here the event is guided skiing. Print-run 500,000.

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And another international event commemorated on the stamps of the Czech post is the Shanghai Expo which will be held from 1 May to 31 October 2010. The stamp inside this distinctive, offset-printed sheet shows the Czech pavilion. Print-run 70,000.

New Czech stamps - January 2010

After the break I am resuming the presentation of the new Czech stamps. In December there were none, so let's start on 20 January 2010.



As usual, January seems the continuation of the series "The Tradition of the Czech Stamp Production". The 10 Kč stamp shows a stamp from the series Tradition of Czech Porcelain (Medici Vase from Slavkov) issued on 15 June 1977 and designed by Vladimír Kovářík (1921 - 1999), to whom this new issue is dedicated. The print-run is 950,000. There is also a booklet with 4 coupons.

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Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová (1785 - 1845) is known here as the author of a very influential and popular cookbook Domácí kuchařska (The Home Cook, 1826), written for middle-class housewifes. The book helped to improve their knowledge of the Czech language and also served to awaken nationalistic feelings since she and her husband were keen supporters of the National Revival movement. M. Rettigová wrote also prose, poetry and drama, and had 11 children. Print-run 800,000.