Scratch-and-sniff: The Royal Mail's new set of Nobel stamps

Q. Scratch-and-sniff

A. No kidding. Britain's first scratch-and-sniff stamp was issued on Tuesday 2 October 2001 as part of a collection issued to celebrate 100 years of Nobel Prizes. It is one of a set of six stamps, all of which include innovative features, representing the six categories of Nobel Prizes. And the 40p cross design on the stamp for the Medicine Prize category can be scratched-and-sniffed to give you a nose-full of eucalyptus aroma.

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Q. Is this a world first

A. No. Switzerland produced a chocolate-scented stamp, and Hong Kong has come up with green-tea flavoured stamps.

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However, the Royal Mail describes the set as 'the world's first interactive set of stamps'.

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Q. And the other categories

A. Other than Medicine the categories are: Physics, Chemistry, Economic Science, Literature and Peace.

Chemistry (19p) is represented by a stamp with heat-sensitive ink. Heat from your finger is enough to reveal an electrically charged particle, which depicts a carbon atom.

Economics (27p) is an image of the globe printed in the intaglio technique.

Peace (36p; E) features an embossed image of a dove carrying an olive branch.

Literature (45p) contains the entire text of a TS Eliot poem printed in letters 20 times smaller than a grain of sand. The 32-line poem has to magnified eight times to be readable by the naked eye.

Physics (65p) is the first British stamp to include a hologram, featuring the image of a molecule.

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Q. What's the difference between these various printing techniques

A.

Thermochromic (19p) - Thermochromic - or heat-reactive - inks are a relatively new invention. When the ink is warmed for a few seconds the colour will disappear and as the ink cools the colour returns.

Intaglio (1st Class) - This is a process in which a heavy film of ink is applied to the paper under great pressure, thus giving the ink a raised texture. An expensive technique, it is still used on many banknotes, but, more to the point it was the one used in 1840 to produce the Penny Black - the world's first ever postage stamp.

Embossing (36p; E) - Embossed images are achieved by compressing paper between a male and female die to deform the paper and leave an image in relief on the surface.

Scented (40p) - The ink works by encapsulating scent within micro bubbles held within the ink itself. As the ink surface is damaged by scratching, the bubbles burst and the scent is released.

Microprint (45p) - This technique is usually used as a security device, as text not legible to the naked eye and can be hidden within a design.

Hologram (65p) - This is the first time a hologram has been used on a British stamp. A hologram is a method of 3-dimensional photography, which gives true 3-dimensional images on a flat piece of film - you'll have seen one in the corner of your credit card. Appropriately enough, in 1971 Dennis Gabor was awarded the Nobel Laureate for Physics for his work on the holographic method.

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Q. How did the Nobel Prizes come about

A. Chemist and physicist Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm on October 21, 1833. Other than as the man who instituted the awards which bear his name he was the inventor of dynamite and, by the time of his death in San Remo, Italy, on December 10, 1896 he had registered 354 other patents.

When his will was read it was discovered that his immense fortune was to be used for prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace, and a foundation to administer the awards should be formed. The first prizes were awarded in 1901.

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At the age of 46, Nobel had advertised in a newspaper for a 'lady of mature age, versed in languages as secretary and supervisor of household'. One Countess Bertha Kinsky applied and worked for Nobel for a short time before deciding to return to Austria to get married. However, Nobel and Kinsky - now known by her married name of von Suttner - remained friends and kept in touch.

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Over the years von Suttner, increasingly critical of the arms race, became a prominent figure in the peace movement. Von Suttner's ideological stance so influenced Nobel that he included a prize for persons or organisations who promoted peace in his will. Fittingly, the award for the 1905 Nobel Peace Prize went to Bertha von Suttner.

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Q. When will the 2001 awards be announced

A. All bar the Literature Prize - which will be awarded at an as yet unspecified future date - will be announced during the week beginning 8 October.

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Have a look at these stamps on the Royal Mail's website http://www.royalmail.com/default.htm

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For the Nobel archives go to http://www.almaz.com/nobel/

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For more on Arts & Literature click here

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By Simon Smith