PUBLIC AFFAIRS SECTION

Press Release

10 January 2006
U.S. Postal Service and Royal Mail Honor Children's Book Illustrators

London -- On January 10, the U.S. Embassy in London and the Royal Mail hosted a reception at the Embassy to mark the launch of a set of special postage stamps issued jointly by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the Royal Mail, celebrating famous children's book illustrations of animals. The artists featured on the stamps include American artist Eric Carle ("The Very Hungry Caterpillar"), and British artist Quentin Blake (who illustrated Roald Dahl's children's books). Other stamps in the series feature Paddington Bear, Maisy, Curious George, and other beloved children's book characters.

Joint stamp issues are quite rare: this was the first U.S.-UK joint issue in many years. Special guests at the January 10 reception included Michael Bond, the creator of Paddington Bear, and Helen Oxenbury, one of the world's best known illustrators of children's books.

More information on the range of U.S./UK stamps is available at www.usps.com, and www.royalmail.com.

back to top ^