France,
Belgium, and Switzerland issued stamps with the same portrait of
George Simenon by Dèsirè Roegiest and different backgrounds. In
the background of the French stamp is the Quai des Orfèvres,
where Maigret's office is located in Paris.
The Belgian stamp (SCN 1567) shows a view of Liege, Simenon's
birthplace, and the Swiss stamp (SCN 948) shows the Chateau
d'Echandens near Lausanne where Simenon lived.
Agatha Christie
(1890-1976)
Agatha Christie was
commissioned by the London Daily Dispatch in 1930 to write a
mystery story set on the Isle of Man. It contained clues to places
where £100 prizes were hidden in snuffboxes. The idea was to attract
treasure-hunters to the island to boost tourism. The story was
published in the Daily Dispatch in five installments toward the
end of May. 250,000 booklets with the story were also distributed on
the island.
In 2003 the Isle of Man issued a set of 5 stamps with
tabs featuring writers and stories with a Manx connection. Christie's
story, "Manx Gold" was the subject of the first value.
