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Royal Mail's Nobel Prizes stamps celebrate 100
years of Nobel Prizes as well as Britain's proud record in all
walks of scientific and academic life.
Alfred Nobel was
born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833. His father Immanuel
Nobel was an engineer and inventor who built bridges and
buildings in Stockholm. He was also a pioneer in arms
manufacture and in designing steam engines. In 1842, Immanuel
Nobel brought his family to St. Petersburg. There, his sons
were given a first class education by private teachers. By the
age of 17 Alfred Nobel was fluent in Swedish, Russian, French,
English and German. His primary interests were in English
literature and poetry as well as in chemistry and
physics.
Over the next two years Alfred Nobel visited
Sweden, Germany, France and the United States. In Paris, the
city he came to like best, he met the young Italian chemist
Ascanio Sobrero who, three years earlier, had invented
nitro-glycerine, a highly explosive liquid.
To make the
handling of nitro-glycerine safer Alfred Nobel experimented
with different additives. He soon found that mixing
nitro-glycerine with silica would turn the liquid into a paste
which could be shaped into rods of a size and form suitable
for insertion into drilling holes. In 1867 he patented this
material under the name of dynamite. To be able to detonate
the dynamite rods he also invented a detonator (blasting cap)
which could be ignited by lighting a fuse. By the time of his
death in 1896 he had 355 patents.
At the age of 46,
Nobel had advertised in a newspaper for a "lady of mature age,
versed in languages as secretary and supervisor of household."
Countess Bertha Kinsky applied and worked for Nobel for a
short time before deciding to return to Austria to marry Count
Arthur von Suttner. However, Alfred Nobel and Bertha von
Suttner remained friends and kept writing letters to each
other for decades. Over the years Bertha von Suttner became
increasingly critical of the arms race and became a prominent
figure in the peace movement. No doubt this influenced Alfred
Nobel when he wrote his final will which was to include a
Prize for persons or organisations who promoted peace. Several
years after the death of Alfred Nobel, the Norwegian Storting
(Parliament) decided to award the 1905 Nobel Peace Prize to
Bertha von Suttner.
Alfred Nobel died in San Remo,
Italy, on December 10, 1896. When his will was opened it came
as a surprise that his fortune was to be used for Prizes in
Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and
Peace and the Nobel Foundation was formed.
All of
the six printing processes for these stamps have been used
separately on stamps before. What makes Nobel Prizes unique is
that it combines all six in one Special Stamp issue for the
first time ever with some processes used for the first time on
UK Stamps.
Thermochromic (2nd Class) -
Thermochromic, or heat-reactive inks are a relatively new
innovation, disappearing or changing colour rapidly when
exposed to temperatures above their set level. When the ink is
warmed for a few seconds the colour will disappear and as the
ink cools the colour returns.
Intaglio (1st
Class) - The very first postage stamps were produced by
the intaglio printing process. The heavy film of ink applied
to the paper under great pressure gives the ink a texture
which is apparent to the touch.
Embossing (E) -
Embossed images are achieved by compressing paper between a
male and female die to deform the paper and leave an image in
relief on the surface.
Scented (40p) - This is
the first time that scented ink has been used on British
postage stamps. The ink works by encapsulating scent within
micro bubbles held within the ink itself. As the ink surface
is damaged by scratching, the bubbles burst and the scent is
released.
Microprint (45p) - This feature, as
with most of those appearing on the Nobel Prizes stamps, is
primarily a security device. The text is not legible to the
naked eye and can be hidden within a design. The text is fully
readable when viewed under a magnifier.
Hologram
(65p) - This is the first time a hologram stamp has been
used on a British stamp. A hologram is a clever method of
3-dimensional photography, which gives true 3-dimensional
images on a flat piece of film. If you move your head then the
image changes and moves so that you can see around the
3-dimensional image.
"Nobel Week", sponsored by
Royal Mail, will be broadcast on The History Channel from
Monday 1st - Sunday 7th October. Starting with a gripping
story on Dynamite and its inventor, Alfred Nobel, the week
will feature some of the most prominent Nobel Prize winners:
Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, John Steinbeck, Albert
Schweitzer, Mikhail Gorbachev and The Dalai Lama.
To
find out more and for a chance to win a Year's Subscription to
Royal Mail Presentation Packs, click
here
Stamp Technical
Details:
Feature |
Type/Detail |
Designer |
HGV |
Stamp Format |
Vertical |
Stamp Size |
35mm (w) x 37mm (h) |
Printer |
Joh Enschede |
Print Process |
Mixed See panel at start of FF |
Number per Sheet |
50 |
Perforation |
14 x 14.5 |
Phosphor |
All over, except for 2nd class which has one
bar |
Gum |
PVA |
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