Design

The 2½d with shades of ultramarine, has the King's profile head and crown centred inside a radiating Victory 'V'. Below the head is an olive branch, (peace). Floral emblems for the UK are placed in a square on the left, and opposite is a square with the value. The words POSTAGE and REVENUE are centred horizontally. Outline symbols of reconstruction are placed in the four corners - a tractor (agriculture), a house (building), a ship (trade), and a factory (industry).

The 3d violet has the words POSTAGE and REVENUE printed vertically with the value along the left and right sides. The King's profile and crown are towards the right hand side. A celebratory ribbon surrounds a dove with olive branch, (peace), a trowel with bricks, and a set square with dividers, (reconstruction). These tools are often compared with similar masonic symbols - King George was a senior Freemason.

The design process was controversial and often confused. The Council of Industrial Design, (COID - formed in 1944) was asked to submit names of artists. The Postmaster General, Lord Listowel, was also asked by Sir Stafford Cripps, the President of the Board of Trade, to allow the COID a say in the final selection of essays. Although the COID was accepted, the Postmaster General also took advice from several other groups including, the Garter King of Arms, the Director of the National Gallery, and the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland. It became very much a case of too many cooks which resulted in the Postmaster General going against his initial design brief given to the COID. Originally he had stated there would be two values with a unified design - in the end King George was requested to select two final designs from three submitted essays, (by Reynolds Stone, H.L.Palmer and Edmund Dulac). The COID complained that not only had they not seen the essay for the 2½d stamp for which their name was associated, but also that the design was inferior to those which they had actually selected, (the Dulac design being their second choice).

The philatelic and general press subsequently condemned the 2½d design as weak and confused, and praised the strength and simplicity of the 3d.

Cylinder Numbers and varieties

Both values were issued with the control number S46

Specimen  /  Cancelled

i. Gash in temple and broken upper wing (Cyl 2d, row 9/6) : wing retouched (Cyls 4d, 5d - row 9/6)

Specimen  /  Cancelled

First Day Covers

Overprints

'Tangier' on both values

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Contact : Malcolm Sanders :  kg6gb@hotmail.com