Description: This vintage Dutch definitive postage stamp features a clean, prominent central numeral "4" framed by decorative side borders. The composition is executed in a monochromatic cinnabar-green ink using a crisp photogravure process on fine off-white paper stock. The country name "NEDERLAND" is written in a stylized serif typeface across the top margin, while the currency unit "CENT" anchors the lower center boundary. Framing the central digit on both the left and right sides are two intricate, vertical arabesques, each composed of two intertwined hand-drawn calligraphic lines that gracefully emanate from the letters "N" in the country name.
Circa: 1946-1957
Condition: Used - Hinged
Notes:
This iconic design series was created by Jan van Krimpen, a legendary Dutch typographer and calligrapher who drew the stylized side arabesques by hand at ten times the final scale of the stamp. Commissioned right after World War II, the elegant linework was intentionally chosen by the state PTT to bridge the pre-war aesthetic with a sense of stability as the nation recovered from five years of German occupation.