Collectible stamps of a familiar landscape

These familiar Paul Henry landscapes of Ireland, beautifully reproduced in miniature, are from An Post’s Prestige Booklets of Irish stamps, issued two or three times a year.

This particular set – which includes a brief and informative essay on the life and work of Paul Henry – was issued in April 2008, the same year that another series celebrated the growing strength and confidence of the Irish film industry. This July, a striking new series marking the work of contemporary Irish fashion designers will be released.

These special booklets, costing between €9 and €12 (the price is based on the value of the stamps), which are designed and printed in Ireland, are unfortunately not stocked in post offices, but can only be purchased from irishstamps.ie or directly from the Philatelic Bureau in the GPO, O’Connell Street, Dublin 1. The very first Irish stamp, in 1992, was a map of Ireland and, over the years, artists such as Robert Ballagh, James Hanley, Louis le Brocquy and, more recently, Graham Knuttel have produced images for An Post, which have been eagerly sought by some 9,000 collectors in Ireland and elsewhere.