Dedicated to all the tiny house tigers I’ve loved over the years – especially Simone.

If you’ve come looking for the 2022 Canada Post Year of the Tiger stamps, you’re going to be disappointed. They wrapped up the long running and much loved series last year with a full retrospective of the 12 year cycle. That meant, no tiger stamps for Canada. A lot of us are disappointed by this. Hopefully Canada Post will bring this popular series back, but it’ll be years now before we are treated to a proper Lunar New Year tiger.

To fill that sad little gap in our lives, I’ve dug up past Year of the Tiger stamps from Canada Post. Two stamps, from 2 different cycles were released. The first, in 1998, a joint issue with China and the second, in 2010, were radically different in style, offering a tantalizing glimpse into how designers interpret a theme. 

Toronto based graphic designer Raymond Mah created the 1998 set. The design is a restrained take on the Chinese New Year theme.  98 was the year of the earth tiger, but there is no sense of that aspect in the overall design. It’s an attractive tiger, but, like I said, quite restrained in interpretation.

Compare the above to Wilson Lam of Wilco Designs’ far more stylistic set.  In describing the design, Lam said “This project has been guided by a desire to tell the story of the tiger through traditional Chinese icons and imagery.” (Details Magazine, Jan – March 2010). 2010 was the year of the gold tiger and that element shines through in the entire set. 

The first stamp was designed to look like a traditional seal, used as a signature, with the stylized tiger the imprint it would make. Artist Bill Lau took Lam’s seal to a different level by creating a sculptured model to create a 3 dimensional feel. After creating the seal, Lau applied gold foil to finish off the effect. Wilson Lam also created the spectacular Chinese tiger on the souvenir sheet. I love this sheet because it reminds me of Chinese scrolls and wall hangings. 

In an interesting note, Alain Leduc (Canada Post Manager of stamp design and production 2010) explains what influenced the use of gold flecks throughout the souvenir sheet’s design:

“This gives the impression that gold flakes have been splashed across the surface and the random spreading of the foil is something we’ve never done before.” This feature was inspired by the works of Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), an Austrian painter celebrated for his elegant use of gold foil.
Details Magazine, Jan – March 2010.

Of the two, Lam’s 2010 gold tiger is the best in generating a sense of excitement and movement. It was also the best of the 12 year cycle that ended in 2021.  

And that’s it. Those are our only tigers. Sad, I know. If you need a tiger fix, you can always see the 2022 stamps over there -> 2022 Year of the Tiger – GROWL! | Bitter Grounds Magazine. 
Cheer for now
Catpaw

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