STAMP STORY The Queen’s Travels

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30739, 1 May 1965, Page 12

STAMP STORY

The Queen’s Travels

written for ''Th*

Press" by

KENNETH ANTHONY)

\ T O British monarch has travelled more extensively around the world than Queen Elisabeth. Many of her journeys can be traced in the stamp album by means of the various special stamps issued by the countries she has visited.

Even before her accession. Malta issued a set of three stamps in 1950 to mark her stay there. And Canada has commemorated no less than five of the Queen's visits—the first back in 1939 when she toured Canada as a princess, accompanied by her parents, and again in 1951, 1957, 1959 and 1964. Perhaps the most Interesting example is the stamp illustrated here —one of a set of three issued by Ethiopia for the Royal visit last February. The design contrasts the portrait of Queen Elizabeth with that of Emperor Haile Selassie —modern representatives of two of the world’s oldest monarchies. It is an appropriate design since it was in Britain that the Emperor found refuge when his kingdom was occupied by the Italians between 1936 and 1942.

Though designed by an Ethiopian artist, the stamps have been printed in Switzerland. They are certainly highly colourful productions. They are printed in sixcolours —and on paper with coloured silk fibres running through it This is a link between a modern issue and some of the earliest days in stamp collecting. For the first seven years after Britain’s Penny Black appeared in 1840, the only stamps available were Id anil 2d ones. Then in 1847 a shilling value was added, followed in 1848 by a lOd. A shilling was a good deal of money in those days, and the authorities were anxious to minimise the risk of forgery. So they printed these high values on a security paper which had vertical silk threads in it—just to make the forger's job more difficult.