Switzerland – Swiss Post is celebrating 200 years of glass craftsmanship in Hergiswil with a representation of the creation process behind a highly distinctive product.

The Hergiswil Glassworks, whose roots go back to 1723, moved into its current prem- ises in 1817. In the 200 years that followed, it experienced an extremely eventful history. Today, it is the last production site in Switzerland that still creates handmade, mouth-blown glass artefacts. Roberto Niederer, long-serving company boss and father of the current CEO, developed a product back in 1965 that to this day remains a big seller: the Anna goblet, named after its creator’s mother. It is available as a water, cocktail, red or white wineglass.

The manufacturing process for the Anna goblet is also the motif of the special stamp developed by Basel design team Hauser, Schwarz. The stamp depicts the moment when out of the liquid, glowing mass a skilfully formed clear, pure glass evolves; it also shows the glass-blower’s glove, tongs and blowpipe as symbols of the craft. In the background is a simple illustration representing the spectacular location of Hergiswil am See, set against the mighty Pilatus.

Issue Date: 23.02.2017
Designer: Simon Hauser and David Schwarz, Basel
Printer: Joh. Enschedé, Haarlem, Netherlands
Process: Offset and UV varnish
Colours: 4
Size: Stamps: 32.5×40 mm, Sheet: 162×190 mm (4 rows of 4 stamps)
Values: CHF 1.00