To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's classic children's story, Royal Mail has launched a set of Alice in Wonderland stamps from designer Jason Godfrey (of Godfrey Design fame) and illustrator Grahame Bakersmith. There are ten stamps (five pairs) in the set, each of which depict a different scene from the 1965 novel, which was famously adapted into a classic animated film by Disney in 1951 and again as a live action adventure in 2010 directed by Tim Burton. The Royal Mail approached Godfrey for the project and he then set about choosing an illustrator with the help of the stamp advisory committee (yes, it transpires that actually is a thing). A selection of potential artists were gathered, but Bakersmith was selected as the final candidate.
Royal Mail has launched a set of Alice in Wonderland stamps from designer Jason Godfrey and illustrator Grahame Bakersmith
Godfrey said that Bakersmith was chosen because he has “Great skill as a children’s book illustrator on full-page, with incredibly detailed illustrations,” but he felt that “Asking him to work on much smaller 35mm square images meant there were details in his books that wouldn’t show up on the stamps.” This was just one of many challenges the duo faced in the ten months it took them to complete the project. Another was keeping the set consistent. Godfrey said “It’s quite tricky with a ten-stamp set to make them look coherent,” and that “It was important to keep Alice (specifically) as a constant, so that the character would work across the whole set.”
The set celebrated the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll's classic children's story
Bakersmith, meanwhile, said that care also had to be taken with precision, especially when redrafting, where “Things would be moved by a pixel at a time.” He said “The changes were so tiny, but they really make a difference to a picture of that size.” The stamps were also designed two at a time in order to keep things organic. Godfrey said it was a “Constantly evolving” process, and as they were working in stages they had to “Try not to repeat layouts and figure out what would work well colour-wise.” Bakersmith added that the stamps needed to be designed to fit together, which proved particularly difficult. He said “You have to make sure the elbow of one figure isn't butting into the face of another” when the stamps are places side by side, so how they would look together had to be planned from the very beginning.
There are ten stamps (five pairs) in the set, each of which depict a different scene from the 1965 novel
Andrew Hammond, director of stamps and collectibles at Royal Mail, said: “The story of Alice in Wonderland remains a perennial favourite of children, and indeed adults, around the world.” He feels “It is fitting that in its 150th anniversary year it is celebrated with a wonderful set of stamps featuring striking images that do justice to such an iconic tale.” The images in question are modern adaptations of the novel's original illustrations by John Tenniel. They were created through a unique combination of acrylic paints, Photoshop editing and vector shapes.
Alongside the stamp set, there will also be a book from Walker Books based on the artwork
Alongside the stamp set, there will also be limited edition enamel badges, interactive moving “Vine” videos created by Onlinefire, and a book from Walker Books based on the artwork. Louise Jackson, senior art director at Novelty Books (a subsidiary of Walker Books), who helped to conceptualise the book project, was a key piece of the puzzle. Bakersmith said she had “A vision of creating a concertina-type pop-up book of the images.” He personally couldn’t see how that was going to be achieved at first, but was impressed by the results. He said “It’s the first time the Royal Mail has collaborated with a publisher, so it’s new territory for them, and Walker Books has done a really lovely job on it.”
