First Class: British Classic Design Stamps

Did you know that Mary Quant is the creator of the miniskirt? She named it after her favorite car, developed by Sir Alec Issigonis.

Mark McMenamin -- Interior Design, 1/1/2009

The U.K. offers new hope in the fight against e-mail addiction—courtesy of the Royal Mail, which just gave all BlackBerry-dependent Brits a terrific excuse to take pen to paper now and then. It's the British Design Classics, a series of first-class stamps depicting 10 modern milestones. Spanning furniture, fashion, transportation, and more, the selection is a tiny tutorial.

Did you know, for instance, that Mary Quant is credited with the invention of the miniskirt? One stamp captures a particularly flirty version. Quant named the mini after her favorite car, developed by Sir Alec Issigonis—and pictured on another stamp. You probably already knew, meanwhile, about the interiors-related products featured on two additional stamps: the Anglepoise task lamp by George Carwardine and the Polyprop chair by Robin Day. And we just learned that Foster + Partners, Aston Martin, and Capoco Design have won a competition for an eco-conscious, wheelchair-friendly London bus to replace the double-decker Routemaster, designed in 1956 by A.A.M. Durrant and Douglas Scott. Thank goodness it will be immortalized on envelopes.