Designer Desire: David Gentleman

Mosaic of David Gentleman designs | H is for Home

We watched a fantastic programme on television last week, all about the history of the postage stamp and stamp collecting. It was through this that I was reintroduced to the designs of David Gentleman. I say reintroduced because I had many of his designs stuck in my stamp album way back in the 1970s.

Now that the internet has been invented, it has been much quicker and easier for me to go in search of more examples of his wonderful work. Between 1962 & 2000, he designed 103 different stamps for the Post Office – for a long time, his was the most prolific output for them. He designed posters for London Transport, the National Trust, Imperial War Museum and the Public Records Office. He also designed book covers & illustrations for publishers including Penguin and Faber as well as for his own travel books.

Portrait of David Gentlemancredit

Between his postage stamp output and his 100-metre-long mural on the Northern Line platform of Charing Cross Underground Station – David Gentleman is probably one of the most widely viewed designers in the world! You can find a more extensive study and interview of the designer here.

Additional image credits:

Postal Museum | Tate

Tuesday Huesday: Paul Smith designed London 2012 Olympic stamps

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Isle of Man commemorative stamp depicting a bicycle designed by Paul Smith for the London 2012 Olympic Games

We’re big fans of postage stamps here at H is for Home and this gorgeous example was designed by British fashion designer, Paul Smith. It’s one of a set he recently designed for the Isle of Man to commemorate the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Oh, and did you know that Paul Smith is a HUGE cycling fan?

Tuesday Huesday: Independence Day festivities

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Israel independence commemorative stamp from 1967 showing firework display

 

OK, I confess, I was a nerdy child that collected stamps (I consider Justin to be worse, he was a coin collector and they’re not nearly as colourful & beautiful as this!). They’re still packed away in a box in the loft somewhere.

This is one in a series of postage stamps from 1966, commemorating Yom Ha’atzmaut, the declaration of independence of Israel.

Thanks to Karen Horton for allowing us to use her image.