Marking 100 years of the Greeting Card Association
Isle of Man Post Office is very pleased to present this joyful delivery of ten beautiful and diverse greeting cards as our festive stamp set for Christmas 2019. The set celebrates the centenary of the Greeting Card Association and we are delighted to have been able to collaborate with the GCA and industry-leader Geoff Sanderson to mark the occasion and showcase the range of the membership's work.
This joyful collection of ten beautiful and diverse greeting cards form our festive stamp set for Christmas 2019. The variety of designs and sentiments we all enjoy when sending cards is a history lesson in itself and we have been able to work in partnership with the Greeting Card Association to select a representative cross section of contemporary cards.
Creative Consultant Geoff Sanderson writes...
I was honoured to be asked to curate the cards used in this very special collection of stamps on behalf of the Greeting Card Association (GCA). The designs chosen evoke the spirit of the season, whilst featuring beautiful artwork from some of our leading artists and illustrators - showcasing the work of the publishers that the GCA supports.
After training as an illustrator, and not fitting into the 80s advertising world, I decided to follow my true star; I answered a small ad looking for a greeting card designer; a career as a creative director in the greeting card industry followed and is now thirty winters old.
Starting in a design studio in Burton-on-Trent it has since taken me all around the world from Kansas City to Tokyo and back. Along the way I've designed and managed ranges for many UK retailers including Marks & Spencer, the global greetings publisher Hallmark and most recently developed personalised cards for the print-on-demand etailer moonpig.com.
Christmas is a special as well as a sacred time for many, and the Christmas card is a good and tangible way of keeping in touch as well as sharing the joy, and means much more than ubiquitous social media messages which are sent all the time.
Christmas cards also send a warming festive factor to the UK economy. We send over 96 million single Christmas cards a year, at an average price point of £1.92, and the market it is worth nearly £185m. In addition we spend an additional £230m on boxed or packed Christmas cards – another 900 million Christmas cards. Christmas cards are 12% of the £1.7Bn total UK card market.
Encouragingly, the card sending habit remains strong and we are spending more on cards for close family and friends, with 18-34 year olds sending more cards than a generation ago. Despite all the online options available, around 94% of sales still come from individuals going out to the shops to buy their cards.
To be inspired to evoke the magic, excitement and spirit of Christmas in the height of summer is never an easy thing to do; but it's something that the writers, designers and artists of the greeting card industry happily do every year and it is when most cards are created. Typically the Christmas range development process lasts twelve months; and the cards are published just in time to annoy all those who like to moan that Christmas comes earlier and earlier every year - but not me I can't get enough of Christmas.
I hope you enjoy these lovely stamps...
Merry Christmas everybody!
First Class Stamps
Santa Checking His List - Jeannine Petty ©2019, Ling Design • Postbox & Geese - Marina Brook ©2019, Marina B Designs • The Gardeners' Friend - Cordelia Hutchison ©2019, Ling Design • Christmas Tree - Marina Brook ©2019, Marina B Designs • The Nativity - Cordelia Hutchison ©2019, Ling Design
Large Value Stamps
Champagne Flutes - Rachel Hare ©2019, Belly Button Designs • Church in the Snow - Gordon Barker ©2019, Peartree Heybridge • O Little Town of Bethlehem - Cordelia Hutchison ©2019, Ling Design • Tatty Teddy - MetoYou.com ©2019, Carte Blanche Greetings • Holly Berries - Charlotte Day ©2019, Cath Tate Cards
| Text & Concept | Geoff Sanderson |
| Design | EJC Design |
| Printer | LM Group |
| Format | 2 Sheets of 25 Stamps |
| Process | Offset Lithography |
| Colours | 4 plus varnish |
| Paper | 110gms PVA Gummed |
| Perforations | 14 per 2cms |
| Stamp Size | 32 x 32mm |
| No. of Stamps | 10 |
| Date of Issue | 28th October 2019 |
Product Code: XN97
Product Issue Date: 9th December 2019
The perfect gift for any Tatty Teddy fan, this adorable Me To You collectable is one of only 200, and features a specially commissioned piece of artwork created and signed by Steve Mort Hill, exclusive to Isle of Man Post Office. Your precious Tatty Teddy will be delivered to you in its own Christmas themed presentation box, complete with a matching Tatty Teddy stamp, special one-day-only postmark and certificate of authenticity.
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Limited Edition
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Product Code: XN31
Product Issue Date: 28th October 2019
We are proud to partner with The Greeting Card Association as it celebrates its 100th year with this issue of ten festive stamps. The stamps beautifully showcase the work of publishers that the GCA supports.
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Product Code: XN41
Product Issue Date: 28th October 2019
All ten festive stamps are elegantly displayed on a black mount inside a four page glossy folder.
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Product Code: XN91
Product Issue Date: 28th October 2019
This delightful first day cover illustrates all ten stamps, cancelled with a very special festive postmark.
The stamps are gracefully set upon a shelf using a three dimensional effect, reflecting the true spirit of Christmas through the receiving of good wishes for the festive season.
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Product Code: XN32
Product Issue Date: 28th October 2019
We are delighted to present our fifth variable value definitive stamps, Christmas Cards - The Spirit of Christmas.
VVDs: Ramsey Philatelic Services is happy to provide a service whereby customers wishing to obtain examples of VVD's from a kiosk location or counter position can place an order with them prior to the issue date of 28th October 2019. Contact Mike or Richard at boomland@manx.net Ramsey Philatelic Services, 5 Windsor Road, Ramsey, Isle of Man, IM8 3EG.
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Product Code: XN35
Product Issue Date: 28th October 2019
Our self adhesive stamp sheet is made up of 20 stamps featuring the designs from our 2019 Christmas Card collection, all with a 57p value for your convenience.
VVDs: Ramsey Philatelic Services is happy to provide a service whereby customers wishing to obtain examples of VVD’s from a kiosk location or counter position can place an order with them prior to the issue date of 28th October 2019. Contact Mike or Richard at boomland@manx.net Ramsey Philatelic Services, 5 Windsor Road, Ramsey, Isle of Man, IM8 3EG.
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Product Code: XN94
Product Issue Date: 28th October 2019
All ten stamps from this wonderfully festive collection are presented on a deluxe envelope, in a self-adhesive format, each with a 57p value.
VVDs: Ramsey Philatelic Services is happy to provide a service whereby customers wishing to obtain examples of VVD's from a kiosk location or counter position can place an order with them prior to the issue date of 28th October 2019. Contact Mike or Richard at boomland@manx.net Ramsey Philatelic Services, 5 Windsor Road, Ramsey, Isle of Man, IM8 3EG.
Product Code: AI56
Product Issue Date: 29th November 2019
A Father Christmas £2 uncirculated circulating coin carefully presented in bespoke festive packaging.
Product Code: AI57
Product Issue Date: 29th November 2019
Featuring imagery taken from the Christmas Cards – A Spirit of Christmas stamp issue, inside contains an uncirculated circulating £2 Father Christmas coin complimented with a magical Father Christmas stamp, postmarked for the first day of issue in a distinctive gold foil.