More new stamps from Jersey

We always review every issue from Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Unfortunately, as we have been doing different things over the summer, we missed the Tales of St Helier issue from Jersey, which was released on 10th August. I have heard of the town of St Helier on Jersey, but I don't know much about the person it was named after. Jersey Stamps & Collectibles tells us more about these stamps and St Helier: "Tales of Saint Helier illustrates the most common story in Jersey’s Patron Saint and features key moments of his life, including his miraculous birth, his journey to the island and how he inspired those around him, becoming a martyr and leaving a lasting legacy."

St Helier was a real person who lived in the sixth century. He seems to have become tired of monastic life in Normandy and decided to live as a hermit in Jersey. He lived on a rock near where to Elizabeth Castle is today. He helped to bring Christianity to Jersey and a lot of stories talk about miracles, although I am not sure how true they are. These stamps tell the story, mixing facts with myths. Jersey Stamps & Collectables tells us that "the beautiful illustrations were designed by Becca Thorne, a UK artist who specialises in linocut prints inspired by the wildlife and flora of the British Isles. Tales of Saint Helier illustrates the most common story in Jersey’s Patron Saint and features key moments of his life, including his miraculous birth, his journey to the island and how he inspired those around him, becoming a martyr and leaving a lasting legacy."

More of Becca Thorne's fantastic artwork can be found on her website, https://www.beccathorne.co.uk/ Design Quality: I think the design of these stamps is really strong. Becca Thorne has limited herself to just a few main colours but, instead of making the stamps look plain, it actually helps bring the whole set together. I especially like all the swirls representing the sea, which continue from one scene to another and make the pictures feel as though they are flowing together. There is something about the simple shapes, patterns and colours that also feels appropriate for a story about an early Christian saint and reminds me a little of the sort of artwork we associate with Celtic Christianity.

The illustration style is charming without becoming too cute, which is important because some parts of St Helier's story are quite serious. These could easily have ended up looking like pictures from a boring history book, but instead they have loads of character. It is a really well-designed set and a great tribute to Jersey's patron saint. 9/10

Theme and Subject Choice: St Helier is the patron saint of Jersey, so he is an obvious choice for a Jersey stamp issue, but there is another reason I think he is such a good subject. Some very famous patron saints don't have much connection with the places they represent. St Andrew never visited Scotland and St George never came anywhere near England, as far as we know. St Helier, on the other hand, actually lived in Jersey. His story belongs to the island in a much more direct way. I also like the decision to tell his story across several stamps rather than simply putting a picture of a saint on one stamp. We get a mixture of history, religion, legends and some dramatic events, which makes him much more interesting as a person. 9/10

Historical and Cultural Relevance: St Helier is an extremely important figure in Jersey's history and religious heritage. The island's capital is named after him, which gives you a fairly big clue about how important his name has become! His story goes back to the early Christian history of Jersey, and traditions about his life have survived for centuries. Of course, when you go this far back in history it can be difficult to separate things that definitely happened from legends that were added to the story later. I actually like that these stamps don't try to hide that. They are called Tales of Saint Helier, and the set mixes the history with the myths and stories that have grown around him. Those legends have become part of Jersey's culture too, even if we can't prove every detail of them. 9/10

Innovation and Creativity: The subject itself isn't particularly innovative because countries have been putting saints on stamps for a very long time. The creativity is really in how the story has been illustrated. Instead of giving us paintings of St Helier or something that looks like a church window, Becca Thorne has created her own visual world for the story. I love the enormous curling waves, the repeated circular shapes and the way people, boats, animals and landscapes are very simple. There is almost something dreamlike about some of the scenes, which works particularly well when you are telling stories where history and legend have become mixed together.

I also like how the same artistic language continues across all the stamps. The waves and swirls don't just decorate the pictures – they seem to carry us from one part of the story to the next. It is a very creative way of turning several separate stamps into one complete illustrated story. 7/10

Collectability: There are definitely reasons why these should be collectable. They celebrate Jersey's local history and the artwork is unusual and attractive enough that some people might want the stamps simply because they love the designs. Having the story spread across the set probably helps too, because I think these look much better together than they would individually.

However, I wonder whether the subject is a little too specialised to attract lots of collectors outside Jersey. Someone who doesn't collect Jersey stamps and isn't particularly interested in saints or religious history might admire the artwork without actually wanting to own the set. There is also the price. At £19.87 for the complete issue, this isn't a cheap set of stamps. Some collectors (myself included) have limited amounts of money to spend, especially when there are new issues appearing all the time, and nearly £20 before you even add postage could make some people decide to give this one a miss. 5/10

Personal Appeal: This is a slightly difficult one for me because I think the designs are excellent. I really like Becca Thorne's illustration style, the limited colours and especially those huge swirling waves. I also enjoyed discovering more about St Helier. If I was judging these only on how they look and how well they tell their story, I would probably give them a much higher personal score.

But collecting stamps also involves deciding what I actually want to spend my money on. I'm afraid I don't like these quite enough to spend almost £20 on the set, especially once postage is added. There are too many other stamps I would rather buy with that money. I can admire them, think they are beautifully designed and still decide that I don't need to own them. Unfortunately for Jersey Post, looking at a stamp and saying "that's lovely" is considerably cheaper than buying it! 6/10 Overall Score: 45/60 Another new issue from Jersey will be arriving on 1st September, so I may as well review them now.

These stamps will take a look at native island wildlife.

The stamps show pictures of the Agile Frog, Green Lizard, Grass Snake, Atlantic Puffin, Marsh Harrier and Red Squirrel. The photographs are shown within a map of Jersey, which is on a white background.

Design Quality: There are some really good ideas in these designs. I like the decision to put the photographs of the animals inside the outline of Jersey, because it connects the wildlife with the island and is much more interesting than simply putting six rectangular photographs on stamps. Unfortunately, I don't think it works quite as well as it could. Jersey is not a particularly convenient shape for fitting an animal into, and St Aubin's Bay creates a huge chunk missing on the bottom. On some of the stamps it honestly looks as though somebody has taken a bite out of the photograph! Once I noticed that, I found it quite difficult to stop looking at it.

That's a shame because everything else is nicely presented. I like the way the names and other information are arranged around the photographs and, despite having several different elements on each stamp, the layout is neat and easy to understand. The designers have tried to do something clever rather than just relying on the animal photographs, and it almost works. 7/10

Theme and Subject Choice: Native wildlife isn't exactly a new idea for stamps, and Jersey has issued plenty of wildlife-themed stamps before. However, there is an obvious reason why: animals make excellent stamp subjects. This set also has a more specific idea than simply being "animals of Jersey", because it concentrates on native island wildlife and gives us a little picture of the different creatures that share the island. I like the variety too, because we don't just get six birds or six fish. There are creatures from the land, sea and air, which makes the complete set much more interesting. It might be a familiar theme but it is a good one. 8/10

Historical and Cultural Relevance: Obviously these animals are all connected directly with Jersey, so they have enormous relevance to the island and its natural environment. Wildlife is part of what makes a place distinctive just as much as buildings, traditions and famous people are. I also think stamps like these can be useful because they encourage people to notice species they might otherwise not think about. Everybody notices a puffin because puffins are wonderful birds, but some of the less glamorous creatures like grass snakes deserve attention too! This set helps to record the wildlife found around Jersey and reminds us that protecting an island's natural heritage is just as important as protecting its historical heritage. 9/10

Innovation and Creativity: You can definitely see that the designers have tried hard to do something different here. The easiest option would have been six attractive wildlife photographs with the name of each species underneath, but instead the photographs have been fitted into the outline of Jersey. I really like the thinking behind that because it turns the island itself into part of every design. The coloured outlines around the shapes also help each animal stand out, while the consistent text and layout make all six stamps obviously belong together.

The problem is that the most creative idea is also the thing that slightly lets the designs down. The shape of Jersey cuts into the photographs in some awkward places and sometimes I find myself looking at the strange shape rather than the animal. So I am giving them credit for trying something unusual, even if I don't think the experiment has been completely successful. 7/10

Collectability: Animals are always going to help when it comes to collectability. Wildlife is one of the biggest subjects in stamp collecting, and this set could appeal to people who collect particular types of animals as well as people who collect Jersey stamps or wildlife generally. Puffins probably have an advantage because they are such popular birds, but I can imagine collectors being interested in several of the other species too. The fact that the set covers different kinds of wildlife rather than just one group probably gives it quite a wide appeal.

On the other hand, there are so many animal and wildlife stamps issued around the world that it is difficult for any new set to stand out. A collector interested in wildlife has an enormous number of stamps to choose from. The Jersey-shaped photographs give these something a little different, but I'm not sure they are distinctive enough to become a must-have wildlife issue. 7/10

Personal Appeal: I like these, although some of the stamps appeal to me much more than others. The bottom row is definitely my favourite. I particularly like the puffins and the other two photographs there seem to fit the designs better, so I don't notice the slightly awkward Jersey shape quite as much. Overall, I think this is an attractive set.

Price makes a difference to my opinion as well. This set costs around half as much as the St Helier issue, which makes it much easier to buy it. There is always going to be a difference between thinking a set of stamps looks nice and liking it enough to spend your own money on it. At this price, these have a much better chance. Overall it's another very good set of stamps from Jersey. 7/10 Overall Score: 45/60