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Friday 27 March 2020

1288) First Atlases, Netherlands: Commemorating 450 years of the First Atlas (1570-2020) & others: A Stamp Sheet of six stamps depicting the Atlases which were compiled in the Netherlands in the 16th & 17th Centuries AD: Stamp set issued by PostNL: Date of Stamp Set issue: 23.03.2020:

1288) First Atlases, Netherlands: Commemorating 450 years of the First Atlas (1570-2020) & others: A Stamp Sheet of six stamps depicting the Atlases which were compiled in the Netherlands in the 16th & 17th Centuries AD: Stamp set issued by PostNL: Date of Stamp Set issue: 23.03.2020:

In 1570, the first Atlas ever was published in Antwerp - 450 years ago.

To celebrate this landmark, PostNL has issued a set of six stamps on a Stamp Sheet (SS). The six stamps on the Stamp Sheet are dedicated to Maps from six Atlases that were published in the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th Centuries.

 The publishers of the six Atlases are depicted next to the Maps. The stamps are marked "International 1", the denomination for items up to 20.0 grams in weight destined outside the Netherlands. 

With its issue of The First Atlases, PostNL focusses on unusual Atlases that were published in the Low Countries in the 16th & 17th Centuries.

At the time, rapid developments in cartography were closely linked to the Netherlands' leading position in International Trade and Shipping. Antwerp and Amsterdam were important centres for the Atlas - a collection of Maps of the same size and style - collected in a book of which multiple copies were made.

The creator of the first modern Atlas was cartographer Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598). Ortelius collected the best Maps available in his time. He either redrew or shrunk 53 in all, added descriptions and collated them to create a book. This Atlas was published for the very first time in 1570, 450 years ago in Latin, and was titled -"Theatrum orbis terrarum" (meaning "the Theatre of the Earth's surface"). 

In 1571, a Dutch translation was published. This World atlas inspired many other publishers to create their own Atlases.

In addition to Abraham Ortelius, the Stamps in this set feature the following publishers -

Gerard de Jode (1509-1591), Gerard Mercator (1512-1594), Jodocus Hondius (1563-1612), Willem Janz Blaeu (1571-1638) and Johannes Janssonius (1588-1664).

The publisher's portraits on the Stamps come from the image bank of the Rijksmuseum. All maps come from the Atlases from the Allard Pierson Collection/ The Collections of Amsterdam University. This collection broadly reflects the history of Western Cartography, and Dutch Cartography in particular. With its 175,000 Map Sheets and 5,000 Atlases - the collection is one of the largest in the Netherlands and one of the larger ones in the World.

Each of the six Stamps of The First Atlases feature Old Geographical maps of the Low countries, roughly consisting of what is now Belgium and the Netherlands. 

The designation Nederlands 2020 appears under the image, the designation international is placed vertically in capitals, alternately on the left and right-hand side of the Maps. The texts on the stamps and sheet margins are printed in black and a muted blue.

 The six Maps are featured on the Stamp Sheet in chronological order - from top to bottom and from left to right. 

This order is based on the year in which the Atlas from which the map on the Stamp originates was published - For example, the stamp on the bottom right features Johannes Janssonius' Atlas, which was published last in 1666. Wherever required, the text mentions between brackets when the first edition of the Atlas was published. In Janssonius' case - this is 1638.

The typography uses two Dutch fonts - the Lexicon serif font (Bram de Does, 1992) and the Quadraat Sans san-serif font (Fred Smeijers, 1966).


The First Day Cover (FDC) is affixed with the six Stamps issued in the Set at top right.

At bottom left is a sextant - a cartographer's accessory for measuring distances and placing them on a chart. The date of Cancellation is - "23.03.2020".

The Special Cancellation Handstamp/Postmark shows a sextant in the centre. 


The Stamp Sheet (SS) presents the six stamps issued in the Stamp set and gives a brief description of the Stamp set issue in Dutch.



The Presentation Pack.

Technical Details:

Stamp set issue date: 23.03.2020

Stamp Sizes: 36.0 mm x 25.0 mm

Sheet Size: 108.0 mm x 150.0 mm

Printer: Joh. Enschede Security Print, Haarlem

Process: Offset

Designer: Studio Maud van Rossum

Colours: cyan, magenta, yellow and black












For other interesting posts on issues from the Royal Dutch Mint, Netherlands and PostNL, please visit the following links:

Posts from Belgium & Luxembourg:


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