To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in 1993, the Ministry of Transport of the Slovak Republic, in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, has prepared a philatelic exhibition to present Czech and Slovak stamp designs since the dissolution of the common state. The stamp design of both countries builds upon a common tradition of more than 70 years of the issuance of postage stamps. This has been demonstrated by various series dedicated to similar topics, such as nature protection, cultural monuments and historical anniversaries along with the works of important artists in graphic art and the steel engraving of postage stamps, which is part of the common Czechoslovak cultural heritage, that has earned both countries many significant international awards. The series ART, that dates back to 1965, is a particularly good example. The stamps from this series were printed using multicolour recess printing, a feature that is unique to Czech and Slovak stamp design.
Within its constitution, the Slovak Republic has declared its link to the spiritual heritage of the Cyrillo-Methodian mission from the 9th century. It has also been the motif of several series of postage stamps, although the Slovak nation was only finally able to establish itself as an independent state after a thousand years of coexistence within the Kingdom of Hungary, which became part of the Habsburg monarchy after the Battle of Mohács in 1526. In 1527, the next year, the Kingdom of Bohemia also joined the multinational Austrian empire, although the first sovereign Czech state, whose history has been illustrated in Czech stamp design, was formed after the break-up of the Great Moravian Empire. Despite this, the reverence for Saints Cyril and Methodius was continuously fostered in the Czech lands until the formation of the modern common state of Czechs and Slovaks in 1918. Moreover, neither the Czech Republic nor the Slovak Republic forget to commemorate the major milestones of Czechoslovak history in their plans for the issue of postage stamps.
In 2023, our countries do not only commemorate the anniversary of the establishment of their sovereign republics, but also the foundation of Czech Post and Slovak Post as independent modern postal operators. The exhibits on display are part of the collections held in the postal museums operated by Czech Post and Slovak Post. The 30th anniversary of Czech Post and Slovak Post is finally accentuated by the joint issue of postage stamps that are a result of the cooperation between Czech and Slovak artists. While Filip Heyduk, a Czech artist, is the author of the design, the miniature sheet, that depicts pigeons, was engraved by the Slovak engraver, Martin Činovský.
