Isle of Man greets the 12 months of the Ox with triangular postage stamps
The new stamp set is designed to celebrate the Chinese New Year and is the first time a UK postal service has used a triangular shape
The Isle of Man Post Office is celebrating the Chinese Year of the Ox starting February 12th with a new set of adorable stamps designed by Manx artist Jay Cover. One of the stamps includes a nod to the ancient myth of race between creatures to determine the order of the 12-year cycle in the Chinese zodiac calendar – a breed where the rat (which was zodiac last year) would leap past the ox the first creature in the cycle.
It is the first time triangular postage stamps have been created by any of the UK's postal services, which include the Royal Mail and the Channel Islands. The set was designed so that all stamps in the stamp sheet are aligned in the same orientation. This means that the tip of the triangle is on top of two designs and on the bottom of the other two, which inadvertently gives one of the designs an even greater resemblance to the laughing cow, but still makes for an appealing layout.
Cover's Year of the Ox stamp collection will be available through the Isle of Man Post Office in a variety of forms, including imperforate sheets and a presentation pack.
jaycover.com