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AROUND THE WORLD 3: Story Characters On UK Stamps

Paddington Bear and his creator Michael Bond launched the new Animal Tales stamps from Royal Mail which recently went on sale featuring classic characters from timeless children’s illustrated stories.

There’s not much in common between the animals appearing on the 1st Class stamps. One adores marmalade sandwiches, while the other prefers to lunch on small children, but both Paddington Bear and The Enormous Crocodile will be instantly recognizable to young and old alike. Paddington being on the 1st Class stamp was a particularly proud moment for Michael Bond, who celebrates his 80th birthday on 13th January.

This is a joint stamp issue with the U.S. Postal Service--eight stamps are available in four pairs featuring seven ‘home-grown’ books plus an eighth from the United States. In turn, the U.S. Postal Service will issue eight stamps simultaneously featuring seven U.S.-based characters and one from the UK.

Animal Tales also marks the centenary of the publication of Beatrix Potter’s "The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher," as he leaps onto one of the 2nd Class stamps opposite Kipper, Mick Inkpen’s cheeky puppy.

Boots the Cat stares out from the 42p stamp, next to Helen Oxenbury’s delightful illustration of the White Rabbit from "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland."

It’s the 68p stamp pairing that features an animal from ‘across the pond’--Eric Carle’s "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," whose insatiable appetite has nibbled its way into 20 million homes worldwide, and, true to form, it’s taken two bites out of the 68p stamp as well. These are the first Royal Mail stamps to actually feature holes in them. "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," one of the best-selling picture books of all time, appears next to Maisy, Lucy Cousins’ lovable mouse, who was chosen by the United States Postal Service to appear in its set of stamps.

A special joint First Day Cover will also be issued featuring "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and Maisy stamps in their UK and U.S. versions, along with customized 1st Class Smilers featuring Paddington that enable customers to get their face, or almost anything else, on a label next to a stamp.

Julietta Edgar, Head of Special Stamps, Royal Mail said: “Characters like Paddington Bear and the Enormous Crocodile have introduced hundreds of thousands of children to the world of reading over the years. We’ve drawn on these much-loved illustrations along with more recent animal tales for millions of Royal Mail stamps to evoke memories of first class characters from childhood and give today’s children a memento to treasure.”

Stamps on sale from the USPS will feature: Wilbur, Fox in Socks, Wild Thing, Curious George, Olivia and Frederick, as well as The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Maisy.

Article courtesy of PRWeb.com

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