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From old classics to new favourites, Royal Mail’s Animal Tales issue brings the UK and America’s most enchanting animal characters to life on eight delightful stamps.
The oldest yet most agile character to star is Jeremy Fisher, one of Beatrix Potter’s creations. He leapt off the page and into our lives 100 years ago, and since then many animals of all shapes and sizes have followed suit.
In this special joint issue with the United States Postal Service, we celebrate the enduring popularity and universal appeal of the characters that have starred in illustrated children’s books. Both Postal Administrations picked seven home-grown characters to be featured, plus an eighth favourite from ‘across the pond’.
There are plenty of familiar faces in the UK selection; dear old Paddington Bear from deepest darkest Peru and clutching a jar of marmalade; The Enormous Crocodile, created by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake; and the ever time conscious White Rabbit from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Although not strictly an animal, from the US the Very Hungry Caterpillar was chosen to appear as the token American stamp. He was so hungry by the time he got here that he’s taken a couple of bites out of his stamp, creating the first ever Royal Mail stamp with holes in it! In exchange the USPS picked lovable mouse Maisy created by British author Lucy Cousins, to appear alongside their selection.
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