Agatha Christie Royal Mail Stamps
Review of the six Royal Mail Agatha Christie stamps
Published by Royal Mail 15 September 2016
Royal Mail is celebrating the centenary of the writing of Agatha Christie’s first detective story and the creation of Hercule Poirot this year with a special stamp issue focusing on six of Agatha Christie’s works. After careful consideration, Royal Mail chose six of the sixty-six detective novels that Christie penned. These include Christie’s first published detective novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Other novels depicted on the stamps include, Murder on the Orient Express, And Then There Were None, A Murder is Announced, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and The Body in the Library.
In true Christie style each stamp, designed by Jim Sutherland and illustrated by Neil Webb, contains hidden elements relating to key scenes and principal characters from Christie’s mystery novels. Clues and features include a figure, half-hidden and wielding a knife, letters, the names of the suspects and Poirot himself. Use a mix of body heat, UV light and a magnifying glass to reveal all of the hidden elements – will you be able to discover them all?
Philip Park from Royal Mail said: “We are celebrating the genius of Agatha Christie with some mysterious and striking stamps. As the solving of mysteries is the focus of Christie’s art, it is fitting that the public have to turn detective to find the hidden words and images in each stamp.”
Visit Royal Mail to purchase a set of the Agatha Christie Special Stamps and use your detective powers to reveal the hidden elements within each stamp.
(The statement above is taken from the Royal Mail website.)
I thought it would be interesting to review the mysteries of each of the six stamps and solve the clues presented; each stamp requires a different approach to reveal the hidden elements. Each stamp also hides a single letter that spells out a significant word, but you will need a magnifying glass to uncover it: AGATHA
The stamps can be purchased in different formats:
1. Mint Stamps AS 2010 - £6.98
2. Stamp Souvenir pack AW034 - £8.80
3. First Day Cover pack AF413 - £8.80
4. Presentation Pack AP422 - £7.50
5. Post Cards (six in pack) AQ241 – £2.70
6. First Day Envelope AE367 - £0.30
Note: The First Day Cover pack was available with the cancellation stamp of the Talents House postmark, Poirot’s moustache, or the Alternative postmark, Miss Marple’s hat. The notes accompanying the Presentation Pack were written by Mathew Prichard, Agatha Christie’s grandson. There is also a First Day Cover envelope, with a secret message written on it.
Stamp 1. Murder on the Orient Express
· Use a finger to warm the curtain in the second window from the left to reveal a man with a dagger
· The cloud of smoke billowing from the steam engine reveals a picture of Hercule Poirot, aided by the quarter moon as his eye
· The names of all the possible murder suspects are written as the train's track at the foot of the stamp
· On the sleeve of the man in the left window is the letter A in AGATHA
Stamp 2. And Then There Were None
· The reflection of the quarter moon in the sea is depicted as the words to the rhyme used in the story (written upside down)
· The island in silhouette is the face of an individual looking up into the sky.
· The eye of the individual is the house on the island
· The house shows a window lit up in yellow with the silhouette of the mysterious U.N. Owen looking out
· The yellow window is reflected in the sea, but with the person represented as the letter A in AGATHA
· The mini face in grey has the letter T in AGATHA on the forehead
Stamp 3. The Mysterious Affair at Styles
This stamp requires the use of a magnifying glass to unravel the clues and in addition, a link via the Aurasma APP triggers a 3D animation.
· The parting of the curtains, aided by the two seated characters’ legs and the table cloth appear to show a skull
· The two figures in the picture represent Poirot and Hastings
· The bottle represents the poison used in the story
· The whole stamp is reproduced in miniature as the label on the poison bottle
· Enlarging the cup on the table reveals the letter G in AGATHA
Stamp 4. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
This stamp requires the use of a magnifying glass to unravel the clues.
· The high-backed chair presents itself with a shadow holding the murder weapon, a dagger
· Roger Ackroyd is the character sitting in the chair; he is holding the suicide note from his fiancé which leads to his death and this can be read when turned upside down
· The flames in the fire depict the face of Poirot; his left eye is the letter H in AGATHA
Stamp 5. The Body in the Library
This stamp requires the use of a magnifying glass and an ultraviolet light to unravel the clues.
· The bookshelf lists the sixteen Christie book titles published prior to this book
· The first book on the left of the bookshelf, with no apparent book title, shows the letter A in AGATHA
· The ribbon on the book on the table, along with the glasses and the hat, represent Miss Marple
· The use of an ultraviolet light reveals a blue question mark between the arms of the outlined body
Stamp 6. A Murder is Announced
This stamp requires the use of a magnifying glass and an ultraviolet light, to unravel the clues.
· The torch beam shining on the wall depicts the round face of a clock
· The female character stands with her legs depicting the clock hands at 6.30 p.m.
· The female character holds a copy of The Chipping Gleghorn Gazette with the advertisement that was placed in the newspaper
· The use of an ultraviolet light reveals the hidden numbers on the face of the ‘clock’
· The picture placed at three o'clock is that of Miss Marple
· The picture placed at nine o'clock depicts the letter T in AGATHA
· A man holding the torch is also holding a gun which was used in the story
First Day Cover Envelope
The ‘words’ beneath the name read: The Queen of Crime – when reading from the right.
Note: this will be updated as necessary
