Edition 1-2010 - Posten à land

NO. 1/2010 ENGLISH
ÅSA CANNOT
IMAGINE LIFE
WITHOUT BOOKS
www.posten.ax

ÅLAND+MACAU=TRUE
Two small, autonomous regions on either side of the globe found
each other when Åland and Macau signed a cooperation agreement
just before the turn of the year. Åland collectors now have
the chance to learn about life in Macau through its stamps, exactly
as Åland will be presented to the people of Macau. The next step
will be taken this autumn when the two autonomies issue stamps
on a common theme, church interior. The Åland and Macau
stamps will be sold both separately and in the form of a joint
miniature sheet. The world gets smaller through stamps.
Anita Häggblom
DIRECTOR
ÅLAND POST STAMPS
STAFF
I analyse campaign results
HEIDEMARIE ERIKSSON
Sales manager
“I’m responsible for our foreign
sales and put together a carefully
prepared marketing plan
for Stamps each year. I try to
find new cooperation partners
and new ways of marketing
Åland stamps; quite a challenge
on a sagging stamp collecting
market. I also analyse campaign
results, and I’m a member of the
Post’s Stamp Committee.”
NETTAN
ISAKSSON-HJULSTRÖM
Production, main stock
“I’m in charge of our main
stock of stamps and other
products, which I send to
distributors worldwide as well
as to post offices and postal
agents in Åland. In addition, I
direct, coordinate and supervise
our remote staff engaged in the
production of various philatelic
products. My job is very varied
and I particularly enjoy my
contacts with our staff, the distributors
and the post offices.”
I’m in charge of our
main stock of stamps

ÅLAND POST LTD
STAMPS
P.O. Box 1100
AX-22111 MARIEHAMN
ÅLAND, Finland
PHONE
+358 18 636 641
Telephone hours (GMT+2):
Mon–Fri 9 am – 4 pm
Orders from Finland:
020 340 020
FAX
+358 18 636 608
INTERNET
www.posten.ax
Nordic stamps:
www.topoftheworld.nu
E-MAIL
frimarken@posten.ax
VISITING ADDRESS
Post Terminal
Flygfältsvägen 10, Sviby
EDITORS
Anita Häggblom
Katja Rikberg
Heidemarie Eriksson
Björn Wennström
Cecilia Mattsson
TEXT
Katja Rikberg
TRANSLATION
Kristine Lybeck Sund
LAYOUT
Cecilia Mattsson
PRODUCTION
Åland Post Ltd
Waasa Graphics
COVER PHOTO
Leif Hansen
The publishers reserve the right to
make changes to the information
contained in this publication.
1•2010
Contents
Editorial 2
Staff 2
Time for the annual postal race 4
Most beautiful 2009 stamp 5
Competition winners 5
Chronicle: Fred Forsell 5
Åsa never tires of writing 6
M/S Prinsessan and M/S Skandia 12
Colourful plastic toys 16
Minna Rundberg 19
Co-operation with Macau 23
Joint theme: church interior 24
The mail must be delivered! 26
Full action with laser sailboat 28
Christmas with merry aunties 30
Eckerö and Sund 32
Calendar 35
6•Th
The eE Europa
stamp features
the Sand Wolf,
a fairy tale
character by
author Åsa Lind.
26 •Aru
running
ng
mail boy is featured
on a stamp to be
issued in June.
30 •Inge
Löök
ök
has designed this
year’s Christmas
stamp.
32 •Beau
Beautiful
ul
scenery from the
Sund and Eckerö
municipalities
is presented on
stamps in 2010.

4 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
NEWS
ROBERT JANSSON
Time for the annual postal race
The starting shot for this year’s edition of the Postal Boat Race
will be fired on 19 June. This will be the 37 th race to be held.
A special cancellation will be arranged in connection
with the race once again. In addition to the special
cancel, the Post will be selling a lovely commemorative
card adorned with the special cancel and a commemorative
cancel, which serves to certify that the
mail was actually carried by one of the postal boats.
To facilitate the processing of orders, we ask our
customers to use the coupon below, even when
ordering special and/or commemorative cancellations
on your own pre-franked and self-addressed
covers. To guarantee delivery, orders will be
accepted until Friday 11 June.
ORDERING COUPON
❐ Yes, please, I order the special cancellation on the enclosed items of mail. The special cancellation is free of charges.
❐ Yes, please, I order __ commemorative card(s) with the special- and commemorative cancellations at €2.50/card.
❐ Yes, please, I wish to have both the commemorative and special cancellations on the enclosed prefranked and
self-addressed items of mail. Price: €1.70/item.
NAME ...................................................................................................................
FULL ADDRESS .......................................................................................................
............................................................... COUNTRY .........................................
CUSTOMER NO. ............................................. ❐ MALE ❐ FEMALE
PHONE NUMBER ....................................................................................................
E-MAIL ...............................................................................................................
Send your coupon to Åland Post Stamps, P.O.Box 1100, AX-22111 MARIEHAMN, ÅLAND, Finland. The coupon and any personal
covers will be accepted until 11 June. The coupon may be copied.

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 5
CHRONICLE
”Dear stamp people.
How are you, really”
FRED FORSELL
Columnist with Åland origins,
editor of the Amelia magazine
Most beautiful in 2009
The most beautiful Åland 2009 stamp has now been
elected. The two Åland scenery stamps with photographies
from Saltvik and Föglö won the contest. The two
stamps received 191 votes of the 608 votes cast in total.
Åland authors came in second and in third place we
find the Diving stamp. We congratulate the winners,
the names of which were drawn from all votes cast:
Päivi Raunio, Kellokoski, Finland
Anne-Marie Lillebuen, Kristiansand, Norway
Jürgen Tandler, Wallerstein, Germany
Diana Sjöblom, Mariehamn, Åland
Ethel Eriksson, Brändö, Åland
Pierluigi Bertotti, Torino, Italy
Competition winners
The winners of the competition in the previous
edition of Ålandsposten Frimärken have
now been drawn, and they are:
Roger Blomqvist, Pietarsaari, Finland
Olle Haraldsson, Arkelstorp, Sweden
Manfred Tiltsch, Hagen, Germany
The prizes have been shipped by mail.
The correct answers were:
1. Modern shipping 4. Alandia Cup
2. Martin Mörck 5. Västerås
3. Chanterelle
DEAR PHILATELISTS. Dear stamp people.
How are you, really Don’t get me wrong. This
is not meant as mockery. I am not carrying with
me a condescending sack of mordant irony.
I am honestly curious to learn how you are. I
imagine that the decline of letter writing and
ensuing use of postage must be affecting you.
You must feel it somehow, somewhere, inside
of you – or Without any evidence to support
my theory, I imagine that you, dear enthusiasts,
are reacting to the worldwide declining interest
in stamps in any of the following manners:
FIRSTLY, those of you who tighten your fist in
your pocket and cry ”HA! Perfect! Now we are
spared the amateurs, those who without batting
an eyelid would try to affix the “3 Skilling”
Yellow itself to that obligatory Christmas
card to an aunt whose name they no longer
remember. HA!”
SECONDLY, you who sit down in your favourite
armchair, take out your finest collections and
admire them – while sadly pondering whether
stamps will fall into oblivion as did the telex
machine, the scented stickers of the 80s and
the collected “music production” of former
bosomy pop queen Samantha Fox.
AND THIRDLY, you who do not care. You enjoy
your hobby and you couldn’t care less if the
surrounding world communicates by letters,
telepathy or smoke signals. Please don’t take
it amiss that I’m speculating. You see, despite
the fact that I grew up in Åland, a tiny group of
islands with its own exotic stamps, and despite
the fact that I actually know at least three
people, who have designed a number of these
stamps, I happen to be one of those peculiar
fellows who doesn’t care if the next Åland commemorative
stamp features a tick or one of the
fathers of the nation. But I am curious of those
who do care. That is why I asked.

6 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
ÅSA NEVER TIRES OF
WRITING
“Books and reading cannot change the world. But they can
make us take a small step in a different direction, and that is
extraordinary. I cannot imagine life without books.” So says the
author Åsa Lind, the creator of the popular character the Sand
Wolf, which now becomes a stamp.
To make an interview with Åsa Lind turns out not to be so easy. She
normally lives on the island of Lappo in the archipelago municipality of
Brändö. However, she and her husband have temporarily moved to
Berlin for six months to gather new inspiration and influences.
“I have never previously been to Germany and find it really interesting
to view the world from a Central European perspective.”

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 7
Åsa Lind has been very successful with her books about the Sand Wolf.
LEIF HANSEN

8 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
LEIF HANSEN
ÅSA LIND
Author Åsa Lind was born in 1958 in Ångermanland
in northern Sweden. After studies at Nyckelviksskolan
(art, craft and design) and at the Institute of Journalism,
she worked as a journalist, a restaurant manager and
a nursing assistant. Since 1993, she lives on Lappo in
the Åland archipelago, where she works fulltime as an
author. Åsa writes both fiction and non-fiction books
for children and youth. Her series about the Sand Wolf
and his friend Zackarina has been translated into 10
languages.

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 9
A SUPERB WRITING SCHOOL
Despite her detour to Berlin, Lappo is where Åsa Lind feels at
home. That she ended up in Åland was purely a coincidence to
which we will revert below. Åsa was born and raised in Ångermanland
in northern Sweden. She is a trained journalist and worked as
such for a while.
“I loved to make interviews, but I always took too long to
finish my articles. I didn’t want to give myself preferential right of
interpretation but to give a correct version of reality.”
This insight led her to the Swedish Educational Broadcasting
Company, where she wrote short stories for children.
“It was a superb writing school! I learnt how to write for others,
how to take benefit from criticism and to see my texts as part of a
whole.”
NEVER TIRES
This was also what eventually led her to becoming an author. Åsa
has published many books, all written for children, fictional as
well as non-fictional.
“Children need a lot of books. Just think, an eleven-yearold
child probably reads some 200 books each year. An author
publishes a maximum of two books per year, so 100 authors are
required to fulfil the requirements of the eleven-year-old child.”
Finding the right language for the right subject is challenging.
“It impels me to write. I never tire of writing. However horrible,
hopeless and difficult it seems to be, I always get over it.”
She does not rule out the possibility of writing for adults sometime
in the future but claims not to consider age so much when
writing her books. She presents an approach worth considering:
“Children’s books are available to everyone, whereas adult books
exclude some people.”
AN IDEA WAS BORN
The Sand Wolf series has been a great success for Åsa Lind. The
books have been translated into 10 languages, and now the Sand
Wolf and his friend Zackarina are featured on an Åland stamp.
“I took idea of the Sand Wolf from my daughter. We were on
holiday in Spanish Majorca and, getting into the car after a day
at the beach, she refused since, according to her, there was a Sand
Wolf in the car. At first I didn’t think much of it but, after a while
in silence, my daughter said: “Now, the Sand Wolf is chasing the
car”. I instantly knew that this was something I had to write about.”
”The Sand Wolf is the
friend we all wish to have”
ETERNAL AND LOVING
It did take several years, though,
before Åsa took up the Sand Wolf
idea again. Initially, the Sand Wolf
stories were written for broadcasting
to be turned into books later.
The Sand Wolf may be well-known
to many readers but, to those of you,
who have not yet read the novels, Åsa
describes him like this:
“The Sand Wolf is the friend we
all wish to have. He is worldly-wise,
eternal and loving.”
Why the sympathetic Sand Wolf
has become so popular is difficult for

10 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
“She is a phenomenal illustrator”
Åsa to explain; even she is surprised
at the popularity of the books. Children
as well as adults in Turkey, Korea
and Germany have fallen for him.
TEXTS FOR READING ALOUD
“The books take up a number of
questions and facts of life over which
children often ponder. The Sand
Wolf reflects on anything from life
and death, mine and yours to bruises.
Perhaps this is the reason why many
get caught up with the stories,” Åsa
reflects. Adults also enjoy the Sand
Wolf texts, written as they are for
reading aloud. Reading aloud creates
a pleasant atmosphere, and these texts
are a joy to listen to.
GNARLED AND HEADSTRONG
“A well-written text can be read over
and over again, but illustrations and
layout are equally important factors
to succeed with a book”, Åsa believes.
When the first book about the
Sand Wolf was ready for illustration,
Åsa carefully chose amongst the illustrators presented by the
publishing house.
“When I saw a small drawing by Kristina Digman, I instantly
knew that she could do the Sand Wolf. There was something
gnarled and headstrong about her drawings; she is a phenomenal
illustrator!”
WEAK-KNEED BY FLAT ROCKS
How did a Swedish author end up in small Lappo in the archipelago
of Åland, you may wonder
“I fell in love with Åland”, is Åsa’s spontaneous reply.
An elaborated reply would be that some 20 years ago, when she
was living in Portugal, she was granted a scholarship to spend four
weeks on the island of Källskär in Kökar.
“Despite the fact that I grew up in the forest, I never felt at
home in the woods; but I always became weak-kneed by flat rocks
and heaving seas. Immediately upon my departure from Källskär, I
started to long back.”
ÅLAND IS UNIQUE
So, Åsa and her husband sent a letter to an acquaintance that
happened to live in Lappo.
“He was thrilled and instantly welcomed us to the island by arranging
a place for us to live.” The family gathered its goods and chattels
and moved in 1993. And Åsa’s love for Åland cannot be mistaken:
“Åland is a unique spot, a world of extravagance when you consider
nature, prosperity and safety. Here, we have an interesting hunting
and fishing culture, easy access to those in authority and an elk for
next door neighbour. Åland offers peace, liberty and equality!” ✹

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 11
The first day cancel
depicts the Sand Wolf.
266 • EUROPA - CHILDREN’S
BOOKS, THE SAND WOLF
DATE OF ISSUE
19 April 2010
ARTIST
Kristina Digman
EDITION
180 000
DENOMINATION
Europa (€0.85)
PRICE FDC
€1.40
SIZE OF STAMP
32 x 36.5 mm
SIZE OF SHEET
2 x 15 stamps
PERFORATION
13 per 2 cm
PAPER
105 g/m²
PRINTING METHOD
4-colour offset
PRINTING HOUSE
The Lowe Martin Group
JARI VÄLITAALO
The entire first day cover is designed like a sand beach with shells and
starfish and the letters FDC written in the sand.
The gutter strip of the stamp sheet is decorated with shells and starfish.
KRISTINA DIGMAN
Illustrator Kristina Digman was
born in 1959 in Gothenburg,
Sweden, and raised in Båstad.
Following studies at a number
of art schools in Stockholm and
at the Academy of Fine Arts in
Copenhagen, she has painted,
sculptured and worked as a
graphic designer as well as with
restoration. She and her family
now live in an old school outside
Halmstad. In 2001, she made
her debut as an illustrator of children’s
books with “Vår hemliga
trädgård” by Sanna Töringe. She
has illustrated all the Sand Wolf
books by Åsa Lind, and made her
debut as an author with ”Floras
kulle” in 2008. This is Kristina
Digman’s first Åland stamp.

12 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
267 AND 268 •
PASSENGER FERRIES,
M/S SKANDIA AND
M/S PRINSESSAN
The first day cancel depicts
the ship M/S Prinsessan.
DATE OF ISSUE
3 May 2010
ARTIST
Håkan Sjöström
EDITIONS
2 x 200 000
DENOMINATIONS
€0.75 and €3.50
PRICE FDC
€4.80
SIZE OF STAMPS
35.4 x 26 mm
SIZE OF SHEETS
2 x 20 stamps
PAPER
110 g/m²
PERFORATION
13 per 2 cm
PRINTING METHOD
4-colour offset
PRINTING HOUSE
Cartor Security Printing
The same ships as on the stamps are depicted on the gutter of both stamp
sheets.
HÅKAN SJÖSTRÖM
Artist Håkan Sjöström (born in
1933) is considered to be one of
the foremost marine painters in
Scandinavia today. Painting was
an important part of Håkan’s
youth. Upon completing his Bachelor
of Science degree (Econ.), he
started working at a shipyard in
Turku, where he remained until
retirement. Alongside with his
work, he also painted the shipyard’s
newbuildings. Håkan has
also had commissions for several
shipping companies, including
Viking Line, as well as a few seascape
commissions. In addition,
he has illustrated magazines and
books. These are Håkan’s third
and fourth stamps for Åland Post.
The first day envelope features the Aranda, the first steamship to manage
scheduled service between Åland and Turku the year round. The ship was
built in 1920 and serviced until 1945, when she was surrendered to the Soviet
Union as payment for war damages.

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 13
M/S Prinsessan and M/S Skandia
The passenger ferry series continues in 2010. The M/S Prinsessan of Birka
Line and the M/S Skandia of Silja Line have been painted by the artist Håkan
Sjöström. At the same time, Åland Post presents a new collector’s product!
Founded in Mariehamn in 1971, the business idea of
Birka Line was to arrange short distance cruises between
Sweden and Åland all the year round. In November that
same year, the first passenger ship, Danish M/S Prinsessen,
was purchased. The ferry was put into service
between Stockholm and Mariehamn on 21 November.
BECAME WID
Prinsessan was renamed Prinsen (the prince) in 1977
to allow her successor to be named Prinsessan 2.
She was sold to Saudiarabia in 1978, where Wid, as
she was now called, was used for pilgrimages until
broken up in Pakistan in 1987.
CHANGED NAMES SEVERAL TIMES
Her original name was Prinsesse Margrethe, built in
Denmark in 1957 with a capacity of 1200 passengers
and 35 cars. The shipping company DFDS put
the ship into service between Copenhagen and Oslo,
but she also plied the routes Copenhagen–Århus and
Esbjerg–Newcastle. She was renamed Prinsessen in
1968 and Birka Line changed her name once more
in 1971, this time to Prinsessan (the princess).
FIRST NEWBUILDING
Silja Line was founded in 1957 by the three shipping
companies Finland Steamship Company,
Steamship Company Bore and Stockholms Rederi
AB Svea. M/S Skandia was built in 1961 at Wärtsilä
shipyard in Helsinki. Skandia was Silja Line’s first
newly built car ferry and was put into service on the
route Turku–Åland–Stockholm. The ferry carried
1200 passengers and 175 cars.

14 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
“Skandia had a cinema, a
hairdresser and child care”
CHILD CARE AND CINEMA
Skandia was the first purpose-built
car-passenger ferry for year-round
service. The bow doors fore and aft,
resulting in a full-length car deck,
were revolutionizing. All passengers
had access to a hairdresser, a cinema,
child care, a lookout bar and a playroom.
Nordia, a sister ship to Skandia,
was launched and put into service
on the route Turku–Mariehamn–
Norrtälje in May 1962.
SOLD TO VENEZUELA
In December 1973, Silja Line
decided to take out of service both
Skandia and Nordia, mostly due to
high oil prices. Skandia was laid up
in Turku and, in 1974, sold to a shipping
company in Venezuela, where
she, renamed Isla de Cuba Gua, plied
the route Puerto la Cruz–Margarita
Island. In 1986, the ship was sold to
a Greek shipping company, but she
went down the very same year in the
Atlantic Ocean while in tow from
Venezuela to Greece.
STEAMSHIP ARANDA
The FDC features yet another ferry, the S/S Aranda. Built in
Turku in 1920, she was purchased by the Finnish State in 1921
to be put into year-round service between Turku and Åland.
The Aranda was a pioneer in this area; with her ice-strengthened
hull, she managed to get through even in hard winters. The 45
meter long ship was equipped with approximately 20 berths, a
dining-hall, saloons and a café. Two trips were made each week in
wintertime between October and March. In the summer, when
passengers had the choice between several ships, Aranda was used
for what is today called cruise service. One of Aranda’s charter
commissions was for the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928.
SURRENDERED IN 1945
Aranda operated between Turku and Åland throughout the 1920s
and 30s up until the end of the Second World War. The ship was
surrendered to the Soviet Union as payment for war damages in
1945.
NEW COLLECTOR’S PRODUCT
In connection with the issue of the 2010 passenger ferry stamps,
the Post presents a new collector’s product, an album holding ferry
pre-sentation sheets with old photos and extra information about
the ferries, and with the stamps cancelled with the first day cancel.
The ferry series will be issued 2009–2014. If you start a subscription
for the presentation sheets, your first delivery will include the
sheets presenting the passenger ferries Newbuilding and Viking
(2009 issues), Prinsessan and Skandia (2010 issues) as well as an
album adapted for the presentation sheets.
USE COUPON
You will continue to receive future presentation sheets as the ferry
stamps are issued. All sheets may be easily inserted in your album.
Start your subscription for this new product using the coupon in
the ordering catalogue. ✹
Sources: Håkan Sjöström, www.birka.se, www.faktaomfartyg.se, www.tallinksilja.
com and ”Sjövägen till Sverige” by Matts Dumell.

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 15
Above is a sample of the new presentation sheets
for passenger ferries. Two sheets (four pages) will
be issued for each ferry stamp. Each sheet includes
background information about the ferry and older
photos, as well as the stamp itself cancelled with the
first day cancel. The texts will be in Swedish, Finnish,
English and German.

16 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
EUROPA
KJELL SÖDERLUND / C.M. 2010
Colourful plastic toys
The 2010 stamp booklet holds stamps featuring funny plastic
toys, produced by the Åland company Plasto. To further enhance
the plastic effect, UV lacquer has been added to the toy motifs!
The Plasto company was established in 1954,
initially manufacturing motorcycle stickers and
other stickers of the type, which could be found in
packs of biscuits. Plasto soon switched to manufacturing
toys and took part in the International Toy
Fair in Nuremberg, Germany, already in the 1950s.
GREEN OR YELLOW MOON CREATURE
The stamp booklet presents three different toys.
Production of the green scooter called “the moon
creature” with red wheels and handles, lively eyes
and red antennae started in the 1960s and ended in
1988. The moon creature was mainly sold in green
or yellow and was a popular toy, often referred to as
“the cucumber”. For those of us who grew up in the
1960s and 70s, the moon creature is very familiar.
MANY SIZES
The second stamp features a red tipper lorry with
a blue loading platform. The lorry is the most
popular Plasto toy and is available in many sizes and
colour combinations such as red, green, blue and
yellow. Production started in 1973, and these lorries
are still being manufactured.
DUCKS AND FLEAS
The third stamp shows a yellow and a red duck. The
ducks came into being in 1975 and are still being
produced. Kjell Söderlund photographed leaping
fleas in many colours for the booklet cover. The first
day cancel is also designed as a flea. Leaping fleas are
very popular toys and jump forward when you press
down the rear. They first came into production in

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 17
269 • ÅLAND TOYS
The booklet cover and so
even the first day cancel show
Plasto’s plastic fleas.
DATE OF ISSUE
10 May 2010
PHOTOGRAPHER
Kjell Söderlund
EDITION
95 000
DENOMINATION
Europa (9 x €0.85)
PRICE FDC
€3.10
SIZE OF STAMPS
52 x 23.83 mm
SIZE OF BOOKLET
56 x 176 mm, 3 x 3 stamps
PERFORATION
14 per 2 cm
PAPER
110 g/m²
PRINTING METHOD
4-colour offset + UV lacquer
PRINTING HOUSE
Österreichische Staatsdruckerei
KJELL SÖDERLUND
The first day cover shows a white horse with black spots, a scooter toy which
came into production in the1960s.
Photographer Kjell Söderlund
(born in 1968) works as a commercial
photographer, mostly
out of his studio. He became
interested in photography during
his studies, first and foremost
nature photography. His interest
developed from being just a
hobby to becoming his occupation,
and he has worked as a
full-time photographer for 12/13
years. Kjell has created a number
of stamps for Åland Post, some
of which are the Åland scenery
stamps, the 2006 My Stamps and
the 2008 My Åland stamp.

18 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
The special cancellation for the maximum
cards depicts 3 plastic ducks.
This year’s stamp watch features
the moon creature. The edition of
the watch costing €17 is 1100.
“The ducks came into production in 1975”
the 1970s. In the 1990s, the design was slightly altered and the
fleas are now called frogs. The first day cover features the head of
a horse, a toddler’s scooter manufactured in the 1960s. It is no
longer being produced.
NO BATTERIES
The Plasto business concept is to manufacture colourful, safe and
durable toys encouraging creativity and inspiring children to play.
The age of the main target group, children between the ages 1 and
6, is taken into consideration when Plasto designs toys, which are
both robust and safe. Unlike many of today’s toys, Plasto toys do
not have sound, light or any other battery operated functions.
On 10 May, three new maximum cards
featuring the toys moon creature, lorry
and duck will be issued.
WORLDWIDE EXPORT
The toys featured on the stamps are just a small collection of all
the plastic toys sold by Plasto. The company exports their high
quality toys to multiple stores, toy shops and preschool wholesale
firms in the Nordic countries, Europe, the USA, Australia and
Canada, among other countries. Plasto runs a factory outlet at
their premises in the outskirts of Mariehamn. Especially in the
summer time, the shop is a popular stop for tourists, who wish to
buy their share of durable and relatively cheap toys. ✹

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 19
MINNA RUNDBERG:
I HAVE MUCH
LEFT TO GIVE”
”
To artist and designer Minna Rundberg it takes up to a year to create a
new pattern. Under the collective name Signum, this year’s three items
of postal stationery present a cavalcade of the dozen of patterns she has
designed since the start in 2002.

20 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
“Having a strong image is essential”
MUST BE ONE STEP AHEAD
Graphic patterns are what have made Minna known. Very few
Ålanders will not recognise her characteristic, graphic designs on
curtains, tray tables, jugs and other items of contemporary art.
Although it takes her up to one year to generate a new pattern,
she is anxious to get feedback once she is ready to launch.
“As a designer and trend maker, one has to constantly be one
step ahead. You have to trust your gut and not just play it safe. But
at the same time, you must take into consideration that it takes a
while for a new pattern to get off the ground. Just when you are
about to give up, things start to happen!”
Minna works with many different patterns.
Here we see Minna with her pattern Cocktail.
Minna Rundberg has worked for
her own company Minna Rundberg
ARTDESIGN since 2002. Last
autumn, she felt the time had come
to expand. A change was needed to
not crush creativity, so she invited
new partners and took on an export
salesperson.
“Time has taught me my strengths
and weaknesses. I can now concentrate
on developing new patterns.”
BLANK SPACE PART OF PATTERN
She recurs to her graphic patterns.
“I don’t wish to be typecast, so I deliberately attempt to vary my
designs. But the foundation remains the same, and that is important.
I have much left to give!”
Minna likes to think big when developing new patterns:
“Afterwards, I peel off layers little by little; to me, even the blank
space surrounding the pattern is part of the pattern. That, I should
say, is very characteristic of me and my designs.”
CRAFTS TRADITION
Running her own company, Minna takes advantage of her background
in marketing.
“Having a strong image is essential, and I understand that an
idea is nothing unless you are able to communicate it,” Minna says
and lets us know that her background as a craftsman is also a great
help today.
“My background has given me an awareness of crafts tradition
and a sense of quality.”

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 21
POSTAL STATIONERY CARDS,
SIGNUM
DATE OF ISSUE
10 May 2010
ARTIST
Minna Rundberg
EDITION
3 x 13 000
PRICE
Postal stationery card €1.85
Series of postal stationery €5.55
SIZES
150 x 150 mm
PAPER
Silk 300 g
PRINTING METHOD
4-colour offset + partial
UV lacquer
PRINTING HOUSE
Waasa Graphics
MINNA RUNDBERG
This year, three postal stationery cards designed by
Minna Rundberg will be out. Her patterns of the past
seven years form the basis of her collage.
The pure style of
Minna Rundberg’s
flower reappears in
the cancel.
The three different postage paid symbols on the reverse of the cards feature her
design Cocktail.
Artist and designer Minna
Rundberg (born in 1965) from
Jomala, Åland, started her career
as a graphic designer in the
advertising business. She has
also worked in marketing and at
a daily paper. Having completed
her training in wood and metal
crafts, she did smithwork for a
while, before starting her own
company Minna Rundberg
ARTDESIGN. She now designs
patterns to be printed on textiles,
trays, jugs, glasses and tablecloths.
In 2009, her company
invited several new partners,
and Minna now concentrates on
exporting her products to Finland
and Sweden. Other parts of
Europe will follow next.

22 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
The fixed point in Minna’s life is her studio close by her home in Jomala. Having worked alone for many years, she has now taken
on an export salesperson, allowing her to concentrate on developing new patterns.
“I don’t wish to be typecast so
I attempt to vary my designs”
BECAME A STRENGTH
Minna found designing the three
postal stationery cards enriching.
“I took out all my various patterns
since 2002 and began to reflect until
I suddenly had an overall picture.”
This was a new experience and a
healthy insight to Minna.
“I realized that all my patterns work
well together, and it was empowering
to note that my patterns follow
a straight and honest thread without
escapades. You are so easily tempted
to move in a different direction than the one you meant to go.
Inspiration can come out of an abundance of motifs and patterns.”
ALWAYS SIGNS
Minna has named the series Signum (signature).
“It’s all about the description of me. I have always signed my
designs, I find it important that the customer knows that he or she
bought an original. My signature has become a distinctive mark
as well, and is today part of my trademark. The postal stationery
cards are designed as a collage, reflecting my distinctive character
during this time period.”
NEW PATTERN
Among all the patterns included in the card designs, we also find
one which Minna has not yet launched.
“It’s the coil on the blue card. I was inspired by smithwork,
and I am currently in the process of adapting the pattern”, Minna
relates when we meet her in December 2009. She plans to launch
the new pattern sometime this summer. ✹

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 23
Unique cooperation with Macau
As of this year, the customers of Åland Post can buy the
interesting Macau stamps – directly from Åland.
Customers in Macau will be able to acquire Åland stamps in the
same way. Through this cooperation, both Macau and Åland Post
aim at improving the circulation of their stamps and finding new
markets, giving both posts a significant boost on a sagging stamp
collecting market. The Macau Year Packs will be available to order
from Åland as of our ordering catalogue 2-2010 as well as from
the Post’s web shop on the Internet. Why not take the opportunity
to acquaint yourself with a new country to collect
100 YEARS APART
Macau Post releases approximately 50 stamps every year featuring
11 to 13 main themes. The first stamp to be printed with the inscription
“Macau, China” was issued in December 1999 to mark Macau’s
transition from a Portuguese territory to a Special Administrative
Region of China. However, Macau has had stamps longer than so.
The Macau Post was established on 1 March 1884, the same day as
the first Macau stamp was released. By a funny coincidence, this issue
appeared exactly 100 years before the issue of the first Åland stamp!
GEOGRAPHY AND CULTURE
Portugal was in charge of the Macau stamp issues as of 1887 and,
consequently, the issues included many of the common designs
issued for all the Portuguese territories, with the exception of the
inscription “Macau”. When the Macau Post took over the production
of stamps in 1981, a variety of designs relating to local
geography and culture began to appear. ✹
FACTS
Macau is an autonomous region
located on a tiny peninsula in
southern China, 65 kilometres
west of Hong Kong. Santa Nome
de Deus de Macau is the name of
the metropolitan area. Exactly like
Hong Kong, Macau is a Special
Administrative Region (SAR)
of China. Macau’s economy is
based largely on tourism, much
of it geared towards gambling. As
increasing numbers of mainland
Chinese visit Macau, the tourism
and gaming sectors have massively
expanded, transforming Macau
into Asia’s Las Vegas. The clothing
and shoe industry account for 85
percent of Macau’s export earnings.
Mainland China, the USA,
Hong Kong and Japan are Macau’s
most significant trade partners.
Sources: www.macaunews.com
and http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Macao.

24 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
272, 273 • CHURCH INTERIOR
I AND II
DATE OF ISSUE
30 August 2010
ARTIST
Ture Bengtz
DESIGN
Cecilia Mattsson
PHOTOGRAPHER
Robert Jansson
DENOMINATIONS
€1.60 (miniature sheet)
€0.80 (stamp)
PRICE FDC
€2.15 (miniature sheet)
€1.35 (stamp)
SIZE OF STAMP
Not confirmed
SIZE OF MINIATURE SHEET
Not confirmed
PERFORATION
Not confirmed
PAPER
Not confirmed
PRINTING METHOD
4-colour offset
PRINTING HOUSE
Not confirmed
TURE BENGTZ
Ture Bengtz was born in 1907 in
Jomala, Åland. He emigrated to
the USA at the age of 18 and settled
in Medford, Massachusetts.
He studied art and, together with
a group of students, he started the
Boston Printmakers Association,
which came to be a nationally
well-known organisation. Ture
Bengtz died in 1973. In 2007,
Åland Post issued the stamp
Emigration, the motif of which
was a lithograph by Ture Bengtz.
The miniature sheet as well as the stamp motif both show
parts of the stained glass window in the church of Jomala
depicting Saint Olaf. The stained glass window by Jomalaborn
artist Ture Bengtz was unveiled in 1968 as a gift to
the parish.

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 25
Joint theme: church interior
In August, Åland Post will be issuing a miniature sheet and
a stamp featuring church interior. This is a joint issue with the
Macau Post, which has interpreted the theme in its own way.
On 30 August, two almost identical miniature sheets
will be issued in two completely different parts of
the world. The motifs of the two sheets will differ in
one aspect only: the Åland issue will have the Åland
stamp perforated on the sheet, whereas the Macau
stamp will be perforated on the Macau issue.
A WINDOW IN JOMALA
Despite certain similarities between Åland and
Macau, the culture and history differ entirely. The
differences will be readily apparent when the two
miniature sheets, both featuring a church window,
are issued. Åland’s part of the miniature sheet
(Church Interior I) shows a stained glass window
from the church of Jomala, created by artist Ture
Bengtz.
YEAR SET AND STANDING SUBSCRIPTION ORDERS
The Åland miniature sheet and stamp will both be
included in the Year Set. If you subscribe to stamps
or Year Sets from Åland, you will automatically
receive both the miniature sheet and the stamp.
PRESENTATION PACK WITH SPECIAL FDC
At the time of going to press, neither the miniature
sheet nor the stamp were ready for print. This is the
reason why we illustrate this article with only the
stained glass church window, which will appear on
both issues. Still on the drawing-board is also a joint
presentation pack holding both Macau’s and Åland’s
miniature sheets as well as a joint FDC with the
Åland stamp Church Interior II and the individual
Macau stamp on the same theme.
TWO FIRST DAY COVERS
Åland will also be issuing a stamp (Church Interior
II) featuring a different part of the same window.
Two FDCs cancelled with the same first day of issue
cancel will thus appear on the day of issue.
READ MORE ON THE HOMEPAGE
You will find more information on the progress of
the cooperation and about the miniature sheet and
stamp editions in the next magazine and on our
homepage at www.posten.ax. ✹

26 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
The mail must be delivered!
Åland mail farmers and farmhands alike had to be ready
when the coach horn sounded. They knew then that it was
time to carry the mail to the next farm, day or night.
In the 1600s, Åland was part of the kingdom of
Sweden, a fast growing great power in need of efficient
communications between the different regions
of the kingdom. In consequence, a detailed postal
decree was carried through in 1636. The management
of the Kingdom wished to secure efficient
transportation of mail as well as travellers without
encumbering heavy costs for wages.
RISKING JAIL
No consideration was taken to ill-health or fatigue or
to the need to attend to the farmer’s own work. The
mail must always be delivered! If a farmhand could
not run 10 kilometres in less than two hours, he was
dismissed and sentenced to eight days imprisonment
on bread and water. He also risked four weeks in jail
if he was delayed by “talk and gossip”.
HAD TO BE ABLE TO READ
The mail route across Åland was established in
1638. Until the end of the 19th century, the
conveyance of mail across Åland bore the stamp of
the postal reform. The mail was conveyed in relays
between farmers living at a certain distance from
one another along the mail route. Mail farmers
had many responsibilities and, in return, they were
exempted from some of the taxes to the Crown.
They were required to be able to read and write;
another requirement was that each farmer must
keep two farmhands to help him. The mail must be
carried in all weathers and at all times.
NO NEED FOR MAIL FARMERS
During the almost three hundred year period of
mail conveyance across land and sea, the transportation
technique never changed. The mail farmers
rowed, sailed and pulled their boats regardless of
weather conditions. At the end of the 1800s, ships
that were better equipped to cut through the ice
came into use and a more regular service was introduced.
The mail farmers were no longer needed,
and the last mail rota left from Vårdö to Kumlinge
on 31 December 1910. ✹
Source: ”Postvägen över Åland” by Jan Andersson.

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 27
The first day cancel features the
same mail farmhand as the stamp.
270 • THE MAIL ROUTE
DATE OF ISSUE
12 June 2010
ARTIST
Tord Nygren
EDITION
180 000
DENOMINATION
Inrikes (€0.75)
PRICE FDC
€1.30
SIZE OF STAMP
32 x 36.5 mm
SIZE OF SHEET
2 x 15 stamps
PERFORATION
13 per 2 cm
PAPER
105 g/m²
PRINTING METHOD
4-colour offset
PRINTING HOUSE
The Lowe Martin Group
TORD NYGREN
The front of the FDC shows a mail farmhand gazing out at sea to a boat. On
the reverse, we find him with a mailbag.
Artist Tord Nygren (born in 1936)
grew up in Borlänge, Sweden,
and now lives in Gnesta close
to Stockholm. He got a job as
a decorator when he was 15,
working with window-dressing.
Tord Nygren eventually settled
in Stockholm, where he studied
commercial advertising at the
University College of Arts, Crafts
and Design for three years. Tord
has illustrated children’s books
and books for young people since
1964. He works in charcoal and
Indian ink as well as in watercolours,
gouache and pastel. Tord
has also authored his own picture
books and is in great demand
as an illustrator of school- and
textbooks. This is Tord’s first stamp
for the Åland Post.
The illustrations from the first day cover reappear on the gutter strip of the
stamp sheet.

28 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
Full speed with laser sailboat
This year’s My Stamp issue offers a piece of news – a gummed sheet holding eight
stamps. The stamp is an action-packed photo of a boy sailing a Laser Radial.
Several yacht clubs are registered in Åland, two of
which are Mariehamns seglarförening r.f. (sailing
club MSF) and Ålands segelsällskap r.f. (yachting
club ÅSS). Both clubs are located in Mariehamn
and have a long history: MSF was founded in 1917
and ÅSS in 1897.
ENGAGE IN YOUTH ACTIVITIES
The ÅSS is the oldest sports association in Åland and
one of the first yacht clubs in Finland. Both clubs
engage in youth activities, and many Åland children
and young persons have acquainted themselves with
optimist dinghies and other sailing boats.
RADIAL SUITS YOUNG PEOPLE
In the stamp by Daniel Eriksson we see a Laser
Radial. The Laser boats come in three variants: 4.7,
Radial and Standard. A Radial has the same hull
as a Standard but a smaller mast and sail, and it is
therefore better suited for young sailors. The Laser
Radial was chosen as the Olympic class for women,
whereas the Laser Standard is used by the men. The
Laser Radial is a small singlehanded dinghy with a
mainsail area of 5.76 m².
GUMMED SHEETS
As of this year, the My Stamps issue will be changed
from a self-adhesive booklet to a gummed sheet of
eight stamps. You can still order your own selfdesigned
stamps at www.posten.ax. Just like before,
your photography will be placed within the official
frame of the Post. A minimum order for personalized
stamps is two sheets.
COMPLETE SHEETS IN YEAR SET
This means to say that exhibition stamps produced
after the issue of Youth Sailing on 12 June will be
printed as gummed sheets. The stamp is sold solely
in complete sheets of 8 stamps. A complete sheet
will also be included in the Year Set. ✹
Sources: www.msf.ax, www.segel.aland.fi and
http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_Radial.

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 29
The first day cancel
shows a laser sailboat
271 • MY STAMPS –
YOUTH SAILING
DATE OF ISSUE
12 June 2010
PHOTOGRAPHER
Daniel Eriksson
DENOMINATION
Europa (€0.85)
PRICE SHEET
€6.80 (8 stamps)
PRICE FDC
€1.40
SIZE OF STAMP
28.8 x 43.2 mm
SIZE OF SHEET
144 x 105 mm
8 x 1 stamp
PERFORATION
13 per 2 cm
PAPER
135 g/m 2
PRINTING METHOD
4-colour offset + UV print
PRINTING HOUSE
The Lowe Martin Group
The gummed sheets hold eight stamps and are sold as
complete sheets only.
DANIEL ERIKSSON
The first day cover illustration is a close-up photo of a sail.
Photographer Daniel Eriksson
was born in 1968 in Åland
where he also grew up. After his
A-levels, he started working as
a newspaper photo grapher for
Tidningen Åland. He became
interested in photo graphy
already as a teenager and
soon started doing odd jobs
for Tidningen Åland. He also
freelances and has published a
number of photography books,
one of which focuses on the
special Åland hunting of seafowl.
This is Daniel’s third stamp for
the Åland Post.

30 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
276 • CHRISTMAS 2010
DATE OF ISSUE
8 October 2010
ARTIST
Inge Löök
EDITION
350 000
DENOMINATION
Julpost (€0.65)
PRICE FDC
€1.20
SIZE OF STAMP
35.40 x 26 mm
SIZE OF SHEET
2 x 20 stamps
PERFORATION
13 per 2 cm
PAPER
110 g/m²
PRINTING METHOD
4-colour offset
PRINTING HOUSE
Cartor Security Printing
The first day cancel shows the same
tree around which the merry women
are dancing on the first day cover.
INGE LÖÖK
Artist Inge Löök was born in
Helsinki in 1951 and now lives in
Pernaja, just east of Helsinki. She
began to draw when she was four
years old, winning several drawing
competitions in the magazine
Allers. Having already started studying
art and design at Ateneum,
she changed direction and began
to study gardening. After a 6 year
career as a gardener, drawing
took over again, and she has
worked as a fulltime illustrator
since then. Her popular “aunties”
were born in 2003 when Inge had
a commission to draw a Valentine
card. For the time being, she works
on a book of historical fairy tales
and another book about museums
in Eastern Uusimaa. This is Inge’s
first stamp for the Åland Post.
Two elderly women are dancing around a tree on the first day cover. On the
maximum card, we see them in Lucia gowns sitting on an old toboggan. The
women reappear in the special cancel, framed in a gingerbread cutter.
Twigs of spruce decoratively strew the gutter strip of the sheet.

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 31
Christmas with merry aunties
The 2010 Christmas stamp presents Finland-Swedish artist Inge
Löök’ and her merry old ladies. Well-known to many Scandinavians,
Inge usually presents the aunties behaving mischievously!
In the stamp, the women dressed in Lucia gowns
are carrying home a Christmas tree. On the first day
cover, they dance around the decorated tree wearing
red Christmas caps. The tradition of erecting a
decorated Christmas tree indoors comes from the
mid-European guild feasts of the 1400s. In the
Nordic countries, Christmas trees are first mentioned
in the mid-1700s, a tree set up in a palace
and decorated with twist saffron buns.
COMMON PRACTICE AROUND TURN OF CENTURY
Initially, smaller trees were placed in the middle
of the table, but trees high as the ceiling became
customary as of the mid-1800s. It was not until the
turn of the 19th and 20th century, however, that
Christmas trees became customary in the Nordic
countries. From the start, the tree was usually
decorated; however, the type of decorations used
depended much on social conditions.
CHRISTMAS CARDS AS DECORATION
In the beginning of the 1900s, the tree in a bourgeois
home would be decorated with paper crackers,
pastry, baskets, apples and candles, whereas the trees
in working-class homes were simpler, decorated
with cotton balls, frosting and sweets. In Åland, the
tree was generally hung from the ceiling and did not
have many ornaments. When, in the 1920s, colourful
Christmas cards became common, they were
placed in the Christmas tree for decoration as well.
HANDMADE BAUBLES
Material for manufacturing tinsel was invented in
Germany already in the 1700s. The classic Christmas
tree decoration, the bauble, was introduced in the
1820s and was mould-blown. Special Christmas tree
lights could be purchased already in the 1870s. ✹
Source: www.julgran.com

32 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
Eckerö and Sund
All Åland municipalities have soon been featured in the
Åland scenery series. Four municipalities remain and, in
2010, Eckerö and Sund get the chance to present themselves.
Eckerö is the westernmost municipality of both
Åland and Finland. From here, the Eckerö Line
ferries depart for Grisslehamn on the Swedish side.
Eckerö is well-known to all philatelists seeing that
this is also where the traditional Postal Boat Race
either departs or finishes.
POST AND CUSTOMS HOUSE
In Eckerö lies the fine old Post and Customs House
from 1828 by the architects Carl Ludvig Engel and
Carlo Bassi. The building is now a popular sight
with a café, an art exhibition and a postal mail route
museum. The Signhildskär island just off the coast
of Eckerö is where, in the beginning of the 1800s,
the Swedish army fought the final battle on the ice,
consequently losing Finland to the Russian Empire.
MANY HOLIDAY VILLAGES
The population of Eckerö is approximately 900 and
tourism is an important source of income. Some
twenty camping sites and holiday villages and almost
as many cafés and restaurants are located here.
STAMP MOTIF FROM DEGERSAND
The Degersand beach in the village of Torp in
southern Eckerö is a popular outing spot for
Ålanders as well as tourists. Degersand, where Andy
Horner took the photo, is the only landscape in
Åland with sand dunes.
CULTURE-HISTORICAL SURROUNDINGS
Sund lies on the eastern side of main Åland,
approximately 20 kilometres from Mariehamn.

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 33
274 AND 275 •
ÅLAND SCENERY,
ECKERÖ AND SUND
The Eckerö first day cover features shells, and a picture from
Skålberget adorns the first day cover with the Sund stamp.
DATE OF ISSUE
16 September 2010
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Andy Horner (Eckerö)
Erkki Santamala (Sund)
EDITIONS
2 x 180 000
DENOMINATIONS
€0.80 (Eckerö)
Europa (€0.85) (Sund)
PRICE FDC
€1.35 € (Eckerö)
€1.40 € (Sund)
SIZE OF STAMPS
31.75 x 36.51 mm
SIZE OF SHEETS
2 x 15 stamps
PERFORATION
13 per 2 cm
PAPER
102 g/m²
PRINTING METHOD
4-colour offset
PRINTING HOUSE
Cartor Security Printing
ANDY HORNER
The gutter strip of the Eckerö stamp sheet features feathers, while ravens
have been chosen for the gutter strip of the Sund stamp sheet.
Photographer Andy Horner was
born and raised in northern
England. He is a trained textile designer
and has a degree in Scandinavian
languages. He moved to
Åland in 1991 and now holds the
position of senior master of the
photography study programme
at Åland Folk High School. Andy
freelances as a nature photographer
and has published three
photography books. He gives
talks regularly in all the Nordic
countries and is one of three
photographers shooting pictures
for the Åland scenery stamps.

34 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
“Degersand is a popular
spot for outings”
The Eckerö cancel is a feather and
two ravens appear on the Sund
cancel.
This municipality is rich in culture-historical surroundings with both
the Kastelholm Castle and the ruins of the Bomarsund fortress.
WELL-ATTENDED MARKET
Close to the Kastelholm Castle lies the Jan Karlsgården open air
museum, presenting a typical Åland farmstead at the end of the 19 th
century. Recurrent Midsummer celebrations and a well-attended
market on the first Saturday in Advent are popular arrangements.
ERKKI SANTAMALA
Erkki (born in 1967) has been
a photographer since the early
1990s. He has published three
photography books and had
seven solo exhibitions. He lives in
Lumparland and has worked as a
newspaper photographer for the
local newspaper Nya Åland since
2000. The series of Åland scenery
stamps, which started in 2004,
are his first stamps.
VITA BJÖRN
In the proximity of Jan Karlsgården and the castle, we find the prison
museum Vita björn. There has been prisoners and warders in Kastelholm
since the castle was built. Prisoners were first kept in the castle; the
crown prison Vita björn was built in 1784 and used until 1975.
ROCK PLATEAU
Erkki Santamala’s stamp photo is taken at the Lillnäsberget in Sund,
the scenery of which is characterized by its diversity. At the top of this
rock plateau standing some 60 metres above the sea, we find flat rock
forests dominated by old pine trees. Below the steep and vertical descent
of the rocks lie a hazel grove and a small natural meadow, which is
mowed every year. ✹
Source: www.eckero.ax, www.sund.ax, http://sv.wikipedia.org and www.naturum.ax.

ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN • 35
2010 issues
CALENDAR
4 January Victor Westerholm 1 stamp
1 March Spar buoys, System A Postal label, FRAMA
24 March Nordic – Kobba Klintar 1 miniature sheet
24 March Head of Christ 1 stamp
19 April Europa – Children’s books 1 stamp
3 May Passenger ferries 2 stamps
10 May Åland toys Booklet, 9 stamps, 3 different motifs
10 May Åland toys 3 maximum cards
10 May Signum 3 postal stationery cards
12 June The mail route 1 stamp
12 June My Stamps – Youth sailing Mini-sheet of 8 stamps, 1 motif
30 August Church Interior I 1 miniature sheet
30 August Church Interior II 1 stamp
16 September Åland scenery –
Eckerö and Sund
2 stamps
8 October Christmas 2010 1 stamp
8 October Christmas 2010 1 maximum card
8 October Christmas seals Sheets of 20 self-adhesive seals
Deliveries and deadlines
DELIVERY
NUMBER
DEADLINE FOR
SUBSC.CHANGES DELIVERY CONTENTS
1-2010 8 March April Victor Westerholm, postal label FRAMA,
Nordic – Kobba Klintar (miniature sheet),
Head of Christ, children’s books
2-2010 3 May June Passenger ferries, Åland toys (booklet), 3
maximum cards, 3 postal stationery cards,
the mail route
3-2010 6 September October My Stamps (sheet), Church Interior I and II,
Scenery – Eckerö and Sund, Christmas,
1 maximum card
4-2010 25 October November Year Sets, Christmas seals and decorations,
packs, year pages
Other subscription deliveries (NOTE! PRELIMINARY TIMES OF DELIVERY)
PRODUCT DELIVERY PRODUCT DELIVERY
Nordic Set 2010 March Art plate no. 13 June
Model van no. 22 May Art plate no. 14 December
Stamp watch no. 8 June Model van no. 23 December

36 • ÅLANDSPOSTEN FRIMÄRKEN
CALENDAR
Exhibitions 2010
The Åland Post takes part in the following 2010 exhibitions:
TURUN KEVÄT FRIMYNT NORDIA 2010 SF2010
Turku, Finland Helsingborg, Sweden Borås, Sweden Helsinki, Finland
6–7 March
17 April
28–30 May
8–10 October
LAPOEX 2010 INT. BRIEFMARKENMESSE PHILALUX INT. BRIEFMARKENBÖRSE
Lahti, Finland Essen, Germany
Luxembourg
Sindelfingen, Germany
26–28 March 6–8 May
1–4 July
29–31 October
ANTWERPIA 2010 LONDON 2010 FRIMÄRKETS DAG FRIMÆRKEFORUM
Antwerp, Belgium London, Great Britain Stockholm, Sweden Roskilde, Denmark
9–12 April
8–15 May
September
5–7 November
An exhibition card, cancellation and stamp will
be available at all these exhibitions, except for
the one held in Stockholm. The theme of the
2010 exhibition products is local sights, and the
artist is Catharina Nygård Holgersson. Changes
to the above preliminary list will be mentioned at
www.posten.ax.
STAMPS
IN SVEDALA
Svedala, Sweden
11–12 September
64È SALON PHILATELIQUE
D’AUTOMNE-2010
Paris, France,
4–7 November
Special cancellations 2010
At the time of publishing, the following 2010 events have been issued with special cancellations:
21.2 ÅLAND GUIDES 40 YEARS 19.6 POSTAL BOAT RACE
27.4 MARIEHAMN GYMNASTICS CLUB 80 YEARS 8.10 CHRISTMAS 2010 (MAXIMUM CARDS)
7.5 SCHOOL MUSIC 2010 8.10 STAMP DAY
10.5 ÅLAND TOYS (MAXIMUM CARDS)
Additions to the above list may be made and will, in this case, be listed in the next edition of this
magazine and at www.posten.ax, where illustrations of the special cancellations are also available.
Holiday closing
Åland Post Stamps will be closed on the following public holidays:
ASCENSION DAY ÅLAND’S AUTONOMY DAY MIDSUMMER EVE
13 May 9 June 25 June
Next magazine
The next edition of Ålandsposten Frimärken will be out in connection with the November delivery.