New stamp of Château de Chambord to be sold in France

The 800,000 printed stamps will feature an engraving of the emblematic chateau, created by Eure-et-Loire artist Line Filhon.

They will be on sale from June 3 in certain post offices, and at the Poste museum in Paris. They will also be available to order online.

Artist Ms Filhon worked on the new stamp engraving for three weeks, taking inspiration from an original design from comic book author Stéphane Levallois, based on a photo by photographer Jean-Michel Turpin.

The engraving is very fine, working at a tenth of a millimetre scale. The final artwork measured just 60 mm by 25 mm (6 cm by 2.5 cm).

Some lucky residents and visitors have already had the chance to buy the stamp on early release, from Friday May 31 and Saturday June 1, from the chateau’s gift shop.

The Château de Chambord is one of France's most famous monuments, and one of the most well-known Renaissance chateaux in Europe. Construction was launched by French king, François I, 500 years ago.