A new special stamp was issued in October 2024 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Universal Postal Union. The design won the competition because it combines the idea of stylized envelopes and national flags, creating a colorful surface that vividly integrates the stamp lettering. In addition, the triangular flaps of the envelopes can also be read as arrows, which illustrate the transportation of the letters through the Universal Postal Union. The envelopes also reappear in the margin of the sheet of ten stamps and in the two corresponding first day postmarks. The stamp is available in Deutsche Post branches and online. The typeface Helvetica complements the minimalist style of the stamp.

To mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant hymn book, the German postal service published a stamp in January 2024. The stamp shows a stylized illustration of the hymn book and the church of Lutherstadt Wittenberge. I translated the historical theme into a contemporary, modern design , making visual reference to a church window that is illuminated. This effect intensifies when the stamp is arranged in a row with the margin of the sheet of ten stamps. GT Walsheim fits perfectly with the reduced, geometric illustrations and gives the stamp a modern character.

In addition to the stamp, two first issue postmarks were created for Berlin and Bonn, as well as the margin of the sheet of ten, which continues the design of the stamp beyond its format. The stamp is available in all Deutsche Post shops and online. The date of first issue was January 4, 2024.

October 29, 1923 marks the start of regular entertainment radio program in Germany. For the 100th anniversary a special stamp was released by the German Postal Service.

The stamp features the typographic message “Achtung Aufnahme! Bitte Ruhe” (the German equivalent of the “On Air” sign) on a bright red background. The sign stands as a strong symbol for the radio studio and the recording of a radio show. The typeface Guida is reminiscent of an original illuminated sign that can be found in the Deutschlandradio broadcasting center and served as a model. In addition to the stamp, two postmarks for Berlin and Bonn were created, as well as the border of the sheet of ten stamps. Printed in fluorescent red.

In May 2021, Deutsche Post issued a stamp commemorating the 100th birthday of anti-Nazi political activist Sophie Scholl.

In 1942, during World War II, the student joined the resistance group Weiße Rose, or White Rose. Together with her brother Hans and others, she conducted an anonymous leaflet and graffiti campaign that called for active opposition to the Nazi regime. On 18 February 1943, while distributing the sixth leaflet at the University of Munich, Sophie was arrested by the Gestapo. Four days later, she and her brother Hans as well as their friend Christoph Probst were convicted of high treason and condemned to death. The sentence was executed only a few hours later. Sophie Scholl died on 22 February 1943, at the age of 21. Her memory lives on.

Detlef Behr’s stamp design features a portrait of the young women and a quote, recorded by her cell mate, the communist resistance fighter Else Gebel:

Such a fine sunny day, and I have to go. What does my death matter if thousands of people are stirred up and awakened by our actions.

First Day of Issue postmarks for Bonn and Berlin. The former features the word Freiheit! (“freedom!”), which Sophie Scholl wrote on the back of the bill of indictment during her trial. The latter reads Das wird Wellen schlagen (“This will make waves”) – words that the student told her parents shortly before her death.

First Day of Issue postmarks for Bonn (with Barlach’s signature) and Berlin (with a lateral view of the floating angel), ft. all-caps Archive Mono set on a circle.

Sheet with ten stamps

Props to Julia Warbanow for choosing contemporary fonts for postage stamps! This is Schick Toikka’s Chap (2016), used for a stamp to be issued on 7 February 2019, commemorating the 150th birthday of Jewish German poet and playwright Else Lasker-Schüler (1869–1945). From the Deutsche Post website:

As Germany’s most important expressionist poet and exponent of avant-garde literature, she is at the center of Berlin’s bohemia at the beginning of the 20th century. Her extravagant lifestyle also contributes to this: she rejects the traditional role of women in bourgeois society. At the same time she opposes abortion, advocates for contraceptives and free love, and advances as a symbolic figure for the liberation from conservative constraints. Not least because of her appearance – black pageboy cut, wide trousers, colorful robes and eye-catching jewelry – Else Lasker-Schüler is considered an eccentric bird of paradise, who likes to stroll through the streets of Berlin, disguised as her alter ego “Yusuf, Prince of Thebes”.

The image shows a detail from a drawing by Lasker-Schüler, titled Jussuf (© Sammlung Kamen, Insel Hombroich).

First Day of Issue postmarks for Bonn and Berlin.

Detail of a sheet with ten stamps.

Original image courtesy of Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach

Props to Julia Warbanow for choosing contemporary fonts for postage stamps! This is Bold Monday’s Nitti Grotesk (2013), used for a stamp issued on 2 November 2017 to commemorate the 200th birthday of Theodor Mommsen.

Mommsen (1817–1903) is considered the most important German scholar of antiquity in the 19th century. His three-volume Römische Geschichte (A History of Rome, 1854–56), one of the most widely read historical works of all, set standards. Countless studies of ancient history and life followed. In addition, Mommsen also excelled as a science organizer; for example with the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum project, a collection of all ancient Latin inscriptions. […] A year before his death, Mommsen was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature as “the greatest living master of the art of historical writing.” — Deutsche Post

Roman numerals for the scholar of Roman history. The First Day of Issue postmarks use Nitti Grotesk in all caps, force-justified to fit the circle shape.

Sheet of ten, with the dates cut in halves and shown to both sides. Sadly, the printing process didn’t allow the type to bleed off the edge, it seems.

Every two years, the German Federal Ministry of Finance issues a charity stamp for the benefit of environmental protection. This time, the topic is “The Alps — Diversity in Europe”. Like the previous issue (“Water is Life”), it was designed by Henning Wagenbreth. See more of his stamp designs in my Blog post from 2012.

60 cent (standard letter) stamp to celebrate the German team winning the world cup, and thus being Fußballweltmeister.

The German post authorities pay tribute to the country’s most popular author/illustrator of children books, Janosch. (Critical voices might call such an issue rather a commercial plug than a tribute, since Janosch is fortunately alive and kicking.)

The two stamps, Segelboot (Sailboat) and Ostern (Easter) feature his best-known character, the Tigerente (Tiger Duck), next to others. For the typography, both styles of FF Hands by the Letterror “random twins” have been used: Just van Rossum’s FF JustLeftHand for the year and, in all-caps, for the country; Erik van Blokland’s FF ErikRightHand for the value.

Le Monde Courrier was designed by Jean François Porchez in 1997, but not publicly released before 2011. Michael Kunter made use of this mellow round slab for a German stamp that commemorates a local railway system in Mecklenburg.

Each year, the Federal Ministry of Finance of Germany issues approximately 50 stamps. One of the graphic artists who was commissioned for their design is Henning Wagenbreth, a Berlin-based illustrator and professor at the University of Arts in Berlin. With their unique comical style and bright colors, his stamps alone give reason enough to prefer good old snail mail over e-mail and file sharing.

This stamp celebrates the 100th anniversary of youth hostels. By placing the hostel on the perforation, Wagenbreth cleverly utilizes the horizontal repetition on the sheet and boils down the story of backpacker travel to its essence: hiking from lodge to lodge. FF Typestar was designed by Steffen Sauerteig, a member of the eBoy collective, who collaborated with Wagenbreth on the Prater fonts. (46×27mm, August 13, 2009, Michel 2753)

To date, Henning Wagenbreth has designed twelve stamps, of which nine have been issued. Although he creates custom lettering for posters and other projects, Wagenbreth avoids drawn or written letters for his stamp designs. The characters for this tiny medium, he claims, need to be stricter, more regular and precise. That is why he relies on typefaces. He is convinced that stamps need to have a longer aesthetic half-life, and hence shouldn’t look like they were done by hand, as a quick sketch. In all his designs, he worked with a restricted typographic palette. The typefaces in use are his own FF Prater, Akzidenz-Grotesk, and FF Typestar, or a mix thereof.

I like using the Prater family, because it goes well with my drawings. Well, that is what it was made for! Its forms are relatively strict. Still, it is somewhat dynamic, with its modulated stroke weight and its deviations from the vertical and horizontal. What I like about Akzidenz-Grotesk is that it is a timeless design, with neutral forms. Furthermore, it is available in all kinds of styles. This enables me to pick a size, width, and weight that goes well with the rest of the design. Typestar comes into play when neither Prater nor Akzidenz-Grotesk were considered appropriate. Or maybe also when I wanted to achieve a slightly more modern look, without being too trendy.

Commemorating 100 years of engine powered flight, this stamp features German aviation pioneer Hans Grade in his self-constructed triplane. (44×26mm, October 9, 2008, Michel 2698)

A souvenir sheet dedicated to historic motorsports is illustrated with vintage cars racing on the Nürburgring, a motorsport complex in the Eifel mountains. (105×70mm / 55×32mm, August 13, 2009, Michel 2754)

For the 2011 edition of the yearly sports series, Wagenbreth designed four stamps with a colorful stripe pattern. The two promoting the Women’s World Cup of soccer were also issued in a special booklet with an adjoining layout – the so-called se-tenant stamps. (55×32mm, April 7, 2011, Michel 2857–8)

In principle, everyone who is interested in designing stamps can apply to Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance. For every issue, about six designers are invited to submit a proposal. The proposal has to show the design both at actual and at sixfold size. The Kunstbeirat will then judge the graphic quality and pick a winner. This art board consists of 14 members, including five graphic design experts (usually professors from art schools) and one expert in printing technology.

Occasionally, art school classes are asked to submit entries, too. In 2007, Michael Kunter — then one of Wagenbreth’s students in his illustration class — won the competition for the Valentin stamp. It was only then that his professor himself was invited, too.

This stamp celebrates the 125th birthday of the Bavarian clown and comedian Karl Valentin (sometimes dubbed the Charlie Chaplin of Germany). In this scene from “Der neue Schreibtisch”, a newly acquired desk does not match the chair in height, so Valentin shortens its legs. Of course, he overdoes it, and subsequently has to shorten the chair legs, too. He goes on measuring and sawing, until he ends up sitting on the floor. (35×35mm, June 14, 2007, Michel 2610)

Generally, Germany’s special stamps are produced in sheets of 10 stamps each. The sheet edges can be designed, too. Michael Kunter chose to decorate the frame with objects from the sketch, and the music instruments typical of Valentin.

Three submissions by Wagenbreth were not selected by the art board: the 100th anniversary of international soccer matches (April 2008), the 100th birthday of comedian Heinz Erhardt (February 2009), and the 125th birthday of Franz Kafka (July 2008).

Once the art board picks an entry, the winner needs to add two first-day-of-issue postmarks – one for Berlin, one for the former capital of West-Germany, Bonn. Many of these line illustrations are half-hearted attempts that don’t live up to the quality of the main design. Not so with Wagenbreth — his postmarks continue to tell the story.

For a stamp about a board game, Wagenbreth chose to electronically slant his Prater Script to intensify the scene: an outburst of fury at the family table. This is a good lesson for those of us who hold too tightly to Type 101 rules — once you know what you’re doing, you can let go.

Celebrating 100 years of “Mensch ärgere dich nicht” (“Don’t be offended, man”), a German board game similar to the American “Sorry!” or the British “Frustration!” (44×26mm, February 11, 2010, Michel 2783)

Many of Wagenbreth’s expressive creations, like large-scale silkscreened posters, are available from his website. Still, his most concentrated pieces of work can be had for a few Euro cents at the local post office. When the next stamp issue by Wagenbreth is out, better get yourself a whole sheet, so that you can enhance your mail and keep a copy for yourself.