75 jaar Snoopy (1950 – 2025): 75 year of Peanuts

To mark the 75th anniversary of the comic character Snoopy, PostNL is issuing the Snoopy 75 Years stamp sheet with 5 framed stamps on August 11, 2025. All stamps bear the value indication 1 for mail up to and including 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands. The design of the stamps was created by graphic designer Frank Janse of the VormVijf agency in The Hague. The price for the Snoopy 75 Years stamp sheet with 5 stamps is €6,65.

Snoopy

Beagle Snoopy, the dog of comic character Charlie Brown, is one of the main characters from the famous American comic series Peanuts (1950-2000). On October 4, 1950, Snoopy made his debut in the newspaper comic strip by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000). Seventy-five years ago, Schulz based the first drawings of Snoopy on the dog Spike from his childhood. At first, Snoopy remained silent; later, his thoughts could always be followed by the reader via speech bubbles. Snoopy's best friend, besides Good Ol' Charlie Brown, is the bird Woodstock. Snoopy is primarily known for his vivid imagination. In the comic strips, he often appears in all sorts of disguises, such as a popular student, an aviator, a scout, a jogger, and a pirate. Around 100 of these fantasy characters are known. The character Snoopy appeared in newspaper strips, comic books, and in all animated films made for television and cinema. Over time, Snoopy grew into a hero in popular culture. Snoopy, for example, played an important role as a mascot in the Apollo program of the American space agency NASA.

Each of the 5 stamps on the Snoopy 75th Anniversary stamp sheet features a drawing of Snoopy as one of his fantasy characters. These are Joe Cool (a popular student), Flying Ace (a British aviator from World War I), Beagle Scout (a Scout patrol leader), World Famous Jogger (a runner who isn't very good at running), and Fierce Pirate (a pirate using Snoopy's doghouse as his pirate ship). In all the drawings, Snoopy wears clothing and other items associated with his alter ego. For example, in the drawing of the Fierce Pirate, Snoopy has a bandana and an eyepatch on his head while peering through binoculars with his other eye. The bird Woodstock, Snoopy's best friend, can also be seen in this drawing. The names of the characters appear at the top of the 5 stamps. On the top margin of the sheet, the official logo for Snoopy's 75th anniversary is on the left, and on the right, a drawing of Snoopy with an envelope in front of a typical American mailbox. On the Snoopy 75th Anniversary stamp with 24-karat gold, Snoopy is depicted holding an envelope, alongside the anniversary logo once again.  

About the designer

Frank Janse (Vlissingen, 1967) graduated as a graphic designer from the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam in 2001. Janse specializes in corporate identities, branding, infographics, and communication campaigns. Until 2019, he worked for various advertising and design agencies, including Room for ID's, and for himself as Frank Grafisch Ontwerp in Gouda. In 2019, together with Leene Communicatie, he founded the new company Leene Visuele Communicatie for the design of communication materials, with an emphasis on content and information design. Leene Visuele Communicatie works for clients including housing corporation Rochdale, PostNL, Randstad Groep Nederland, the Dutch Government, Vattenfall, and the health research and care innovation organization ZonMw. Since late 2022, Frank has been design director and co-owner of VormVijf in The Hague. VormVijf works for government bodies, enterprises, and organizations, with the (often organized) citizen as its primary and largest target group. The agency connects strategy, design, and content with the ambition to innovate, surprise, and create impact. Commissioned by PostNL, Janse previously designed various luxury storage systems and personalized stamps, including several themed collections. He also created the designs for the Beleef de natuur series in the years 2018–2025. In 2024, Janse designed the stamp sheet and the stamps featuring 24-karat gold Regalia of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and in 2023 the stamps. Holland America Line 150 years, Girl with the Pearl and Inauguration of Juliana 1948 with 24-carat gold. Source: PostNL Press Release.