To be part of Saint-Gobain 350th anniversary event, the French postal service, La Poste, has achieved a technological feat with an original postage stamp that combines innovative mirror-effect printing and the traditional copperplate engraving technique.
The stamp’s mirror effect echoes Saint-Gobain’s historic business while at the same presenting one of the four of its 350th anniversary pavilions. Engraving is used for the historic glassmaking building in the village of Saint-Gobain, which gave its name to the Group.
The franking stamp shows another of the four pavilions created for the Company’s anniversary and exhibited on Place de la Concorde in Paris (France), from October 15 to 31, 2015.
A technological first has been used on this stamp with two layers of metallic silver ink containing aluminum pigments to enhance the chrome effect and echo the silvering used on Saint-Gobain mirrors.
The offset printing was followed by a copperplate engraving print run of the original plant in Picardy using an artisanal technique developed in 15th-century Venice (Italy). Saint-Gobain bears the name of the village in Picardy (France) where the Manufacture royale des glaces began production in 1692, away from prying eyes.
Practical information
The stamp will go on sale on a pre-release basis on October 14, 2015.
▪ PARIS (75)
- SAINT-GOBAIN, Institutional pavilion, Place de la Concorde, from 4:00 to 6:30 pm, 75008 Paris, France.
Elsa Catelin will be present to sign autographs.
- Le Carré d’Encre
10:00 am to 6:00 pm, 13 bis rue des Mathurins, 75009 Paris, France.
The stamp will be released for general sale in certain post offices from October 19, 2015, on the postal service’s website www.laposte.fr/boutique, at Le Carré d’Encre, and for subscribers or mail order clients at Phil@poste Service Clients
