Royal Mail’s Working Horses special issue, to be released on February 4, salutes the contribution horses make to working life in the UK, from ceremonial functions to police work.
Besides the estimated 900,000 privately-owned horses in the UK, another 88,000 are owned and worked by professionals.
Royal Mail thinks of this set of six as a sequel to the Working Dogs issue of 2008, which it says was very popular.
Workshops wound by wind and water
The Windmills & Watermills set, to be issued on June 20, will salute an endearing and important part of Britain’s industrial archaeology, the mechanisms which harnessed natural energy in the days before steam, coal and petrol engines, and cheap electricity.
Water power, harnessed by a waterwheel in fast-flowing water, was initially used for grinding grain and fulling cloth, and later for driving processing machinery in metal and textile factories.
Wind power, harnessed by sails mounted high in the air flow, was primarily used for grinding corn, especially in areas where flowing water was less easily available.
Royal Mail’s latest franchising deal with the American publishers Marvel Comics has produced a set of 17 stamps devoted to the X-Men, issued on February 16.