29 September 2021
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The nights are drawing in, leaves are starting to fall, and autumn is on its way. It might feel a little colder, but autumn is actually Katrin Raynor-Evans' favourite season, and there are many stamps to celebrate this time of year, as her latest thematics guide reveals.
I’ve noticed recently that the Sun is rising later in the mornings, creating an obvious chill and longer shadows.
Autumn is definitely on its way and my favourite season officially started on the 22 September.
Changing colours of the leaves, jumpers, log fires and Halloween… what is there not to love?
The four seasons have featured heavily on stamps and there are some brilliant autumn themed stamps out there to get us in the mood for the approaching season.
Autumn kicks off in Iceland in August which is rather early and the scenery looks spectacular. Leaves in hues of peaches and browns were chosen to feature on a 250g stamp in 2016 issued as part of the annual SEPAC theme, that's the group of countries who are part of the Small European Postal Administration Cooperation (SEPAC).
Seeing the blackberries ripen amongst the thorns and thick stalks of brambles is a delight and picking this delicious fruit is all part and parcel of autumn. Monaco chose to feature an image of ripening blackberries on a 6F stamp in 1996 and two years later a stamp issued in Russia featured the Arctic Bramble.
Other autumn fruits to appear on stamps include pears including a stamp issued in the UK in 1993. Delicious!
No country embraces the autumn theme quite like Japan.
The country is famous for its Japanese maple leaf which has been cultivated there for centuries and watching the leaves change colour is a spectacular sight. It is no surprise then that these leaves have readily appeared on stamps.
Recent stamps from Japan include a stamp issued in 2018 featuring these beautiful red leaves and in 2020 a commemorative greetings stamp shaped like a maple leaf was issued for the autumn season along with nine other stamps featuring a pinecone, an acorn and various fruits.
A stunning stamp set was issued in 2011 for Japan’s long running Furusato Travel Scenes series. The volume 13 stamp sheet focuses on the northern most island of Hokkaido, which has a seasonal theme, showing travel scenes for the period from autumn through to winter.
I am sure that you will agree the double stamp featuring Lake Tōya in autumn is particularly beautiful. I hope these seasonally themed stamps inspire you to wrap up, get outside and enjoy the countryside around you!