Åsa - ...author Åsa lind was born in 1958 in Ångermanland in northern sweden. after studies at...

www.posten.ax

ÅSA CANNOT

IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT BOOKS

ÅSA CANNOT

IMAGINE LIFE WITHOUT BOOKS

NO. 1/2010 E N G L I S H

� analyse campaign results

STAFF

ÅLAND+MACAU=TRUETwo small, autonomous regions on either side of the globe found each other when Åland and Macau signed a cooperation agree-ment just before the turn of the year. Åland collectors now have the chance to learn about life in Macau through its stamps, exactly as Åland will be presented to the people of Macau. The next step will be taken this autumn when the two autonomies issue stamps on a common theme, church interior. The Åland and Macau stamps will be sold both separately and in the form of a joint miniature sheet. The world gets smaller through stamps.

�nita �äggblomDIRECTORÅLAND POST STAMPS

HEIDEMARIE ER IKSSON

Sales manager

“I’m responsible for our foreign sales and put together a care-fully prepared marketing plan for Stamps each year. I try to fi nd new cooperation partners and new ways of marketing Åland stamps; quite a challenge on a sagging stamp collecting market. I also analyse campaign results, and I’m a member of the Post’s Stamp Committee.”

NETTAN ISAKSSON-HJULSTRÖM

Production, main stock

“I’m in charge of our main stock of stamps and other products, which I send to distributors worldwide as well as to post offi ces and postal agents in Åland. In addition, I direct, coordinate and supervise our remote staff engaged in the production of various philatelic products. My job is very varied and I particularly enjoy my contacts with our staff, the dis-tributors and the post offi ces.”

�’m in charge of our main stock of stamps

1•2010ÅLAND POST LTDSTAMPS P.O. Box 1100AX-22111 MARIEHAMN ÅLAND, Finland

PHONE

+358 18 636 641 Telephone hours (GMT+2): Mon–Fri 9 am – 4 pmOrders from Finland:020 340 020

FAX

+358 18 636 608

INTERNET

www.posten.axNordic stamps:www.topoftheworld.nu

E-MAIL

[email protected]

VISITING ADDRESS

Post TerminalFlygfältsvägen 10, Sviby

EDITORS

Anita Häggblom Katja Rikberg Heidemarie Eriksson Björn WennströmCecilia Mattsson

TEXT

Katja Rikberg

TRANSLATION

Kristine Lybeck Sund

LAYOUT

Cecilia Mattsson

PRODUCTION

Åland Post LtdWaasa Graphics

COVER PHOTO

Leif Hansen

The publishers reserve the right to make changes to the information contained in this publication.

ContentsEditorial 2

Staff 2

Time for the annual postal race 4

Most beautiful 2009 stamp 5

Competition winners 5

Chronicle: Fred Forsell 5

Åsa never tires of writing 6

M/S Prinsessan and M/S Skandia 12

Colourful plastic toys 16

Minna Rundberg 19

Co-operation with Macau 23

Joint theme: church interior 24

The mail must be delivered! 26

Full action with laser sailboat 28

Christmas with merry aunties 30

Eckerö and Sund 32

Calendar 35

26 • A running mail boy is featured on a stamp to be issued in June.

6 • The Europa stamp features the Sand Wolf, a fairy tale character by author Åsa Lind.

30 • Inge Löök has designed this year’s Christmas stamp.

32 • Beautiful scenery from the Sund and Eckerö municipalities is presented on stamps in 2010.

6 •6 • ThThe Ee E rouropapa

3030 • I• Ingenge LöLöökök

2626 • A• A rurunninningng

3232 • B• Beaueautiftifulul

4 • Å L A N D S P O S T E N F R I M Ä R K E NR

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Time for the annual postal race

NEWS

�he starting shot for this year’s edition of the �ostal �oat �ace

will be fi red on 19 une. �his will be the 37th race to be held.

A special cancellation will be arranged in connection with the race once again. In addition to the special cancel, the Post will be selling a lovely commemora-tive card adorned with the special cancel and a com-memorative cancel, which serves to certify that the mail was actually carried by one of the postal boats.

� Yes, please, I order the special cancellation on the enclosed items of mail. The special cancellation is free of charges. � Yes, please, I order __ commemorative card(s) with the special- and commemorative cancellations at €2.50/card.� Yes, please, I wish to have both the commemorative and special cancellations on the enclosed prefranked and self-addressed items of mail. Price: €1.70/item.

N A M E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F U L L A D D R E S S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C O U N T R Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

C U S TO M E R N O. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . � M A L E � F E M A L E

P H O N E N U M B E R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

E - M A I L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Send your coupon to Åland Post Stamps, P.O.Box 1100, AX-22111 MARIEHAMN, ÅLAND, Finland. The coupon and any personal covers will be accepted until 11 June. The coupon may be copied.

ORDERING COUPON

To facilitate the processing of orders, we ask our customers to use the coupon below, even when ordering special and/or commemorative cancella-tions on your own pre-franked and self-addressed covers. To guarantee delivery, orders will be accepted until Friday 11 June.

Å L A N D S P O S T E N F R I M Ä R K E N • 5 Å L A N D S P O S T E N F R I M Ä R K E N • 5 Å L A N D S P O S T E N F R I M Ä R K E N • 5

DEAR PHILATEL ISTS. Dear stamp people. How are you, really? Don’t get me wrong. This is not meant as mockery. I am not carrying with me a condescending sack of mordant irony. I am honestly curious to learn how you are. I imagine that the decline of letter writing and ensuing use of postage must be affecting you. You must feel it somehow, somewhere, inside of you – or? Without any evidence to support my theory, I imagine that you, dear enthusiasts, are reacting to the worldwide declining interest in stamps in any of the following manners:

F IRSTLY, those of you who tighten your fi st in your pocket and cry ”HA! Perfect! Now we are spared the amateurs, those who without bat-ting an eyelid would try to affi x the “3 Skilling” Yellow itself to that obligatory Christmas card to an aunt whose name they no longer remember. HA!”

SECONDLY, you who sit down in your favourite armchair, take out your fi nest collections and admire them – while sadly pondering whether stamps will fall into oblivion as did the telex machine, the scented stickers of the 80s and the collected “music production” of former bosomy pop queen Samantha Fox.

AND THIRDLY, you who do not care. You enjoy your hobby and you couldn’t care less if the surrounding world communicates by letters, telepathy or smoke signals. Please don’t take it amiss that I’m speculating. You see, despite the fact that I grew up in Åland, a tiny group of islands with its own exotic stamps, and despite the fact that I actually know at least three people, who have designed a number of these stamps, I happen to be one of those peculiar fellows who doesn’t care if the next Åland com-memorative stamp features a tick or one of the fathers of the nation. But I am curious of those who do care. That is why I asked.

FRED FORSELLColumnist with Åland origins, editor of the Amelia magazine

CHRONICLE

”Dear stamp people. How are you, really?”

Most beautiful in 2009The most beautiful Åland 2009 stamp has now been elected. The two Åland scenery stamps with photogra-phies from Saltvik and Föglö won the contest. The two stamps received 191 votes of the 608 votes cast in total.

Åland authors came in second and in third place we fi nd the Diving stamp. We congratulate the winners, the names of which were drawn from all votes cast:Päivi Raunio, Kellokoski, FinlandAnne-Marie Lillebuen, Kristiansand, NorwayJürgen Tandler, Wallerstein, GermanyDiana Sjöblom, Mariehamn, ÅlandEthel Eriksson, Brändö, Åland Pierluigi Bertotti, Torino, Italy

Competition winnersThe winners of the competition in the previ-ous edition of Ålandsposten Frimärken have now been drawn, and they are: Roger Blomqvist, Pietarsaari, FinlandOlle Haraldsson, Arkelstorp, SwedenManfred Tiltsch, Hagen, Germany

The prizes have been shipped by mail.The correct answers were: 1. Modern shipping 4. Alandia Cup 2. Martin Mörck 5. Västerås3. Chanterelle

6 • Å L A N D S P O S T E N F R I M Ä R K E N

ÅSA NEVER TIRES OF

WRITING“�ooks and reading cannot change the world. �ut they can

make us take a small step in a different direction, and that is

extraordinary. � cannot imagine life without books.” o says the

author Åsa �ind, the creator of the popular character the and

�olf, which now becomes a stamp.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

To make an interview with Åsa Lind turns out not to be so easy. She normally lives on the island of Lappo in the archipelago municipality of Brändö. However, she and her husband have temporarily moved to Berlin for six months to gather new inspiration and infl uences.

“I have never previously been to Germany and fi nd it really interesting to view the world from a Central European perspective.”

Å L A N D S P O S T E N F R I M Ä R K E N • 7

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Åsa Lind has been very successful with her books about the Sand Wolf.


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Author Åsa Lind was born in 1958 in Ångermanland in northern Sweden. After studies at Nyckelviksskolan (art, craft and design) and at the Institute of Journalism, she worked as a journalist, a restaurant manager and a nursing assistant. Since 1993, she lives on Lappo in

the Åland archipelago, where she works fulltime as an author. Åsa writes both fi ction and non-fi ction books for children and youth. Her series about the Sand Wolf and his friend Zackarina has been translated into 10 languages.

ÅSA L IND


ETERNAL AND LOVING

It did take several years, though, before Åsa took up the Sand Wolf idea again. Initially, the Sand Wolf stories were written for broadcasting to be turned into books later.

The Sand Wolf may be well-known to many readers but, to those of you, who have not yet read the novels, Åsa describes him like this:

“The Sand Wolf is the friend we all wish to have. He is worldly-wise, eternal and loving.”

Why the sympathetic Sand Wolf has become so popular is diffi cult for

”�he and �olf is the friend we all wish to have”

A SUPERB WRITING SCHOOL

Despite her detour to Berlin, Lappo is where Åsa Lind feels at home. That she ended up in Åland was purely a coincidence to which we will revert below. Åsa was born and raised in Ångerman-land in northern Sweden. She is a trained journalist and worked as such for a while.

“I loved to make interviews, but I always took too long to fi nish my articles. I didn’t want to give myself preferential right of interpretation but to give a correct version of reality.”

This insight led her to the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company, where she wrote short stories for children.

“It was a superb writing school! I learnt how to write for others, how to take benefi t from criticism and to see my texts as part of a whole.”

NEVER TIRES

This was also what eventually led her to becoming an author. Åsa has published many books, all written for children, fi ctional as well as non-fi ctional.

“Children need a lot of books. Just think, an eleven-year-old child probably reads some 200 books each year. An author publishes a maximum of two books per year, so 100 authors are required to fulfi l the requirements of the eleven-year-old child.”

Finding the right language for the right subject is challenging.“It impels me to write. I never tire of writing. However horrible,

hopeless and diffi cult it seems to be, I always get over it.”She does not rule out the possibility of writing for adults some-

time in the future but claims not to consider age so much when writing her books. She presents an approach worth considering:

“Children’s books are available to everyone, whereas adult books exclude some people.”

AN IDEA WAS BORN

The Sand Wolf series has been a great success for Åsa Lind. The books have been translated into 10 languages, and now the Sand Wolf and his friend Zackarina are featured on an Åland stamp.

“I took idea of the Sand Wolf from my daughter. We were on holiday in Spanish Majorca and, getting into the car after a day at the beach, she refused since, according to her, there was a Sand Wolf in the car. At fi rst I didn’t think much of it but, after a while in silence, my daughter said: “Now, the Sand Wolf is chasing the car”. I instantly knew that this was something I had to write about.”


“he is a phenomenal illustrator”

Åsa carefully chose amongst the illustrators presented by the publishing house.

“When I saw a small drawing by Kristina Digman, I instantly knew that she could do the Sand Wolf. There was something gnarled and headstrong about her drawings; she is a phenomenal illustrator!”

WEAK-KNEED BY FLAT ROCKS

How did a Swedish author end up in small Lappo in the archipelago of Åland, you may wonder?

“I fell in love with Åland”, is Åsa’s spontaneous reply.An elaborated reply would be that some 20 years ago, when she

was living in Portugal, she was granted a scholarship to spend four weeks on the island of Källskär in Kökar.

“Despite the fact that I grew up in the forest, I never felt at home in the woods; but I always became weak-kneed by fl at rocks and heaving seas. Immediately upon my departure from Källskär, I started to long back.”

ÅLAND IS UNIQUE

So, Åsa and her husband sent a letter to an acquaintance that happened to live in Lappo.

“He was thrilled and instantly welcomed us to the island by arrang-ing a place for us to live.” The family gathered its goods and chattels and moved in 1993. And Åsa’s love for Åland cannot be mistaken: “Åland is a unique spot, a world of extravagance when you consider nature, prosperity and safety. Here, we have an interesting hunting and fi shing culture, easy access to those in authority and an elk for next door neighbour. Åland offers peace, liberty and equality!” �

Åsa to explain; even she is surprised at the popularity of the books. Chil-dren as well as adults in Turkey, Korea and Germany have fallen for him.

TEXTS FOR READING ALOUD

“The books take up a number of questions and facts of life over which children often ponder. The Sand Wolf refl ects on anything from life and death, mine and yours to bruises. Perhaps this is the reason why many get caught up with the stories,” Åsa refl ects. Adults also enjoy the Sand Wolf texts, written as they are for reading aloud. Reading aloud creates a pleasant atmosphere, and these texts are a joy to listen to.

GNARLED AND HEADSTRONG

“A well-written text can be read over and over again, but illustrations and layout are equally important factors to succeed with a book”, Åsa believes.

When the fi rst book about the Sand Wolf was ready for illustration,


The gutter strip of the stamp sheet is decorated with shells and starfi sh.

266 • EUROPA - CHILDREN’S BOOKS, THE SAND WOLF

DATE OF ISSUE19 April 2010

ARTIST Kristina Digman

EDIT ION 180000

DENOMINATION Europa (€0.85)

PR ICE FDC €1.40

SIZE OF STAMP32 x 36.5 mm

SIZE OF SHEET2 x 15 stamps

PERFORATION13 per 2 cm

PAPER 105 g/m²

PRINT ING METHOD 4-colour offset

PR INT ING HOUSEThe Lowe Martin Group

The entire fi rst day cover is designed like a sand beach with shells and starfi sh and the letters FDC written in the sand.

The fi rst day canceldepicts the Sand Wolf.

KR IST INA DIGMAN

Illustrator Kristina Digman was born in 1959 in Gothenburg, Sweden, and raised in Båstad. Following studies at a number of art schools in Stockholm and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, she has painted, sculptured and worked as a graphic designer as well as with restoration. She and her family now live in an old school outside Halmstad. In 2001, she made her debut as an illustrator of chil-dren’s books with “Vår hemliga trädgård” by Sanna Töringe. She has illustrated all the Sand Wolf books by Åsa Lind, and made her debut as an author with ”Floras kulle” in 2008. This is Kristina Digman’s fi rst Åland stamp.

JAR

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ALO


The fi rst day envelope features the Aranda, the fi rst steamship to manage scheduled service between Åland and Turku the year round. The ship was built in 1920 and serviced until 1945, when she was surrendered to the Soviet Union as payment for war damages.

267 AND 268 • PASSENGER FERRIES, M/S SKANDIA AND M/S PRINSESSAN

DATE OF ISSUE3 May 2010

ARTIST Håkan Sjöström

EDIT IONS 2 x 200000

DENOMINATIONS€0.75 and €3.50

PRICE FDC €4.80

SIZE OF STAMPS35.4 x 26 mm

SIZE OF SHEETS2 x 20 stamps

PAPER 110 g/m²

PERFORATION 13 per 2 cm

PRINTING METHOD 4-colour offset

PR INT ING HOUSE Cartor Security Printing

HÅKAN SJÖSTRÖM

Artist Håkan Sjöström (born in 1933) is considered to be one of the foremost marine painters in Scandinavia today. Painting was an important part of Håkan’s youth. Upon completing his Bach-elor of Science degree (Econ.), he started working at a shipyard in Turku, where he remained until retirement. Alongside with his work, he also painted the ship-yard’s newbuildings. Håkan has also had commissions for several shipping companies, including Viking Line, as well as a few sea-scape commissions. In addition, he has illustrated magazines and books. These are Håkan’s third and fourth stamps for Åland Post.

The fi rst day cancel depicts the ship M/S Prinsessan.

The same ships as on the stamps are depicted on the gutter of both stamp sheets.


/S �rinsessan and /S kandia�he passenger ferry series continues in 2010. �he M/S �rinsessan of �irka

�ine and the M/S kandia of ilja �ine have been painted by the artist �åkan

jöström. �t the same time, Åland �ost presents a new collector’s product!

Founded in Mariehamn in 1971, the business idea of Birka Line was to arrange short distance cruises between Sweden and Åland all the year round. In November that same year, the fi rst passenger ship, Danish M/S Prinses-sen, was purchased. The ferry was put into service between Stockholm and Mariehamn on 21 November.

CHANGED NAMES SEVERAL TIMES

Her original name was Prinsesse Margrethe, built in Denmark in 1957 with a capacity of 1200 passen-gers and 35 cars. The shipping company DFDS put the ship into service between Copenhagen and Oslo, but she also plied the routes Copenhagen–Århus and Esbjerg–Newcastle. She was renamed Prinsessen in 1968 and Birka Line changed her name once more in 1971, this time to Prinsessan (the princess).

BECAME WID

Prinsessan was renamed Prinsen (the prince) in 1977 to allow her successor to be named Prinsessan 2. She was sold to Saudiarabia in 1978, where Wid, as she was now called, was used for pilgrimages until broken up in Pakistan in 1987.

FIRST NEWBUILDING

Silja Line was founded in 1957 by the three ship-ping companies Finland Steamship Company, Steamship Company Bore and Stockholms Rederi AB Svea. M/S Skandia was built in 1961 at Wärtsilä shipyard in Helsinki. Skandia was Silja Line’s fi rst newly built car ferry and was put into service on the route Turku–Åland–Stockholm. The ferry carried 1200 passengers and 175 cars.


“kandia had a cinema, a hairdresser and child care”

CHILD CARE AND CINEMA

Skandia was the fi rst purpose-built car-passenger ferry for year-round service. The bow doors fore and aft, resulting in a full-length car deck, were revolutionizing. All passengers had access to a hairdresser, a cinema, child care, a lookout bar and a play-room. Nordia, a sister ship to Skandia, was launched and put into service on the route Turku–Mariehamn– Norrtälje in May 1962.

SOLD TO VENEZUELA

In December 1973, Silja Line decided to take out of service both Skandia and Nordia, mostly due to high oil prices. Skandia was laid up in Turku and, in 1974, sold to a ship-ping company in Venezuela, where she, renamed Isla de Cuba Gua, plied the route Puerto la Cruz–Margarita Island. In 1986, the ship was sold to a Greek shipping company, but she went down the very same year in the Atlantic Ocean while in tow from Venezuela to Greece.

STEAMSHIP ARANDA

The FDC features yet another ferry, the S/S Aranda. Built in Turku in 1920, she was purchased by the Finnish State in 1921 to be put into year-round service between Turku and Åland. The Aranda was a pioneer in this area; with her ice-strengthened hull, she managed to get through even in hard winters. The 45 meter long ship was equipped with approximately 20 berths, a dining-hall, saloons and a café. Two trips were made each week in wintertime between October and March. In the summer, when passengers had the choice between several ships, Aranda was used for what is today called cruise service. One of Aranda’s charter commissions was for the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928.

SURRENDERED IN 1945

Aranda operated between Turku and Åland throughout the 1920s and 30s up until the end of the Second World War. The ship was surrendered to the Soviet Union as payment for war damages in 1945.

NEW COLLECTOR’S PRODUCT

In connection with the issue of the 2010 passenger ferry stamps, the Post presents a new collector’s product, an album holding ferry pre-sentation sheets with old photos and extra information about the ferries, and with the stamps cancelled with the fi rst day cancel. The ferry series will be issued 2009–2014. If you start a subscrip-tion for the presentation sheets, your fi rst delivery will include the sheets presenting the passenger ferries Newbuilding and Viking (2009 issues), Prinsessan and Skandia (2010 issues) as well as an album adapted for the presentation sheets.

USE COUPON

You will continue to receive future presentation sheets as the ferry stamps are issued. All sheets may be easily inserted in your album. Start your subscription for this new product using the coupon in the ordering catalogue. �

Sources: Håkan Sjöström, www.birka.se, www.faktaomfartyg.se, www.tallinksilja.com and ”Sjövägen till Sverige” by Matts Dumell.


Above is a sample of the new presentation sheets for passenger ferries. Two sheets (four pages) will be issued for each ferry stamp. Each sheet includes background information about the ferry and older photos, as well as the stamp itself cancelled with the fi rst day cancel. The texts will be in Swedish, Finnish, English and German.


EU

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KJELL SÖDERLUND / C.M. 2010

Colourful plastic toys�he 2010 stamp booklet holds stamps featuring funny plastic

toys, produced by the Åland company �lasto. �o further enhance

the plastic effect, �V lacquer has been added to the toy motifs!

The Plasto company was established in 1954, initially manufacturing motorcycle stickers and other stickers of the type, which could be found in packs of biscuits. Plasto soon switched to manufac-turing toys and took part in the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany, already in the 1950s.

GREEN OR YELLOW MOON CREATURE

The stamp booklet presents three different toys. Production of the green scooter called “the moon creature” with red wheels and handles, lively eyes and red antennae started in the 1960s and ended in 1988. The moon creature was mainly sold in green or yellow and was a popular toy, often referred to as “the cucumber”. For those of us who grew up in the 1960s and 70s, the moon creature is very familiar.

MANY SIZES

The second stamp features a red tipper lorry with a blue loading platform. The lorry is the most popular Plasto toy and is available in many sizes and colour combinations such as red, green, blue and yellow. Production started in 1973, and these lorries are still being manufactured.

DUCKS AND FLEAS

The third stamp shows a yellow and a red duck. The ducks came into being in 1975 and are still being produced. Kjell Söderlund photographed leaping fl eas in many colours for the booklet cover. The fi rst day cancel is also designed as a fl ea. Leaping fl eas are very popular toys and jump forward when you press down the rear. They fi rst came into production in


The fi rst day cover shows a white horse with black spots, a scooter toy which came into production in the1960s.

269 • ÅLAND TOYS


PHOTOGRAPHER Kjell Söderlund

EDIT ION 95000

DENOMINATIONEuropa (9 x €0.85)

PR ICE FDC €3.10

S IZE OF STAMPS52 x 23.83 mm

SIZE OF BOOKLET56 x 176 mm, 3 x 3 stamps


PAPER 110 g/m²

PRINT ING METHOD 4-colour offset + UV lacquer

PR INT ING HOUSE Österreichische Staatsdruckerei

KJELL SÖDERLUND

Photographer Kjell Söderlund (born in 1968) works as a com-mercial photographer, mostly out of his studio. He became interested in photography during his studies, fi rst and foremost nature photography. His interest developed from being just a hobby to becoming his occupa-tion, and he has worked as a full-time photographer for 12/13 years. Kjell has created a number of stamps for Åland Post, some of which are the Åland scenery stamps, the 2006 My Stamps and the 2008 My Åland stamp.

The booklet cover and so even the fi rst day cancel show Plasto’s plastic fl eas.

18 • Å L A N D S P O S T E N F R I M Ä R K E N18 • Å L A N D S P O S T E N F R I M Ä R K E N

On 10 May, three new maximum cards featuring the toys moon creature, lorry and duck will be issued.

The special cancellation for the maxi-mum cards depicts 3 plastic ducks.

the 1970s. In the 1990s, the design was slightly altered and the fl eas are now called frogs. The fi rst day cover features the head of a horse, a toddler’s scooter manufactured in the 1960s. It is no longer being produced.

NO BATTERIES

The Plasto business concept is to manufacture colourful, safe and durable toys encouraging creativity and inspiring children to play. The age of the main target group, children between the ages 1 and 6, is taken into consideration when Plasto designs toys, which are both robust and safe. Unlike many of today’s toys, Plasto toys do not have sound, light or any other battery operated functions.

WORLDWIDE EXPORT

The toys featured on the stamps are just a small collection of all the plastic toys sold by Plasto. The company exports their high quality toys to multiple stores, toy shops and preschool wholesale fi rms in the Nordic countries, Europe, the USA, Australia and Canada, among other countries. Plasto runs a factory outlet at their premises in the outskirts of Mariehamn. Especially in the summer time, the shop is a popular stop for tourists, who wish to buy their share of durable and relatively cheap toys. �

This year’s stamp watch features the moon creature. The edition of

the watch costing €17 is 1100.

“�he ducks came into production in 1975”


M I N N A R U N D B E R G :

I HAVE MUCH LEFT TO GIVE

To artist and designer Minna Rundberg it takes up to a year to create a

new pattern. Under the collective name Signum, this year’s three items

of postal stationery present a cavalcade of the dozen of patterns she has

designed since the start in 2002.

M I N N A R U N D B E R G :

I HAVE MUCH LEFT TO GIVE””””


MUST BE ONE STEP AHEAD

Graphic patterns are what have made Minna known. Very few Ålanders will not recognise her characteristic, graphic designs on curtains, tray tables, jugs and other items of contemporary art.

Although it takes her up to one year to generate a new pattern, she is anxious to get feedback once she is ready to launch.

“As a designer and trend maker, one has to constantly be one step ahead. You have to trust your gut and not just play it safe. But at the same time, you must take into consideration that it takes a while for a new pattern to get off the ground. Just when you are about to give up, things start to happen!”

BLANK SPACE PART OF PATTERN

She recurs to her graphic patterns.“I don’t wish to be typecast, so I deliberately attempt to vary my

designs. But the foundation remains the same, and that is important. I have much left to give!”

Minna likes to think big when developing new patterns:“Afterwards, I peel off layers little by little; to me, even the blank

space surrounding the pattern is part of the pattern. That, I should say, is very characteristic of me and my designs.”

CRAFTS TRADITION

Running her own company, Minna takes advantage of her back-ground in marketing.

“Having a strong image is essential, and I understand that an idea is nothing unless you are able to communicate it,” Minna says and lets us know that her background as a craftsman is also a great help today.

“My background has given me an awareness of crafts tradition and a sense of quality.”

“�aving a strong image is essential”

Minna Rundberg has worked for her own company Minna Rundberg ARTDESIGN since 2002. Last autumn, she felt the time had come to expand. A change was needed to not crush creativity, so she invited new partners and took on an export salesperson.

“Time has taught me my strengths and weaknesses. I can now concen-trate on developing new patterns.”

Minna works with many different patterns. Here we see Minna with her pattern Cocktail.


POSTAL STAT IONERY CARDS, S IGNUM


ARTIST Minna Rundberg

EDIT ION 3 x 13000

PRICE Postal stationery card €1.85Series of postal stationery €5.55

SIZES150 x 150 mm

PAPER Silk 300 g

PR INT ING METHOD 4-colour offset + partial UV lacquer

PR INT ING HOUSEWaasa Graphics

The three different postage paid symbols on the reverse of the cards feature her design Cocktail.

MINNA RUNDBERG

Artist and designer Minna Rundberg (born in 1965) from Jomala, Åland, started her career as a graphic designer in the advertising business. She has also worked in marketing and at a daily paper. Having completed her training in wood and metal crafts, she did smithwork for a while, before starting her own company Minna Rundberg ARTDESIGN. She now designs patterns to be printed on textiles, trays, jugs, glasses and table-cloths. In 2009, her company invited several new partners, and Minna now concentrates on exporting her products to Finland and Sweden. Other parts of Europe will follow next.

This year, three postal stationery cards designed by Minna Rundberg will be out. Her patterns of the past seven years form the basis of her collage.

The pure style of Minna Rundberg’s fl ower reappears in the cancel.


The fi xed point in Minna’s life is her studio close by her home in Jomala. Having worked alone for many years, she has now taken on an export salesperson, allowing her to concentrate on developing new patterns.

“� don’t wish to be typecast so

I attempt to vary my designs”

BECAME A STRENGTH

Minna found designing the three postal stationery cards enriching.

“I took out all my various patterns since 2002 and began to refl ect until I suddenly had an overall picture.”

This was a new experience and a healthy insight to Minna.

“I realized that all my patterns work well together, and it was empower-ing to note that my patterns follow a straight and honest thread without escapades. You are so easily tempted

to move in a different direction than the one you meant to go. Inspiration can come out of an abundance of motifs and patterns.”

ALWAYS SIGNS

Minna has named the series Signum (signature).“It’s all about the description of me. I have always signed my

designs, I fi nd it important that the customer knows that he or she bought an original. My signature has become a distinctive mark as well, and is today part of my trademark. The postal stationery cards are designed as a collage, refl ecting my distinctive character during this time period.”

NEW PATTERN

Among all the patterns included in the card designs, we also fi nd one which Minna has not yet launched.

“It’s the coil on the blue card. I was inspired by smithwork, and I am currently in the process of adapting the pattern”, Minna relates when we meet her in December 2009. She plans to launch the new pattern sometime this summer. �


�nique cooperation with acau�s of this year, the customers of Åland �ost can buy the

interesting Macau stamps – directly from Åland.

Customers in Macau will be able to acquire Åland stamps in the same way. Through this cooperation, both Macau and Åland Post aim at improving the circulation of their stamps and fi nding new markets, giving both posts a signifi cant boost on a sagging stamp collecting market. The Macau Year Packs will be available to order from Åland as of our ordering catalogue 2-2010 as well as from the Post’s web shop on the Internet. Why not take the opportunity to acquaint yourself with a new country to collect?

100 YEARS APART

Macau Post releases approximately 50 stamps every year featuring 11 to 13 main themes. The fi rst stamp to be printed with the inscrip-tion “Macau, China” was issued in December 1999 to mark Macau’s transition from a Portuguese territory to a Special Administrative Region of China. However, Macau has had stamps longer than so. The Macau Post was established on 1 March 1884, the same day as the fi rst Macau stamp was released. By a funny coincidence, this issue appeared exactly 100 years before the issue of the fi rst Åland stamp!

GEOGRAPHY AND CULTURE

Portugal was in charge of the Macau stamp issues as of 1887 and, consequently, the issues included many of the common designs issued for all the Portuguese territories, with the exception of the inscription “Macau”. When the Macau Post took over the pro-duction of stamps in 1981, a variety of designs relating to local geography and culture began to appear. �

FACTS

Macau is an autonomous region located on a tiny peninsula in southern China, 65 kilometres west of Hong Kong. Santa Nome de Deus de Macau is the name of the metropolitan area. Exactly like Hong Kong, Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China. Macau’s economy is based largely on tourism, much of it geared towards gambling. As increasing numbers of mainland Chinese visit Macau, the tourism and gaming sectors have massively expanded, transforming Macau into Asia’s Las Vegas. The clothing and shoe industry account for 85 percent of Macau’s export earn-ings. Mainland China, the USA, Hong Kong and Japan are Macau’s most signifi cant trade partners.

Sources: www.macaunews.com and http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macao.


The miniature sheet as well as the stamp motif both show parts of the stained glass window in the church of Jomala depicting Saint Olaf. The stained glass window by Jomala-born artist Ture Bengtz was unveiled in 1968 as a gift to the parish.

272, 273 • CHURCH INTERIOR I AND I I

DATE OF ISSUE

30 August 2010

ARTIST Ture Bengtz

DES IGN Cecilia Mattsson

PHOTOGRAPHER Robert Jansson

DENOMINATIONS €1.60 (miniature sheet)€0.80 (stamp)

PR ICE FDC €2.15 (miniature sheet)€1.35 (stamp)

S IZE OF STAMPNot confi rmed

SIZE OF MINIATURE SHEETNot confi rmed

PERFORATION Not confi rmed

PAPERNot confi rmed

PRINTING METHOD 4-colour offset

PR INT ING HOUSENot confi rmed

TURE BENGTZ

Ture Bengtz was born in 1907 in Jomala, Åland. He emigrated to the USA at the age of 18 and set-tled in Medford, Massachusetts. He studied art and, together with a group of students, he started the Boston Printmakers Association, which came to be a nationally well-known organisation. Ture Bengtz died in 1973. In 2007, Åland Post issued the stamp Emigration, the motif of which was a lithograph by Ture Bengtz.


oint theme: church interior�n �ugust, Åland �ost will be issuing a miniature sheet and

a stamp featuring church interior. �his is a joint issue with the

acau Post, which has interpreted the theme in its own way.

On 30 August, two almost identical miniature sheets will be issued in two completely different parts of the world. The motifs of the two sheets will differ in one aspect only: the Åland issue will have the Åland stamp perforated on the sheet, whereas the Macau stamp will be perforated on the Macau issue.

A WINDOW IN JOMALA

Despite certain similarities between Åland and Macau, the culture and history differ entirely. The differences will be readily apparent when the two miniature sheets, both featuring a church window, are issued. Åland’s part of the miniature sheet (Church Interior I) shows a stained glass window from the church of Jomala, created by artist Ture Bengtz.

TWO FIRST DAY COVERS

Åland will also be issuing a stamp (Church Interior II) featuring a different part of the same window. Two FDCs cancelled with the same fi rst day of issue cancel will thus appear on the day of issue.

YEAR SET AND STANDING SUBSCRIPTION ORDERS

The Åland miniature sheet and stamp will both be included in the Year Set. If you subscribe to stamps or Year Sets from Åland, you will automatically receive both the miniature sheet and the stamp.

PRESENTATION PACK WITH SPECIAL FDC

At the time of going to press, neither the miniature sheet nor the stamp were ready for print. This is the reason why we illustrate this article with only the stained glass church window, which will appear on both issues. Still on the drawing-board is also a joint presentation pack holding both Macau’s and Åland’s miniature sheets as well as a joint FDC with the Åland stamp Church Interior II and the individual Macau stamp on the same theme.

READ MORE ON THE HOMEPAGE

You will fi nd more information on the progress of the cooperation and about the miniature sheet and stamp editions in the next magazine and on our homepage at www.posten.ax. �


�he mail must be delivered!Åland mail farmers and farmhands alike had to be ready when the coach horn sounded. �hey knew then that it was time to carry the mail to the next farm, day or night.

In the 1600s, Åland was part of the kingdom of Sweden, a fast growing great power in need of effi -cient communications between the different regions of the kingdom. In consequence, a detailed postal decree was carried through in 1636. The manage-ment of the Kingdom wished to secure effi cient transportation of mail as well as travellers without encumbering heavy costs for wages.

HAD TO BE ABLE TO READ

The mail route across Åland was established in 1638. Until the end of the 19th century, the conveyance of mail across Åland bore the stamp of the postal reform. The mail was conveyed in relays between farmers living at a certain distance from one another along the mail route. Mail farmers had many responsibilities and, in return, they were exempted from some of the taxes to the Crown. They were required to be able to read and write; another requirement was that each farmer must keep two farmhands to help him. The mail must be carried in all weathers and at all times.

RISKING JAIL

No consideration was taken to ill-health or fatigue or to the need to attend to the farmer’s own work. The mail must always be delivered! If a farmhand could not run 10 kilometres in less than two hours, he was dismissed and sentenced to eight days imprisonment on bread and water. He also risked four weeks in jail if he was delayed by “talk and gossip”.

NO NEED FOR MAIL FARMERS

During the almost three hundred year period of mail conveyance across land and sea, the transpor-tation technique never changed. The mail farmers rowed, sailed and pulled their boats regardless of weather conditions. At the end of the 1800s, ships that were better equipped to cut through the ice came into use and a more regular service was intro-duced. The mail farmers were no longer needed, and the last mail rota left from Vårdö to Kumlinge on 31 December 1910. �

Source: ”Postvägen över Åland” by Jan Andersson.


270 • THE MAIL ROUTE

DATE OF ISSUE12 June 2010

ARTIST Tord Nygren

EDIT ION 180000

DENOMINATIONInrikes (€0.75)

PR ICE FDC €1.30

S IZE OF STAMP32 x 36.5 mm

SIZE OF SHEET 2 x 15 stamps

PERFORATION

13 per 2 cm

PAPER 105 g/m²


PR INT ING HOUSE The Lowe Martin Group

TORD NYGREN

Artist Tord Nygren (born in 1936) grew up in Borlänge, Sweden, and now lives in Gnesta close to Stockholm. He got a job as a decorator when he was 15, working with window-dressing. Tord Nygren eventually settled in Stockholm, where he studied commercial advertising at the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design for three years. Tord has illustrated children’s books and books for young people since 1964. He works in charcoal and Indian ink as well as in water-colours, gouache and pastel. Tord has also authored his own picture books and is in great demand as an illustrator of school- and textbooks. This is Tord’s fi rst stamp for the Åland Post.

The front of the FDC shows a mail farmhand gazing out at sea to a boat. On the reverse, we fi nd him with a mailbag.

The fi rst day cancel features the same mail farmhand as the stamp.

The illustrations from the fi rst day cover reappear on the gutter strip of the stamp sheet.


Full speed with laser sailboat�his year’s y tamp issue offers a piece of news – a gummed sheet holding eight stamps. �he stamp is an action-packed photo of a boy sailing a �aser �adial.

Several yacht clubs are registered in Åland, two of which are Mariehamns seglarförening r.f. (sailing club MSF) and Ålands segelsällskap r.f. (yachting club ÅSS). Both clubs are located in Mariehamn and have a long history: MSF was founded in 1917 and ÅSS in 1897.

ENGAGE IN YOUTH ACTIVITIES

The ÅSS is the oldest sports association in Åland and one of the fi rst yacht clubs in Finland. Both clubs engage in youth activities, and many Åland children and young persons have acquainted themselves with optimist dinghies and other sailing boats.

RADIAL SUITS YOUNG PEOPLE

In the stamp by Daniel Eriksson we see a Laser Radial. The Laser boats come in three variants: 4.7, Radial and Standard. A Radial has the same hull as a Standard but a smaller mast and sail, and it is therefore better suited for young sailors. The Laser Radial was chosen as the Olympic class for women, whereas the Laser Standard is used by the men. The

Laser Radial is a small singlehanded dinghy with a mainsail area of 5.76 m².

GUMMED SHEETS

As of this year, the My Stamps issue will be changed from a self-adhesive booklet to a gummed sheet of eight stamps. You can still order your own self-designed stamps at www.posten.ax. Just like before, your photography will be placed within the offi cial frame of the Post. A minimum order for personalized stamps is two sheets. COMPLETE SHEETS IN YEAR SET

This means to say that exhibition stamps produced after the issue of Youth Sailing on 12 June will be printed as gummed sheets. The stamp is sold solely in complete sheets of 8 stamps. A complete sheet will also be included in the Year Set. �

Sources: www.msf.ax, www.segel.aland.fi and http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_Radial.


271 • MY STAMPS – YOUTH SAIL ING

DATE OF ISSUE12 June 2010

PHOTOGRAPHER Daniel Eriksson

DENOMINATION Europa (€0.85)

PR ICE SHEET€6.80 (8 stamps)

PR ICE FDC €1.40

S IZE OF STAMP28.8 x 43.2 mm

SIZE OF SHEET 144 x 105 mm8 x 1 stamp


PAPER 135 g/m2

PR INT ING METHOD 4-colour offset + UV print

PR INT ING HOUSEThe Lowe Martin Group

DANIEL ER IKSSON

Photographer Daniel Eriksson was born in 1968 in Åland where he also grew up. After his A-levels, he started working as a newspaper photo grapher for Tidningen Åland. He became interested in photo graphy already as a teenager and soon started doing odd jobs for Tidningen Åland. He also freelances and has published a number of photography books, one of which focuses on the special Åland hunting of seafowl. This is Daniel’s third stamp for the Åland Post.

The gummed sheets hold eight stamps and are sold as complete sheets only.

The fi rst day cancel shows a laser sailboat

The fi rst day cover illustration is a close-up photo of a sail.


276 • CHRISTMAS 2010

DATE OF ISSUE8 October 2010

ARTIST Inge Löök

EDIT ION 350000

DENOMINATION Julpost (€0.65)

PR ICE FDC €1.20

SIZE OF STAMP35.40 x 26 mm

SIZE OF SHEET 2 x 20 stamps


PAPER 110 g/m²



INGE LÖÖK

Artist Inge Löök was born in Helsinki in 1951 and now lives in Pernaja, just east of Helsinki. She began to draw when she was four years old, winning several drawing competitions in the magazine Allers. Having already started stud-ying art and design at Ateneum, she changed direction and began to study gardening. After a 6 year career as a gardener, drawing took over again, and she has worked as a fulltime illustrator since then. Her popular “aunties” were born in 2003 when Inge had a commission to draw a Valentine card. For the time being, she works on a book of historical fairy tales and another book about museums in Eastern Uusimaa. This is Inge’s fi rst stamp for the Åland Post.

Two elderly women are dancing around a tree on the fi rst day cover. On the maximum card, we see them in Lucia gowns sitting on an old toboggan. The women reappear in the special cancel, framed in a gingerbread cutter.

The fi rst day cancel shows the same tree around which the merry women are dancing on the fi rst day cover.

Twigs of spruce decoratively strew the gutter strip of the sheet.


�hristmas with merry aunties�he 2010 �hristmas stamp presents �inland-wedish artist �nge �öök’ and her merry old ladies. �ell-known to many Scandinavians, �nge usually presents the aunties behaving mischievously!

In the stamp, the women dressed in Lucia gowns are carrying home a Christmas tree. On the fi rst day cover, they dance around the decorated tree wear-ing red Christmas caps. The tradition of erecting a decorated Christmas tree indoors comes from the mid-European guild feasts of the 1400s. In the Nordic countries, Christmas trees are fi rst men-tioned in the mid-1700s, a tree set up in a palace and decorated with twist saffron buns.

COMMON PRACTICE AROUND TURN OF CENTURY

Initially, smaller trees were placed in the middle of the table, but trees high as the ceiling became customary as of the mid-1800s. It was not until the turn of the 19th and 20th century, however, that Christmas trees became customary in the Nordic countries. From the start, the tree was usually decorated; however, the type of decorations used depended much on social conditions.

CHRISTMAS CARDS AS DECORATION

In the beginning of the 1900s, the tree in a bour-geois home would be decorated with paper crackers, pastry, baskets, apples and candles, whereas the trees in working-class homes were simpler, decorated with cotton balls, frosting and sweets. In Åland, the tree was generally hung from the ceiling and did not have many ornaments. When, in the 1920s, colour-ful Christmas cards became common, they were placed in the Christmas tree for decoration as well.

HANDMADE BAUBLES

Material for manufacturing tinsel was invented in Germany already in the 1700s. The classic Christmas tree decoration, the bauble, was introduced in the 1820s and was mould-blown. Special Christmas tree lights could be purchased already in the 1870s. �

Source: www.julgran.com


�ckerö and und�ll Åland municipalities have soon been featured in the

Åland scenery series. Four municipalities remain and, in

2010, �ckerö and und get the chance to present themselves.

Eckerö is the westernmost municipality of both Åland and Finland. From here, the Eckerö Line ferries depart for Grisslehamn on the Swedish side. Eckerö is well-known to all philatelists seeing that this is also where the traditional Postal Boat Race either departs or fi nishes.

POST AND CUSTOMS HOUSE

In Eckerö lies the fi ne old Post and Customs House from 1828 by the architects Carl Ludvig Engel and Carlo Bassi. The building is now a popular sight with a café, an art exhibition and a postal mail route museum. The Signhildskär island just off the coast of Eckerö is where, in the beginning of the 1800s, the Swedish army fought the fi nal battle on the ice, consequently losing Finland to the Russian Empire.

MANY HOLIDAY VILLAGES

The population of Eckerö is approximately 900 and tourism is an important source of income. Some twenty camping sites and holiday villages and almost as many cafés and restaurants are located here.

STAMP MOTIF FROM DEGERSAND

The Degersand beach in the village of Torp in southern Eckerö is a popular outing spot for Ålanders as well as tourists. Degersand, where Andy Horner took the photo, is the only landscape in Åland with sand dunes.

CULTURE-HISTORICAL SURROUNDINGS

Sund lies on the eastern side of main Åland, approximately 20 kilometres from Mariehamn.


274 AND 275 • ÅLAND SCENERY, ECKERÖ AND SUND

DATE OF ISSUE16 September 2010

PHOTOGRAPHERS Andy Horner (Eckerö)Erkki Santamala (Sund)

EDIT IONS 2 x 180000

DENOMINATIONS €0.80 (Eckerö)Europa (€0.85) (Sund)

PR ICE FDC €1.35 € (Eckerö)€1.40 € (Sund)

S IZE OF STAMPS31.75 x 36.51 mm

SIZE OF SHEETS 2 x 15 stamps


PAPER 102 g/m²



ANDY HORNER

Photographer Andy Horner was born and raised in northern England. He is a trained textile de-signer and has a degree in Scan-dinavian languages. He moved to Åland in 1991 and now holds the position of senior master of the photography study programme at Åland Folk High School. Andy freelances as a nature photo-grapher and has published three photography books. He gives talks regularly in all the Nordic countries and is one of three photographers shooting pictures for the Åland scenery stamps.

The Eckerö fi rst day cover features shells, and a picture from Skålberget adorns the fi rst day cover with the Sund stamp.

The gutter strip of the Eckerö stamp sheet features feathers, while ravens have been chosen for the gutter strip of the Sund stamp sheet.


ERKKI SANTAMALA

Erkki (born in 1967) has been a photographer since the early 1990s. He has published three photography books and had seven solo exhibitions. He lives in Lumparland and has worked as a newspaper photographer for the local newspaper Nya Åland since 2000. The series of Åland scenery stamps, which started in 2004, are his fi rst stamps.

The Eckerö cancel is a feather and two ravens appear on the Sund cancel.

This municipality is rich in culture-historical surroundings with both the Kastelholm Castle and the ruins of the Bomarsund fortress.

WELL-ATTENDED MARKET

Close to the Kastelholm Castle lies the Jan Karlsgården open air museum, presenting a typical Åland farmstead at the end of the 19th century. Recurrent Midsummer celebrations and a well-attended market on the fi rst Saturday in Advent are popular arrangements.

VITA BJÖRN

In the proximity of Jan Karlsgården and the castle, we fi nd the prison museum Vita björn. There has been prisoners and warders in Kastelholm since the castle was built. Prisoners were fi rst kept in the castle; the crown prison Vita björn was built in 1784 and used until 1975.

ROCK PLATEAU

Erkki Santamala’s stamp photo is taken at the Lillnäsberget in Sund, the scenery of which is characterized by its diversity. At the top of this rock plateau standing some 60 metres above the sea, we fi nd fl at rock forests dominated by old pine trees. Below the steep and vertical descent of the rocks lie a hazel grove and a small natural meadow, which is mowed every year. �

Source: www.eckero.ax, www.sund.ax, http://sv.wikipedia.org and www.naturum.ax.

“�egersand is a popular spot for outings”


2010 issues4 January Victor Westerholm 1 stamp

1 March Spar buoys, System A Postal label, FRAMA

24 March Nordic – Kobba Klintar 1 miniature sheet

24 March Head of Christ 1 stamp

19 April Europa – Children’s books 1 stamp

3 May Passenger ferries 2 stamps

10 May Åland toys Booklet, 9 stamps, 3 different motifs

10 May Åland toys 3 maximum cards

10 May Signum 3 postal stationery cards

12 June The mail route 1 stamp

12 June My Stamps – Youth sailing Mini-sheet of 8 stamps, 1 motif

30 August Church Interior I 1 miniature sheet

30 August Church Interior II 1 stamp

16 September Åland scenery –Eckerö and Sund

2 stamps

8 October Christmas 2010 1 stamp

8 October Christmas 2010 1 maximum card

8 October Christmas seals Sheets of 20 self-adhesive seals

CALENDAR

Deliveries and deadlines DELIVERYNUMBER

DEADLINE FOR SUBSC.CHANGES DELIVERY CONTENTS

1-2010 8 March April Victor Westerholm, postal label FRAMA, Nordic – Kobba Klintar (miniature sheet), Head of Christ, children’s books

2-2010 3 May June Passenger ferries, Åland toys (booklet), 3 maximum cards, 3 postal stationery cards, the mail route

3-2010 6 September October My Stamps (sheet), Church Interior I and II, Scenery – Eckerö and Sund, Christmas, 1 maximum card

4-2010 25 October November Year Sets, Christmas seals and decorations, packs, year pages

Other subscription deliveries (NOTE! PRELIMINARY TIMES OF DELIVERY)

PRODUCT DELIVERY PRODUCT DELIVERY

Nordic Set 2010 March Art plate no. 13 June

Model van no. 22 May Art plate no. 14 December

Stamp watch no. 8 June Model van no. 23 December


Exhibitions 2010The Åland Post takes part in the following 2010 exhibitions:

TURUN KEVÄT FRIMYNT NORDIA 2010 SF2010

Turku, Finland6–7 March

Helsingborg, Sweden17 April

Borås, Sweden28–30 May

Helsinki, Finland8–10 October

LAPOEX 2010 INT. BRIEFMARKENMESSE PHILALUX INT. BRIEFMARKENBÖRSE

Lahti, Finland26–28 March

Essen, Germany6–8 May

Luxembourg1–4 July

Sindelfi ngen, Germany 29–31 October

ANTWERPIA 2010 LONDON 2010 FRIMÄRKETS DAG FRIMÆRKEFORUM

Antwerp, Belgium9–12 April

London, Great Britain 8–15 May

Stockholm, SwedenSeptember

Roskilde, Denmark5–7 November

An exhibition card, cancellation and stamp will be available at all these exhibitions, except for the one held in Stockholm. The theme of the 2010 exhibition products is local sights, and the artist is Catharina Nygård Holgersson. Changes to the above preliminary list will be mentioned at www.posten.ax.

STAMPS IN SVEDALA

64È SALON PHILATELIQUE D’AUTOMNE-2010

Svedala, Sweden11–12 September

Paris, France,4–7 November

Holiday closingÅland Post Stamps will be closed on the following public holidays:

ASCENSION DAY ÅLAND’S AUTONOMY DAY MIDSUMMER EVE

13 May 9 June 25 June

Special cancellations 2010At the time of publishing, the following 2010 events have been issued with special cancellations:

21.2 ÅLAND GUIDES 40 YEARS 19.6 POSTAL BOAT RACE

27.4 MARIEHAMN GYMNASTICS CLUB 80 YEARS 8.10 CHRISTMAS 2010 (MAXIMUM CARDS)

7.5 SCHOOL MUSIC 2010 8.10 STAMP DAY

10.5 ÅLAND TOYS (MAXIMUM CARDS)

Additions to the above list may be made and will, in this case, be listed in the next edition of this magazine and at www.posten.ax, where illustrations of the special cancellations are also available.

CALENDAR

Next magazineThe next edition of Ålandsposten Frimärken will be out in connection with the November delivery.

Åsa - ...author Åsa lind was born in 1958 in Ångermanland in northern sweden. after studies at...

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