On June 17, 2019, Belgian Post issued a postage stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Brussels tram.

The first horse-drawn tram line in Belgium, linking Bois de la Cambre and Port-Namur, opened in 1869. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, horse-drawn trams were a very popular means of transportation, becoming the first public transport option in many major European cities.

The stamp was created by artist Jan De Maesschalck, a longtime collaborator with Belgian Post, who has produced 23 postage stamps. As the artist himself explained, "Bpost" provided him with a complete archive on the history of the Brussels horse-drawn tram, including numerous engravings, historical photographs, and documentation. This allowed him to depict the tram car with the utmost precision and attention to detail.

When approaching the image of a pair of horses pulling a tram, Jan de Messchalk was inspired by the work of British photographer Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904). Muybridge studied the phases of animal movement and their recording and representation. In 1887, 11 volumes of his work "Animal Movement: Electrophotographic Studies of the Successive Phases of Animal Movement" were published, containing over 100,000 photographs, including phase-by-phase photographs of horses running.

For the background image, Jan de Messchalk chose the buildings of the Namur Gate along the route of the horse-drawn tram line from vintage postcards. The artist deliberately painted the buildings in a slight haze to highlight the tram in the foreground.

In working on the postage stamp, Messchalk wanted to convey the mood and spirit of the historical era. Brussels at that time was a vibrant city, joyful and striving forward, and it was precisely this spirit that the artist wanted to infuse into the design. This stamp is a true joy of life, the artist explained: "While working on the sketch, I appreciated every nuance: the need to reflect the mood of the times, the precision in reproducing technical details, the opportunity to play with small characters, and, of course, the chance to re-draw horses, which I've loved drawing since childhood."

I think Jan de Messchalkom achieved everything he envisioned beautifully: the stamp turned out bright and cheerful, revealing something elusive beneath a veil of historical romance.

The stamp was issued in vertical sheetlets of five stamps. The larger margins of the sheet also feature artistic decoration and commemorative inscriptions. The stamp's face value corresponds to the cost of mailing domestic correspondence up to 100 grams.

Finally, a few more words about the history of the Brussels tram. In 1877, horses were replaced by steam engines, and in 1894, an electric tram began operating in Brussels. However, over the 150 years of their history, trams have not become a relic of the past – today, there are as many as 18 tram routes in modern Brussels.

From May 1st to 5th, 2019, Brussels celebrated the 150th anniversary of the city's tram system. A grand parade of historic trams took place, with the very first ones to run, the vintage horse-drawn cars.