| Added by |
 Alain Martineau
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| General Description : | Franklin the Turtle, who famously could “zip zippers and button buttons, count by twos and tie his shoes,” can also make stamps come alive. Author Paulette Bourgeois’s kid-lit icon is the single most successful franchise in the history of Canadian publishing: 65 million copies of Franklin’s young-child-friendly adventures have been sold in 24 languages in 38 countries; he starred in his own TV series (with theme music by Bruce Cockburn) and even adorned a 1995 Maclean’s cover. And he’s turning 25 this year. To mark the event, on May 11 Canada Post issued its first-ever stamp series celebrating a character from an illustrated Canadian children’s book, depicting Franklin under both of the names he goes by here. He’s Benjamin in Quebec—not to mention Morten in Denmark, Patrik in Sweden and Konrad in Finland. “I read the children Benjamin, and my husband reads them Franklin,” notes Canada Post spokeswoman (and “huge fan”) Anick Losier. But if Franklin is no ordinary turtle, neither is his moment of philatelic glory of the everyday humdrum kind. The Franklin series is also attached to the launch of Canada Post’s new “augmented reality” app for Apple and Android devices called Stamps Alive. |
| Face value | PERMANENT™ domestic rate $0.61 |
| Catalog code (Michel) | CA 2830 |
| Catalog code (Scott) | CA 2544 |
| Catalog code | Canada post Product #: 413828111; Yvert et Tellier CA 2710 Stanley Gibbons CA 2861 |
| Series | Children’s Literature: Franklin the Turtle |
| Stamp colour | multicolor |
| Stamp use | Commemorative stamp |
| Print run | 7,200,000 |
| Issue date | 11/05/2012 |
| Designer | q30 design inc. |
| Paper type | Tullis Russell |
| Print technique | Lithography in 7 colours |
| Printed by | Lowe-Martin |
| Perforation | Serpentine Die Cut 13½ |
| Height | 32.25 mm |
| Width | 24.75 mm |
| Catalog prices | No catalog prices set yet |
