November 2024 – Medicinal plants

AlraunMy stamp for November 2024 is part of a special series issued by the Principality of Liechtenstein. Four special stamps decorated with illustrations from historical medical books take the viewer on a fascinating journey through the natural sciences. These illustrations are modelled on the elaborate woodcuts that were used in scientific works at the time.

The first stamp (face value: CHF 1.00) shows an illustration of the ‘Herbarium Apulei Platonici’, the first printed book on plants, which was published between 1480 and 1483. This work was used to identify herbs and enabled even laypeople to recognise and use medicinal plants when necessary. The stamp depicts mandrake, a plant described in this book.
Beifuss

The second stamp (face value: CHF 1.20) depicts the standard work ‘Macer Floridus De viribus herbarium’. This book was translated into many languages and describes the most common medicinal herbs in the form of a Latin didactic poem with over two thousand verses. It centres on the medical theory of the four humours and their influence on health. The stamp features a woodcut of mugwort, a plant that is discussed in detail in the book.

MeerzwiebelThe third stamp (face value: CHF 1.90) shows a woodcut from the ‘Herbarius latinus’, the first illustrated herbal book in Germany. It was a valuable aid in identifying native plants and also contained a collection of almost one hundred remedies. The stamp depicts a white sea onion – an asparagus plant – from the book.

FilzkrautThe fourth stamp (value: CHF 2.50) is dedicated to the ‘Gart der Gesundheit’, a drug monograph that departs from the Latin scholarly works and uses the vernacular. It provides information on the appearance, ingredients and possible uses of medicinal plants. This stamp depicts a plant of the genus Cuscuta, also known as feltwort or devil’s twine. This parasitic plant, which has no chlorophyll content of its own, engulfs its host and deprives it of vital nutrients. An isolated plant with small flowers is printed on the FDC cover.

FDC LiechtensteinThis series impressively combines the world of traditional herbal medicine with the art of old book illustration.

  •  Issue Mirror of Nature – A journey through the natural sciences
  • Issued on 4th November 2024
  • Value/motive
    • CHF 1.00 Herbarium Apulei Platonici
    • CHF 1.20 Macer Floridus De viribus herbarium
    • CHF 1.90 Herbarius latinus
    • CHF 2.50 Garden of Health
  • Stamp size 32.5 × 40 mm
  • Perforation 13 ½ × 13 ½
  • Design Ewald Frick, Vaduz
  • Printing Offset 4-colour CMYK,
  • Gutenberg AG, Schaan
  • Paper Stamp paper FSC 110 g/m²,
  • gummed
  • Print run 30 000