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4th stamp issue
04 November 2024
Mirror of Nature – A Journey Through the Natural Sciences
Four special stamps with illustrations from historical medical books take their viewers on a journey through the natural sciences. The illustrations of the works were based on elaborate woodcuts at the time.
The first printed book on plants was "Herbarium Apulei Platonici" (face value: CHF 1.00). Published in 1480-1483, it helped to identify herbs so that even lay people could cure themselves if need be.
The standard work "Macer Floridus De viribus herbarium" (face value: CHF 1.20), which was translated into many languages, describes the most common medicinal herbs in the form of a Latin didactic poem with over two thousand verses.
The work focussed on the medical theory of the four humours and their health-related composition. "Herbarius latinus" (face value: CHF 1.90) was the first illustrated book on herbs in Germany. It served as a guide for identifying native plants and, in a second part, presented almost one hundred remedies. Moving away from the Latin scholarly book to the vernacular, "Gart der Gesundheit" (face value: CHF 2.50) is a historical drug monograph containing information about the appearance, components and areas of application of the respective remedies.
Cultural Heritage
Up until the beginning of the 20th century, night watchmen also ensured peace and order in the narrow lanes of villages in our part of the world. This was also the case in Liechtenstein's municipality of Mauren where the "Night Watchman's Horn" (face value: CHF 1.90) by Matthäus Schreiber (1861-1941) is kept in the collection of cultural artefacts.
It is said that he patrolled as a night watchman at the turn of the century and from 1919 to 1933 and used the piercing sound of his night watchman's horn to rouse residents and firefighters from their beds in the event of a fire.
The instrument has a metal-covered funnel and a wooden mouthpiece. It was made by the instrument makers Lippold Hamming in Markneukirchen, Saxony. With its red and white cord, the night watchman could wear it around his upper body over his coat so that it was always ready to hand.
Night watchmen were also often heard calling out the hours with a shout or song. However, this served less to tell the time and more as proof that they were doing their job properly. The nightly singing fell silent when time clocks were introduced to record working hours.
Chinese Signs of the Zodiac – Year of the Snake 2025
This year, we are continuing our "Chinese Signs of the Zodiac" series with a new special stamp for the "Year of the Snake" (face value: CHF 2.50). International designer Tiger Pan combined two traditional Chinese cultural elements for this: the snake as a sacred animal that symbolises luck, wealth, wisdom and longevity, and the concentration game mahjong. The shape of the snake is geometric and its body is made of pieces arranged in familiar patterns.
Invented in ancient China, the game aims to create order in apparent chaos by gradually clearing away matching pairs. It requires concentration and the ability to remain calm and react intelligently despite the chaos. The designer sees a similarity here to the turbulent developments in today's rapidly changing world.
Just as the players in the game of mahjong work their way through the fog of chaos with foresight, calm and precision, he believes that people should also work towards a stable future in life with courage and wisdom. According to tradition, the Year of the Snake 2025 offers hope and suitable opportunities for precisely this.
Christmas
This year's Christmas issue comes in a classic design with a velvety yet bold background colour. The festive special stamps, enhanced by elements in gold foil embossing, will once again carry numerous private and business Christmas greetings from Liechtenstein out into the world this year.
"Christmas Gift" (face value: CHF 1.00), "Christmas Mail" (face value: CHF 1.20), "Christmas Tree" (face value: CHF 1.90) and "Christmas Bell" (face value: CHF 2.50) are available on sheets of 20 self-adhesive stamps.
The unifying element of all the stamps are wreaths made from green branches. These are often seen in many different variations, especially during Advent and Christmas, and decorate living rooms or serve as a welcome at front doors.
The wreath symbolises the infinity of time, as it has no beginning and no end. Originally, people wove wreaths in autumn with a bit of green as a contrast to the dull landscape. At a time when hunger and cold were the greatest threats, this symbol was used to express the hope of surviving the harsh winter unscathed.
