2093) Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends at Christmas, Isle of Man, a British Crown Dependency (BCD): Isle of Man Post (IOMP) has issued a set of Six Stamps depicting the popular children's Series: Date of Stamp issue: 27.10.2021:
About Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends at Christmas:
Thomas & Friends (originally known as "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends" or simply "Thomas the Tank Engine" (until "Series 7") and later called "Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!" is a long-running British children's television series created by Britt Allcroft.
Based on The Railway Series by W. Awdry and later his son Christopher, it follows the adventures of Thomas, an anthropomorphised tank engine, on the fictional Island of Sodor with fellow engines Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, and several other anthropomorphised vehicles. Thomas usually gets into trouble by doing jobs best left to bigger and more sensible engines, but never gives up on being a "Really Useful Engine".
In the United Kingdom, it had its first broadcast on the ITV network in 1984. The series aired from 10.09.1984 and ended on 20.01.2021.
In the United States, it had its first broadcasting with the spin-off series Shining Time Station on PBS in 1989.
A 2D-animated reboot, "Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go," premiered on 13.09.2021.
The Stamps:
The Isle of Man Post Office has brought out a new set of festive stamps for Christmas 2021 featuring "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends wintering on the Isle of Man".
Thomas and Friends are depicted as celebrating the fun of a Christmas railway excursion in Isle of Man's world-famous transport heritage network in this stamp series.
Isle of Man has strong links to the Thomas series, as the author has credited the Island , as inspiration for the Island of Sodor.
The Isle of Man has a long history of heritage transport - and steam railways in particular - and a selection of these are referenced on this collection.
The hillside-view stamp, featuring Toby, incorporates the landscape that is home to the Snaefell Mountain Railway, a seasonal service operated under the management of the Isle of Man Government.
Duncan’s stamp is set at the picturesque Groudle Glen Railway which is operated by volunteers and located along the coast a couple of miles north of Douglas.
This collection is the second stamp issue to feature Thomas.
In 1995, Isle of Man Post Office had released a set of six Thomas the Tank Engine stamps in which Thomas dreamt that he visited his friend, Caledonia on the Isle of Man.
Five years later the Island was one of the locations for the feature film Thomas and the Magic Railroad when Castletown Station transformed into Shining Time Station and the goods shed at Port Erin became the character Burnett Stone's workshop, as such, the Thomas stories have got linked to the Isle of Man.
Castletown Station is featured on the 1st Class stamp alongside Thomas.
There are six stamps within the issue (1st, EU, Large Letter, Rest of World, USA, EU Large), with each stamp depicting a character from the world of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends as under:
The Stamp Set
1st Class value (Local, UK/CI mail) - Thomas at Castletown Station
EU value - Toby on Snaefell Mountain Railway
Large Letter value (Local, UK/CI mail) - Duncan at Groudle Glen Railway Station
Rest of the World value - James at Ballasalla Station
USA value - Henry at Douglas Station
EU Large Letter value - James and Gordon at Port Soderick Station
The stamps pay tribute to the earliest era of Thomas artworks with imagery derived from the work of Reginald Payne and Reginald Dalby.
Although very early illustrations were by William Middleton, the images that remain in print are those modified by Reginald Dalby whose newer versions date from 1949.
The festive stamps show a wintery scene at various Isle of Man Heritage railway locations across the Island and have been designed to invoke warm memories of Christmas railway journeys with loved ones.
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends at Christmas First Day Cover (FDC):
The First Day Cover (FDC) includes all six stamps is presented on a deluxe envelope with a black foil postmark for the FDC.
A filler card complete with information about the historical heritage railway sites which Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends visited whilst in the Isle of Man, is included with the FDC.
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends at Christmas Sheetlet:
This Sheetlet (S) on Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends at Christmas Sheetlet features all six stamps with a festive snowy border which also showing Thomas the Tank Engine against the Douglas Railway Station on the Isle of Man and is presented in a decorative folder complete with the issue text.
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends at Christmas on the Travelling Post Office (TPO) Special Cover:
The complete set of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends at Christmas stamps is displayed on this deluxe cover along with a Railway Letter Stamp.
The stamps were cancelled with the Post Office TPO first day of issue pictorial postmark depicting the semaphore signal at the platform end of Douglas Station.
The cover also bears the Isle of Man Railways IMR cachet indicating that the cover has been carried on the Travelling Post Office.
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends at Christmas Presentation Pack:
The Front Cover of this Presentation Pack (PP) shows Thomas the Tank Engine amidst a snowy scene with a backdrop of the iconic Douglas Railway station.
Inside is contained information about the link between Thomas the Tank Engine and the Isle of Man and it's famous link to heritage railways.
A Collectable
Self Adhesive Collectables:
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends at Christmas Self Adhesive Set:
This set of six self adhesive stamps all carry £0.67 value (equivalent of a 1st).
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends at Christmas Self Adhesive First Day Cover (FDC):
All six stamps from this beautiful festive collection are presented on a deluxe envelope, in a self-adhesive format, each with a 67p value, together with an Information Card (IB).
About Variable Value Definitives:
Variable rate definitive self-adhesive stamps are known as 'Post & Go stamps' and 'Faststamps' in a number of other jurisdictions. They are popular, highly collectable and viewed as the next generation of self-adhesive stamps. Each stamp features the stamp value, date of issue, sequential number and stamp identifier.
Full Sheets (FS):
Technical details:
Issue Date: 27.10.2021
Designer: EJC Design
Printer: bPost
Process: Offset Lithography
Stamp Size(s): 32.00 mm x 25.96 mm
Links: Postage Stamps from the British Isles:
"Tales of the Earth Coin Series": The Second Dinosaurs Collector Coin Series:
Myths & Legends Coin Series:
3) Hylaeosaurus, United Kingdom: Third and final Coin in a three Coin 50 Pence Coin Series titled "Tales of the Earth - Dinosauria", brought out by the Royal Mint, UK in five variants - Gold, Silver (x 2 coins) and Cupro-nickel (x 2 Coins): Date of coin issue: 01.06.2020
Links to some other interesting posts from the British Isles and British Overseas Territories/Dependencies:
Links: Crypto-Currency Stamps & Coin Posts:
British Antarctic Territory (BAT) Related Links on this Blog:
Santosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Great informative post. Thanks for sharing."
Thank you, Khanna sahab.
ReplyDeleteRajan Trikha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Awesome."
Thank you, Trikha sahab.
DeleteAshok Borate has commented:
ReplyDelete"👍"
Thank you, Ashokji.
DeleteRsanker Sharma has commented:
ReplyDelete"Great post."
Thank you, Sharma sahab.
DeleteLalit Roy has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very nice article.👍"
Thank you so much, Lalit.
Delete