Norvic Philatelics - GB New Stamps and Special Postmarks

Christmas - 1 November 2005

The Christmas stamps for 2005 will consist of a set of 6 stamps, plus a miniature sheet, stamp booklets and a Smilers Sheet.

In a move which will be welcomed not only in the United Kingdom but by Christians around the world Royal Mail's 2005 Christmas stamps return to a religious theme. But, always pushing the boundaries of innovation, the images of the Madonna and Child are shown as portrayed by different cultures, including those of Haiti, India, North American Indian, Australian Aboriginal, and European.

It has been four years since Royal Mail last issued a non-secular set of stamps and it is now their intention to issue secular and non-secular Christmas stamps on alternate years. This year the theme of the issue is the enduring image of the Madonna and Child and designer Irene Von Treskow has selected a series of images that show interpretations of the image from different cultures around the world. Irene von Treskow is perhaps uniquely qualified to bring together these images, not only is she an award-winning designer and illustrator, she has been an Anglican priest since 1996.

Royal Mail Christmas stamps 2005 - Madonna and Child x 6
Royal Mail Christmas miniature sheet 2005 - Madonna and Child x 6

About the stamps
2nd Class – The Black Madonna and Child was painted by an unknown Haitian artist.
1st Class – Madonna and Child by Marianne Stokes. Painted in Ragusa, Italy, the model for the Holy mother was a local village girl. This work was one of many based on spiritual themes by Marianne Stokes and was completed in around 1907-1908. Stokes, nee Preindlsberger (1855-1927), was born in Austria and after studying in Germany and France, came to England where she married fellow artist Adrian Stokes.
42p - The Virgin Mary with the Infant Christ European school colour lithograph, artist unknown circa 1900, private collection
60p - Choctaw Virgin Mother and Child, by Fr. John B. Giuliani. Fr. Giuliani was born into a family of emigrants, originally from a poor agricultural town near Naples, Italy. While at the Pratt School of Art in New York City, he went through a conversion experience and decided then to enter St. John Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts, and was ordained in 1960. he studied icon painting under a master in the Russian Orthodox style in New York in 1989, before he began to adapt the technique to a Native American motif. The Choctaws were the first of the “Five Civilized Tribes”; In this Choctaw image of the Virgin Mother, She wears a one piece cotton dress and ruffled aprons, both finely decorated with appliqué worked in contrasting colours; an ornamental hair comb, glass bead necklaces and elaborate native-made silver earrings. The Child wears a native-made shirt embellished with finely cut and stitched appliqué. Together, Mother and Child stand before a screen of indigenous evergreens.
68p - Madonna and the Infant Jesus . This is a Mughal painting from India dating from around 1620 to 1630 AD. The painting belongs to the collection of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly the Prince of Wales Museum) Mumbai, India.
£1.12 - Come let us adore Him This is a painting in coloured sand by Dianne Tchumut from the Merrepen Arts Aboriginal Corporation of Northern Australia.


Technical details:
The 32x30mm stamps and 115x105mm miniature sheet are printed in gravure by De La Rue. The stamps are perforated 14½x14, die-cut on the self-adhesive sheets. An invisible date 2005 is 'reversed out' of the phosphor at the bottom left of each stamp (except the 2nd class, where it is just above the value), the first time this has been done on British stamps.


Smilers Sheet

The 2005 Christmas Smilers sheet will not contain the stamps shown here, but the 2001 1st & 2nd class robins, previously issued as Smilers in 2003.
For the 2005 Christmas Robins Smilers, please click here.


Norvic Philatelics First Day Cover

Note these images show actual stamps on actual covers and we have added the postmarks digitally.
We have this FDC with the set of 6 stamps and postmarks W9823 and S9842 - Price £9.25.

Norvic Philatelics 2005 Christmas First Day Cover 2005 - Madonna and Child set of 6 with Holytown postmark Norvic Philatelics 2005 Christmas First Day Cover 2005 - Madonna and Child set of 6 with Bethlehem postmark


The Miniature Sheet cover is available with postmark M9821 Price £9.25.

Norvic Philatelics 2005 Christmas First Day Cover 2005 - Madonna and Child miniature sheet of 6 stamps with Holytowen postmark

Also available:
Post Office FDC with a full set or miniature sheet - £5.25 (various postmarks available in small numbers.)
Set of 6 stamps or miniature sheet unused or VFU - £4.25
Set of unused postcards reproducing the stamps (PHQ cards) - £2.75


Special postmarks available on the Day of Issue are shown below: these postmarks cannot be obtained from the PO after 1 November.

Postmark: Madonna and Child Postmark: star, text in English & Welsh Postmark: first day of issue Bethlehem, also in Welsh Postmark: Madonna and Child Postmark: Madonna and Child Postmark: Madonna and Child
Ref FD525
Official Bureau postmark
Ref FD518
Official Bethlehem postmark
Ref FD518N
Official Bethlehem non-pictorial postmark in Welsh and English
Ref N9838
Madonna and Child, York
Ref W9844
Madonna and Child, Christchurch, Newport
Ref S9842
Madonna and Child, Holytown, Motherwell
Postmark: Angel with trumpet, Wells Somerset Postmark: Shepherds, Shepherdswell, Dover Postmark: White Rose of Yorkshire, York Minster Postmark: Shape of Church window Postmark: Madonna and Child Postmark: Madonna and angle, probably - not very clear
Ref L9829
1300 Years of Christian worship, Wells Somerset
Ref L9833
Shepherdswell, Dover
Ref N9839
Merry Christmas from York Minster
Ref L9830
2005 Christmas, Canterbury
Ref L9832
St Katherine's Way, London E1
Ref S9841
Maryhill, Isle of Lewis
Postmark: star Postmark: shepherds at stable Postmark: Madonna and child Postmark: Angel, apparently wearing shades Postmark: Madonna and child Postmark: Mary, Joseph & ass
Ref L9819
Merry Christmas to All, North Pole Road, London W10
Ref M9837
Stableford, Newcastle
Ref W9823
Madonna and child, Bethlehem, Llandeilo
Ref W9846
Christmas 2005, Bethlehem, Llandeilo
Ref M9821
Madonna and child, Mary Street, Birmingham
Ref W9845
Bethlehem, Llandeilo
Postmark: Three Kings. <<<< Ref W9843
Wisemans Bridge, Narberth
Postmark: Crown. <<<< Ref W9847
Bethlehem, Llandeilo
postmark - logo of Wolverhampton Art Gallery <<<< Ref M9862
Royal Mail Christmas Stamps Wolverhampton Art Gallery. (Location of original painting on 1st class stamp)

This page updated 10 December 2005

2004
2005 stamp issues
Visit our online shop!
January
11
Farm Animals
February
8
British Journey - South West England
24 Jane Eyre & Brontes prestige book
March
15
Magic Circle Centenary
22 Wilding Castles Miniature Sheet
April
5
New definitives
8 Royal Wedding
21 World Heritage Sites
26 Definitive reprints
May
10
Definitive reprints
June
7
Trooping the Colour
21
Smilers sheet - Flag stamp, White Ensign
21 Definitive reprints
July
5
End of World War II
19 British Motorcycles
August
5
London 2012 Olympics
23
Europa - Gastronomy
September
22
Independent Television 50th Anniversary
October
4
Small greetings definitives & Smilers
6 Cricket Winners: Ashes MS
18 Battle of Trafalgar
November
1
Christmas
Christmas Robins Smilers Sheet

HOME