Can you smell the rosemary? (source: Courtesy of Slovenská pošta)
SLOVAK POST will soon begin issuing a fragrant postage stamp for Easter. When rubbed, the unique printing ink releases a rosemary scent. Designed by Dušan Grečner, the special edition stamp depicts religious missals in the Gothic art style found at the Bratislava City Museum.
Mária Hromadová of Slovak Post informed The Slovak Spectator that more than 1.8 million of the scented stamps are available for the Easter season to be sent and surprise their addressees.
Rosemary has been credited with magic powers since ancient times. It has often been used in various rituals, symbolising love, eternal life, and is supposed to protect against the powers of the underworld. In Christianity, rosemary is dedicated to the memory of the Virgin Mary, hence the name - Rose of Mary.
The 40 euro-cent stamp details a missal from the mid 15th century depicting Christ Sorrowful with crossed arms standing in a grave; the “Imago Pietatis”.
Slovak Post issued almost two million of the fragrant stamps for Easter, which are available for purchase individually or in a book of ten stamps.
Along with the stamp, Slovak Post is issuing a first day cover (FDC) of the Gothic lantern of Queen Sophia of Bavaria and Žofia, the second wife of Holy Roman Emperor and Czech King Wenceslaus (Václav IV).
A postcard, carte maxima, which is a replica of the entire manuscript of the Bratislava missal, is also available.
