A set of first class stamps are to be issued in January next year commemorating ten icons of British design. The Royal Mail’s new series offers up a discernably nostaligic look at some British Design Classics, largely culled from the 1930s and 1960s.

RJ Mitchell’s Spitfire, George Carwardine’s angelpoise lamp, Harry Beck’s map of the London Underground network and Edward Young’s designs for Penguin (below) all originate from the 1930s.

The series of ten also includes Sir Giles Gilbert Scott’s telephone box (his K2 design is from 1926) and Robin Day’s polypropylene chair for Hille Seating from 1963.

While the design of the Mini (originally launched in 1959) has moved with the times and the 1965 mini skirt is still a classic of contemporary fashion, classic designs like the Routemaster bus (manufactured between 1954 and 1968) and Concorde (1969-2003) have been retired relatively recently.

The stamps will be issues on 13 January 2009. A “prestige stamp book”, issued alongside the stamps, will provide a more extensive background and history of the designs.

To mark the Mini’s 50th and Concorde’s 40th birthdays, Royal Mail is also issuing a “generic sheet” of 20 stamps (Mini series designed by Magpie; Concorde by Neon) and “medal covers” for each which have been designed by the Royal Mint Engraving Team. All stamps and sets will be available from royalmail.com/stamps.