Isle of Man Stamps and Coins issued a set of Nigel Kneale stamps on 18th April, 2023 consisting of six designs based on his life and work. The issue comes in two limited editions. A set of franked (with Kneale's autograph) stamps in a branded envelope has a run of 2,000. Inside the envelope is an information card with a summary of Kneale's life and work.
Sadly I did spot a mistake in the text which talks about "the chilling series of eight stories for ITV" which made up Beasts. I'm pretty sure there are only six episodes.
The presentation pack comes in a folder designed to clipped into a stamp album and is limited to just 1,500 copies. Inside the folder are a set of unfranked, mounted stamps. Each order comes with a glossy folder which has Jane Asher recalling the making of both The Quatermass Xperiment and The Stone Tape to together with a set of stamps, though these are unfranked with all the stamps presented as a single sheet.
The designs are delightful and all carry a portrait of Kneale at the time of the events or productions featured. The 80p stamp looks at Kneale's brief time as an actor whilst the £1:28 stamp covers the publication of his award short story anthology Tomato Cain. The £1:51 stamp celebrates his most famous creation, the Quatermass productions. The Year of the Sex Olympics comes under the spotlight for a second stamp with the value of £1:51. The penultimate stamp, costing £2:31, carries imagery from The Stone Tape. The most expensive stamp, at a cost of £2:72, commemorates Beasts with the iconic image of Jane Wymark and the husk from the episode 'Baby'.
As well as being beautifully designed and presented there is one final little touch. I was puzzled by the presence of a small UV light torch in the pack, but quickly realised that if you shone it on the stamps a secret message could be picked out. For example the Stone Tape stamp quotes the line "It's in the computer!". As for Beasts stamp the secret message quotes dialogue from 'Baby' - "Wait til he's hungry."
For more information or to order visit https://www.iompost.com/stamps-coins/collection/the-kneale-archives/
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