On the 27th of January 2023, Latvijas Pasts released a new stamp in the series Historical Ships of the 19th Century, featuring the brigantine Anna Wictoria, a two-mast sailing ship built in Ainaži in 1878. The new stamp will first be available for purchase at the post offices of the largest cities, as well as in the e-shop of Latvijas Pasts https://veikals.pasts.lv/. The first day cancellation of the stamp is scheduled to take place at Riga post office No. 10, 41/43 Elizabetes Street, Riga, from 9 AM to 6 PM on the 27th of January.
The face value of the new stamp is €1.71 and it corresponds to the postage of items in the weight class up to 20 grams to the countries in Group 1, while its print run is 50,000 copies. The release of the stamp is accompanied by the issue of a special cover with a print run of 500 copies. The philatelic releases have been designed by the artist Elita Viliama.
The most recent stamp in the series of historical ships depicts the brigantine Anna Wictoria, a two-mast sailing ship built in Ainaži in 1878 by master builder Mihkel Margins (1845–1914). This sailing ship is a perfect example of one of the rare classic brigantines built in Latvia as a sailing vessel with excellent seaworthiness, long service life, robust structure and harmonious proportions, as well as visual aesthetics. The brigantine Anna Wictoria called at numerous European ports and yielded a lot of capital for its owners and the country: it served for 20 years until it was wrecked on the east coast of England in 1898.
Latvijas Pasts launched the series of stamps Historical Ships of the 19th Century in 2016 in honour of the period of the rapid development of Latvian seafaring and shipbuilding in the 19th century. Five stamps have been released in this series over these years, featuring the sailing ship Andreas Weide built in Ainaži in 1891, the four-mast gaff schooner Abraham constructed in Ventspils in 1891, the four-mast motor-sailing ship Eurasia made in Engure Municipality in 1925, the three-mast barquentine Mercator built in Ainaži in 1895 and the gaff schooner Eufrosine, a three-mast sailing ship constructed in Plieņciems in 1902. All stamps in the series can be seen here.
