The series known among Bulgarian philatelists as "Views and Portraits" is a regular (definitive) postage issue of the Principality of Bulgaria, put into circulation on 14 February 1911 — days before the 50th birthday of Prince (later Tsar) Ferdinand I, born on 26 February 1861. Unlike commemorative stamps, which are issued once for a specific occasion, definitive series remain in long-term use for ordinary mail — letters, postcards, parcels, and official correspondence — and therefore cover a wide range of denominations.

The early 20th century was a period of rapid modernization of the Bulgarian postal system and growing interest in the representative role of the head of state within the visual symbolism of the young principality. Ferdinand I had ruled Bulgaria since 1887, and in 1908 the country declared independence, with him assuming the title of Tsar. The issuing of a representative series around the round anniversary of his birth fits into the tradition of European monarchies marking such dates through state symbolism, including postage stamps.

The set consists of 12 stamps, covering denominations from 1 stotinka to 3 leva — typical of a definitive series meant to cover the entire range of postal tariffs. The stamps were printed in the two-color combinations characteristic of the era (for example, green/black, red/black, blue/black, violet/black), with perforation 12 and no watermark — details that make it easier today to identify and catalog the individual types and varieties. The name "Views and Portraits" comes from the series' very pictorial concept — a combination of the ruler's image with other representative elements, a characteristic feature of many European definitive issues of the early century.

The most famous and highly valued variety in the entire series is tied precisely to this issue — the so-called "inverted horseman," found on the 50-stotinki denomination. Stamps of this period were bicolored and were printed in two separate passes — once for the frame and once for the central motif with the horseman — and in part of the print run, the sheet was loaded inverted during the second pass through the press, causing the central image to come out upside down relative to the frame. The error went unnoticed for years and was only discovered in 1918 by the Sofia philatelist Nikola Kochanov. Only about 20 examples are known, all used, with complete sheets almost never found. The variety is cataloged as Scott 97a, Stanley Gibbons 167a, and in the Michel catalog, with prices reaching several thousand dollars/euros per piece — making it one of the most sought-after and expensive Bulgarian classic rarities.

Due to the combination of historical weight (the round anniversary of the monarch, on the eve of the Balkan Wars) and philatelic complexity (color variants, papers, overprints, and the famous inverted-horseman error), the "Views and Portraits" series remains among the most studied and collected classic issues of Bulgarian philately.