The British mail authority has issued a set of six stamps devoted to crime writer Agatha Christie. The stamps are packed with steganographic messages. Can you find them?

Using stamps for hidden communication is an old technique. For instance, the way a stamp is placed on an envelope may have a certain meaning. This method, which was especially popular among lovers, is explained on this marvelous web site.

According to a book I read in my youth (it’s a book about stamps from the “Was ist was” / “How and why” series, which is extremely popular in Germany), World War 1 spy Carl Hans Lody used a stamp code to send hidden information to his handler. While the story of Carl Hans Lody is well documented on Wikipedia and other sources, I haven’t found any information about his stamp code. I’m not even sure whether it ever existed. Maybe a reader knows more about it.

 

The Agatha Christie stamps

Royal Mail, the British mail authority, have now started a new chapter in the history of stamp steganography. They have issued a set of six stamps devoted to legendary crime writer Agatha Christie. Each stamp shows a motive from a famous Christie story (e.g., “Murder on the Orient Express”), and each stamp features one or several hidden messages.

Royal Mail didn’t say how these messages are hidden and what they are supposed to mean. Allegedly, techniques like microtext, UV ink, and thermochromic ink were used, requiring a viewer to utilize special tools to find the clues. On the other hand, it is quite obvious that at least some of the stamps contain hidden pictures. Some sources say that in each stamp a letter is hidden and that these letters form a word.

For more information about the Agatha Christie stamps, check here.

All six stamps are displayed in the following. Can you find the hidden messages? Do you know what they mean? If yes, please let me know.

 

Murder on the Orient Express

Christie-Stamp-1

 

The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Christie-Stamp-2

 

The Body in the Library

Christie-Stamp-3

 

And Then There Were None

Christie-Stamp-4

 

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Christie-Stamp-5

 

A Murder is Announced

Christie-Stamp-6

I wish there were more stamps with a content related to cryptography or steganography. Maybe this series will inspire other mail authorities to issue similar stamps.

Further reading: The Henry Debosnys Murder Case FAQ

Kommentare (11)

  1. #1 Thomas
    28. September 2016

    The steam in the “Murder on the Orient Express” has the shape of the face of a man with a bow tie, maybe of Hercule Poirot.

  2. #2 Thomas
    28. September 2016

    In the “Mysterious Affair of Styles” the white background and the table show a skull.

  3. #3 Marc
    28. September 2016

    The micro letters :
    Murder on the Orient Express : A
    The Mysterious Affair at Styles : G
    The Body in the Library : A
    And Then There Were None : T
    The Murder of Roger Ackroyd : H
    A Murder is Announced : A

  4. #4 Marc
    28. September 2016

    The white area in “A Murder is Announced” is a clock (grey spots !)

  5. #5 Thomas
    28. September 2016

    The island in “And Then There Were None” is a face profile

  6. #6 Marc
    28. September 2016

    The island in “And Then There Were None” is also a face, nice 🙂

  7. #7 Marc
    28. September 2016

    And another face in “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”
    (fire)

  8. #8 HF(de)
    28. September 2016

    “The Body in the Library” Das rote Band links auf dem Buch ist ein Gesicht.

  9. #9 HF(de)
    28. September 2016

    Ach so, Glückwunsch Marc #3

  10. #10 Marc
    28. September 2016

    @HF(de)
    stimmt, überall Gesichter 😉

    Die Bücher könnten evtl. ein Morse-Code sein !!

  11. #11 Jerry McCarthy
    England
    29. September 2016

    Apparently, some of the stamps have UV or thermochromic ink on them so there will be parts which won’t be visible on Klausis scans. More details (Spoiler Alert) here: https://fdcovers.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/