In brief…(304) Belgium: three sheets and two booklets

On June 10, Belgium issued two additional sheets and two booklets, in addition to the Universal Postal Union sheet (see Kort 303). The sheets feature sports and flowers, specifically regarding the Olympic Games starting in Paris in a few weeks, while the flora features the work of comic artist Brecht Evens. On the Olympic stamp sheet, Team Belgium is encouraged with the words “The Olympic Dream” and embracing athletes combined with the Belgian team logo. The sheet contains five identical stamps with the value 1 world; mintage 17.125. The sheet titled Flora-Flore is a work by the Belgian comic artist and illustrator Brecht Evens, who had his major breakthrough in 2009 with “Ergens waar je niet wil zijn” (Somewhere You Don't Want to Be), for which he received the Willy Vandersteen Prize and was nominated for an Eisner, an internationally acclaimed American comic award. The sheet features a colorful floral field containing ten identical stamps with a value of 1; mintage 13.205. Then the booklets. The 175th birthday of the Belgian Impressionist Emile Claus (1849-1924) is commemorated with a booklet containing ten stamps with the value of 1, print run of 68.947 booklets. The stamps feature works by the “Master of Light,” including a self-portrait from 1912 (fig.). Finally, a booklet with ten stamps with the working title “Ten Leaf Shapes Viewed Differently”. Value indication 1; the print run will be announced later. Leaf shapes include those of the laurel, holly, common plane tree, and sessile oak.