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Prince Albert, Duke of York, married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, daughter of Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorn, on 26 April 1923, at Westminster Abbey. In 1947 there was some public demand for an issue to mark this special occasion - especially after the failure of the Post Office to commemorate the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 1947. Ideas were floated for values of 2/6, 5/- and 10/-, as well as low value stamps, pre-stamped stationery and special postmarks. Designs were produced from November, 1947 onwards - one of the first designs included views of the Tower of London and Windsor Castle with portraits of the King and Queen. Harrisons began work on modifying these landscape designs. Meanwhile, the Council of Industrial Design nominated artists, including Joan Hassall to work on the landscapes and other designs.
An announcement was made to the House of Commons by the Postmaster General, Mr Wilfred Paling, on December 10 that 2 stamp values would be issued. In January 1948, designs by Joan Hassall (2 x 2½d and 2 x £1, one in maroon the other in blue), and by G.T.Knipe (1 x 2½d) were submitted for approval. However approval was not given for these designs and further work was commissioned and stamps from Belgium were suggested as possible suitable designs, (large portraits and simple frames). [The British Philatelic Bulletin, December, 1970 and November 1972, shows some unaccepted designs for the set by Joan Hassall, J Stobie and H Palmer - the originals are in the National Postal Museum]. New designs by Joan Hassall, G.T. Knipe, H.L.Palmer, J Stobie, and L Thornton were considered during February with the first two listed being successful. The colour of the stamp had previously been suggested by the Royal Fine Arts Commission. Joan Hassall was the first woman to design a British stamp, though Dorothy Wilding's photography had been used previously. For the first time in British philatelic history, the usual inscription POSTAGE REVENUE was dispensed with on both values, (REVENUE not used on some others). There was a good deal of anger from philatelists over the exorbitant cost of this set, especially when many of the colonies and protectorates also produced high values for the omnibus set. Although this was the first issue of a £1 stamp in the reign of George VI it was to be followed by the High value £1 'arms' stamp just 5 months later. However, the design of the stamps, especially the £1, was generally approved of.
2½d - royal profiles with Silver Wedding dates printed at sides of stamp. Crown above 1923. Value above 1948. £1 - royal profiles within a picture frame, incorporating the crown, value and dates 1923 - 1948.
Cylinder Numbers and Varieties
Specimen
Specimen / Cancelled and punched First Day Covers
Overprints 2½d surcharged 'Bahrain 2½ anna' for use in Bahrain - 186,095 issued 'Kuwait - 2½ anna' for use in Kuwait - 179,060 issued '2½ anna' (no country name) for use by British Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia - 137,789 issued 'Morocco Agencies - 25 centimos' (Spanish Zone) - 411,439 issued 'Tangier' - 192,513 issued £1 - surcharged 'Bahrain 15 rupees' for use in Bahrain - 21,984 issued 'Kuwait - 15 rupees' for use in Kuwait - 21,703 issued '15 rupees' (no country name) for use by British Postal Agencies in Eastern Arabia - 20,656 issued 'Morocco Agencies - 45 pesetas' (Spanish Zone) - 26,033 issued 'Tangier' - 24,102 issued | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Contact : Malcolm Sanders : kg6gb@hotmail.com
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