New Stamp on October 8 2010

Christmas with merry aunties
The 2010 Christmas stamp presents Finland-Swedish artist Inge Löök’s merry old ladies.  Well-known to many Scandinavians, Inge usually presents the aunties behaving mischievously!

In the stamp, the women dressed in Lucia gowns are carrying home a Christmas tree.  On the first day cover, they dance around the decorated tree wearing red Christmas caps.  A maximum card and a special cancellation will also appear in this connection.

In the Nordic countries, Christmas trees are first mentioned in the mid-1700s, a tree set up in a palace and decorated with twist saffron buns.  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.

Date of issue:  8 October 2010
Artist:  Inge Löök
Edition:  350,000
Denomination:  Julpost (€0.65)
Price:  FDC €1.20
Size of stamp:  35.40 x 26 mm
Size of sheet:  2 x 20 stamps
Perforation:  13 per 2 cm
Paper:  110 g/m²
Printing method:  4-colour offset
Printing house:  Cartor Security Printing

New Stamps on September 16 2010

Åland scenery in Sund and Eckerö
All Åland municipalities will soon have been featured in the Åland scenery stamp series.  Four municipalities remain and, in 2010, Eckerö and Sund 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 finishes.

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.

Sund lies on the eastern side of main Åland, approximately 20 kilometres from Mariehamn.  This municipality is rich in culture-historical surroundings with both the Kastelholm Castle and the ruins of the Bomarsund fortress.

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 find flat 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.

Date of issue:  16 September 2010
Photographers:  Andy Horner (Eckerö)
Erkki Santamala (Sund)
Editions:  2 x 180,000
Denominations:  €0.80 (Eckerö)
Europa:  (€0.85) (Sund)
Price FDC:  €1.35 (Eckerö)
€1.40 (Sund)
Size of stamps:  31.75 x 36.51 mm
Size of sheets:  2 x 15 stamps
Perforation:  13 per 2 cm
Paper:  102 g/m²
Printing method:  4-colour offset
Printing house:  Cartor Security Printing

New Stamps on August 30 2010

Joint theme: church windows
In August, Åland Post will be issuing a miniature sheet as well as a stamp on the theme church windows.  The Macau Post presents the Macau interpretation of the same theme in this joint issue.



Two nearly identical miniature sheets will be issued on 30 August, however, in two entirely different parts of the world.  The miniature sheet motifs will be identical, but the perforations will differ.  On the Åland sheet, the Åland stamp motif will be perforated, whereas the Macau motif will be perforated on the Macau issue.

Despite certain similarities between Åland and Macau, the culture and history differ completely.  The differences become evident in the miniature sheets when the two postal administrations each present a church window.  The Åland part of the miniature sheet (Church window I) shows a stainedglass window from the church of Jomala, created by the artist Ture Bengtz.

Apart from the miniature sheet, the Åland post issues a stamp on the same theme (Church window II) presenting a different section of the same stained-glass window.  Only one first day cancel will be used for the two first day covers also appearing on the day of issue.

Date of issue:  30 August 2010
Artist:  Ture Bengtz
Design:  Cecilia Mattsson
Photographer:  Robert Jansson
Editions I, Miniature sheet: 100,000
II, Stamp: 180,000
Denominations:  €1.60 (I, miniature sheet)
€0.80 (II, stamp)
Price FDC:  €2.15 (I, miniature sheet)
€1.35 (II, stamp)
Size of I, miniature sheet:  105 x 70 mm
Size of II, stamp:  30 x 40 mm
Size of sheet (II):  2 x 12 stamps
Perforation:  13/per 2 cm
Paper:  105 g/m²
Printing method:  4-colour offset
Printing house:  LM Group

New Stamps on June 12 2010

Full speed with laser sailboat
This year’s My Stamp issue offers a piece of news – a gummed sheet holding eight stamps. The stamp is an action-packed photo of a boy sailing a Laser Radial.

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.

In the stamp by photographer 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 is a small singlehanded dinghy with a mainsail area of 5.76 m².

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 official frame of the Post.

The stamp is sold solely in complete sheets of 8 stamps. A complete sheet will also be included in the Year Set.

Date of issue:  12 June 2010
Photographer:  Daniel Eriksson          
Denomination:  Europa (€0.85)
Price sheet:  €6.80 (8 stamps)
Price FDC:  €1.40
Size of stamp:  28.8 x 43.2 mm          
Size of sheet:  144 x 105 mm, 8 x 1 stamp
Perforation:  13 per 2 cm                    
Paper:  135 g/m2
Printing method:  4-colour offset + UV print
Printing house:  The Lowe Martin Group

The mail must be delivered!
Åland mail farmers and farmhands alike had to be ready when the coach horn sounded. They knew then that it was time to carry the mail to the next farm, day or night. A stamp appearing in June focuses on the conveyance of mail.

The mail route across Åland was established in 1638. Until the end of the 19^th 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.

During the almost three hundred year period of mail conveyance across land and sea, the transportation 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 introduced. The mail farmers were no longer needed, and the last mail rota left from Vårdö to Kumlinge on 31 December 1910.

Date of issue:  12 June 2010
Artist:  Tord Nygren      
Edition:  180000
Denomination:  Inrikes (€0.75)
Price FDC:  €1.30
Size of stamp:  32 x 36.5 mm             
Size of sheet:  2 x 15 stamps
Perforation:  13 per 2 cm
Paper:  105 g/m²
Printing method:  4-colour offset
Printing house:  The Lowe Martin Group

New Stamps on May 10  2010

Colourful plastic toys in this year’s booklet
The 2010 stamp booklet holds stamps featuring funny plastic toys, produced by the Åland Plasto company. To further enhance the plastic effect, UV 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 manufacturing toys and took part in the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany, already in the 1950s.

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 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. Production started in 1973, and the lorries are still being manufactured.  The third stamp shows a yellow and a red duck. The ducks came into being in 1975 and are still being produced.

Photographer Kjell Söderlund photographed leaping fleas in many colours for the booklet cover. They first came into production in the 1970s. In the 1990s, the design was slightly altered and the fleas are now called frogs.

The three toys will also appear on the three maximum cards issued 10 May. This year’s stamp watch features the moon creature.

Date of issue:  10 May 2010
Photographer:  Kjell Söderlund
Edition:  95000
Denomination:  Europa (9 x €0.85)
Price FDC:  €3.10
Size of stamps:  52 x 23.83 mm
Size of booklet:  56 x 176 mm, 3 x 3 stamps
Perforation:  14 per 2 cm
Paper:  110 g/m²
Printing method:  4-colour offset + UV lacquer
Printing house:  Österreichische Staatsdruckerei

New Stamps on May 3 2010

M/S Prinsessan and M/S Skandia
The passenger ferry series continues in 2010. The M/S Prinsessan of Birka Line and the M/S Skandia of Silja Line have been painted by the artist Håkan Sjöström. At the same time, Åland Post 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 first passenger ship, Danish M/S Prinsessen, was purchased. Built in Denmark in 1957, Prinsessan had a capacity of 1 200 passengers and 35 cars. Her original name was Prinsesse Margrethe and she was renamed Prinsessen in 1968 before Birka Line changed her name once more in 1971, this time to Prinsessan (the princess).

Silja Line was founded in 1957 by the three shipping 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 first newly built car ferry and was put into service on the route Turku–Åland–Stockholm. The ferry carried 1 200 passengers and 175 cars and was the first purpose-built car-passenger ferry for year-round service. The bow doors fore and aft, resulting in a full-length cardeck, were revolutionizing.

In connection with the 2010 passenger ferry stamps, the Post presents a new collector’s product, an album with ferry presentation sheets with old photos and extra information about the ferries and with the stamps cancelled with the first day cancel. The ferry series will be issued 2009–2014.

Date of issue:  3 May 2010
Artist:  Håkan Sjöström
Editions:  2 x 200 000
Denominations:  €0.75 and €3.50
Price FDC:  €4.80
Size of stamps:  35.4 x 26 mm
Size of sheets:  2 x 20 stamps
Paper:  110 g/m²
Perforation:  13 per 2 cm
Printing method:  4-colour offset
Printing house:  Cartor Security Printing

New Stamps on April 19 2010

The Sand Wolf on this year’s Europa stamps
The theme of this year’s Europa stamps is Children’s books, and the Åland Post has decided to let the artist Kristine Digman illustrate the author Åsa Lind’s well-known fairy tale character the Sand Wolf and his friend Zackarina.

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 one day, she refused since, according to her, there was a Sand Wolf in the car. At first, 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.

But it took several years 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 difficult for Åsa to explain; even she is surprised at the popularity of the books. Children as well as adults in countries like Turkey, Korea and Germany have fallen for him.

Date of issue:  19 April 2010
Artist:  Kristina Digman
Edition:  180 000
Denomination:  Europa (€0.85)
Price FDC:  €1.40
Size of stamp:  32 x 36.5 mm
Size of sheet:  2 x 15 stamps
Perforation:  13 per 2 cm
Paper:  105 g/m²
Printing method:  4-colour offset
Printing house:  The Lowe Martin Group

New Stamps on March 24 2010

Popular picture of Christ
500 million. This is the estimated number of reproductions made of the world-famed painting Head of Christ. Painted by the Åland descendant Warner Sallman, it now becomes an Åland stamp.

Warner Sallman was born in Chicago, USA, on 30 April 1892. His father Elias Sällman had emigrated from Bråttö in Föglö, Åland, and his mother Christina Larsson came from Värmland, Sweden. Warner worked for a short while as a commercial artist for men’s fashion, but gave it up when he fell seriously ill. After a remarkable restoration to health, he set upon his new career, which eventually led to this popular image of Christ.

In the early 1940s, the company Kriebel and Bates Inc. was established to market Sallman’s Christian art. The original oil painting of Head of Christ is today owned by and on display at the Anderson College of Liberal Arts in Indiana, USA. The Head of Christ as well as Warner’s many other portraits of Jesus quickly became well-known and can still be seen in many North American Christian homes. Many American soldiers kept Warner’s portrait of Christ in their breast pocket or wallet during the Second World War.

Date of issue:  24 March 2010
Artist:  Warner Sallman 
Edition:  200 000
Denomination:  Världen (€0.90)
Price FDC:  €1.45
Size of stamps:  30 x 35.143 mm       
Size of sheet:  2 x 15 stamps
Perforation:  13 per 2 cm
Paper:  102 g/m²
Printing method:  5-colour offset
Printing house:  Southern Colour Print

Life in Kobba klintar
The 2010 theme for the Nordic miniature sheet is 'Life at the coast’. Together with Juha Pykäläinen, the Åland Post has chosen to feature a fine summer’s day at Kobba klintar.



Kobba klintar is an old pilot station close to the fairway leading into Mariehamn. The island Kobba klintar was developed in connection with the foundation of Mariehamn in 1861. A pilot station was required in the development of Mariehamn as a much frequented and smoothly operated harbour. In 1862, the first small pilot house was built on Kobba klintar and, in 1910, the larger house was built with lodgings and room for the large foghorn structure. By 1972, time and the technical development had rendered the pilot station Kobba klintar redundant and it was shut down.

Today, the society ‘Friends of Kobba klintar’ leases the island and all its buildings. In summer, the island is a popular recreational area for tourists as well as Ålanders.

Nordic mythology has been the theme for the last three Nordic issues and the time has now come for a new tempting theme for the joint Nordic stamps – ‘the North by the Sea’. The Nordic postal authorities will be issuing miniature sheets within the new theme in 2010, 2012 and 2014. The first sub-theme will be ‘Life at the coast’, a theme which can be freely interpreted by the participating posts. As in previous years, a joint presentation pack will be produced, holding the Nordic 2010 miniature sheets from all eight Nordic postal administrations.

Date of issue:  24 March 2010
Artist:  Juha Pykäläinen
Denomination:  Världen (€0.90)
Price FDC:  €1.45
Size of stamp:  45.99 x 30.30 mm
Size of miniature sheet:  105 x 70 mm
Perforation:  13 per 2cm
Paper:  105 g/m²
Printing method:  4-colour offset
Printing house:  The Lowe Martin Group

New Stamps on March 1 2010

FRAMA labels depicting buoyage System A
A new motif for the Åland FRAMA labels will be published in March. Allan Palmer is the artist for the new as well as for the previous motif on the theme spar buoys.

In 2009, the labels depicted the old system of spar buoys, or seamarks as they are also called. In 2010, the internationally used system A will be featured. A system B, in which certain details are reversed compared to buoyage system A, also exists and is used by the USA and Australia, among others.

The postal label shows cardinal buoys (painted in horizontal yellow and black stripes) as well as lateral buoys indicating starboard hand (green) and port hand (red).

“The buoys illustrated on the labels have top marks. In reality, top marks are optional and not commonly used this far north, since the ice is likely to destroy them. Instead, the top marks are removed, a fact which sometimes makes it difficult to distinguish the buoys in hard weather or difficult light conditions”, the artist Allan Palmer explains.

Date of issue:  1 March 2010
Artist:  Allan Palmer
Denominations:  Tariffs for 2010 not set yet
Price of series:  Tariffs for 2010 not set yet
Price FDC (not signed):  Price of series + €0.55
Size:  40.00 x 30.34 mm
Paper:  Fluorescens, 105 g/m²
Printing methods:  5-colour offset
Printing house:  Post Danmark

New Stamp on January 4 2010

Victor Westerholm on stamp
On 4 January 2010, 150 years have passed since the artist Victor Westerholm was born. As the founder of an artist colony in Önningeby, Åland, he became quite a significant artist and is now commemorated by the issue of a stamp featuring one of his works.

Having initially studied at the drawing school of the Turku Art Society, Finno-Swedish Victor Westerholm moved to Düsseldorf at the end of the 1870s to study at the Academy of Art. Through his acquaintance with an Åland painter in Düsseldorf, Westerholm became interested in Åland and, in 1884, he bought a small house close to the Lemström Canal in Lemland. Two years later, Westerholm invited his artist friends Fredrik Ahlstedt, Hanna Rönnberg, Elin Danielson, JAG Acke and Alexander Federley to stay with him and this was the start of the Önningeby Artist Colony.

The first six years, 1886–1892, were the most intensive years in the history of the Önningeby Artist Colony. During these years, Elin Danielson and JAG Acke, among others, painted on a continuous basis in Önningeby, and more and more artists joined the colony in the following years.

The stamp shows Westerholm’s painting ‘Mail Jetty at Eckerö’ from 1883. On the first day cover and on the stamp sheet, Victor Westerholm’s drawing in Indian ink ‘From Mariehamn, Eastern harbour’ from 1891.

Date of issue:  4 January 2010
Artist:  Victor Westerholm                  
Edition:  200 000
Denominatio:  Europa (€0.80)
Price FDC:  €1.35
Size of stamp:  40 x 26 mm
Size of sheet:  2 x 16 stamps
Perforation:  13 per 2 cm
Paper:  110 g/m²
Printing method:  4-colour offset
Printing house:  Cartor Security Printing