A series of John Lennon stamps featuring images of the musician inspired by his hit song “Imagine” have been voted the most popular music stamp of 2021, according to Motivgruppe Musik.
The stamp was released in September 2021, and Rorie Katz, the United Nations Postal Administration’s (UNPA) chief designer will receive the Yehundi Menuhin Trophy 2022 for music philately on behalf of those who were apart of creating this series: illustrator Martin Mörck and photographers Bob Gruen, Iain Macmillan and David Nutter.
The winning stamp was released on September 21, 2021, the International Day of Peace. The year also marked the 50th anniversary of “Imagine,” the most successful solo song of Lennon’s after his departure from The Beatles. The stamps depict three black and white portraits of Lennon with the word “Imagine – 50th anniversary” across the bottom in a black bar.
“Designing postage stamps is my way of promoting the important issues of the United Nations in tiny images that travel the world through the mail. It is an honour and a privilege to be selected for this award,” said Katz. Since joining the UNPA in 1997, Katz has achieved a lot. She became the head of the graphics and communications department in 2008 and has worked with teams all around the globe.
Up for consideration for the award were 65 stamps originating from 52 postal administrations, with collectors from 61 countries voting online. The John Lennon series won with 268 votes, and in second place with 165 votes was the Arctic Arts Fellowship series, designed by Sharon Rodziewicz, published by the Australian Post for the Australian Antarctic Territory in March 2021. Taking third place was a series called Bremen Town Musicians designed by Henri Galeron, released in September 2021.
The Yehundi Meuhin Trophy has been awarded annually since 1980 by Motivgruppe Musik, the International Philatelic Music Study Group. It is named for Lord Yehundi Menuhin, a violinist, conductor and patron of the Philatelic Music Circle for 30 years until he died in 1999.