Mouth-watering tart stamps with a sweet scent

“Write a little cake” as a variation on “Send a card”

On May 28, PostNL announced that starting in early July, regular mail items will be delivered within two days. What does this mean in practical terms? Every location will be 'post-delivery-technically-halved'. On day 1, mail is delivered to one half of the town or city, and on day 2, the other half. This relaxation makes it possible for the postage rate to remain unchanged. In other words, the postage amount for a letter or card remains €1,40.

Perhaps the new issue 'Write a little cake' is a variation on the slogan 'Send a card'. Perhaps the slogan 'Write a little cake' encourages consumers to send a card again, following the absence of the traditional semi-annual postage price increases.

Issue details: illustrator-designer Jose Luis Garcia Lechner from Amsterdam, June 8, 2026 first day of issue, appearance of the sheet with six self-adhesive stamps (free-form design), print run 110.000 sheets, printer Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé BV in Haarlem.

Cake stamps: colorful and fragrant

Each of the six self-adhesive stamps on the stamp sheet depicts six cheerful and festively colorful cake products, viewed from an angle above on a table. The cakes all have a free form that follows the contours of the cake product and partly those of the cake service.

In contrast to colorful French, Italian, and Spanish cakes, those from our country are predominantly somber in color, in shades of brown. Hence the preference for foreign cakes. Interspersed between the stamps on the margin of the sheet are various drawings of ingredients and tools for making, presenting, and eating cakes.

1) a lemon meringue pie (sliced) made from stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar.
2) a cassata sicilianna cake consisting of cake, sweet ricotta (cheese) and marzipan.
3) A fig and chocolate cake (sliced) does not correspond to reality: the cake has too many layers and figs.

These three whole cakes have all been placed on platters. The first in an old-fashioned glass version, the next on whimsical porcelain, and the last on a wooden turntable.
The colorfulness of the cakes protruding high above the table stands out strikingly in the foreground due to the contrasting effect of the dark background.

4) a blackberry tart as a slice
5) a mocha cake
6) an apple rose tart / pastry

These three small cakes / pastries have ended up on a saucer with either a blue line and wave pattern, an old-fashioned floral motif complete with a gold rim, or a plate in a modern, sleek slate design. The cake rests on a paper roundel.

Scented stamps

Fragrances are ingeniously encapsulated in the printing ink at a micron level. The sweet scent of the pastry is only released by rubbing each stamp.

Previously issued Dutch scented stamps are the 2002 summer stamps with rose scent (nvph 2077/82), the 2003 Douwe Egberts coffee stamps with coffee scent (nvph 2192/93), and the 2013 Sinterklaas stamps with speculaas scent (nvph 3108/12).

Stamp images

The attractive and beautiful-looking stamps do not incorporate any figurative references typical of Dutch stamps, apart from the variety of old and modern tableware.