The Royal Mail has today released its 2019 Christmas stamps collection - with six new designs to culminate the year.
The designs depict scenes from the Biblical story of the Nativity, from the Annunciation, the journey of the Magi and the birth of Jesus Christ - and were created by paper-cut artists, Hari & Deepti.
The stamps, available from November 5, come in first class, second class, large letter rates and overseas values.
They go on sale today online at Royalmail.com and at 7,000 Post Office branches across the UK.
The tradition of sending Christmas cards was established in 1843, with the introduction of the world’s first commercially produced greetings cards.
The cards were commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, who just three years earlier had played a key role in helping to introduce Royal Mail’s Penny Post service.
Only 1,000 of these cards were printed and sold for a shilling each. This meant that they were a luxury item and were not affordable for most people.
One of the original 1,000 cards sent is also the most valuable in the world, according to Guinness World Records.
The card, which was originally sent by Sir Henry Cole to his grandmother in 1843, was sold at an auction in Devizes, Wiltshire for £20,000 on 24 November 2001.
Royal Mail is encouraging customers to post their festive greetings early, and order their online gifts and shopping well in advance, to help its postmen and women deliver the bumper festive mailbag.
UK latest recommended posting dates for Christmas 2019 are:
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Wednesday 18 December for 2 Class Mail
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Friday 20 December for 1 Class Mail
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Monday 23 December for Special Delivery
