Issue date: 14 Sep, 2020
QUEVEDO. 440th ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH
If there is one thing that identifies Francisco de Quevedo –apart from his writings– it is his unique glasses, which came to be known by his name, “quevedos”.
These glasses and his distinguishing goatee feature on the stamp Correos is issuing to mark the 440th anniversary of his birth.
The stamp comes in Premium Sheet format featuring the portrait of the artist attributed to Juan van der Hamen, in which he is wearing the cross of the Orden de Santiago, which also appears as a detail on the stamp.
This is not the first time that Spanish philately has paid homage to this genius, who was one of the leading literary figures of Spain's Golden Age.
In 1945, a stamp was issued to commemorate the 300th anniversary of his death.
And 40 years later, another stamp celebrated the 400th anniversary of his birth.
But it was the Correspondencia Epistolar series by Gallego y Rey, in 2002, that left us with an amusing but also illuminating stamp representing the eternal struggle between the two greats of the era: Quevedo and Góngora.
In 2016, Gallego y Rey returned to the image of the writer in the Graphic humour series, in a mini sheet featuring King Felipe VI carried on the shoulders of some of the great figures of Spanish history.
Two years ago, Correos dedicated a stamp featuring Quevedo's image to the Quevedo Institute of Comic Arts, to celebrate 25 years of the International Comic Art Exhibition.
If the importance and value of a writer is measured by the number of stamps their country devotes to them, then Francisco de Quevedo Villegas y Santibáñez Cevallos is clearly in one of the top spots.
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
Rate B - €1.65. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to Europe (including Greenland), up to 20 g.
Rate C - €1.75. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the rest of the world (except USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand), up to 20 g.
Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.