Theme of the stamp
the Mole flying on the rocket.
This year’s stamp in the “For Children” series commemorates Zdeněk Miler, Czech director and author of children’s cartoons who created the popular “Krtek” or “Krteček” (The Mole or The Little Mole) character. Zdeněk Miler was born on 21 February 1921 in Kladno and died on 30 November 2011 in Nová Ves pod Pleší. His career as an artist began in Zlín Film Studios. In 1945, he joined the “Bratři v triku” animated film studio in Prague’s Barrandov led by Jiří Trnka. The studio’s logo, three little curly boys in sailor T-shirts, is his work. His first independent cartoon, “O milionáři, který ukradl slunce” (“About the Millionaire Who Stole the Sun”), was based on Jiří Wolker's story. He became famous for his series of cartoons about the Mole which attracted a huge popularity. Currently, the series includes about fifty cartoons featuring the little mole character. Interestingly, the series is not voiced (the only exception being the 1st film called “Jak krtek ke kalhotkám přišel” or “How the Mole Got His Trousers”). The speech of both the Mole and his little friends is reduced to short non-figurative exclamations made by Miler’s small daughters Kateřinka and Barborka. Miler’s extensive artist activities also included illustrations for children’s books, such as Eduard Petiška’s “Pohádkový dědeček” (“Fairytale Grandfather”). During the communist regime, he lent his name to dissident writer Ivan Klíma, author of some works on the Mole.
Product description
Face value: A stamp identified with the letter A corresponding to the price of Ordinary Letter – Standard up to 50 g in domestic Priority service (current price according to the Price List of Basic Postal Services)
Method of printing
multicoloured offset