The world’s first embroidered stamp was issued by Swiss Post on 21 June 2000, the opening day of NABA 2000, the national stamp exhibition held in St. Gallen.
Today, let’s take a closer look at one of the most astonishing stamps ever made!
About St. Gallen
St. Gallen is the main city of eastern Switzerland, close to Lake Constance, which borders Germany.
It is one of the highest cities in Switzerland, and the Abbey of St. Gall was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
The city has prospered from the textile industry since ancient times. Linen and flax weaving began around the 8th century and flourished from the early 12th century, when long-distance trade took off.
By the 18th century, cotton had become the main industry, and in the 19th century St. Gallen became widely known for its exquisite embroidery and lace.
The St. Gallen Textile Museum, opened in 1878, is world-famous.
The Swiss Embroidery Industry
Swiss embroidery has a long tradition.
Around 1900, embroidery was the most important industry in eastern Switzerland. More than one in five people there are said to have earned their living from it.
Swiss embroidery enjoyed its first golden age as a handicraft at the end of the 18th century, but the boom faded as fashions changed.
A new boom began after 1820, driven by the growing American market and the introduction of a new satin-stitch technique.
Demand for embroidery rose, but there were not enough skilled hand embroiderers — which spurred the development of embroidery machines.
Why Switzerland Issued an Embroidered Stamp
With the stamp exhibition being held in a town famous for embroidery, the idea fitted perfectly with two goals: promoting and supporting the local industry, and Swiss Post’s wish to issue a truly unusual stamp to mark 150 years of the Swiss postal service. The result was this luxurious stamp.
Stamp Design by Peter Hostettler
The stamp was designed by Peter Hostettler, a textile designer at Bischoff Textiles in St. Gallen.
Hostettler created an original design inspired by 18th-century Italian and French embroidery and by 20th-century machine-embroidery patterns.
Three Sources of Design Inspiration
Venetian Needle Lace
Needle lace was made in Venice around 1700 and was worn as decoration around the neck and wrists.
In this needle lace, the curved edges are decorated with many picots.
Because small roses appear in the background of the border, it is called “point de neige” or “punto rosellino.”
Valenciennes Lace
Valenciennes lace is a type of bobbin lace.
It takes its name from Valenciennes, a town of about 40,000 people in the Nord department of France, where much of it was made.
In the 18th century it was used not only in women’s dresses but also in men’s fashion.
Machine Embroidery with Combination Lace
Combination lace was fashionable in the 1930s. It is made through a complex process using a Schiffli embroidery machine.
Machine-made Valenciennes bobbin lace was used in the upper part, with machine embroidery in the lower part.
Materials of the Embroidered Stamp
A high-quality fabric was used for the stamp, but beyond the fact that it is “high quality,” its exact composition was kept secret by the manufacturer.
The embroidery on this fabric was done with satin-finish thread.
The thread is 100% polyester, made especially for the embroidery industry, with excellent tear resistance.
To ensure tensile strength, a 100% polyester thread with a count of 0.78/2 was chosen.
The beautiful blue that makes the design stand out was also dyed specially for this stamp.
The stamp is self-adhesive, and the adhesive coating was also developed especially for it.
The multi-layer coating was designed so that it leaves no residue when the stamp is peeled off an envelope.
How the Embroidered Stamp Was Made
The Swiss embroidered stamp used newly developed technology in both its production and its materials.
The embroidery process was optimized for this world-first product, using embroidery machines equipped with the latest technology.
- The fabric is cut into strips about 10 meters long
- Two strips are stretched onto the embroidery machine
- Each of the 340 needles embroiders one stamp
- Row by row, the stamps are embroidered until the fabric is filled
- After embroidery, the connecting threads are removed
- The adhesive is applied in several stages
- The stamps are cut out of the fabric
The embroidery machine was a Saurer Pentamat 2040, running at 200 stitches per minute with 340 needles working at the same time.
In a single embroidery run, 340 stamps were produced simultaneously.
As is characteristic of textile technology, small variations arise in the embroidery during production.
This means every embroidered stamp is slightly different — each one is truly unique.
As the final step, the finished stamps went through Swiss Post’s quality inspection.
In this way, a stamp requiring far more time and effort than usual was brought into the world.
Types of Swiss Embroidered Stamp Issues
In addition to the single stamp, a souvenir sheet with a lavish embroidered border and an FDC were issued.
According to Swiss Post, because the stamp took so long to produce, it was sold in limited numbers and the print run was not announced.
Swiss Embroidered Stamp: Summary
This time I took a deep dive into Switzerland’s embroidered stamp of 2000.
A luxurious embroidered stamp that astonished collectors in the landmark year of 2000.
I remember learning about it shortly after opening Postio Marche, and being amazed at just how wide the world of stamps could be.
Did Switzerland feel it had done all it could with embroidery? It has not issued another embroidered stamp since, but Austria, Liechtenstein and others have followed in its footsteps.
For more embroidered stamps from around the world, please also read this article!
👉 Real Embroidery & Lace Stamps: Tiny Textile Art from Around the World
Postio Marche carries embroidered stamps — please take a look.
👉 Postio Marche — Embroidered Stamps
Some of the stamps shown are from a private collection. Items available for purchase are those listed in the shop only.
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