Vladimír Machaj (1929 – 2016) was a professional painter, graphic designer and illustrator. His illustrations of books, in particular, for children and fairy tales, have made him famous and brought him various awards. Surprisingly, 40 years after completing his studies in applied graphic arts, in 1996 he quite unexpectedly began to design postage stamps. Machaj studied at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague from 1949 to 1956. He attended a specialised studio that focused on applied graphic arts, led by Antonín Strnadel. He also passed several semesters of study into postage stamp design during which he was supervised...