Austria 2019 - Traditional Costume of Flachgau

Technical Details:
Issue Date: 25 October 2019

About The Traditional Costume of Flachgau
The focus of the “Classic traditional costumes” series on this occasion is the dirndl from Salzburg’s Flachgau region. This traditional costume for everyday wear impresses with its fresh colours and its typical cut.

The traditional everyday dirndl
The traditional costume of Flachgau is a new version of the costume, with considerable freedom in the design to encourage variety and to enable the traditional costume to be incorporated into everyday wear as easily as possible. Characteristic features are the square neckline at the front of the bodice and the narrow central flap fastened with buttons. The costume is made from linen, cotton or mixed-fibre fabrics, either in a single colour or with a floral or checked pattern, with the colour of the skirt coordinating with the bodice. Depending on the pattern of the fabric, either the flap or the edging on the hem is often decorated with monochrome piping. Alternatively, taking inspiration from the costume for special occasions, the bodice with the central flap is replaced with a linen laced corset with a wide front aperture, a seam dividing the back section and incorporated straps. The lacing eyelets of the corset are often elaborately designed in alloys of gold orsilver. For special occasions there is also the “Festtracht” made of silk or brocade, thebodice of which is embroidered with floral motifs and decorated with velvet.

The traditional costume of Flachgau shown on the special stamp comprises a red linen bodice with a herringbone weave and a coordinating printed skirt with an edging in the same colour as the bodice. It is worn with a light-green cotton apron decorated with a scattered flower motif and fastened with a wide bow. The plain white blouse with short sleeves and the red piping on the square neckline and sleeves complete the dirndl.

As varied as the region
Flachgau is the most northerly region of the province and surrounds the capital city Salzburg. With its lakes, basins and mountains, it offers considerable variety, and the regional variants of the traditional dress are just as varied as the landscape. One of the best-known versions of the dirndl from the Flachgau region is the Henndorf dirndl. It isoften made from blue checked material (“bedding” material) and the central flap isfastened with buttons. The apron is not tied in a bow, as is usual, but is instead attached to the dirndl with buttons.

Austria 2019 - Traditional Costume of Carinthia

Technical Details:
Issue Date: 27 June 2019

About The Traditional Costume of Carinthia

The Blue Spotted Dirndl
This time, the special stamp from the popular “Classic traditional costumes” series is dedicated tothe traditional costume of Carinthia, which is worn throughout the federal province.

A simple dress made of dark blue cotton with white spots is fastened with silver buttons. The hemline is trimmed with red. Above the rounded neckline a simple white blouse peeps out, the medium-length sleeves of which are decorated with a lace border. A monochrome black cotton apron rounds off the costume, although a white apron decorated with tendrils of red and blue flowers can be worn instead. Married women wear the bow on their apron tied on the right-hand side; unmarried ladies, on the left. On special occasions the traditional costume is also worn with a long skirt and a fancy blouse with longer, puffed sleeves, gathered below the elbow and with decorative stitching on the shoulders.

The pattern of the spotted material was created out of necessity: there was not enough money to allow for an elaborate design when dyeing the fabric blue, so wooden nails were hammered into a board. During the staining process pressing these into the fabric prevented the colour from being taken up, and in this way, the white spots were created.

The Designer behind the Costume
Prof. Leopold Resch, a well-known traditional artist, sculptor and researcher into traditional costumes was one of the co-founders of the provincial association of Carinthia and the Carinthian State Museum. In 1911 he was tasked with designing a traditional men’s costume for Carinthia by theprovincial association, to replace the grey Styrian suit, which, until then, was also worn in Carinthia. He subsequently designed the nut-brown Carinthian suit with its green collar and trim, worn with a black waistcoat decorated with small flowers, which is still the traditional costume for Carinthian men to this day. Resch then designed the blue spotted dirndl, referred to in honour of its designer as the Resch-dirndl, as the traditional costume for women.

Traditional costumes remain extremely popular to this day. In addition to the traditional costume for the entire province of Carinthia, there are around eighty other officially registered variants of traditional dress to be found in Austria’s most southerly province.

Iceland 2010 - Norden by the Sea, Life at the Coast

Technical Details:
Issue Date: 18 March 2010
Designer: Elsa Nielsen, EnnEmm
Printer: Joh. Enschedé Security Print
Process: Offset Litho
Colours: 4-colour offset
Size: 105 x 70 mm
Values: 150.00 ISK

About Norden by the Sea. - Life at the Coast

A new series of Nordic stamps with the theme Norden by the Sea commences with the present souvenir sheet. The Nordic countries are separated, or united, by the water surrounding them. The coasts offer great variation, with long stretches of sandy beaches or smooth rocks. The people living along the coasts have always adapted to and drawn on their proximity to the sea. New enterprises are springing up alongside the traditional industries of shipping and fishing, for example. Energy production, fish farming and tourism are just some of the businesses that are growing ever more important in our coastal areas. Few nations depend more on ocean and coastal preservation than Iceland. Using strict measures Iceland managed to put an end to overfishing and reduce ocean pollution. Important fish stocks were strengthened. The first herring factories were erected in Siglufjörður and the herring boom bolstered the Icelandic economy. Close contact with harsh nature demands that Iceland makes sustainable use of living ocean resources.

Iceland 2019 - The Icelandic Postal Workers Union - 100th Anniversary

Technical Details:
Issue Date: 07 February 2019
Designer: Örn Smári Gíslason
Printer: Cartor Security Printing
Process: Offset Litho
Size: 30 x 40 mm
Values: 50g domestic

About The Icelandic Postal Workers Union - 100th Anniversary

The Icelandic Postal Workers Union was founded in Reykjavik on March 26, 1919. The history of Icelandic postmen can be traced back to 1776 when King Christian VII issued a directive establishing domestic postal services in Iceland. The first Icelandic mailman was Ari Guðmundsson, who travelled extensively with mail through the forbidding mountain regions of the Westfjords.

When the union was formed, the Icelandic labour movement was in its early stages. Iceland had recently gained sover­ eignty and there was a general sense of social recovery and revival. In 1932, its members were 73 in number, but today they number 900. The union ́s main task is to safeguard the interests of Icelandic postal workers and to ensure improve­ ments in their working conditions.

The Icelandic Postal Workers Union has grown a lot in stature with its growing membership numbers. It is now one of the strong pillars of the Federation of State and Municipal Employees (BSRB) and an important force in the labour movement. In 2001, only one quarter of the members were still employed by the official Post and Telephone, which on January 1, 1997, made way for Post and Telephone Ltd. and a year later Iceland Post. Despite these changes, the union continues to promote social justice and foster human values.

Iceland 2017 - SEPAC, Handcraft - The Icelandic Sweater

Technical Details: 
Issue Date: 27 April 2017
Designer: Elsa Nielsen
Printer: Joh. Enschedé Security Print
Process: Offset Litho (CMYK)
Size: 30 x 30 mm
Values: 50g

About SEPAC - Handcraft - The Icelandic Sweater

The joint SEPAC stamp motif is local or typical handcraft. The Icelandic stamp features an Icelandic sweater. The pattern shown, ”Álafoss pattern no. 51”, is a very characteristic one. It was probably affected by foreign knitting traditions introduced by magazines on embroidery and fashion. The Greenland national dress and Norwegian knitting patterns may also have influenced the pattern. When Icelandic women began to adopt foreign knitting patterns and work on them according to the properties of the local material, Icelandic sweaters started resembling their foreign models, but its patterns and colors were coarser. This was due to the yarn being more fragile than the spun band. Sweaters were therefore usually knitted from three threads simultaneously. This made the garment warmer and more durable. The sweater became standardized in its traditional form in the late sixties. In the seventies, it became a popular export. It became less popular in the eighties, but now it seems to have regained its former popularity, especially among foreign tourists. The sweater has its special woolen character and its roots in the culture of contemporary Icelanders are quite solid.