Royal Mail has released a special set of stamps to celebrate 150 years of the London Underground.

The first train ran along the Metropolitan Railway from Paddington Station to Farringdon Street exactly 150 years ago today. The network now has 270 stations and carries 1.2 billion passengers a year.

The new stamps illustrate the Tube’s history, from steam-powered trains to Art Deco stations and the modern Canary Wharf station. They’re available at UK Post Offices from today or at www.royalmail.com/underground.

If you’re looking to boost your stamp collection, 2012 is the year to do it!

Royal Mail is issuing some interesting new collections featuring London events and figures this year, starting with the Olympic “definitive”, or everyday stamps, which go on sale today.

Olympic and Paralympic Stamps
The new stamps feature the Olympic and Paralympic logos, as well as an image of the Queen’s head, and are set to brighten up millions of letters.

After the Games, Royal Mail will issue a set of Gold Medal stamps to honour all Team GB victories.

Diamond Jubilee Stamps
Royal Mail will celebrate the Diamond Jubilee with three new stamp sets:

• House of Windsor stamps featuring the five monarchs from the start of the 20th century, issued 2 Feb
• A miniature sheet with six portraits of the Queen taken from banknotes, coins and stamps issued during her reign, including a 1st class diamond blue definitive, which replaces the standard 1st class gold definitive during the Jubilee Year, issued 6 Feb
• A set of eight stamps featuring images of the Queen during the six decades of her reign, issued 31 May

More London Stamp News
That’s not all! Look out for special Charles Dickens stamps in June to mark the 200th anniversary of the author’s birth, and an upcoming collection on British Fashion Designers (hope there’ll be a few Londoners there too).

While you await these new collections, keep your inner philatelist occupied at the British Postal Museum & Archive, where you can see stamps from all over the world.

Here is a fresh challenge for the World in London team: San Marino - one of Europe’s smallest countries. Does London have anything fascinating and Sammarinese to feature in our World in London blog? Of course it does. We turned to Jenny Karlsson at the British Postal Museum and Archive for this latest foray into London’s incredibly varied multicultural offering.

San Marino is one of the world’s smallest countries, but did you also know that it is world famous for its beautifully designed stamps?

The British Postal Museum & Archive in Clerkenwell, London holds all the stamps that have ever been produced by the state until 1995 in its vast philatelic collection. A few of these can be seen in the images above.

The first San Marino postage stamps, produced in 1877, were a definitive stamp edition depicting the Three Towers of San Marino at Monte Titano.

Commemorative stamp editions were introduced in 1894, the first one being dedicated to an important historical event in the history of San Marino: the inauguration of the Public Palace, seat of the government and parliament and heart of the institutional and political life of the country.

Over the years, the attractive designs of San Marino’s stamps have been extremely popular with stamp collectors around the world, and it is estimated that 10% of the republic’s revenue is generated by the sale of its postage stamps to international collectors.

The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA) is the leading resource for British postal heritage. It is a combined museum and archive, bringing together The Royal Mail Archive and a Museum Store. Its unique collections include posters, photographs, staff records, telegrams, postal vehicles and pillar boxes, as well as all British stamps that have ever been produced and a wide range of international stamps.

The BPMA cares for the visual, written and physical records from over 400 years of innovation and service, illuminating the fascinating story of British communications. Records in The Royal Mail Archive are designated as being of outstanding national importance.

The British Postal Museum & Archive’s current display features treasures from the collections such as sheets of Penny Blacks and evidence from the Great Train Robbery, as well as unique items from the world’s first airmail flight that took place in 1911.

For more information, or to find out about upcoming exhibitions or events, see www.postalheritage.org.uk.

 Have you spotted anything else from the tiny San Marino in London? Some of their famous wine, perhaps? Let us know in the comments below.

With exactly one month to go until the Royal Wedding, Royal Mail have announced a special set of stamps to commemorate the big day. The Mayor of London Boris Johnson also unveiled TfL’s Royal Wedding commemorative Oyster card design.

The stamps feature the official engagement portraits of Prince William and Kate Middleton taken by Mario Testino in November last year.

The Royal Wedding stamps will be available from all Post Office branches from 21 April. If you can’t wait till then, order online from 7 April or pre-order now by telephone on +44 (0)8457 641 641.

Around 750,000 royal wedding Oyster cards will be available from 21 April from all London Underground and London Overground stations, some National Rail ticket offices, as well as TfL Travel Information Centres, while stocks last.

For more information visit www.royalmail.com/royalwedding and http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets

Are you planning to get any Royal Wedding memorabilia? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Royal Mail launched a set of new stamps today commemorating seven decades of popular UK musicals.

The eight stamps depict some of our favourite West End shows including Queen musical We Will Rock You, Oliver!, Blood Brothers and Billy Elliott.

Launching the new stamps in London today Queen members Roger Taylor and Brian May said: “We’re thrilled that We Will Rock You has been immortalised on a Royal Mail stamp. The image on the stamp takes us back to when we were touring as Queen and embodies the rock and roll music that we wanted to celebrate in We Will Rock You the musical.”

The full list of eight stamps and their values are as follows:

• 1st – First Class inland letter rate Oliver!
• 1st – First Class inland letter rate Blood Brothers
• 1st – First Class inland letter rate We Will Rock You
• 1st – First Class inland letter rate Monty Python’s Spamalot
• 97p – Rest of World airmail up to 20gm Rocky Horror Show
• 97p – Rest of World airmail up to 20gm Me and My Girl
• 97p – Rest of World airmail up to 20gm Return to the Forbidden Planet
• 97p – Rest of World airmail up to 20gm Billy Elliot

The musicals stamps are available now at all Post Offices and online at www.royalmail.com/stamps

The Merlin Entertainments London Eye is continuing its 10th anniversary celebrations with the popular London attraction now appearing on a special set of stamps.

Royal Mail has produced a commemorative sheet of stamps that follow the history of the Eye, from the original 1993 sketches to becoming an important part of the New Year’s fireworks displays.

The London Eye isn’t the first London icon to celebrate its birthday with stamps. Earlier this year Battersea Dogs and Cats Home marked its 150th birthday with a special set of stamps featuring rehomed cats and dogs.

David Sharpe, Divisional Director of London Midway Attractions at Merlin Entertainments said:

“The London Eye has far exceeded any of our initial expectations when we opened in 2000. Ten years on and we’ve achieved fantastic success, with over 38.5 million visitors from all over the world coming to enjoy what has become the most iconic landmark in the capital. We hope that London Eye fans enjoy the 10th birthday commemorative stamps to celebrate this milestone.”

The London Eye stamp sheet is available at 400 Post Offices, online at www.royalmail.com/stamps and from the Royal Mail eBay shop.  The stamps are available now.

Even the most dedicated of emailers could be persuaded revert to paper and ink missives with these supercute new stamps from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. The new stamps feature 10 former residents who have now been successfully rehomed.

Royal Mail commissioned the stamps to help celebrate Battersea Dogs and Cats Home’s 150th birthday this year.

The charity started as a home for lost and starving dogs in 1860. Then, in 1883, it began taking in cats as well, and remains true to its original aim to “never to turn away a dog or cat in need of help.”

Take a look at the video below to hear the stories of the 10 celebrity pets and their new owners:

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home takes in 12,000 animals every year, so if there’s room in your life for a furry friend, why not consider rehoming one? Or if you have a less than sympathetic landlord, there are lots of other ways to help the charity.

The stamps are available at all Post Offices and online at www.royalmail.com/stamps.