Christmas 2009 Stamps

These Royal Mail stamps were affixed to specially designed envelopes and postmarked on the first day that the stamps were issued.

03.11.2009 | Let there be light, Postmarked at Bethlehem

BUY NOW   £20 Christmas 2009, Let there be light Christmas 2009, Let there be light
Click on image for larger view
32804
3rd November 2009 - Christmas 2009
Stamp Type:
Stamp Details:
2nd Madonna ...      ▼ expand stamp details ▼
2nd (Large) Madonna
1st Madonna and Child
1st (Large) Madonna and Child
56p Joseph
90p Wiseman
£1.35 Shepherd
Producer/Series:
Postmark:
Bethlehem, First Day of Issue - Hands in Prayer, Special Handstamp
Stock remaining: Two Left!
Reference Images:
Commemorative Stamp
Presentation Pack (433)
PHQCards (329)
Postmark illustrations
Why not take a look at other items on a similar theme?
Churches & Cathedrals
Christmas
Religion



Royal Mail provided background information for this issue
click on titles to view details.

Reason and inspiration

Royal Mail’s policy for Christmas stamps is to alternate religious and secular themes. The 2008 Christmas stamps celebrated Pantomimes, and so in 2009 a religious theme is featured.

The new stamps show characters from the nativity as depicted in stained glass windows from the Pre-Raphaelite era.

Since 2006 all Christmas stamps are standard definitive size except for the 1st and 2nd Large stamps where the 1st and 2nd images are repeated on the wider format stamps. And to provide choice for customers, the popular 1st and 2nd Class Madonna and Child stamps will also be available. All Christmas stamps are self-adhesive.

Stamp design and background

Designer Andrew Ross trawled through hundreds of photographs of stained glass windows before deciding upon the final selection of images. Once selected Andrew had the windows photographed by Phil Sayer before cropping the images to produce the set. The stamps show the Madonna and Child (1st Class), an Angel (2nd), Joseph (56p), a Wise man (90p) and a Shepherd (£1.35).

Stamp by Stamp

2nd Class – Angel

The Angel shown here is a detail taken from a stained glass window designed by William Morris. The window is from the Church of St James, Staveley, Kendal, Cumbria.

1st Class – Madonna and Child

Designed by Henry Holiday the Madonna and Child are taken from a detail from window from the Church of Ormesby St Michael, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

2nd Class Large – Angel

The different format of the Large stamp allows for a different crop of the Morris and Company window.

1st Class Large – Madonna and Child

The different format of the Large stamp allows for a different crop of the Madonna and Child window.

56p – Joseph

Joseph is taken from a detail of another Holiday window, this time from the Parish Church of St Michael at Minehead, Somerset.

90p – Wise Man

From the Church of St Mary the Virgin at Rye in East Sussex the Wise Man was designed by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones.

£1.35 – Shepherd

Another Henry Holiday design the shepherd is taken from a detail from a window at St Mary’s, Upavon, Wiltshire.

Mint Stamps - Technical Details:

Feature Type/Detail
Number of stamps Seven
Design Osbourne Ross
Photography Phil Sayer
Acknowledgements Angel with Mandolin by William Morris, from the Church of St James, Staveley, Kendal, Cumbria; Madonna and Child by Henry Holiday, from Ormesby St Michael, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk; Joseph by Henry Holiday, from the Parish Church of St Michael, Minehead, Somerset; Wise Man by Edward Burne-Jones, from St Mary the Virgin, Rye, East Sussex; Shepherd by Henry Holiday, from St Mary’s Church, Upavon, Wiltshire
Stamp format Standard: portrait
Large: landscape
Stamp size Standard: 20mm x 24mm
Large: 30mm x 24mm
Printer De la Rue Security Print
Print process Gravure
Number per sheet 50
Perforations Kiss die-cut simulated perforations
Phosphor bars
Gum Self adhesive
Text © reproduced with the permission of Royal Mail Group Ltd. All rights reserved.