SingPost, The Straits Times launch Singapore’s first stamps with changing images

SINGAPORE – A tilt is all it takes to travel nearly a century back in Singapore’s postal history.

A set of two stamps, with images that change when the stamps are tilted, transforms the modern-day Fullerton Hotel into the original 1928 General Post Office, and a contemporary postal worker into a mid-century postman carrying a mailbag through kampungs on foot.

The set, which is Singapore’s first-ever stamp collection featuring lenticular effects, is a collaboration between Singapore Post and The Straits Times to mark World Post Day on Oct 9.

Titled Then & Now, the collection features four photographs selected by ST photojournalists from their photographic archive that has documented Singapore’s development since 1845. 

The transformation of the postal worker mirrors the career of 69-year-old postman Lim Hoo Khiam, who has spent 50 years delivering mail across Singapore.

With Lim having witnessed what he described as “maybe 15 generations of changes”, his career is a reflection of the nation’s rapid postal transformation. “In the old days, it was mainly manual labour – sorting things, carrying mailbags,” he recalled, describing the workload then as “easier” and “more relaxed”.

Today, postmen handle high volumes of online shopping parcels tracked using mobile devices.

SingPost chief executive Mark Chong said that while delivery infrastructure and technology continue to evolve, the essential purpose of the postal service remains unchanged.

“Stamps carry the story of a nation, capturing moments in our history, cultural icons and shared heritage,” said Chong. “We are modernising fast – new systems, new routes, new ways of getting things to people – but a stamp this small still carries a lot of weight.

“Then & Now puts the old General Post Office next to today’s delivery network because that is really SingPost’s story – the vessel changes, the job does not.”

ST editor Jaime Ho said: “Selecting two iconic images from The Straits Times archive – the Fullerton Building and the postman – the lenticular stamps illustrate how the physical landscape and mail delivery methods have transformed with the evolution of our nation’s postal journey.”  

Pre-ordering for the Singapore Then & Now Lenticular Sheet Folder is open from Sept 23 to 30 at shop.singpost.com

The first 100 pre-orders for the collection – which retails at $32.80 – will include a replica of ST’s very first edition on July 15, 1845.

Pre-orders will be available for self-collection at the General Post Office from Oct 9. 

On the same day, the stamp collection will go on general sale at the Philatelic Counter of the General Post Office, the Philatelic Store at the Tampines Central Post Office, and online at shop.singpost.com, while stocks last. Individual lenticular stamps are priced at $13.80 each, while lenticular postcards are available at $5 each.

Accompanying items include first-day covers and souvenir covers at 60 cents each, and a World Post Day MyStamp set featuring local wildlife, HDB blocks and nostalgic vintage playgrounds for $13.80. 

The Then & Now stamp set will also anchor a free public exhibition, titled The Postage Pulse: Singapore’s Story In A Stamp Album.

Tracing Singapore’s history through various themed zones, the event features historical displays, alongside visitor activities and philately talks.

It will run from Oct 8 to 11 at the SingPost Centre Level 1 atrium.