Britain's most spectacular commemoratives, No56: 1989 Toys & Games 35p

Until the Millennium series a decade later, few British issues were as revolutionary in design as this one addressing 1989’s Europa theme.

The design of each of the four stamps is bold, colourful and primitive, in this case depicting a number of traditional play objects including a doll’s house, a rigged yacht and a crude robot made out of a cardboard box.

The style is appropriately that of illustrations in a children’s book. Especially eye-catching is the value indicator, expressed in a big, bold, chunky font and in three different colours.

For the tabloid press, this was a controversial issue on its launch, even though it had a tabloidy style. ‘Whatever next?’ they screamed.

Design: Dan Fern.
Printing: photogravure by Harrisons.

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