graphic design

New Zealand wins the Battle of Rock

| The Punk Philatelist

We’ve seen rock legends on stamps.

USA 1993 Legends of American Music Elvis Presly 29c stamp

We’ve seen classic rock album covers.

UK 2010 Classic Album Covers The Clash London Calling 1st stamp

You might have spotted some Classic Rock Posters at this very website.

Australia, 2006, Australian Rock Posters

Ireland’s Great Irish Songs issue from earlier this year had its share of rockers.

Canada wants you to know that it rocks.

Sweden doesn’t rock. It Roxette.

And then… there’s New Zealand.

Here’s New Zealand bringing us its Rock Legends.

…Geddit?

Take a closer look.

The Kiwis have trolled us all with an issue devoted to iconic rock formations, presented in the form of a rock poster sheetlet.

The subject rockers – sorry, rocks – are breathtaking, and could have formed a perfectly straight nature-themed issue. In fact, divorced from the sheetlet, the stamps DO look quite straight and dignified. The only clue to the fun that’s been had along the way is the metalesque insignia in the corner.

For those in the front row, the sheetlet produces a few more sniggers:

None of this detracts from the beautiful photos featured on the stamps. My favourite is probably Elephant Rock. Sad to read while researching this piece that Elephant Rock’s trunk has joint the pantheon of Rock Legend appendages in the sky. Or, more to the point, in the ocean.

New Zealand 2019 Rock Legends Elephant Rock $1.30 stamp

It seems somewhat unfair that, by wasting its Rock Legends issue on a dumb pun, New Zealand has once again chosen to deny Dave Dobbyn the glory he deserves. But apart from that, well played, New Zealand Post.

Rock on, bro.

What do you think of the Kiwis rocking the boat like this? Sign up and drop a comment below, or get involved over at my socials! I’m on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! Subscribe to my RSS feed and never miss a post!

© Philatelic product images remain the copyright of issuing postal administrations and successor authorities

It’s getting steamy in here

| The Punk Philatelist

Lots of collectors like trains on stamps. But there are trains on stamps, and then, to paraphrase Samuel L. Jackson’s character Neville Flynn from Snakes on a Plane: there are motherfucking trains on motherfucking stamps.

Have a look at these beauties marking the 150th anniversary of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad across the USA:

USA 2019 150th Anniversary of the Intercontinental Railroad stamp strip

There’s some cute design work going on. The Transcontinental Railroad was built across the United States from each direction, with the ceremonial meeting of the tracks taking place at Promontory Summit in Utah in May, 1869. The two engines depicted each hauled a trainload of dignitaries to the ceremony – Jupiter from the west, and No. 119 from the east. The so-called golden spike was then driven into the ground between them to ‘finish’ the railroad. This significant engineering feat cut the time it took to cross the nation from months down to about a week.

American pop culture gives us a certain depiction of an old steam engine: the bulbous chimney, the cattle-grid cowcatcher, a giant headlight, a colorful paint scheme and brass trim all over. It’s only when I see old American locomotives that I’m reminded that they actually looked like that! If the framing was a bit wider, you’d see a moustachio’d villain tying a damsel to the rails. It’s a shame they went for the golden spike in the middle stamp, instead of two runaway convicts pumping one of those see-saw handcars. Continue reading →

The 12 Stamps of Christmas

| The Punk Philatelist

UPDATE! I’ve added a couple of reader’s nominations to the bottom of the list! Read on…

It’s the 12th day of Christmas. The Christmas tree withers in the corner, unwatered for days. The batteries on the toys have expired. The gurgling remnants of Christmas lunch are in a fight to the death with New Year’s resolutions. So it’s the perfect time for me to give you my 12 Stamps of Christmas! After all, I am your true love.

As mail revenues continue to plummet, for the postal administrations of Christendom, Christmas offers one last chance to hear the bells jingling on their cash registers. (Do you know how many Christmas cards I got in the mail this year? None. That’s a first. It might be that I’ve been crossed off multiple lists. But I choose to blame The Pace of Change.)

So which countries brought their festive philatelic A-game in 2018? These are my favourites of the stamps that crossed my radar. Continue reading →

Stamp of the day: sunnie side up!

| The Punk Philatelist

Australia 2011 Living Australian Little Man's Business and This Is So Relaxing 60c se-tenant pairSometimes you can see a stamp dozens of times without fully appreciating its majesty. I suppose you could say the same of any artwork, or building, or person. And then, for some reason, you happen to notice it in a certain light, or at a certain magnification, or across a cosy bar eight vodka and tonics into a Friday night, and your breath can be taken away.

This happy little issue came out in 2011. They called it ‘Living Australian’. Look at those Australians, just going about their lives all Australian-y and shit.

Australia 2011 Living Australian Best Friends and Embrace Friendship 60c se-tenant pair

I wasn’t paying a great deal of attention at the time, and I’ve only vaguely clocked them since. But when I saw this one cross my desk on the weekend – and I mean I really saw it – it filled me with joy.

Australia 2011 Living Australian Cricket at the Gabba 60c stamp

At first glance, it’s entirely possible to miss what’s going on. Maybe that’s why I hadn’t fully taken it in until now. Continue reading →

Shoutout to StampShow 2018

| The Punk Philatelist

USA 2018 Dragons Orange Forever stampA big hello to any US (or visiting) readers attending this weekend’s Stampshow in Columbus, Ohio!

USA 2018 Dragons Green Forever stampI read in a news report that organizers (jointly the American Philatelic Society and the American Topical Society) are seeking to tap into more of the pop culture appeal of stamps at this exhibition. Sounds like a good idea to me. I appreciate the effort that old-school philatelists put into their exhibits on obscure paquebot markings or the plate proofs of Upper Biddlonia, but the hobby is evolving with the times. If that means that more fun begins to sneak into philatelic exhibitions in the form of stamp art or dragon mascots, then I’m all for it. Continue reading →

A big, BIG issue

| The Punk Philatelist

Australia 2018 Silo Art $1 Brim Guido van Helten stamp
Brim, Victoria
Artist: Guido van Helten

One of my favourite Aussie issues of recent times was 2017’s Street Art – vibrant, modern, urban and startlingly different from the usual stamp fodder. Not surprisingly, those stunning works were a big hit on my Instagram page. They’re very like-able.

I’m a month late with this update but I still wanted to say how much I loved seeing Australia Post continue the theme with May’s Silo Art issue. Silo art is the rural equivalent of street art, except that it’s painted on grain silos, and it is, as a rule, fucking ENORMOUS. Continue reading →

Jammin’ and jammin’ and jammin’, jam on

| The Punk Philatelist

Clearly the ‘vintage commercial design’ thing must be making big bucks for Australia Post, because AP have gone back to the well, or in this case, the jam tin, once more. I’m not judging. I’ve made my love of the retro vein pretty clear in the past.

About a month ago (when I was a tad too busy to blog about it), Aussie Post released this lovely set featuring jam labels from ye olden days, depicting a diversity in development, location and the companies involved.

What arrests my attention in this set is the bold use of perspective. Those jam tins sit right fat in the viewer’s face, threatening to burst off the stamp and cover us in their delicious, fruity goodness. It’s a fantastic way to pay tribute to the colour and vibrancy of the original designers’ work.

Australia 2018 Vintage Jam Labels $1 Peacock's stampWhat’s your favourite? For mine, it’d a close-run thing between the Melray and the Peacock’s. I’d probably have to go with the Peacock’s, partly because I love apricot jam, but mainly because “Peacock’s”. For more details on the specifics of each label, you can hit up the Australia Post Collectables website.

Given recent form,  I can only assume Aussie Post is going to keep churning out vintage shit on its stamps. What do you reckon will be next? My money is on biscuit tins.

Now if you don’t mind, I’m off to the kitchen. For some reason I have a massive craving for toast.

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© Philatelic product images remain the copyright of issuing postal administrations and successor authorities