Wallace & Gromit Christmas Stamps 2010

The Christmas stamps for 2010, to be released on November 2, feature ‘claymation’ duo Wallace & Gromit, stars of the Aardman Animations’ Oscar-winning films A Grand Day Out, A Close Shave and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
Royal Mail’s design team worked closely with Nick Park, the creator of characters, and Aardman to create five exclusive scenes featuring the duo, for the set of seven self-adhesive stamps.
Park drew the scenes, and refined them to work to best effect in the two definitive formats, before each was constructed with models, props and background sets created especially for the issue.
Park said: ‘It’s been a wonderful honour and a pleasure to work with Royal Mail, and to have my characters immortalised on stamps. It was one of the biggest challenges my talented team have faced yet, to create memorable images the size of postage stamps. But we knew we’d lick it in the end.’

COMMEMORATIVE WORTH    Wallace & Gromit are fast becoming intrinsic to the British Christmas, so why not?

QUALITY OF DESIGN    
These are original scenes, and it’s always hard to fault the animators’ attention to detail

WOW FACTOR    
This set will certainly get noticed on seasonal greetings cards, which can only be a good thing


1st class & 1st Large Gromit posting Christmas cards
A robin watches Gromit as he posts a large pile of cards. The wider-format stamp reveals the wicked penguin Feathers McGraw, villain of The Wrong Trousers, about to launch a snowball from behind the pillar box.

2nd class & 2nd Large Wallace & Gromit carol singing
Suitably wrapped up against the cold, Wallace and Gromit go carol singing. The wider-format stamp shows more of the lit-up Christmas tree in the background.

60p Wallace dressing the Christmas tree
Wallace places a Christmas fairy that looks rather like Feathers McGraw on top of the Christmas tree, while Gromit looks anxious.

97p Gromit with Christmas pudding
Gromit struggles to carry a luscious Christmas pudding which is far too big for its plate.

£1.46 Gromit’s Christmas pullover
Wallace gives a thumbs-up as Gromit tries on his seasonal gift of a bone-themed pullover. It doesn’t quite fit.

Miniature sheet
The miniature sheet has all seven stamps in gummed form, arranged in se-tenant groups, with a border featuring a violin-playing Shaun the Sheep, ovine star of A Close Shave.

Other products
The presentation pack folds out to become a Wallace & Gromit advent calendar. Stamp cards and first day covers are available as ever, as are Smilers and booklets.

 

PRICES

Set of 7 stamps    £4.93
Presentation pack    £5.50
Stamp cards    £3.20
Miniature sheet    £4.93
First day envelope    £0.30
First day cover (set)    £6.27
First day cover (miniature sheet)    £6.27
Smilers generic sheet    £9.30
Retail stamp book (12 x 1st class)     £4.92
Retail stamp book (12 x 2nd class)    £3.84
TOTAL    £43.19

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